Ziggy’s Bar and Grill

Who knew Salads could taste so good! This restaurant gets awarded «Best Place to Stay on Your Diet «=)
I went there awhile back and ordered the «spa salad» and it was the best salad I have ever had!

I don’t know what have I done to you Ziggy. but you have gotten me back and we are even !
I had a terrible terrible experience the last time I was here. It’s a miracle that I survived to write this review.
It was like they served me nuclear waste. I ordered poached eggs and it was swimming in water and had something that looked like dirt. I would have been thrilled if dirt was an aphrodisiac. but c’mon Ziggy ! The toast and the turkey patty were extremely dry. Just stay away from this place people.
Now that I think of it. I should have mentioned this right after I ate here. At least during the autopsy, they would have known what killed me.
Hope someone from Ziggy’s reads this and takes some proactive steps to make things better.

After reading about Ziggy’s on Unilocal,I decided to check it out. It was particularly intriguing to me because of the unique menu items and healthy spin.
Boy I’m glad I went. My cream stuffed chicken with sides of roasted acorn and mac and cheese was excellent. I received the food super quick and the staff was very helpful. My entrée with water cost around $ 12.
Best part of the meal. afterward. The organic and healthy ingredients make you feel like a million dollars. No gross full feeling here.
I recommend checking this place out if you are looking for a good, healthy, reasonably priced lunch or dinner in the area.

This place was affordable and offers a lot of choices on the menu. I ate the turkey burger on a wheat bun and paired it with the Ziggy Rita. yum.
I found their food overall to be very similar to ruggles green but with better pricing yet less taste. It’s a nice change of pace and parking is NOT an issue here. Not a bad place, but nothing that would make me want to come back again and again either.

The food was a good value and freshly prepared. I had the spicy garlic turkey burger, which comes on a whole wheat bun. I was wary of the whole turkey burger concept, but it was good. The spice level was good, but some ketchup, mustard or mayo would have given it a little moisture. (I did find some ketchup to add…)
I won’t ding them any points for the albino tomato slice on my burger because it may have been some fancy heirloom variety, but I will have to take issue with the sweet potato «fries». They were actually fried pieces of unpeeled sweet potato, which while a few of the fries in the basket were close, mostly failed to be «fries». A lot of them were tough and woody, and had to be spat out. They also weren’t salted in the kitchen, which was probably the whole healthy thing, but then no salt stuck when I attempted to apply it tableside.
Overall, give it a try, but I wouldn’t recommend the sweet potato «fries».

Finally I get to eat at Ziggy’s! I’ve driven by it so many times and I keep making mental notes to eat here, but well until now, never did.
As I walked in, I saw the sign that stated «Please Wait to be Seated.» So I waited and looked around and wondered where was the person who should be seating me. Finally someone came over to my boyfriend and me and showed us to one of the booths.
The table still had some crumbs on it so the guy had to wipe it off before we sat down. Our server was still training so she was shadowing the guy who sat us. I looked over the menu and finally decided on the Kangaroo burger. I know it sounds horrible, eating a cute kangaroo, but it was something different and I had to try it! I also got a large basket of sweet potato fries and onion strings. Couldn’t resist! To wash it down I ordered a glass of the mango sangria and well my boyfriend wanted a pint of Shiner, which said it was on draft on the menu, but the waitress told us they were all out. The tap is out already? Strange. Oh wells… next option was the St. Arnold’s seasonal beer. As we waited we munched on some hummus and chips, which weren’t half bad. The chips were really good, but the hummus wasn’t the greatest I’ve had.
Our food arrived and I was excited for my first bite of kangaroo. I took a bite and it was definitely different. It was pretty good. It definitely had a distinct taste that differed from any other kind of meat I have eaten before. It’s hard to describe but in foodie terms it was sort of «gamey.» After a few bites I realized the burger was missing something, the accessories. You know, the mustard, mayo and ketchup. I know a burger doesn’t need it if it’s really good, but the kangaroo was a bit on the dry side. Maybe because it was on the thinner side for a hamburger patty. The fries and onion strings were good and the serving size was good for two people to share.
The service was Ok, but that’s understandable for someone still trying to learn the job and the menu and all that fun stuff. It satisfied my hunger for a food deprived day and that’s what mattered the most for me.

