Inside My Table #68 | Restaurant listings
No Place But Houston
Robust flavors, high quality, a lack of pretense and great value are some of the hallmarks of Houston’s home-grown restaurants. Oh, and the amazing diversity. Though many large cities can claim multiple cuisines done well, no other incorporates influences from Mexico, the Gulf, South Louisiana, rural Texas, Central America and second-generation Sicilian-Americans—often all on the same menu—as does Houston. Though great for Tex-Mex and Texas barbecue, the restaurant scene here offers much more, as readers of My Table well know. Here are 14 restaurants that could only happen in Houston.
CAFE RED ONION, 3910 Kirby bet. Richmond Ave. & Highway 59, 713-807-1122 and other locations. The food can loosely be characterized as creative, somewhat sophisticated Mexican food with a strong influence from owner Rafael Galindo’s home country of Honduras. The food is innovative, interesting, pan-Latin, extremely well-executed and well-presented. The artfulness of the dishes is probably the most pleasantly surprising aspect of dining at Cafe Red Onion. All three locations provide a festive atmosphere and great values. $-$$
CAFE RED ONION SEAFOOD & MAS, 12041 Highway 290 south of 43rd St., 713-957-2254. With a menu entirely different from his other Cafe Red Onions, Galindo looks to Peru for inspiration for his “Latino sushi,” the novel ceviche creations that are a seemingly perfect concoction for a city that loves sushi and Latin flavors. Interesting note: As flavorful as the cooked seafood dishes are here, no animal fats (including butter) are used in their preparation. $$
CHURRASCOS, 2055 Westheimer east of Shepherd, 713-527-8300 and other locations. The first of the justifiably popular Cordua eateries has, for 15 years, been a place to show off for out-of-towners. The signature churrasco steak, a very flavorful cut from the tenderloin, takes only its name from Argentina, but is perfect for a city that loves beef. The excellent beef, tropical Latin flavors, festive atmosphere, earnest service, arguably the best version of the decadent tres leches ever, good drinks and value-priced Chilean wines make this pair of restaurants well-suited for our city. $$
EL TIEMPO, 3130 Richmond bet. Buffalo Spdwy. and Kirby Dr., 713-807-1600 and other location. Where else in the country would people flock to restaurants to pay so much for what is unabashedly Tex-Mex, albeit upscale Tex-Mex? Here you will find often-excellent and relatively expensive takes on the humble fajita, Gulf fish and crab dishes done in Tex-Mex fashion, as well as potent margaritas served in loud and dynamic settings. $-$$
GOODE CO. BARBECUE, 5109 Kirby Dr. bet. Bissonnet & Westpark, 713-522-2530 and other location. With a winning blend of kitsch and quality, Jim Goode has his finger on the pulse of Houston and executes in grand fashion. His original temple of barbecue has been pleasing critics and Houstonians for 30 years now. Though Texas barbecue might have its spiritual home in central Texas, the top Houston purveyors, such as Goode Co., incorporate a wider range of influences and skills, and pay much greater attention to the sides and desserts, all best exemplified here. $
GOODE CO. SEAFOOD, 2621 Westpark west of Kirby Dr., 713-523-7154 and other location. The best bounty of the Gulf is served at these pleasantly informal and deservedly crowded restaurants. Excellent mesquite-grilled flounder, redfish and red snapper are worthy options along with the South Louisiana and Mexican-influenced dishes. The kitchen’s seafood campechana appetizer might be the most additive and emblematic of the hometown dishes. $-$$
GOODE CO. TAQUERIA, 4902 Kirby Dr. at Westpark, 713-520-9153. It’s possible that Goode Co. Taqueria serves the best breakfasts in the universe, far greater than the confines of Planet Houston. These breakfasts are Texan and Tex-Mex in nature; they have accents of Mexican and South Texas ranch cooking and are consistently exceptional (and hearty). In addition to Tex-Mex morning and day fare, Goode Co. Taqueria also does hamburgers and hot dogs quite well, plus mesquite-grilled dishes. $
JAX GRILL, 1613 Shepherd bet. Interstate 10 & Washington, 713-861-5529 and other location. In two well-attended, fun neighborhood eateries, the appeal of Jax Grill is apparent: well-prepared and very affordable regional favorites served in an informal but often lively atmosphere. Where else but Houston would fried-shrimp po’boys, catfish, good burgers and even better mesquite-grilled fajitas be at home on a common menu? We recommend the Shepherd location, which features live zydeco music on a weekly basis. $
JOYCE’S SEAFOOD & STEAKS, 6415 San Felipe at Winrock, 713-975-9902. A reliable Tanglewood-area eatery that features seafood in a variety of preparations, this is truly an indigenous creation that blends culinary traditions of the Gulf Coast, Southern Louisiana and Mexico in dishes such as blackened catfish enchiladas. Raw oysters, fish tacos, gumbo, fried shrimp, crab cakes with a sauce of poblano peppers, and New Orleans-originated BBQ shrimp made with Shiner Bock beer all seem to be menu naturals. $
NINFA’S (ORIGINAL LOCATION), 2704 Navigation bet. Jensen & Sampson, 713-228-1178. Digging into the various dishes featuring the beef fajita at this still-popular setting on the east side of downtown, you can understand how this one restaurant greatly helped to popularize Tex-Mex in the area, even nationally, and then grew to a fairly large local chain. Fajitas (which reach their apex in Houston) and the margaritas are probably the best-known attractions, but nearly everything makes this worthy of a visit, especially the friendly and fun atmosphere. “Original” needs to be emphasized here, as seemingly everyone in town knows. $-$$
RIO RANCH, 9999 Westheimer bet. Gessner & Beltway 8 in the Westchase Hilton, 713-952-5000. This is an attractive restaurant richly decked out with Texana that complements the sophisticated Texas-inspired cuisine. Part of chef Robert Del Grande’s empire, the long-time chef San Hemwattakit, a native of Thailand, creates many dishes that seem typical for the region, among them chicken breast stuffed with andouille sausage, crawfish tails and sweet peppers grilled over mesquite and skewers of bacon-wrapped shrimp, mushrooms, onions and jalapenos served with pico de gallo. $$
STATE GRILLE, 2925 Weslayan at West Alabama, 713-622-1936. Gulf Coast, Central Texas, South Louisiana, Mexican and Italian-American influences populate this menu ( e.g. pecan-crusted red snapper, chicken-fried ribeye, seafood gumbo, gorditas with fried oysters, pasta and a massive veal chop) that would seem overly eclectic and unfocused outside of Houston. But, helped by good execution in the kitchen, it seems almost organic and works very well at the Greenway Plaza-area eatery of the affable Frankie B. Mandola. $$-$$$
T’AFIA, 3701 Travis at Alabama, 713-524-6922. Monica Pope’s Midtown restaurant is fairly representative of what’s good about Houston: modern, more than proficient, interesting, relaxed, forward-looking and friendly. The kitchen works hard to incorporate local and regional ingredients in an eclectic array of flavorful preparations. The owner’s love of regionalism includes a wine list that sports a number of Texas wines, which seem to work particularly well here. $$-$$$
TONY MANDOLA’S GULF COAST KITCHEN, 1962 W. Gray bet. Dunlavy & Shepherd, 713-528-3474. The kitchen manages a seamless blending of Southern-Italian, Creole, Cajun, Mexican and native Gulf Coast influences to create wonderful seafood dishes that are representative of the Houston area. The seafood is always fresh, and the preparations are dependable, often piquant and usually hearty. Crawfish ravioli and tasty fried calamari with pepperoncini might be found in Louisiana, but probably not the baked oysters with pico de gallo.
