clutj's Profile
Restaurants near the Alley Theatre
Givrals for Vietnamese sandwiches
Treebeards for Cajun
Hubcap for burgers is world class
BBs
Azuma is decent sushi, not great
Hong kong diner is mom & pop American Chinese food but it's freshly made and they are very nice
Do NOT go to aquarium
Samba is getting some good early word but have not tried
Birras is sad
Mingalones is sad
Voice is high end
17 has yet another new chef so who knows
Lancaster depends on chef. They have had good ones but 6 months is the max tenure. Nice room.
coming to houston and need recs!!
Reef that some people recommend is very nice. It is more upscale (a "cool" place, but not elegant) and more pan seared kind of treatments. Danton's is more downhome, fried seafood or grilled over wood; nice enough decor, but it is a dark wood, somewhat timeworn decor, old fishing photos place -- not a dive but not the upscale Reef. Ragin Cajun is closer to a dive; also fried seafood and boiled crawfish; long communal tables, stuff stapled and tacked and pasted all over the walls, beer signs...
The Vietnamese places mentioned are more dive-like than the upscale Hue I recommended. I like those dives as well; more authentic than Hue. You can't go wrong with either type (or with the various seafood places), but I wanted to clarify so that you can decide what you are looking for.
coming to houston and need recs!!
Brasserie Max & Julie is on Montrose south of Richmond Ave (near museums)-- a fairly authentic French place, excelled steak au poivre, casual but prices aren't cheap (the wine is a great bargain for the high quality)
Danton's is very authentic Texas and Louisiana seafood, fried, grilled; also very fresh oysters, a couple blocks further south on Montrose past Richmond and past the freeway
a little cajun place, mostly gumbo and shrimp poboys called BBs just north of Westheimer on Montrose -- for lunch or late night
a big cajun place called Ragin Cajun on Richmond near the 610 Loop
Hue is an upscale, slightly Americanized Vietnamese place on Kirby and Richmond
Breakfast Klub is on Travis and Alabama, on the south side of midtown, a bit east of Montrose -- waffles & wings, other Southern/Soul classics
almost all agree that the best 4 star restaurant is Da Marco on Westheimer west of Montrose, Italian, very pricey
Da Marco also owns a much cheaper pizza joint on (lower) Westheimer several blocks east of Montrose, called Dolce Vita
Good Dumplings in Houston??
Yum Yum Cha in the Rice Village on Times has dim sum style dumplings -- some very light shrimp ones with a whole shrimp inside, some of the small ones that are open on the top with a pea or cube of carrot on top, etc. The basic, larger, more doughy dumplings are okay, but I like the smaller ones. Sorry I don't know the names.
Omaha for the College World Series
I'm from Houston and gets lots of Tex-Mex. Never heard of a potato enchilada, so I'm pretty suspicious...
Thanks to all for the recommendations.
I have seen elsewhere that there is confusion over places called Johnny's -- is this the 4702 South 27th place?
And can anyone vouch for the Surfside Club on the river? Fried catfish and chicken?
Omaha for the College World Series
I am staying downtown. Thanks for the replies thus far. More would be appreciated...
Omaha for the College World Series
Well, I'm hoping my team makes it and I get to go watch them, and so I'm doing some planning. Who can recommend places to eat at for the "true Omaha experience"? (I'd also like some things to see/do when not watching baseball.) Thanks in advance.
Cova...wine, yes..but how is the food?
I give it a rave. Most of the plates are small, sort of tapas-sized, and designed so you have several plates with different wines, but you can get a "full" plate as well if you want. The oxtails are great -- the uninitiated need not worry, they are similar to a long-cooked short rib. The chef is very skilled at grilling salmon on the rare side, paring a seared fish filet with some interesting beans or greens, perhaps sitting in a bit of flavorful broth. I also remember some amazing garlic brussel spouts that accompanied a small beef filet. There's always a funky fois gras preparation. In short, it's creative New American kind of food. Similar to what Aries was doing. The downside is that the chairs and tables aren't very luxurious, no tablecloths, and you are in the middle of a wine store, so all in all it's a bit casual for the high-end food (and prices, if you eat a full meal rather than just a snack). PS -- the main chef is at the Kirby location, so I don't know if he has assistants on Washington that are as good.
I Need Food Recommendations for El Paso
Google the following: "New York Times" "El Paso" wine
and you will get a NY Times review of some El Paso places, including Billy Crews, which is over the border in New Mexico and serves basically steaks and wine for unbelievable prices. $12 for an 8oz filet mignon and $190 for a 1995 Lynch-Bages bordeaux that would cost an amazing amount otherwise. Some other places in the article as well, including Mexico so bring your passport.
Houston area restaurants
All of these are around your hotel. Sorry for the repeats, but I'd advise using them to figure out what we are REALLY recommending...
