Locations in Houston: Recommended

8332 SW Freeway Outer Loop - SW

713-988-5838

Chinese, Restaurants, Recommended, Sponsor

The favorite restaurant of Houston's Beijing expat community, this is the place for Peking duck, Peking noodles, meat pies and all the other favored delicacies of the Chinese capital. The lunch special's soup, egg roll and entrée format may be Westernized, but the food is anything but, and you don't have to ask them to make it extra-spicy. This may be the best deal on Chinese lunch in the whole city.

100% Taquito

3245 SW Freeway Greenway Plaza

713-665-2900

Tex-Mex, Recommended, Menu

Taquitos ("little tacos") come three to an order at this charming restaurant built to resemble a taco wagon parked on a street in Mexico City. The tacos al pastor, made with crispy pork and pineapple, are your best bet.

3-6-9 Oriental Bistro

1009 Westheimer Montrose

713-524-8686

Chinese, Restaurants, Recommended, Menu

While this place is clean, modern and serene, a bistro it is not. Sill, the small restaurant in a strip mall has been around for quite a while and does a good takeout business. There are some dishes that are worthwhile, like the Sesame Seaweed Salad, the Crispy Shrimp With Walnuts and the Chicken Wraps.

59 Diner

17695 State 249 Jersey Village

832-237-8828

American, Diner, Recommended

This is one of the best examples of a good old-fashioned diner we have in the city. Here you'll find lots of chrome and pleather and a lunch counter where you can sit while watching the food being prepared. Great breakfasts are served all day long, and there's comfort food for lunch and dinner. The daily Blue Plate Specials include perennial favorites like pot roast, turkey and gravy, catfish and roast pork. Traditional floats, malts and milkshakes alone are enough to make the trip here worthwhile.

59 Diner - CLOSED

17695 Tomball Parkway Jersey Village

832-237-7559

Diner, Restaurants, Recommended, Menu

Great breakfasts are served all day long, and there's comfort food for lunch and dinner. The daily Blue Plate Specials include perennial favorites like pot roast, turkey and gravy, catfish and roast pork. Traditional floats, malts and milkshakes alone are enough to make the trip here worthwhile.

4 articles

59 Diner - CLOSED

20210 Katy Freeway Katy

281-599-8500

American, Diner, Recommended, Menu

This is one of the best examples of a good old-fashioned diner we have in the city. Here you'll find lots of chrome and pleather and a lunch counter where you can sit while watching the food being prepared. Great breakfasts are served all day long, and there's comfort food for lunch and dinner. The daily Blue Plate Specials include perennial favorites like pot roast, turkey and gravy, catfish and roast pork. Traditional floats, malts and milkshakes alone are enough to make the trip here worthwhile.

59 Diner - CLOSED

3801 Farnham Lower Shepherd-Kirby

713-523-2333

American, Diner, Recommended, Menu

This is one of the best examples of a good old-fashioned diner we have in the city. Here you'll find lots of chrome and pleather and a lunch counter where you can sit while watching the food being prepared. Great breakfasts are served all day long, and there's comfort food for lunch and dinner. The daily Blue Plate Specials include perennial favorites like pot roast, turkey and gravy, catfish and roast pork. Traditional floats, malts and milkshakes alone are enough to make the trip here worthwhile.

8 articles

59 Diner

10407 Katy Freeway Outer Loop - NW

713-984-2500

American, Diner, Recommended, Menu

This is one of the best examples of a good old-fashioned diner we have in the city. Here you'll find lots of chrome and pleather and a lunch counter where you can sit while watching the food being prepared. Great breakfasts are served all day long, and there's comfort food for lunch and dinner. The daily Blue Plate Specials include perennial favorites like pot roast, turkey and gravy, catfish and roast pork. Traditional floats, malts and milkshakes alone are enough to make the trip here worthwhile.

59 Diner - CLOSED

8125 Katy Freeway Outer Loop - NW

713-681-5559

American, Diner, Recommended

Great breakfasts are served all day long, and there's comfort food for lunch and dinner. The daily Blue Plate Specials include perennial favorites like pot roast, turkey and gravy, catfish and roast pork. Traditional floats, malts and milkshakes alone are enough to make the trip here worthwhile.

59 Diner - CLOSED

12550 SW Freeway, Stafford Outside Houston

281-242-5900

American, Diner, Recommended, Menu

This is one of the best examples of a good old-fashioned diner we have in the city. Here you'll find lots of chrome and pleather and a lunch counter where you can sit while watching the food being prepared. Great breakfasts are served all day long, and there's comfort food for lunch and dinner. The daily Blue Plate Specials include perennial favorites like pot roast, turkey and gravy, catfish and roast pork. Traditional floats, malts and milkshakes alone are enough to make the trip here worthwhile.