For the first time in my life, I am REALLY working hard at this «being healthy» thing. My trainer at My Fit Gym has told me I should eat only veggies and meat at and after dinner, which has proved to be EXCRUCIATINGLY DIFFICULT – even more so than the pushups and crunches she’s having me do. I. Love. Carbs. So when I was driving around in search of a good meal, and was about to say «eff the rules» and go get some sushi, I passed by Ziggy’s and knew I could get a meal that fulfilled those requirements there.
I’ve been into this location before but they’ve changed from a counter service operation to waiters, which meshes with the SOP of their Fairview place. It’s the endcap space in a small strip center, and although they do have lots of tables and free wi-​fi, it’s pretty nondescript inside. I was seated promptly and started looking through the menu to see what I REALLY wanted, and what I was actually going to get. I love their spinach and mushroom enchiladas here, and that’s usually what I get here, but trying to play by the rules of the game I looked through their other entrees.
Burgers, sandwiches and other standards are here on the menu. I ended up settling on a tilapia fillet which came with a choice of two sides. After using every ounce of my will power NOT to choose the mashed potatoes and mac and cheese, I chose the steamed broccoli and sauteed spinach and mushrooms. That’s the good thing about Ziggy’s and the point that makes them stand out… the food isn’t terribly amazing or unusual, but they are prepared in simple and straight-​up healthy ways. Even trying to order well at other restaurants still garners you buckets of butter and oil.
The tilapia was grilled in lemon pepper and was flaky and perfectly cooked. Though tilapia isn’t exactly my favorite fish, the fillet was decent and I finished it off. Broccoli came out just as advertised, and I doctored it by adding some lemon juice from my included wedges. Minced garlic added a nice flavor to the spinach and mushrooms, which weren’t oily or greasy.
For dessert, I decided to treat myself and get a slice of sugar-​free orange and almond cake. Errrr… strike that off the list for the future. «Sugar-​free» is a synonym for «bitter» in this case, and it had more of the consistency of pumpkin pie filling instead of a baked cake texture. I didn’t end up finishing it, needless to say.
For the most part, there’s something to please everyone at Ziggy’s – whether you’re doing high protein, vegetarian, or are diabetic. I think I like the homey feel of the Fairview location better, however, and I’ll likely be back there intentionally instead of swerving impulsively into the parking lot here.

I will say right up front, this is really a 3 star review. The fourth star is for serving ethical beef and eggs. As a meat eater with a lot of vegetarian and vegan friends, I’m always saying «if everyone with a conscience stops eating meat, then the only people left eating meat will be those who don’t care how the animals get treated». So, one extra star for Ziggy’s for taking a step in the right direction.
Unfortunately, beyond this effort, which is what got us in the door, the food was not amazing. There was nothing wrong with anything I ate. The burger was cooked to medium without becoming dry. The lettuce, onion and pickle were fresh and crisp. Not too much or too little cheese on top. The wheat bun was a bit crumbly at first, and a bit soggy later, but it made it to the last bite without completely collapsing. The white potato, sweet potato and onion fries trio were not particularly greasy and were certainly flavorful.
But that’s all. Expected food, executed competently. No flair, nothing exceptional.
Oh, and there’s a drink on their menu no one there knows how to make, because that manager ceased to work there and never wrote it down. Which means there’s an orphaned bottle of unlabeled, ginger infused vodka somewhere behind their bar. Which is just weird. But my manhattan was not heavy on the sweet vermouth, and that’s a good thing, too. But it was on the rocks, which I didn’t ask for.
Unlike Ruggles Green, up the street, at least Ziggy’s doesn’t try the over-​the-​top ethical dining experience angle with over-​fancy setting and hyped up prices. I actually refused to order anything when my wife went to Ruggles the other evening because I simply refuse to pay $ 11 for a sandwich, no matter what’s in it.
So, a strong 3 stars, pushed to 4 for doing their part to make a difference.

