McAdoo's Seafood Company in New Braunfels,Texas

Photo from: http://www.mcadoos.com/photos.php 

New Braunfels, Texas is a quaint and unique town.  McAdoos is a seafood restaurant located in the downtown area of New Braunfels.  Its location is right along the corner of Castell Street.  If you are familiar with the well known water park Schlitterbahn then you are only blocks away from McAdoos.  It is also located near Myron's Steakhouse.  What is most unique about McAdoos is the history of the building.  It was built in 1915, and it was the first federally built United States post office in New Braunfels.  McAdoos still holds much of its original equipment, and it has a classy outward and inward appearance thanks to its restoration.  I chose this restaurant because of its sophisticated appearance from the outside, and the full parking lot was a positive indicator that something inside must be appealing.

This is a photo of the original post office from 1915
This photo is from the McAdoo's website: http://www.mcadoos.com/photos.php

My mother and daughter joined me for lunch.  When we walked up to the restaurant I felt as if I was entering a place of importance.  It almost reminded me of a miniature courthouse.  There were four huge, white, columns.  A set of two supported each side of the building.  The building consisted of red and black bricks and enormous glass windows.  We walked up about 10 steps to get to the entrance.  The double door entrance was actually pretty narrow.  I was surprised by this feature.  As I entered the building I felt pleased with its appearance.  It reaffirmed my decision to eat at the restaurant.  The front of the restaurant was the waiting area.  The floors were lined with a pearly tile, and the dining area consisted of hardwood flooring.  There was a bar area on the far left side of the restaurant.  The majority of it was covered by a huge wall.  I could see a few people sitting on the end of the bar.  Most people were dressed casual, and some men had on business suits. The atmosphere was quiet and calm.  There was no music playing, and there were no children.  I was a little hesitant to be seated with a ten-month-old, energy-filled, baby.  The hostess politely sat us.  She handed us our menus and told us that a waiter would be with us shortly.  I looked around and noticed that all the waiters were dressed in black slacks and white, long sleeve shirts.  The male waiters had on black ties. The walls were decorated with actual doors and some of the equipment from the original post office itself.  It was a bit peculiar looking, but it gave the building a twist of old fashioned originality. When our waiter arrived he introduced himself and smiled at my daughter.  He saw that I was giving my daughter a bottle and offered to warm it in the kitchen for us.  I thought it was a nice gesture, but I declined his offer.  He took our order for our drinks, and he said that he would give us time to look over the menu.

This is the Red fish Lafayette.  As you can see, it is also topped with a leafy decoration, and it looks almost too good to  devour!  This image is from: http://www.mcadoos.com/photos.php 

The first thing I noticed about the menu was the wide selection.  After reading through most of it I realized that I was not very familiar with many of the dishes, and I was grateful for the descriptions below the entrees.  The appetizers caught my eyes immediately.  I noticed that there was a "chilled" and a "warm" selection for appetizers.  The restaurant was a bit chilly, and my mom and I decided we should try one of the warm appetizers.  We selected the Seafood Fondoo.  I had never tried Fondoo before, but it sounded fancy.  I selected the Almond Crusted Barramundi for my entree.  I could not resist the creamy white wine butter sauce topping that this entree described.  My mom selected the Cajun Pasta.  I was delighted she had chosen a pasta because pasta is my favorite type of food!  Our waiter said that we had made good choices.  There were a couple entrees that I could not pronounce. Red fish Pontchartrain was one of them.  It seemed unusual, but it was described as a blackened fillet.  Also, there was an entree called Kona Kampachi.  I had never heard of this, but it was also a type of fish served with corn mach choux. I was hesitant to order something unusual.  Our Fondoo arrived shortly after our order.  It consisted of shrimp, mushrooms, tomatoes and chives all drenched in a creamy white sauce.  It came in a bowl, and it was surrounded by bread chips to use for dipping.  I took one bite, and it tasted even better than it looked.  It was warm, but not hot.  Its temperature was perfect.  It was slightly spicy.  It tasted like a warm soup sprinkled with shrimp topping.  I was surprised by how well I enjoyed this appetizer.  I almost forgot to save room for my entree.  When my Almond Crusted Barramundi arrived the waiter asked if he could take away the Fondoo.  I asked him if we could have a box to go home because it was so delicious.  He politely agreed and boxed it up for us.  My entree looked like it came straight out of an exquisite magazine.  It was served on a beautiful white dish and topped with leafy decorations.  I did not want to mess up its charming appearance.  It looked like a piece of fish that was elaborately decorated with crusted toppings.  I was a little disappointed in the taste.  It was much fishier than I had expected. I ended up eating most of the topping and not so much of the fish.  My mom allowed me to sample some of her Cajun Pasta.  The rim of her plate was sprinkled with a sage green confetti-like decoration, and her pasta was lightly decorated with tiny shreds of white cheese.  Her pasta definitely had a kick, but it was very delicious.

One of my favorite features about this restaurant is the restroom doors! Yes, I said the restroom doors!  They are labeled by gender, but instead of "Male" and "Female", they are labeled, "Mail" and "Femail."  I think this is very catchy and unique.  Its serves as a great reminder of the history of the building, and I believe it is also a fabulous idea for restaurant goers to remember this specific restaurant.

Overall, I was very pleased with the service, and I was grateful that my daughter was well-mannered at the table.  I would definitely go back just for the fondoo.  Although a bit pricey, I would recommend this restaurant to anyone.   I would recommend sharing an appetizer, (Seafood Fondoo), and splitting an entree.  I definitely filled up on the fondoo, and I felt that it was well worth the price.  McAdoo's Seafood Company is definitely a unique and tasteful restaurant for anyone to try out in cozy downtown New Braunfels, Texas.

To learn more about the magnificent McAdoo's Seafood Company visit: 

http://www.mcadoos.com/