Houston: Texas' #1 Restaurant City

[GuerillaBlack]

Only New York, Chicago, San Francsico, Los Angeles and New Orleans finished ahead of the Bayou City. Houston was followed by Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Boston and Las Vegas.

Here's what the Web site had to say about Houston restaurants: "San Antonio may have a far more manifest Mexican food culture, but Houston, which spirals forever outward, has far more breadth and depth — from one of the nation’s finest and most elegantly modern Italian ristorante, Tony’s ($110), to Robert Del Grande’s Café Annie ($110), where New Texas cuisine took hold, and Américas ($100), which pioneered Nuevo Latino food in this country. One of the best places to get the most important meal of the day is the funky Breakfast Klub, where the irresistible specialty is waffles and chicken wings."

More at the link:
http://www.khou.com/news/local/houstonmetro/stories/khou070419_mh_restaurants.260078d2.html

As if no one didn't know this already.

[dfwcre8tive]

And that's why it's also the fattest, right?

[GuerillaBlack]

No, it lost its fattest ranking last year. Dallas was actually ahead of it. Chicago was the fattest city.

http://chicago.about.com/od/aboutchicago/a/010705_fat.htm

[Lakewooder]

Well Houston needs to put all that oil and grease to good work.

[GuerillaBlack]

Since moving here, I have found more chain restaurants in the DFW area than in Houston.

[psukhu]

Since Dallas didn't make the top 10, it looks like they did it by city, meaning municipality- instead of metro.

http://www.forbestraveler.com/2007/04/07041701_story.html



That means place like Fort Worth, Addison, Highland Park and Plano don't count towards the Dallas score.

I see their logic from a visitor point of view. But it seems strange from a business point of view since municipal borders don't mean anything when you are entertaining clients.

[St-T]

Since moving here, I have found more chain restaurants in the DFW area than in Houston.


You live in friggin Arlington...what the hell do you expect?

[GuerillaBlack]

Even just driving around the whole Metroplex area after moving here. Mostly generic restaurants.

[JasonDallas]

Even just driving around the whole Metroplex area after moving here. Mostly generic restaurants.

I thought that too driving around the highways (basically frontage roads), but I always let coworker's choose where we go for lunch and we could go to a new place I haven't heard of every day of the week... for months.

<shameless plug> If you want a good burger joint, try the Twisted Root http://www.twistedrootburgerco.com. A friend of a friend started it and I may be biased but I love the place.</shameless plug>

Jason

[St-T]

I am in Houston weekly for business. I stay at the Galleria as most of clients are on that side of town. I have not found a non-chain in that area. That being said, you would find the same in Dallas' suburbs.

I live in Uptown in Dallas--I can go WEEKS without going to a chain. And, the chain I do go to--Mi Cocina--is a local chain.

[Mballar]

You live in friggin Arlington...what the hell do you expect?
I don't think he lives in Arlington at all (because of the anonymity on this board one can state he/she is/lives anywhere). I think he's just a member of HAIF who likes to attempt to start trouble here because he feels as though. . .oh how do they like to put it. . ."the Dallas posters are always going down there and starting trouble." So, I guess in his mind, he's giving us a taste of our own medicine. Look at the history of his posts. In all of them he either starts a thread about Houston, or, with his unique style of over-the-top-H-Town boosterism, he discusses Houston, while at the same time posting something negative about Dallas or the Metro. Unfortunately for us, he hasn't figured out, yet, that the members of DFW Urban are too focused on Dallas to really worry about Houston. We really could care less. If the city has/is doing something cool, we have no problem acknowledging that. But other than population size, right now, I don't think most Dallasites, don't look at Houston in a competitive way. . .at least I don't. For me, the two cities/metros are in two different leagues.

[GuerillaBlack]

I do live in Arlington. I got to Martin High School. You know, the one in southwest Arlington along Pleasant Ridge. I live close to Lake Arlington. A lot of rich people out there. Many of my friends say waterspouts form all the time over there. I lived in Houston for most of my life, so the bias shouldn't be too big of a surprise to you. Do you want me to prove that I live here? Maybe watch WFAA or NBC5 at a certain time to see what stories are on? Maybe the Cowboys Stadium billboard without the "U"? Anything else (I bet I made up those tornado siren posts all by myself huh?)?