My husband and I didn’t feel like cooking, again… We’ve got to stop eating out after tonight as the «just moved» excuse is starting to wear thin, and we’re going to go broke at this rate. But I digress.
I picked Ziggy’s tonight because my husband wanted ‘unfussy’ food, and this place looked to have a good mix of vegetarian friendly and «conscious carnivore» options for him. (He prefers to eat meat from local farms, raised under conditions better than your average factory farm nightmare.)
Drink-​wise, I was hoping for the «Montrotini» (ginger infused vodka), but apparently the manager who invented the drink left and took his recipe with him. Second choice, a pomegranate martini, was just okay. A bit too much like cranberry+ vodka to be worth paying cocktail prices.
My veggie loaf with the mushroom gravy had a great texture, and a mild, though delectable flavor, and my sauteed spinach and mushroom side was generically well-​done. The mac n’ cheese, alas, came out as noodles in cheese-​soup. The cheese, seriously, was a liquid. As my husband pointed out, he wouldn’t serve me mac n’cheese that watery without an apology. My husband was more satisfied with his food (a burger and fries), and I’m certainly willing to give Ziggy’s another try– it’s more affordably priced than most other «conscious choice» dining options, I appreciate their ethic, and there are a few other menu options that I’m curious about. If I can make it to a brunch, my review may skyrocket!

I’ve only been to Ziggy’s Healthy Grill twice, most recently this weekend for dinner. (After a weigh-​in at the doc’s office, this was the only «dining out» option for this tubbs)
We actually had our eyes set on the Fairview location, but they were hosting a private party. However, the good news was that if you mentioned the Fairview thing at the W Alabama location, dessert was on the house as a small apology. YEAH! Oh, wait. remember tipping the scale, Farrah? No dessert for you!
Since Ziggy’s is pet-​friendly, Tex tagged along, and we snagged a seat outside. Nice breeze, not many others out, and even a three month only shitzu was dining with its rents too. (I figured this out as my chair was dragged across the patio. Tex was tied to my chair. Total scene out of the movie.)
Our waiter took our drink orders and also brought out a bowl of H20 for Tex. Love it.
Chips and salsa are a way to go. The salsa is fresh (wonder if they make that in-​house because it tasted homemade) and the chips are crisp with a light and fluffy texture – kinda like a crossbreed between a corn tortilla and pita chip.
Burgers are always a safe bet, but this time I got the tilapia and for my two sides, sauteed spinach with mushrooms and the baked squash with green apple slices, pecans and honey. This warm delight was a wonderful sweet treat – a dessert substitute if you will. My guy’s garlic mashed potatoes were flavorful, and the mac n cheese? Could give Beaver’s a run for its money.
The only reason why I rate Ziggy’s a four rather than a five was that my guy’s sides were less than warm. Also, despite me wanting to lower my calorie intake, I wanted to try the chocolate martinis since I’ve heard Ziggy’s has some good ones; but they didn’t have any chocolate for the recipe. Sigh. Also, our waiter – though friendly and prompt to refill our drinks and Tex’s water – was a bit in a rush, thus making me feel a bit rushed to order, eat and leave. He was all over the place and said they were short staffed, which I believe, I just don’t like dining and feeling like I’m inconveniencing someone.
I’ll return and check out the rest of the menu in the future… especially those chocolate martinis!

The service is great and the staff is always attentive. But it gets 3 stars because the food is okay. The thing is, everything is very healthy, so it tastes «healthy.» It’s fine for some people, but for me, fat is the best seasoning haha! JK
But seriously, was kinda disappointed in their hummus. Tastes nothing like what you’d expect. And their homemade chips, though very healthy, kind of tasted like cardboard.

4 stars for this Ziggy’s, but 5 for the one down the road on Fairview. The food is great here, just like at the other one, and it’s not heavy or greasy in the least. You can taste the freshness of the ingredients, and there’s something on the menu for everybody.
The lack of star is really more for ambiance. The place needs to be spruced up a bit. Booths are really wobbly and old with tables that are smaller than they should be. The servers are nice, but they seem to be inexeperienced.
For some reason I thought you used to be able to order at the counter here and then go find a seat. Sure, the line was long, but it made sense for this sort of place. I will say that now the food comes out of the kitchen quicker.

