For almost a century, the Christie family has served the same incomparable food that made its founder, Theodore Christie, famous. Originally from Constantinople, Theodore immigrated in 1905 to New York City where he worked in hospitality and as court interpreter. In 1917, he relocated to the Texas Gulf coast where he decided to try his hand at cooking, opening a concession stand on the waterfront. There, he concocted a fresh fish sandwich , buttered and toasted po-boy bread with a lightly fried fish fillet with shredded letuce and tomatoes that remains unequaled.
In 1934, Theodore moved the restaurant to the Houston Medical Center where business was booming. He quickly began selling 10,000 fish sandwiches a week! His next innovation was the Seafood Platter, a sampling of broiled or fried shrimp, scallops, oysters and fillets of fish plucked fresh from the Gulf of Mexico.
The Remolaude sauce that accompanies the Fried Shrimp is a traditional recipe from 1917. It is homemade mayonnaise and garlic whipped until smooth.
Other restaurants have imitated Christie’s fried butterfly shrimp, but ours is the original, said Maria Christie who carries on her family’s tradition in the kitchen.
Christie’s food is so outstanding, Jim’s daughter, Roula, got her start as a radio personality as a result of delivering French Fried Shrimp to the KRBE on-air DJ, Paul Cubby Bryant.
Many people have followed the restaurant from its humble origins and still celebrate their most important life events in the comfort and hospitality of Christie’s.
Place Categories: Bar Dining, Cuisine, Features, Gluten Free, Greek Restaurants, Happy Hour, Happy Hour w/ Food Specials, Private Dining, Seafood Restaurants and Steakhouses