Houston in March - where to go?

I know some of you are up on your Houston - so an appeal: I will be there from the 8th to the 12th of March for a conference and would like to eat well on at least 2 of those nights. I know there is a sizable Chinese community there - are there any specific "must try" places? Any advice on dining in the sprawl that is Houston is much appreciated.

You'll need to poke around. I'm not sure the Chinese community is still as vibrant as it's late-seventies/early-80's heydey

Definitely check out Southwest Houston for the vast Vietnamese community. Those in the know find it rivals(and ocassionally surpasses)
the treasures of Chicago's Uptown.

And, I must put in a plug for the steak sandwich at Beck's Prime
http://www.becksprime.com/nav/2615AugustaDrive.asp
has an amazing, tranquil oak-shaded series of patios...not much use in the Houston "winter", I know.

If you want a decent beef brisket try the original

http://www.goodecompany.com/goodeRestau ... Kirby.aspx

lest I forget my favorite roast beef and house sauce on white bread sammie:

http://houston.citysearch.com/profile/9868864/

don't forget a slice of their pudding-esque cheesecake

I halfway recommend an ORIGINAL po-boy from Antone's(myriad locations throughout the city), but with these caveats: quality varies considerably from franchise to franchise and you have to get it freshly-made.

edit x 1000: I would be remiss if I didn't give the beloved
http://www.irmassouthwest.com/
a shoutout---small, packed, in sight of the ballfield...convivial staff, homey TexMex.

An interesting aspect of online Houston restaurant reviews is the constant myopic harping on prices which would actually tend to the extremely affordable side of the spectrum in Chicago or New York: 6 bucks for a 1/2 pound made-to-order burger! Why! That's highway robbery!

Goode Barbeque is a solid recommendation. For mexican, my preference is Otilia's at 7710 Long Point Road. It's in an old What A Burger. They serve an excellent cream of Poblano Soup. It's become very popular over the years.

You'll be tempted to try Doneraki for Tex mex. Don't.

Queijo wrote:I know some of you are up on your Houston

Queijo,

BBQ wise, Thelma's is my favorite, and the catfish is great. Otto's and Williams smokehouse are very good, Goode and Co good, but not up to Thelma's. Here's a pic of Thelma with a slab of spare ribs.


Mexican wise, I like Otilia's and el Hildeguence. Never been, but Rob Walsh, for whom I have a high degree of regard, loves Vieng Thai. His review made me want to jump on an airplane. Vieng Thai Rob Walsh also loves ek Hildeguence, but that's not where I first heard of the place.

Ninfa's is fun for straight up Tex Mex, supposedly the inventor of the fajita. Only go to the original on Navigation.

Don't miss Thelma's

Enjoy,
Gary

Thelma's BBQ
1020 Live Oak St
Houston, TX 77003
Live Oak at Larmar
713-228-2262

Otto's Bar-B-Q
5502 Memorial Dr
Houston, TX 77007
(713) 864-2573

Williams Smokehouse
5903 Wheatley
Houston, TX

Goode Co Barbeque
5109 Kirby Dr
Houston, TX 77098
(713) 522-2530
Goode has multiple locations, this is the one I typically go to and is
family friendly.

El Hidalguense Restaurant
6917 Long Point
Houston, Texas 77055
713-680-1071
Goat cooked over live coals.

Otilia's Mexican Restaurant
7710 Long Point Road
Houston, TX 77055
713-681-7203

Ninfa's
2407 Navigation
Houston, TX
713-228-1175
(Original on Navigation only)

G Wiv wrote:BBQ wise, Thelma's is my favorite, and the catfish is great.

Can't believe I neglected to mention John Kass loves Thelma's, though his Chicago Tribune White Sox/Houston/Thelma's column is no longer available on-line.

Enjoy,
Gary

this is great stuff...thanks all!!

Not food but an idea ...

The Houston Livestock and Rodeo Show is going on that same week. An all day fair, two rodeo sessions, and a live music show for under $15. I believe it is at Reliant Field these days.