Back when I used to smoke pot, I thought that the idea of a Kangaroo
Burger was something I must try. And after reading a review of this place in the Houston Chronicle, I went by with a few friends.
Do you know why you never see Kangaroo meat or burgers on a menu, except for here? That is because Kangaroo meat is not good for a burger.
It was dry and tasteless and made me realize, this is why I like beef. I could not finish it. And it did cross my mind that I might have been sucked in to a marketing ploy.
Yet this place has been around a while. A friend had an Ostrich Burger and enjoyed it so much he ate the whole thing.
What’s next, Wallaby Burgers for the kids?

Up until recently I would’ve given ZHG a 5-​star rating. Before I even discovered this place, I had dreams of opening my own fast, fresh and healthy fast food restaurant… and Ziggy’s is definitely that.
Everything I’ve ordered has been delicious, and I used to eat there at least once a week… until they decided to sacrifice their counter service for poor table service. It was so nice to walk up to the counter, order your nutritious grub, fix your drink and sit down until your food was brought to your table. The wait staff service is terrible, and the vibe just isn’t the same. You don’t even get the complimentary baked tortilla chips and freshly made salsa!!!
Enough with my rant, the food here does rock. My favorites: the sweet potato fries, the black bean burger, the buffalo burger, the salmon, spa salad, chili, baked acorn squash (its like a dessert with the pecans and honey!!!), stuffed chicken breast, buffalo quesadillas… and last but not least the low fat, low sugar carrot cake cookie!!! For being healthy, it tastes pretty sinful and I always crave it! The bar is excellent as well… I highly recommend the pomegranate martini or the margaritas!
Now Ziggy, all we need to do is work on bringing back the counter service…

Stopped by for dinner Sunday evening, there weren’t many customers. The guy that took our order seemed a bit disoriented as if he was new and still trying to learn the menu. We started with an appetizer of hummus and whole wheat chips which were pretty good. I ordered their stuffed chicken, which comes with spinach, mushrooms, feta, garlic, and topped off with pine nuts. For my sides I ordered their steamed veggies, and a cup of fruit. My friend ordered their veggie loaf with a side of acorn squash topped with pecans, apples and honey.
As it turns out, my chicken was just that… chicken. It wasn’t stuffed with anything; it was just grilled and plain. I asked for our waiter and another waiter came in his place, I kept the order the same since I did not want to wait for them to cook me the correct dish while my friend ate. The owner came by our table and apologized for the mix-​up in the order and to let me know I would not be charged full price, which was nice.
A peculiar thing happened halfway through our meal. A tall strange looking man dressed in an army uniform came in… he seemed lost and as he walked past our table he left a trail of an awful smell behind him. I guess he was homeless, or appeared to be. The owner went over to his table immediately and our waiter came over to make small talk and keep us distracted. The homeless guy left eventually.
My friend couldn’t get enough of the acorn squash or the veggie loaf, and I on the other hand could barely finish my chicken which was pretty dry and lacked flavor. The veggies and fruit were fine. I’m still curious to try their other entrees, and overall their service was great, which makes me want to give them another chance, I also noticed they have free Wi-​Fi so next time I will bring my laptop along.

My fave dish here is the spaghetti and turkey meatballs. it comes with a salad but honestly it’s a whole day’s worth of food with the spaghetti alone. They have this really good tear there, I can’t remember the name of it but I think it’s pretty popular. This place isn’t really a sit down & order restaurant, you order at the cash register, get a drink and pick a table to sit at, when your food is ready they bring it out to you. Drinks and refills are self service.
Also this place has some really good sweet potato fries! Order them next time you’re here… you won’t be disappointed.

I went to Ziggy’s to try the chicken salad sandwich that was suggested on a Unilocal thread. And although the chicken salad was fantastic, the whole wheat bread it rested upon seemed almost stale and definitely tasteless. The service here was also lacking to say the least. No communication on order status, no refills and it took a long time for my sandwich to come out, even though the place was barely half full. Not to mention I didn’t seem to have a waiter, but anyone who passed by me at the bar might have either helped or not. And the waiter serving the few patronized tables seemed to have a problem figuring out what he needed to do — serving folks wasn’t on that priority list.
Very chaotic — a time wasting experience for this particular lunch hour.