I know what HAIF is. I mostly visit that place. Haven't joined yet. I spend most of my time at the City-Data forums.

[ComingtoHouston]

I don't think he lives in Arlington at all (because of the anonymity on this board one can state he/she is/lives anywhere). I think he's just a member of HAIF who likes to attempt to start trouble here because he feels as though. . .oh how do they like to put it. . ."the Dallas posters are always going down there and starting trouble." So, I guess in his mind, he's giving us a taste of our own medicine. Look at the history of his posts. In all of them he either starts a thread about Houston, or, with his unique style of over-the-top-H-Town boosterism, he discusses Houston, while at the same time posting something negative about Dallas or the Metro. Unfortunately for us, he hasn't figured out, yet, that the members of DFW Urban are too focused on Dallas to really worry about Houston. We really could care less. If the city has/is doing something cool, we have no problem acknowledging that. But other than population size, right now, I don't think most Dallasites, don't look at Houston in a competitive way. . .at least I don't. For me, the two cities/metros are in two different leagues.

I find nothing wrong with posting information about other cities in Texas without accusing them of boosterism. I think this forum would be much more interesting if other cities than just Dallas were discussed here. On HAIF, it is way more diverse because it has other subforums, even a Dallas/Ft. Worth section to where we can see about DFW progress.

Also as far as your claim about Dallasites not caring about Houston, i think that's BS. Houston and Dallas watch eachother. Traditionally, Houston would do something and then Dallas would always either try to do it too or do it better. I've sat here and read alot of negative comments thrown at Houston from dallasites from news articles and even some members of this board. It seems that Dallas wants to be #1 and every once in a while the media does throw a few sucker punches at Houston. So if Dallas doesn't care about Houston, why do they even take the time to mention about Houston's mosquitos and bad traffic? Especially when Dallas isn't exempt from the same problems.

I don't live in Houston or Dallas but i visit both very frequently because i have family in Texas.

I apologize to GC and the moderators if this comes off flammatorry, but I can't let posts like these get away with outlandish claims. At HAIF, no one can say anything about Dallas without a Dallas poster jumping up and down in defense. I think the same rules should apply here.

[Mballar]

Touch a nerve, did I? I just stated my opinion, based upon fact.

[ComingtoHouston]

Touch a nerve, did I? I just stated my opinion, based upon fact.

I don't mean to come off as touchy but it does frustrate me when some people from Dallas try to act like people are trying to boost Houston just because they post some information putting Houston in a positive light.

People from Dallas come to HAIF all the time with information about DFW. I don't think you were basing your opinion on fact at all.

[St-T]

<yawn> What is Houston, anyway?

[GuerillaBlack]

Touch a nerve, did I? I just stated my opinion, based upon fact.
Please explain your "fact". You merely stated an opinion. Posting a positive news article about Houston where Dallas was not mentioned was not meant as a knock on Dallas. Sorry if it came off that way to you.

[tamtagon]

The only way this thread will stay open is if the discussion focuses mostly on restaurants. No one needs to continue second guessing each other's motivation, insulting each other or any of that. If you're in high school, try to act like a grown up; if you're a grown up, try not to act like a teenager.

If this forum's participants cannot be at least cordial to each other in a discussion about good things happening in Houston or anywhere else, then either the topic will be eliminated or if need be, the troublesome participant(s) will be banned.

Rock on Houston, it's been know as a place for a great meal for a long time, impressive to rank #6 on one of these lists. Didnt seem like the Forbes site showed how the rest of the ranking played out. I'd love to see where Dallas ranked.... also Miami and Philly.

[The Great Hizzy!]

Good lord, it's one of the least kept secrets that Houstonians eat out at a high rate. That's been the case for years. No big deal; just a cultural thing.

And the Uptown/Galleria has no non-chain restaurants?

LOL!!

[2112]

I'm a "hole in the wall" kind of guy. So next time I am in Dallas, I would like to know the grittiest place that has fantastic food, whatever it happens to be. That is the kind of place that impresses me. I am sure Dallas is crawling with these kind of places, just like Houston is. Any suggestions? (Again, the dirtier the better.)