5 articles

888 Chinese Restaurant

403 Winkler Dr. Outer Loop - SE

713-644-8888

Chinese, Seafood, Recommended, Menu

888 is a big square room with booths down both sides, tables in the middle and two television sets high on the wall at one end. The clientele includes a lot of Mexican-Americans, and the menu includes some Chinese-Mexican combos like whole mojarra with shrimp fried rice. The mango chicken in garlic sauce is easily the best thing on the menu. It's a tropical-tasting dish that seems only vaguely Chinese.

Abdallah's Bakery

3939 Hillcroft Galleria

713-952-4747

Bakery, Middle Eastern, Recommended, Best Of, Menu, Slideshow

Abdallah's is well known for its loaves of fresh pita, but there's more to the Gulfton-area bakery than just bread. The daily steam table sees a busy lunch crowd and a leisurely dinner crowd there to enjoy authentic Lebanese food and some of the best falafel and tabbouleh anywhere. One of the restaurant's wonderful shawarmas with a side will barely set you back $6; it's an even better deal when you consider that It's served all day long. For those early risers, Abdallah's also Offers breakfast. Want some foul with your eggs? You can get it here. Abdallah's makes all of its food from scratch, then freezes some of it for frozen take home meals; they also sell dry goods and bakery items.

10 articles

Abe's Cajun Market

1080 Clear Lake City Blvd. Clear Lake

281-480-2237

Cajun, Market, Recommended, Menu

Skip the seafood po-boys and try the stuffed chicken breasts or smothered pork chops. Abe's is not your typical Cajun restaurant -- it's a Cajun meat market. It's also a great place to stock up on hard-to-find items like andouille, tasso, boudin, crawfish pie, and stuffed pork chops without having to drive all the way to Louisiana.

1 article

Al's Quick Stop

2002 Waugh Dr. Montrose

713-522-5170

Mexican, Middle Eastern, Recommended, Best Of, Menu

This Montrose convenience store on Waugh next to Rudyard's Pub serves an odd combination of Middle Eastern and Mexican foods. The falafel sandwich at Al's Quick Stop is outstanding, as are the greaseless french fries. This may be the only place you'll ever see Mexican tacos al pastor and Middle Eastern gyros spinning on vertical roasters side by side.

3 articles

Al-T's Seafood & Steakhouse

244 Spur 5 Highway 124, Winnie Outside Houston

409-296-9818

Cajun, Restaurants, Recommended, Menu

Al-T's is a classic Tex-Cajun roadhouse located an hour east of Houston with a diverse menu of fried foods, gumbos, étouffée and homemade boudin. Menu highlights include chicken and sausage gumbo, fried catfish, and the Dirty Herbie - an original concoction of dirty rice, étouffée and chunks of rib-eye steak.

Aladdin Mediterranean Cuisine

912 Westheimer Montrose

713-942-2321

Greek, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, Recommended, Best Of, Menu, Slideshow

Exotic decor and an atmosphere reminiscent of Morocco set the scene at Aladdin. In the back of the restaurant, there's a tiny, cozy, private booth-lined room. The restaurant's excellent mezze, or sampler platter, features at least eight or ten different Middle Eastern items. The grilled-to-order kebabs, shawarma, tabbouleh and smoky baba ghanoush are exceptional. Aladdin's puffy pita bread is made on the premises in a brick oven; don't miss the oregano-sesame version known as zatar.

7 articles

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema-West Oaks

1000 W. Oaks Mall Outer Loop - SW

281-920-9211

American, Movie Theaters, Recommended, Menu

At the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, the multiscreen cineplex in West Oaks Mall where you can eat dinner while you catch a flick, the pepperoni pizza is called a "Porky's" and there's a sundae called "La Dolce Vita." Drinks include beer, wine, coffee drinks, Italian sodas and root beer floats. There's also popcorn.

4 articles

Alamo Tamale & Taco

2310 Navigation East End

713-223-1446

Mexican, Restaurants, Recommended, Best Of

A Houston institution since 1960, Alamo Tamale has not just branched out into several different locations around the city, but can be had from anywhere in the country. Yep, you can order their tamales online and they'll second-day-air them to you anywhere in the continental United States. The tamales are still made according to old family recipes, and hand-wrapped before shipping. The Tamale Factories themselves offer only take-out and delivery.