Ziggy’s is a great place to eat healthier than you normally can at most lunch-​style restaurants (while they do have a few entrees, they mostly serve sandwiches, burgers, and pizzas). Instead of high fat, lots of sugar, cream-​based ingredients, they use low fat options, Splenda, and vegetables to cook with. I think of it as a normal restaurant that is channeling the ghost of Moveable Feast. (A macrobiotic restaurant which used to reside in the same location.) I do have to note that I’m glad to see that they serve more than just room temp water. Sodas, tea, alcohol.
The carrot soup was surprisingly wonderful. It had a nice, subtle carrot flavor. I normally don’t like simple soups (actually, I’m not really a soup person – I like stews), but this was tasty. I got half of a turkey sandwich to accompany it. Big mistake (although I think I’m just a sandwich snob). The turkey meat was deli-​bad, with lettuce and tomato. All on ciabatta. I should have just gotten a bowl of soup with a ciabatta roll. The bread was perfect for dipping in the pureed carrot soup. Well, that or a half of the chicken salad sandwich. It’s made with pecans and rosemary.
I’ve also tried the carrot cake cookie. It is the cookie sandwich pictured above. Made with no sugar, they use Splenda. The cream cheese filling is lowfat and whipped. The cookies are slightly crisp, sweet, and full of flavor and rasins. (Although it did kind of have that weird Splenda aftertaste.)
It makes me very happy to know that there are tasty alternatives to the decadent (read: the wonderfully awesome, fat-​inducing and all kinds of sugary richness) desserts out there. I look forward to checking out the pie (sugarfree and reduced fat) and orange almond cake (sugarfree and flourless).
I’m also curious to try some of their burgers. Black bean? Kanga? Ostrich? I also saw that they make their own veggie burgers (with carrots and pecans?) Yum.

I’ve read (and heard) rave reviews about Ziggy’s, which is why I decided to venture over there one fine evening. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t all that I expected.
They do have a variety of healthy options, which are fabulous… considering the amount of unhealthy stuff that exists out there. (I’m lactose intolerant and anything heavy on creams, cheeses, etc … makes my stomach instantly feel very sad.) However, I wasn’t all that enticed by their options (I was also not incredibly hungry), but I settled on a soup and salad combo. (Thankfully, my compadres were ordering other yummy things, which I got to sample.)
I got the Spa salad, which is supposed to have mandarin oranges, feta, apples and pinenuts with mango and raspberry dressing … sans feta. So I got the salad and it did have the oranges and apples, but no pinenuts to be seen anywhere! And the dressings were not to my liking or taste. Disappointing.
The soup, I believe, was some kind of turkey chili and I liked that a lot! I also loved their mashed potatoes — very heavy on the spices but I still enjoyed it but I didn’t like their grilled veggies (tasted bad, couldn’t really tell you why). I also ate some sweet potato fries, which were addicting and yummy!
I also got a chicken burger to-​go (the marinated chicken one), and I was disappointed to learn there’s a 5% to-​go charge. Granted, it’s not a lot of money but it’s the principle! Thatparticular burger was good (read: it didn’t have all the mayo, etc that most burgers have slathered all over it) and I’d go back for it.
Also, the service was a bit slow that night (I think the guy behind the counter was confused by the system — it took a long while to get rung up!) and then there was actually a rude customer right before me in line when I was ordering the to-​go burger that kind of put a bad taste in my mouth.
Regardless, it’s good for the kind of yummy, healthy food that you get (that’s not something you can find everywhere in Houston), but sub par in terms of all the hype it gets! And what I ordered… nicht so gut. Might have to go back and sample some other items on the menu to get a better feel for Ziggy’s…

Ziggy’s offer an extensive menu for any healthy lifestyle — low fat, low sugar, low carb or vegetarian. And if you don’t care… they also have french fries. The conference room at Alabama seats 50 people and can be reserved at no charge when ordering from the restaurant. They love to cater simply ask to help you plan a menu.
We have great patios at the Alabama and Fairview locations. Dogs on a leash are welcome (dog biscuits are free).
Everything from the menu can be ordered to go. Try a Ziggyrita — made with fresh lime juice (not that syrupy stuff used by most other bars) or a pomegranate martini. Very yummy.
Soup of the day:
Buffalo chili, French onion, Roasted red bell pepper, Purple hull pea with ham, White chili, Posole — a Southwestern stew of hominy and pork.