[dfwcre8tive]

^ Escandido Mexican Restaurant near Parkland is interesting. My parents used to go there 20+ years ago, recently found it again and took me there. It's hidden away but good food. Has anyone been there?

[JasonDallas]

I'm a "hole in the wall" kind of guy. So next time I am in Dallas, I would like to know the grittiest place that has fantastic food, whatever it happens to be. That is the kind of place that impresses me. I am sure Dallas is crawling with these kind of places, just like Houston is. Any suggestions? (Again, the dirtier the better.)

Can you tell me what you mean by dirty? I mean, there are health inspectors occasionally running around so there are limits to how a place can be run. Can you give me a good example in Houston of a gritty, dirty place so I can eat there and better answer your question.

Jason

[freewaytincan]

Can you tell me what you mean by dirty? I mean, there are health inspectors occasionally running around so there are limits to how a place can be run. Can you give me a good example in Houston of a gritty, dirty place so I can eat there and better answer your question.

Jason

thelma's. that bbq was so good i thought i was going to die. the place is basically in a shack. it's amazing.

[The Great Hizzy!]

The only thing is that there's a chance of Thelma's kind of jumping the shark. I've heard a few people lately talk about how it's starting lose a bit of its neighborly feel because it's so busy.

[CityLove]

I thought that too driving around the highways (basically frontage roads), but I always let coworker's choose where we go for lunch and we could go to a new place I haven't heard of every day of the week... for months.

<shameless plug> If you want a good burger joint, try the Twisted Root http://www.twistedrootburgerco.com. A friend of a friend started it and I may be biased but I love the place.</shameless plug>

Jason

I just read this thread, so I apologize for my reply being tardy. But I wanted to give a response to both parts of your post.

First off, you're exactly right on the frontage road thing. If you only drive along the highways, then yes - you will find it lined almost exclusively with chains, because that's where they choose to locate. But if you go to Uptown, Knox/Henderson, oh heck...anywhere in the interior of Dallas...you'll find plenty of great local restaurants.

Secondly...I just love Twisted Root. My diet keeps me from going as often as I'd like, but every time I've been, I've just loved it. And my dad loved it too when I took him there while he was visiting from out-of-town. So I'll second that endorsement.

And lastly, one of my favorite "hole-in-the-wall" places is South Dallas Cafe, on Grand Ave near Fair Park. Good old Southern cooking, and plenty of it. I'm hungry just thinking about it!

[rantanamo]

I use to eat at this little shack on Malcolm X south of I-30. Doubt it would pass any inspection, but that was the best bbq in town. Carter's I think. The line would be out the door with everyone from construction workers, homeless people and suits from downtown. I remember standing out there, watching some guys sell drugs and some prostitutes walking by(ick, vomit, gross). Great food though. Is that place still there and popular?

[vman]

I was in Houston this past weekend and my friend and I both agreed Houston seemed to have more noticeable non-chain or maybe chains we've never heard of restaurants. Anyway the restaurant choices there seemed to be much more diverse than Dallas. And if you're ever in Houston and want an incredible breakfast experience, try the chicken and waffles at Breakfast Klub on Travis in Midtown. This place draws a very diverse and eclectic crowd all in a funky almost NY - Harlem chic urban setting. It's now a must-have everytime I visit H-town.

[2112]

Ive heard of Thelmas, but dont know where it is. Where is it?

Also, my example of "dirty" would be "Chicken and Eggroll", off of Shephard. It's not really dirty, its gritty, almost ghetto, except that it not in a ghetto. I dig places like that. I would like to know of similar places to visit in Dallas. Ill be visiting probably soon.

[aceplace]

My usual source for restaurant comparisons, city-by-city, is the Mobil Travel Guide. Mobil and AAA are the two most prestigious ratings in America, but the only one I can access for free is Mobil.

Mobil only awards stars to the very best restaurants in any particular city, or metro. If a restaurant doesn't have a star, it doesn't deserve one. The numbers are... Dallas... 117 restaurants with at least 1 star. Houston.... 64.

This is a major difference between Dallas and Houston. Dallas has almost twice as many.

