Houston restaurants to impress the out-of-town guests

Guest blogger Mike Riccetti is author of the Houston Dining on the Cheap and the Zagat Survey for 2008 Texas Restaurants for Houston. I welcome him to the MikeMcGuff.com Blog. 

A trip to the Chicago area and a visit with relatives who enjoy dining out spurred this idea that I thought might be useful for Mike’s blog, especially with the advent of the Christmas holidays and people traveling to Houston.

Those relatives enjoyed past trips to Houston, and the hope that they would make it back to Houston within the year made me think of which restaurants I would recommend for their next visit. Regardless of level of connoisseurship, dining out is a great way to show off one of the city’s best attributes. Out-of-towners might just think of Tex-Mex and barbecue here, and requests for these can easily be satisfied, but there is much, much more in what is one of the very best restaurant cities in the country.

Below are listed twenty restaurants of varying price ranges to impress or just successfully entertain out-of-town guests. I believe that these are emblematic of the Houston restaurant scene, either exhibiting some of the popular local flavors and dishes, or places that are just very good.

§ Beavers - Innovative barbecue and other tasty dishes in a friendly, casual setting that also offers a good selection of wines, a great beer list, and an incredible array of spirits and cocktails. www.beavershouston.com
§ Café Red Onion - Central American-tinged Tex-Mex that’s a great deal for the attractive, flavorful fare in three locations around town. www.caferedonion.com
§ Carrabba’s - The Kirby location of the long-popular Houston take on Southern Italian-American cooking is still boisterous and crowded after twenty years for a reason. The Voss address is also still worth visiting though the others are not nearly in the same class; these first two that are still owned by the Carrabba clan. www.carrabbas.com
§ Catalan - Interesting and top-notch New American with Spanish influences with a fantastic wine list (and excellent prices to match) in a fun, loud setting. www.catalanfoodandwine.com
§ Churrascos - Moist and delicious steaks, zesty Latin fare and vibrant settings make for enjoyable fine dining at the restaurants that introduced tres leches to Houstonians, and which remain favorites after two decades. www.cordua.com
§ Danton’s - Houston-style seafood including what is probably the area’s best seafood gumbo. www.dantonsseafood.com
§ Dolce Vita - Excellent, casual pan-Italian fare including Italian-style pizzas that are better than the vast majority of pizzas outside of Naples, and a number in Naples, too. www.dolcevitahouston.com
§ El Tiempo - Top-notch Tex-Mex with prices to match, but quality is worth the tariff including the fajitas with filet mignon. www.eltiempocantina.com
§ Feast - Modern British food (don’t let that phrase discourage you) that’s interesting, hearty and a great value for the quality and size of the entrées, plus the focused, food-friendly wine list also has some excellent values. The cuts might be strange, but the flavors are great, and usually quite relatable. www.feasthouston.com
§ Goode Co. Barbeque - Now in three locations, these prove that very good barbecue can be cooked at more than tiny pits in out-of-the-way neighborhoods; also, there are great sides and some of the best pecan pie around. www.goodecompany.com
§ Goode Co. Seafood - Houston-style seafood prepared several ways including uniquely mesquite-grilled; the Campechana is one of this city’s signature starters. www.goodecompany.com
§ Goode Co. Taqueria - Yes, I do like the Goode Co. restaurants. Come on the weekends for some of the best breakfasts in the universe, Texas-style. www.goodecompany.com
§ Hugo’s - Upscale regional Mexican food that is probably the best Mexican restaurant in town, and a great and fine value Sunday brunch. www.hugosrestaurant.net
§ Indika - Excellent modern Indian food from one of the top restaurants in the city. www.indikausa.com
§ Lupe Tortilla - These kitschy, sprawling Tex-Mex joints with several area outposts are family friendly and serve delicious fajitas with some of the thinnest and freshest flour tortillas you’ll have at an area restaurant. www.lupetortillas.com
§ Ninfa’s on Navigation - Houston’s favorite Tex-Mex that never fails to impress; only at the original Navigation location, of course. www.mamaninfas.com
§ Otilia’s - Excellent regional Mexican food that is easily affordable. www.otilias.com
§ Reef - Modern Gulf Coast seafood with wide-ranging global influences that was recently named the best seafood restaurant in the country by Bon Appetit magazine. www.reefhouston.com
§ Shade - Also globally influenced, and managing to be a proper version of modern Houston comfort food; a good brunch spot, too. www.shadeheights.com
§ Tony Mandola’s Gulf Coast Kitchen - Houston-style seafood that has pleased for years. www.tonymandolas.com

If these are not expensive enough, there is always Da Marco, Mark’s and Tony’s; and if not new enough, you can check out recently opened spots from acclaimed chefs, Scott Tycer and Robert Gadsby, at Textile and Bedford, respectively, both in the Heights. These five might be better choices if your guests are offering to treat.