I would highly recommend Vieng Thai. The menu is more interesting than the standard place and the flavors really pop. Hopefully I'll get done with my Texas reports on my website before you head out and I can go into more detail. But for now, check out the photos from Vieng Thai (the pad sar tor was fantastic):

Vieng Thai Photos

I really wanted to try Hugo's based on Scott's DallasFood.org report, but didn't have the chance. But put it on your list, if you like mid/upscale regional Mexican.

Having lived in Houston on and off for the past 15 years, I would second most of the recs. I have only been to Vieng Thai once, but it was great and cant wait to go back. The Breakfast Klub in midtown is a great southern style, chicken and waffles place. The Original Girvals Bahn Mi shop on Milam in the Hoa Binh shopping center is my favorite in Houston. I will actually be there on the 10th. Let me know what area you will be staying and your transportation situation and I am sure I can make some more recs.

The Breakfast Klub
3711 Travis St Houston TX 77002 713.528.8561

I'm staying at the Hyatt downtown (unfortunately the four seasons was booked solid ). But have taxi, will travel. And may even find someone with a rental vehicle for those longer treks.

Ruminating on oddities Texan, I thought to warn you that cabs(esp. after dark) are notoriously difficult to get in downtown. I've found myself stranded on more than a few occasions.

Thanks for the suggestions for our recent trip.

We enjoyed Thelma's, Breakfast Klub and Ninfa's wholeheartedly and full stomachedly.

Clothes still smelled of smoke 24 hours after the trip to Thelmas. Brisket was moist and smoky. Ribs were gone lickedy split. Hot links were curiously reminiscent of grilled kielbasa (as they were at Goode Co) but still delicious. The sauce was a great complement (sweet with a good amount of heat) and made every meat even better.

Breakfast Klub was simply amazing. Not to be missed. Catfish and grits. Not a whiff of fishiness or inkling of greasiness. And fried fish is not my usual idea of breakfast! Biscuits and Gravy is more my ideal. This version was a little light on sausage in the gravy, but it was very flavorful and the biscuits were short pillars of perfection: light and flaky. I also ordered the country sausage which was very baconey. Sliced into diagonal slices almost all the way through the link and then pressed flat on the grill. A great way to crisp the meat. Delicious, but a little small for the 3ish price tag for the side order. The catfish and b & g were both circa $10 and ample servings. Really, a great place reminiscent of some of our south side gems.

The Original Ninfas was also a fine adventure. We arrived around 8:15 on a packed Saturday night. We were a party of 8, so we waited about a half hour in the quickly moving line that stretches out the front door. It was worth it. Every dish that came out of the kitchen looked fantastic. Flour tortillas were being prepared a mano in the front of the house.

Upon sitting we got baskets of fresh chips, which were promptly replenished. Ditto on carafes of margaritas. Two salsas accompanied the chips, one a red and the other some combination of verde, guac and sour cream? Both very good. The pork verdes enchiladas were most, flavorful and satisfying. The rellenos (we got one cheese and one beef) were thickly battered and were fine if not that exciting. Many fajita and combo plates were ordered. All left empty. If you are stuck in downtown houston, its worth the short cab ride to here. (and we were surprised to find that the hilton apparently actively promotes them, and will send you in their free shuttle).

The city seems to have recoginized the cab issue mentioned by another poster. There is a SIX IN THE CITY special now that gets you a cab anywhere within the beltway for $6. We had no trouble using cabs downtown.

Outside downtown, we tried to visit Vieng Thai, but they close between lunch and dinner (we got there right at 3 as they were closing), so we walked two doors down to the "best cabritos" in houston at el Hildeguence.
They had a lamb verde special the same day, and that was a great stew. We also split the two kinds of goat -- one with sauce and one without. Unfortunately the "half" without sauce was very skimpy, and mostly bones, so I can't say how good it was if you actually got some meat. I got only one little bite.

The with-sauce half was two large meat chunks covered in a smoky ancho paste and grilled. The ancho overwhelmed the meat a bit. It was good, but I was actually disappointed after the hype (signs outside saying "best cabrito" and the 17.99 price tag for not that much meat).

