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Subject: WHERE - Houston, TX

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Winetex

Austin, Texas

Master of Wine
Posts:10801

07/06/2004 3:17 PM
Originally posted to the Wine Spectator board over a year ago. I know Houston is not a destination city but some of you will have the opportunity to visit friends and family or conduct business here. The one thing that Houstonians do extremely well is eat. It's a big city with lots of fine dining and terrific ethnic and local cuisine from the Gulf Coast. Houston has a very large Hispanic, SE Indian and Asian population so there is no shortage of the spicy, terrific foods. Most web addresses from Citysearch are included. I'm sure I left out some great ones so please add and flame away! Open this to a large window so the web addresses will be on one line. Welcome to the Bayou City! I'm happy to help if you want specific recommendations. American: Aries - hip, great Northern CA-style food with great wine list; Ignore the bad service comments. This is a web slander campaign against the restaurant. Awesome! The chef was voted one of the best chefs in America by Food & Wine. Backstreet Cafe - forgot this one on my first pass and it's one of my favorites. The best patio dining in Houston. Crabcakes are a winner here. Ibiza Mark's Love it; hip with great atmospher Pesce - not one of my favorites but others really like it. Go to see authentic Houston socialites in action. Post Oak Grill - classic Ruggles - great food; terrible reservations policy Tony's - most expensive in town; 10K bottle wine cellar; can be stuffy but elegant French: Cafe Rablais - in Rice Village; Good French bistro food with all French wine list Rouge Southwestern: Café Annie - A Houston classic; sometimes rests on its laurels but still very, very good; Excellent wine list Creole: Brennan's; the New Orleans family; good Creole; A tad stuffy but a winner. They were doing Monday night half-price wines. Italian: Italian on every corner but here are a few good ones Arcordoro Da Marco - sort of French Italian; great all-Italian wine list Damian's - classic but still good when you're downtown The Grotto Simposio - awful location in a strip center but great food BBQ Goode Company BBQ - a cliché but still the best BBQ in town. VERY casual. Try the beef brisket and the pecan pie. South American: Churrasco's - great steak and wine list Fogo de Chao - carnivores only; good wine list Mexican, Hispanic Lots of chains but these are usually very good. Hugo's - authentic Mexican food (not Tex-Mex); excellent with a killer wine list Molina's Gudalajara Café Red Onion - great Hispanic, carribean food Pico's; authentic mex and some tex-mex; iffy neighborhood but great food. Seafood: Goode Company Seafood - very casual but great gulf coast seafood Japanese: Kubo's - world class sushi Indian: Indika - new age Indian; truly excellent but a bit far out of the city India's Bombay Palace - upscale Indian Hotels: 4 Seasons Houstonian Hotel Derek Chain hotels in the Galleria area Wine Shops: Spec's - the downtown store on Smith; don't bother with most of the others Houston Wine Merchant on Westheimer Richard's on Westheimer

Wineaux

New Orleans, LA

Barrel Filler
Posts:1414

07/06/2004 5:18 PM
Thanks for the list - I'll put it to good use in the future. I have to pick a bone with you on Aries, though. My wife and I ate there 2 years ago and the service really was bad. We spent the first 10 or so minutes without any menus or service and then had to wait until half-way through our entrees to get bread on the table despite multiple requests. After I finished my appetizer, our aloof, condescending waiter asked in canned service industry-speak "how was your blending of flavors?" momentarily pretending that he really cared. He then proceeded to bring my wife an entree she hadn't ordered. Altogether, it ended up being a pretty poor showing. To be fair, however, I'll point out that our trusted Houston friends love the place and have always had good experiences there.

Winetex

Austin, Texas

Master of Wine
Posts:10801

07/07/2004 3:34 AM
Re: Aries - we've had several good experiences. The skinny on it is that the chef is brilliant but extremely hard to get along with and thus they have high turnover in waitstaff. This leads to the inconsistency in service.

wino4ever

Grape Fermenter
Posts:578

07/08/2004 3:30 AM
Great list. Always said the best thing(s) about living in H-town were the food and the (pro) sports. Oh, and the Texas women. You hit most if not all of my favorites: Ruggles (agreed on the rezzie thing - I'm always pissed off until I sit down and get fed, then it all gets better - fast!), Mark's, Backstreet (we loved the ceviche), Churrasco's (America's?), and prolly my faves Grotto and Anthony's. But there seem to be scads of new places since we've left. Problem is when we go there now to visit friends we always pack bunches of wine and cook in.

JimmyV

Central Connecticut

Wine Connoisseur
Posts:5112

07/08/2004 4:29 AM
Don't get to Houston all that often, but I have been to Mark's and Hugo's and would recommend them both, despite the fact that they are as different as night and day.

Beta testing a new signature.

ChangeMe

Grape Puncher
Posts:986

07/09/2004 1:19 PM
I get to Houston a good bit, but I'm always down in the Clear Lake area because I'm working at NASA-JSC. Any reccos around there, or places that I can drive to without being in two hours of traffic?

Winetex

Austin, Texas

Master of Wine
Posts:10801

07/09/2004 3:29 PM
RF - I'm going to be down that way this weekend and I'll ask around. One more restaurant to add - Uptown Sushi in Uptown Park, Galleria area - really good somewhat noveau sushi. Reminds one of a NYC sushi place, especially with the prices. I can't complain since the food is really good and the wine list has quality wines, champagne and sake for OK prices.

dgoerisch

St. Louis

Grape Sorter
Posts:204

05/18/2008 10:40 PM
I'm going to be in Houston tomorrow night, staying at the Four Seasons. Any suggestions for a restaurant relatively close by?

Winetex

Austin, Texas

Master of Wine
Posts:10801

05/19/2008 9:19 PM
DG - the restaurant in the 4 Seasons is no slouch. I don't have any suggestions about close-by restaurants as I'm unfamiliar with the area. It is in the heart of Downtown and there was not a lot of action in the 4 Seasons area. Maybe check Citysearch or Chowhound for suggestions. If you get to midtown Hugo's remains a great choice for Mexican food (not Tex-Mex, this is classic Mex). A good wine list as well. Da Marco is another midtown standout for Northern Italian food. A rarity with an all Italian wine list.

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