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For what it’s worth, I am the author of three editions of Houston Dining on the Cheap and the current local editor for the Zagat Survey.

See Mike Riccetti's other guest post:
Best sandwiches in Houston

Best sandwiches in Houston

Guest blogger Mike Riccetti is author of the Houston Dining on the Cheap and the Zagat Survey for 2008 Texas Restaurants for Houston. I welcome him to the MikeMcGuff.com Blog.

A recent request by my editor at My Table magazine for an article listing the best of the sandwich chains prompted my thoughts about my favorite sandwiches, which are certainly not made at these ubiquitous franchised operations. I love a good sandwich; it’s affordable, quick, and when done right, very satisfying. My favorite sandwiches are made at locally run places, sometimes at restaurants in which sandwiches are just one of several reasons to visit.

Most of my favorites, divided between those served hot and those served cold, are shown below:

Hot Sandwiches

- 100% Taquito - 3245 Southwest Freeway - Torta de Tinga (chipotle-spiced beef brisket in French-style roll)
- Cabo - 419 Travis - Grilled Chicken Sandwich; Habanero Shrimp Sandwich
- Giannotti’s - 6539 Bissonnet - Hot Cappicolla Sandwich (slices of mild capocallo, thin slices of onion, slices of tomato, black olives and melted provolone on a freshly baked, crusty large roll); Prosciutto Sandwich
- Goode Co. Barbecue - 5109 Kirby & 8911 Katy Freeway - Beef Brisket Sandwich; Spicy Pork Sandwich
- Kahn’s Deli - 2429 Rice - Olajuwon Special (grilled knockwurst, hot corned beef, mustard, melted cheese, Russian dressing, sauerkraut on rye; it’s huge); Reuben; Hot Pastrami Sandwich
- Katz’s - 616 Westheimer - Grilled 3 Cheese Supreme with Tomato and Fire Dog Sandwich (on rye, of course)
- Market Square Bar & Grill - 311 Travis - Pete’s Philly Sandwich (sliced beef, bleu cheese, sliced and quickly sautéed fresh jalapeños on a crusty Vietnamese baguette)
- Mexico’s Deli - 2374 Dairy Ashford - torta with oven roasted pork loin; torta al pastor (cut from the spinner, the trompo); torta with chorizo, mozzarella and mushrooms
- Panini - 711 Louisiana (in the tunnel, below the Pennzoil Building) - Arcobaleno Sandwich (meatballs with red bell peppers on ciabatta roll); Roast Beef Sandwich (with provolone, lettuce and tomato); Mozzarella Pomodoro & Prosciutto Sandwich; Ciabatta Deliziosa (mozzarella, mortadella and roasted red bell peppers)
- Paulie’s - 1834 Westheimer - Principe Panino (Italian sausage, mozzarella, grilled onions and bell peppers); Pizzitola Panino (mozzarella, roma tomato slices, and pesto); Torregrossa Panino (Genoa salami, ham, Swiss cheese and olive relish)
- Ragin Cajun - 4302 Richmond - Shrimp Po Boy
- Sandwich King & Deli - 6615 Long Point - Giant Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich
- Thelma’s - 1020 Live Oak - Fried Fish Sandwich (catfish filet)
- Tortas el Angel - 1018 N. Shepherd - Del Maestro Torta (roast pork, milanesa, hot dog slices and chorizo with avocado, mayonnaise and mustard; the regular “grande” size is quite manageable)

Cold Sandwiches

- Antone’s Import Co. - 2424 Dunstan, 8057 Kirby & 3823 Bellaire - Super Original Po Boy; Piggy Po Boy (not for the squeamish)
- Hoang Son - 1005 St. Emmanuel (at McKinney, in the Kim Hung Market) - banh mi thit nuong (Vietnamese sandwich with char-grilled pork); to note that there are similarly very good versions at Don Café (9300 Bellaire), Givral Hoang Sandwich (9308 Bellaire), and Thanh Noi Sandwich Shop (9284 Bellaire)
- Kahn’s Deli - 2429 Rice - Sam’s Special Sandwich (roast beef and turkey with cheddar and Russian dressing on an egg roll)
- Ponzo’s - 2515 Bagby - Ponzo’s Original Sub (hard salami, cotto salami, mortadella, provolone with pepperoncini and an olive relish)

- Mike Riccetti

This is McGuff again, you can see my picks for top sandwich here.