Our visit to Goode Co on Kirby was also not so goode. But a trip to nearby Gingerman in Rice Village erased all memories of so-so ribs and brisket and "campbells tomato soup" passing as bbq sauce. The ribs had a nice smoke ring, but not that much else going on. A good sauce definately would have helped. The brisket was dry and tasted like old pot roast. Possibly an off night, but not impressive.

However, if you like good beer, Gingerman is a great pub. In an old house. Tons of character, a very small men's room (so I heard), and an impressive tap list that includes both local and US micros, and imports including some belgians. Great atmosphere and one of the highlights of Houston!

I am not sure whether Chicago is currently the second city or the third, but in my humble opinion, we have it all over number 4.

We visited Houston probably about the same time as Quiejo, and I don't know if I posted back or not...certainly not to this thread.

I enjoyed Thelma's quite a bit. We had to wait for takeout about 45 minutes-an hour for ribs (or brisket? I don't recall). So I ordered some fried catfish sandwich, which was an enormous, delicious sandwich for a ridiculously good price. It's hard to pass up the BBQ here, but man, I think more often about that catfish. No beer served here...Thelma told us we had to go get some if we wanted a brew while waiting to be served. We assumed she meant "and bring it back in to drink it", but we got an earful for drinking a beer inside and sheepishly returned to the car to drink our tallboys while waiting for our BBQ. I love Texas sometimes.

We also hit the West Alabama Icehouse, mentioned in the current version (last Jan.) of theSaveur 100. Nice spot for a cold beer on a pleasant February afternoon. I'd head back at night too, but bars like this are another thing I love about Texas.

Re: The Ginger Man, I always enjoyed the Dallas outpost, and knew it was a small Texas chain (Houston, Austin, Fort Worth comning soon). What I didn't know, is apparently true, and I think pretty cool, is that they do the "old house" routine at each location. Pretty impressive to be able to maintain current buildings like that for even a very modest chain. Good stuff.

I hit thelma's with two of my chef buddies, and we hit the lunch time rush. Since it was so many months ago, I really don't remember anything more than the fact that we enjoyed it and got really messy in the process.

We also went to Vieng Thai and were the only ones in the restaurant, which was a pity because it was truly excellent, as promised. One dish, a catfish curry, was so good that we ordered seconds. Although my dinner guests were frightened and mystified that we were dining in a non-descript strip mall far from their hotels, everyone was glad we hiked out there...even though we ended up waiting about 30 minutes for a cab to pick us up.

During that trip we also dined at at Tampico, specialists in red snapper. We had amazing grilled red snapper, although we arrived too late in the evening to get the whole fish grilled on a plank. We particularly loved the shrimp nachos, which were trashilicious - a tortilla chip covered in refried beans, topped with shrimp and cheese.

One of the most unusual things I ate while in Houston was a chorizo roll -- a perfect french style roll made with sausage fat and flecked with chorizo. It was marvelous. Surprisingly, it was the only standout at Bistro Moderne in the Hotel Derek.

We also ate at Cafe Annie, which was paid for by a vendor. Good food, but not anything I would seek out on my own. Can't remember much about it or I would post here...

A couple of addition, to the wife's notes on our Houston trip.

On the whole, I wasn't too impressed by Houston as a city.
The airport is a $50 cab ride from downtown and there is limited good food to be had in the city center itself. The good news is that rental cars are quite cheap and a 3 or 4 days weekend rental is cheaper than a round trip cab ride or than 2 roundtrip airport shuttles.

I thought Thelma's was not only light years beyond Goode Company, but in the upper echelon of BBQ generally. Besides the wonderfully smokey meats and sauce with a great balance of sweet, hot, and tangy vinegar, Thelma's side dishes are varied and very tasty. They included okra braised in some spicy sauce, mashed yams, green beans, dirty rice, potato salad, and others. The prices are amazing, with a two meat combo such as 4 ribs and about 1/2 pound of brisket plus 2 sides coming to $8.

