Southwest Chicken Wrap:
Let me start by saying that Houlihans has the best French Fries in Mid Missouri - hands down. Not too thick, not too thin, not too salty, not at all bland. Just perfect. Truthfully, I'm a fan of just about everything on the Houlihans menu, but for our lunch I chose the Southwest chicken wrap. Mixed with their garlic ranch dressing, it's got a ton of great flavors that work together perfectly. Little pieces of bacon, crispy tortilla straws, sweet red peppers spicy pecans and pepper jack cheese with juicy white meat chicken in a thin flour tortilla. Love it! Only word of caution, is you're probably going to end up using a fork to eat most of it because it's full to the brim with yumminess. Awesome!
Buffalo Bleu Salad:
To be honest I had never eaten at Houlihans before. Just gone for Happy Hour and Appetizers. Our group from work went here for a Christmas lunch and our White Elephant gift exchange.
I got the Buffalo Bleu Salad which was AMAZING!!! and the Loaded Potato Soup.
If I were to pick anywhere in town to get an amazing salad I will now forever compare them to Houlihans Buffalo Blue! It had a bit of a kick to the chicken, and the portions were huge and so delicious!!
If you have never eaten at Houlihans or had this salad, you are missing out and need to get there now!! Amazing!
Also they have a promise that you get your lunch in 15mins! He was so fast and took good care of us! Again, great experience!
Salmon:
Our office white elephant luncheon was held at Houlihan's, we knew it would be quick and they could easily accommodate a large group (15-20 of us). I ordered the small plate, Salmon with Harvest gold mashed potatoes and broccoli. l like the option of having less for lunch and having a productive afternoon. The serving size was perfect for me! The salmon was grilled and flaky, seasoned for great flavor. The mashed potatoes were defiantly from gold harvest potatoes and have more flavor than regular mashed potatoes and the broccoli was long steamed and steamed with just the correct crunchiness. This isn't the first time I've ordered the Salmon small plate and it certainly will not be the last!
Taos Chipotle Turkey Wrap:
Houlihan’s always has a fun and light atmosphere with great food & drinks! This visit I went with co-workers before the holidays. For lunchtime I was looking for something on the lighter side. I chose the Taos Chipotle Turkey Wrap with smoked turkey, guacamole, pepper jack cheese, cilantro, lettuce, tomato & chipotle dressing. The wrap plus tortilla chips and salsa was perfect! (I opted to stick with the tortilla chips instead of substituting French fries in consideration of all the Holiday eating I would be doing.) I was concerned about this dish being too spicy. I asked the waiter and he promised it wasn’t too spicy. He was right! The dish was flavorful, not spicy where your taste buds were practically burnt off. The Chipotle mayo and pepper jack cheese went great with the guacamole and turkey. It wasn’t a dry wrap but a vary well-balanced and flavorful wrap.
The service was impeccable for managing a group of 15+. At some restaurants, you never know how it will go: orders, checks, credit cards can all get mixed up. Our waiter at Houlihan’s did mix up one thing the entire lunch! Very rarely do you see that happen & I will always keep Houlihan’s in mind for big gatherings.
Fish Tacos:
Houlihan’s was a great surprise to me on this trip. I’ve heard about it before but I live and work in Jefferson City, so I very rarely have the chance to eat in Columbia. First of all, the atmosphere was great. It was open but you still felt like it was cozy once you were seated. We had a large group of 15+, so we actually did have our own section of the restaurant. This was really nice because it allowed us to have a little space but we didn’t have to pay anything extra for an event space. Houlihan’s was really accommodating in this way.
For some reason I was in the mood for something a little different (must be the unusually mild weather) and I chose the So. Cal Fish Tacos with chipotle mayo, panko-breaded tilapia, Napa cabbage, pico, and honey-cumin dressing. The side with this dish is the tortilla chips and salsa. This was a filling but still light lunch and extremely flavorful. The chipotle and honey combination gave it a perfectly balanced sweet and spicy. The tilapia was hot and crispy which was a great contrast with the sour cream and tomatoes. This is definitely a place I will come back to when I’m on Hwy 63.