To check these numbers, go to http://mobiltravelguide.howstuffworks.com/ and select Dallas or Houston from the drop down list of cities. Do not select State/Province, just city. This will give you a list of major metro areas. Bee sure to select for restaurants next to the Property Type heading.

[hamiltonpl]

Burger House on Hillcrest is gritty but not in the ghetto.

[2112]

My usual source for restaurant comparisons, city-by-city, is the Mobil Travel Guide. Mobil and AAA are the two most prestigious ratings in America, but the only one I can access for free is Mobil.

Mobil only awards stars to the very best restaurants in any particular city, or metro. If a restaurant doesn't have a star, it doesn't deserve one. The numbers are... Dallas... 117 restaurants with at least 1 star. Houston.... 64.

This is a major difference between Dallas and Houston. Dallas has almost twice as many.

To check these numbers, go to http://mobiltravelguide.howstuffworks.com/ and select Dallas or Houston from the drop down list of cities. Do not select State/Province, just city. This will give you a list of major metro areas. Bee sure to select for restaurants next to the Property Type heading.

would taqueiras and street vendors make this list?

[tamtagon]

would taqueiras and street vendors make this list?

I never conclude a visit to Texas without at least once stuffing my (sometimes drunken) face from a San Antonio taco wagon. That's good food.

[Lionel Hutz]

1. I typically don't take restaurant advice from high school kids who live in suburbs.

2. It shouldn't be surprising that a city twice as big as Dallas has more diverse restaurant options. I don't doubt that Houston's restaurant scene has more depth. But I'd put the top 10 or 20 Dallas restaurants up against anything in Houston. It's when you go further down the list that Houston separates itself, especially with ethnic restaurants, like Thai, Vietnamese, Indian (because of Houston's diversity).

[aceplace]

The only way this thread will stay open is if the discussion focuses mostly on restaurants.

Rock on Houston, it's been know as a place for a great meal for a long time, impressive to rank #6 on one of these lists. Didnt seem like the Forbes site showed how the rest of the ranking played out. I'd love to see where Dallas ranked.... also Miami and Philly.Forbes magazine's opinion is insignificant compared to that of the two national rating organizations... AAA and Mobil Travel Guide. Only the best of the best earn at least one Mobil star, and only a dozen or so restaurants in America get Mobil's 5 star rating.

Mobil awards at least one star to 116 metro Dallas restaurants. Most Dallas restaurants earned more than one star. Incidentally, their list does not include Fort Worth restaurants.

In contrast, Houston only had 64 restauants that earned at least one Mobil star. Dallas has almost twice as many restaurants as Houston in this top echelon of quality.

Chicago has 152 restaurants with at least one star. Since Dallas has 2/3 the population of greater chicago, it has more starred restaurants per capita than the Windy City.

San Francisco has 126 restaurants earning at least one star.

Atlanta has 71 restaurants earning at least one star.

This ranking is slightly different than my previous post of Mobil rankings because Mobil is always updating their lists to reflect current conditions.

[2112]

I believe all these rankings completely miss that gritty component I refered to in the past- Those cool back street non-descript kitchens of Vietnamese, Chinese, Thai, Pershian, Mexican, El Salvadorian, and the others. Those kind of places are ubiquitos and get no press. Just gotta find them accidentally!

[I45Tex]

Forbes magazine's opinion is insignificant compared to that of the two national rating organizations... AAA and Mobil Travel Guide. Only the best of the best earn at least one Mobil star, and only a dozen or so restaurants in America get Mobil's 5 star rating.

Mobil awards at least one star to 116 metro Dallas restaurants. Most Dallas restaurants earned more than one star. Incidentally, their list does not include Fort Worth restaurants.

In contrast, Houston only had 64 restauants that earned at least one Mobil star. Dallas has almost twice as many restaurants as Houston in this top echelon of quality.

Chicago has 152 restaurants with at least one star. Since Dallas has 2/3 the population of greater chicago, it has more starred restaurants per capita than the Windy City.

San Francisco has 126 restaurants earning at least one star.

Atlanta has 71 restaurants earning at least one star.