Armadillo Palace on Kirby at Highway 59 is full of Texas memorabilia and serves chicken fried steak and other Texas things. Later in the week and later at night they have bands, so you might want to go there at lunch or before 8pm if you aren't into the nightclub thing. This is owned by the Goodes, who others have mentioned for the Goode Co. BBQ place; and there's a Goode Co Seafood and a Mexican/Burger place -- all four right in the same area.
The fancy, upscale, romantic restaurants are Cafe Annie, Tony's, Mark's and DaMarco (which has an Italian bent). Cafe Annie has a southwestern bent and is the most Houston/Texas.
The Ragin' Cajun is a fun place on Richmond about 2 miles east from your hotel. Very, very casual spot if you want to try crawfish right out of the cooker. You twist the tail off, pry the meat out... (they are like little lobsters). Gumbo, fried shrimp, etc.
Pappadeaux is another cajun seafood place (like Goode Co Seafood and Ragin Cajun), but more upscale, on Westheimer 2 miles west from your hotel. The Pappas are an (originally) Greek family that owns a lot of resturants in town -- steak houses, BBQ, seafood, etc.
Very simple grilled meats and a few pastas are at the very small, but polished, Divino on West Alabama, a little east of Shepherd (4-5 miles east of your hotel). Very personal wine list with prices maybe only 30% above retail (in other words, cheap!). But with wine this is a $100/couple place, not low-end. A great small, personal attention kind of place. Google "divino houston" to see their website (which is sometimes down).
Hugo's has interesting upscale Mexican food (more Mexico City, not Tex-Mex). On Westheimer close to downtown.
El Tiempo on Richmond near Buffalo Speedway has Tex-Mex, from an old Houston family that founded "Ninfa's" but lost it to bankruptcy.
That's enough from me!
[HOU] Need Recs--Viet/Chinese/Greek/Creole?
I'd second Vietnam Restaurant in the Heights. For boiled crawfish Creole (rather than expensive Brennan's), I'd suggest Rajun' Cajun on Richmond inside Loop 610.
Lambert's in Austin
I loved his first place, which closed about 3 years ago. Anyone been to the new one, just opened in downtown Austin? I'm in Houston and don't see a chance to head over in the near future . . .
Best Houston Burgers
A number of you would probably like Champ Burger, just east of downtown out Harrisonburg. Since 1963, a walk-up window with picnic tables outside. Not as good as Lankford or Christians. Skinny patties so get a double, onion rings better than the fries.
HOUSTON eats
The only restaurants that the Houston Chronicle's great food critic Alison Cook gives her 4-stars to are Da Marco and Tony's (she held it at 3 until it fully settled into its new digs). I still like Cafe Annie as well, and Mark's is right up there.
HOUSTON eats
Pearland has a lot of chain outlets. The locally-owned places will likely not be known by anyone on this board, and also highly unlikely to be reviewed by the Houston newspapers or blogs. Sorry about that. I did run across this:
http://www.insiderpages.com/s/TX/Pearland/Restaurants
Here's a few more elsewhere in Houston for when you are sightseeing. I like almost all of the places listed above by JJC as well (except I hear Kim Son has fallen way off).
Downtown -- cajun food at Treebeards on Market Square
Warehouse district -- northeast side of downtown, Irma's for Mexican food
South of downtown in Midtown is Specs, a must-visit if you are a wine lover
Also in Midtown is Ibiza, American food with a bit of a Mediterranean twist; this is a more upscale place than all the others mentioned, but it isn't in the most expensive ranks
Ninfa's on Navigation is classic houston Tex-Mex -- just east of downtown
Vietnam Restaurant if you get to the Heights
Vietopia if you are around West U/Greenway Plaza (Goode Co BBQ and Seafood places are around there)
Also near West U, Armadillo Palace is another Goode Co restaurant on Kirby that has tons of Texas atmosphere and a very good chicken fried steak.
These West U places are easy to get to from the Galleria -- huge shopping area I assume you will tour. West U is between Galleria and Rice University.
Galleria has a pretty authentic big New York deli, Kenny & Ziggy's on Post Oak.
Also near the Galleria is Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen on Westheimer; they've also expanded around the country, but the Pappas family is very actively owning and managing and I think this is the first one they opened.
Small, hole in the wall, deli sandwich place is Kahn's Deli on Rice Blvd in Rice Village (which happens to be right by Rice Univ!)
James Coney Island are in many places. Houston's own hot dog place, since the 1920s.
Carrabba's is an Italian chain now around the country, but the original is on Kirby and is far better than any of the chain locations I've tried (2 or 3); the original owners still manage it.
Lastly, Ragin' Cajun is probably the best cajun in town; on Richmond between Galleria and West U; great atmosphere.
