Rudy & Paco

The upscale combination Latin-Italian-seafood-steakhouse restaurant in downtown Galveston has a blacked out exterior. Inside is a small dining room covered with signed celebrity photos (no one under 30 would recognize any of them), shelves of wine, white tablecloths, and lots of expensive cognac. It's exclusive, fancy, and somehow still full Hawaiian shirts. Somewhere a mobster might take his side piece. It’s dramatic, surreal, but also serves excellent food. Join the upper echelon of Galveston society while snacking on plantain chips at a dimly lit table, politely tearing into Gulf seafood entrees, and feeding your date spicy shrimp linguine. And, in keeping with the bizarre reality show vibe, reservations at Rudy & Paco are imperative. The hosts will (and seem to like to) turn you away.