This ranking is slightly different than my previous post of Mobil rankings because Mobil is always updating their lists to reflect current conditions.

Your post certainly introduces useful information, and as long as you keep firmly in mind that your method of making this point is analogous to claiming that D/FW has a healthier population because it has more marathon runners, I'll be happy to see you stand by it. For what it's worth, I have always had the impression that Dallas had more places to splurge on a perfectionist meal at than Houston does. But 2112 is completely on the right track.

[I45Tex]

http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:lIgqYToxCiEJ:www.dallasfood.org/modules.php%3Fname%3DNews%26file%3Darticle%26sid%3 D6+carter%27s,+malcolm+x+blvd,+dallas&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=us&client=firefox-a


I use to eat at this little shack on Malcolm X south of I-30. Doubt it would pass any inspection, but that was the best bbq in town. Carter's I think. The line would be out the door with everyone from construction workers, homeless people and suits from downtown. I remember standing out there, watching some guys sell drugs and some prostitutes walking by(ick, vomit, gross). Great food though. Is that place still there and popular?

[GuerillaBlack]

I don't think he lives in Arlington at all (because of the anonymity on this board one can state he/she is/lives anywhere). I think he's just a member of HAIF who likes to attempt to start trouble here because he feels as though. . .oh how do they like to put it. . ."the Dallas posters are always going down there and starting trouble." So, I guess in his mind, he's giving us a taste of our own medicine. Look at the history of his posts. In all of them he either starts a thread about Houston, or, with his unique style of over-the-top-H-Town boosterism, he discusses Houston, while at the same time posting something negative about Dallas or the Metro. Unfortunately for us, he hasn't figured out, yet, that the members of DFW Urban are too focused on Dallas to really worry about Houston. We really could care less. If the city has/is doing something cool, we have no problem acknowledging that. But other than population size, right now, I don't think most Dallasites, don't look at Houston in a competitive way. . .at least I don't. For me, the two cities/metros are in two different leagues.

Hey, I agree! They both are in totally different leagues.

[totheskies]

^Hmm, odd way to resurrect a thread (esp. after nearly 2 years). but I do have a question for the Dallasites...

I'll be back up there in about 6 weeks to hang out with some friends... I'm looking for the following "best restaurants" in each category...

D/FW's best Polish
Best Mediterranean
Best Vietnamese

I told my friends that we'd try out some of these foods when I come up... just don't know where to go.
BTW in Houston, if you ever crave Polish please visit Polonia. Their Pierogies are out of this world!

[AeroD]

Best Mediterranean

Define "Mediterranean". Avanti has a "Mediterranean" menu, but it's Persian. Fadi's, is "Mediterranean", but its Lebanese. Kavala is "Mediterranean", but it's Greek.

"Mediterranean Food" is a catch-all phrase much like "Chinese Food" and "Mexican Food".

[totheskies]

Yeah, we have Fadi's here... I'd be thinking more like Lebanese, or Turkish

[WonkotheSane]

More at the link:
http://www.khou.com/news/local/houstonmetro/stories/khou070419_mh_restaurants.260078d2.html

As if no one didn't know this already.

This is junk. There are six Mobil four star restaurants in DFW (Abacus, Fearings, Nana, Stephen Pyles, The French Room and The Mansion). There is one in Houston (Quattro). There are just as great a variety of ethnic and small restaurants in DFW. Forbestraveller clearly has no idea of what they are talking about. I wonder how much that article cost the Houston Visitors Bureau.

[Someone]

This is junk. There are six Mobil four star restaurants in DFW (Abacus, Fearings, Nana, Stephen Pyles, The French Room and The Mansion). There is one in Houston (Quattro). There are just as great a variety of ethnic and small restaurants in DFW. Forbestraveller clearly has no idea of what they are talking about. I wonder how much that article cost the Houston Visitors Bureau.

so really by your logic the Forbes Traveler knows nothing, but the man that pumps your gas, airs up your tires, changes your oil, and services your car is the end all be all authority on what a great restaurant is

perhaps some see eating as something other than paying too much, for too little, of some endangered species, or some odd organ of some strange animal with foam on it and a little shot for the end....or cream fresh in the case of Stephen Pyles