Thelma's atmosphere is beyond "rustic". Its truly a run-down shack of a house with card tables and folding chairs. That's in no way a criticism, but rather a compliment when it comes to BBQ in my estimation. But some might find that info useful, if they have the misfortune of dining with companions who don't put the quality of eats above all else.

The wife is quite right that Breakfast Klub is a must. It may have been the best fried catfish I have had and the fried eggs with the truly enormous yolks provided a tasty pond to let those fish swim in. It was quite difficult to pass up the plate of perfectly fried wings and Belgian waffle.

The Gingerman (which has a couple snacks and allows you to bring in food) not only has a top notch draft beer selection and great indoor atmosphere, but the huge backyard and tree-shaded-picnic-table beer garden with heat lamps for chilly nights is fantastic, not to mention the tables out on the front porch and in the front yard of this old house. Chicago bars like the Maproom and Hopleaf surpass the Gingerman's beer selection in terms of rarity and quality, but few if any bars in my extensive beery travels have had such a great and inviting atmosphere for drinking and relaxing for hours both indoor and out. Also, despite being right next to Rice campus, the patrons leaned more toward older locals than college students.

Speaking of good beer, the one place that is head and shoulders above others in the downtown bussiness district is Flying Saucer, which has about 80 drafts with many craft beers. The atmosphere is nothing special, but that's more than one can expect given its location.

G Wiv wrote:BBQ wise, Thelma's is my favorite, and the catfish is great.

LTH,

Must be my lucky day 'cause I had an excellent dinner at Mark's last evening and today Thelma's for BBQ.

I took a few pics last night, many including Forbidden Foie, and will today at Thelma's.

Enjoy,
Gary

G Wiv wrote:Must be my lucky day 'cause I had an excellent dinner at Mark's last evening

So how was the Study of Texas Kobe Beef, which I assume at least one person at your table ordered?

stevez wrote:So how was the Study of Texas Kobe Beef, which I assume at least one person at your table ordered?

Steve,

Not available, Mark's web based menu is from Aug 26, lucky they are better at cooking than keeping up the web site.

I have some pics I will post when I get home, but the killer entree was a heart healthy trio of pan seared foie gras, duck breast and rack of lamb anchored with a delectable truffle risotto.

Mediterranean sea bass was terrific as was a deceptively simple mix of corn grits (grits with fresh corn) drizzled with white truffle essence.

Enjoy,
Gary

LTH,

On edges of downtown Houston, hard by the George R Brown convention center, Thelma's is a beacon of light in an otherwise worn at the heels light industrial area.

Thelma's


While the building that houses Thelma's may be a bit tumble-down Thelma is in her prime. Warm, generous, gregarious, greeting customers and working her wood fired BBQ pit with the hard-won skill of a master.

Thelma with fresh from the pit brisket


Sides are particularly good, standouts being stewed okra and tomatoes, dirty rice and yams, but tender smoky brisket, meaty spare ribs, juicy chicken with lovely crisp edges, and plump smoky sausage are the draw.

Lunch for 6 (Ok, it would have feed 10, but we were 6 )




Well managed plate



Thelma is also know far and wide for her catfish. Crisp on the outside, moist with surprisingly delicate flavor, state of the art catfish that converted the two catfish non believers in our group.

Thelma's Catfish



Sweet tea, refreshing and not overly sweet is on offer, along with pie. The pecan looked particularly good, but we were so completely sated by the end of lunch I actually forgot to get a slice of pecan for later.



Thelma's in Houston is an absolute must visit for anyone who loves BBQ or, for that matter, fried catfish and perfectly executed Southern side dishes.



Enjoy,
Gary

Thelma's
1020 Live Oak St (@Lamar)
Houston, TX 77003
713-228-2262

Your photos did justice to Thelmas. Thank you so much for sharing!

I am orginally from Houston and have been in Chicago for about 3 years now. I am surprised I have never been to some of these places mentioned. I will definately head to Thelmas this weekend while there. Are there any other recs? One of my staples when I was there was Baranaby's. I really liked there chicken toastados. Is Veing Thai a place worth visiting? Does it compare to some of the thai menu places in Chicago?