Houston Dining 2011 - A Guide for Visitors (and Most Locals, Too)

Houston Dining on the Cheap author, Zagat contributor and past mikemcguff.com blog contributor, Mike Riccetti, has a new book out that should make Houstonians hungry for more.

It's called Houston Dining 2011 - A Guide for Visitors (and Most Locals, Too) and I think it caters to both groups well. I was born in Houston and learned stuff from reading it.

Riccetti breaks it down by location, type of food and then he goes and gets creative on us:

- Local restaurants profiled on Guy Fieri's show and The Next Iron Chef
- Places that serve a nice variety of scotches to celebrate the close of that big deal, or just get a customer drunk on expensive stuff
- Restaurant rows - areas like the Rice Village and lower Westheimer where there is a concentration of restaurants

This is an e-book and is a Kindle release but Riccetti says it can also be read on iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, PC, Mac, Blackberry, and Android-based devices.

Houston Dining 2011 - A Guide for Visitors (and Most Locals, Too) ($9.99)

Top signature dishes among Houston restaurants

Houston Dining on the Cheap author/Zagat contributor (and most importantly to me, mikemcguff.com blog contributor) Mike Riccetti has a new blog post up lots of Houston food hounds will like - Top signature dishes among Houston restaurants.

And he's featuring dishes from places like Brennan’s (for when it reopens), Goode Co. Seafood, Café Annie, Danton’s, Ninfa’s, Kim Son, Churrascos, Reef and Churrascos. SEE THE LIST

Riccetti must like starting debates.  Anytime you mix food lists with blogs it's argument time.

RELATED
Mike Riccett's posts on mikemcguff.com

Houston's top ten burgers (with fries) under $10

Mike Riccetti who wrote the book Houston Dining on the Cheap and has contributed to mikemcguff.com is now writing for Examiner.com as the Houston Cheap Eats dude:

I'm going to try to keep it fun and informative, and bit higher quality than most of the other current local stuff. I plan to make "Cheap Eats" as just a starting point, and will include articles on a wide-range of food-, drink-, dining-related topics.

So make sure to check out his first post Houston's top ten burgers (with fries) under $10.

See Mike's work on this blog.

Houston restaurant picks from the expert

I reviewed author Mike Riccetti's Houston Dining on the Cheap before. Well now he is putting out the Houston section of the Zagat Survey for 2008 Texas Restaurants guide covering 1,505 restaurants in Austin, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Houston and San Antonio:

Houston: The much-anticipated newcomer, Reef, is now delivering innovative seafood in a refreshingly unpretentious Midtown space, helping to reinforce the local trend of casualness in fine-dining restaurants. The popular Uptown Sushi spawned a spin-off, Blue Fin, and just as the appetite for sushi continues unabated, so does the trend for small plates, exemplified by new wine bar SoVino. Highlighting both those trends is Soma, which opened with a bang in early 2008 on increasingly bustling Washington Avenue with star chef Robert Gadsby. Another big name, Robert Del Grande, just launched The Grove in Downtown’s Discovery Green with Ryan Pera, formerly of nearby 17, at the helm. The suburbs welcomed a slew of stylish new eateries including Neapolitan-rooted Amici in Sugar Land with its Vallone family pedigree, French-influenced Aura in Missouri City and Pearland’s Killen’s Steakhouse.

READ THE REST

Mike told me about two place off the radar you might want to check out - The Lemon Tree and Tampico. Thanks for the tip!

Houston restaurant talk on TV

Mike Riccetti's, author of the Houston Dining on the Cheap and the Zagat Survey for 2008 Texas Restaurants for Houston will be on ‘Wild About Houston’ talking about some very good and interesting, but overlooked inexpensive restaurants. Catch it Sunday night at 9:00 PM on Channel 55.

David Sadof flies again with Lunar Rotation

I've written this before and I will write it again...I've been a fan of David Sadof's since he was on Rock 101 KLOL doing the Exposure show (later Lunar Rotation and High Fidelity on other stations). The man was my gateway to alternative music.

I did an interview with him back in 2007 that you should check out.

Now Sadof is writing for The Examiner (the same place mikemcguff.com contributor Mike Riccetti is also writing).

One of Sadof's latest posts explains the inspiration of the classic The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars.

He also has set up a Lunar Rotation Facebook fan page.