1 article

Alamo Tamale & Taco

809 Berry Rd. Outer Loop - NW

713-692-6363

Dessert, Mexican, Recommended, Best Of

A Houston institution since 1960, Alamo Tamale has not just branched out into several different locations around the city, but can be had from anywhere in the country. Yep, you can order their tamales online and they'll second-day-air them to you anywhere in the continental United States. The tamales are still made according to old family recipes, and hand-wrapped before shipping. The Tamale Factories themselves offer only take-out and delivery.

1 article

Alfreda's Cafeteria

5101 Almeda Third Ward

713-528-0020

Soul Food, Southern, Recommended

This cafeteria-style restaurant on Almeda is like a smaller version of This Is It, with all of the heart and soul intact in a comfortable, homey setting. Standouts on the steam table here are the oxtails, chicken and catfish, as well as the bacon fat-laden green beans and cabbage, all of which are served with a genuine smile. Portions are immense, so beware: You won't be walking out of here hungry, or with room for dessert. Luckily, Alfreda's packages its desserts (try the banana pudding) to go, so you can enjoy them later.

Alma Latina Taqueria

902 Telephone Rd. East End

713-926-7609

Mexican, Restaurants, Recommended

Beware: Not all Alma Latina restaurants are created equal. But if you make it to the correct one - the location on Telephone Road in the Second Ward - your journey will be richly rewarded. Stay away from the breakfast tacos and instead focus on dishes like the hot, vividly flavored menudo or the hearty huevos rancheros. Both will either fuel you for a long day ahead or take the edge off that raging hangover and allow you to salvage what's left of your day, even if you didn't get up until noon. That's right: Alma Latina serves breakfast all day, although they charge a little extra after 10:30 a.m.

1 article

Aloha Grill - CLOSED

11805 Westheimer Memorial

832-379-8883

Hawaiian, Polynesian, Recommended, Menu

Papaya salad and kalua pork are the stand-out dishes at this Hawaiian fast-food restaurant. There's a long list of lunch specials for under five dollars and teriyaki bowls for three dollars and change. Don't miss the Hawaiian Sun juice drinks in the refrigerator up front.

Amazon Grill

5114 Kirby Dr. Lower Shepherd-Kirby

713-522-5888

South American, Restaurants, Recommended, Best Of, Menu

This self-service grill, part of the Cordúa empire, serves casual Latin cuisine. You're guaranteed to get in and out fast unless, of course, you can't stay away from the plantain chips and salsas that are free for the taking. Enjoy a delicious ceviche, an amazing burger or the dish that made Cordúa famous, the churrasco steak, a beef tenderloin served with that famous chimichurri sauce. Finish with one of the best tres leches cakes in town and a cafecito.

3 articles

Amedeo's

22704 Loop 494 Humble/Kingwood

281-359-4451

Italian, Recommended

This has been one of the better restaurants in the Humble/Kingwood area for more than 20 years. The bar area is a comfortable place to unwind or grab a quick bite, while the expansive dining area is slightly more formal. The menu leans heavily toward Italy, but it also has many Continental influences. The grilled brie appetizer covered with a rosemary-blackberry sauce and the veal Portofino topped with shrimp and scallops are delightful.

Amerigo's Grille

25250 Grogan's Park Dr., The Woodlands Outside Houston

281-362-0808

Italian, Seafood, Recommended, Menu

This high-end Italian restaurant is decorated tastefully with oil paintings and floor-to-ceiling plate-glass windows that look out on a restful pine grove. The classic carpaccio, red snapper with lump crab meat and spicy seafood pastas are your best bets.

Andy's Home Cafe

1115 E. 11th St. Heights

713-861-9423

Tex-Mex, Mexican, Recommended, Menu

Not being updated since it first opened in 1977, the drab decor can now be described as having "character." This BYOB restaurant serves up simple, fast and cheap Tex-Mex-American diner fare to Heights locals. The food is hot and fresh, the service is fast and friendly, and they're open 24 hours.

1 article

Annie's Hamburgers

10821 S. Post Oak Rd. Outer Loop - SW

713-729-9861

Burgers, Diner, Recommended, Best Of, Menu

After eating breakfast at Annie's - the gigantic, fluffy biscuits with sausage gravy will put you into a carb coma - you'll want to come back the same day for a cheeseburger, double meat, double cheese, extra bacon and a side of fries. This is a neighborhood classic offering food of high quality and consistency. Breakfast is simple and to the point. You can't go wrong with anything on the short list of menu items, from fluffy pancakes to super-crispy hot waffles.

1 article

Another Time Soda Fountain

800 Third St., Rosenberg Outside Houston

281-232-2999

Diner, American, Recommended, Best Of, Menu

The drinks are the biggest draw at Another Time Soda Fountain, the highly authentic and old-fashioned restaurant located in a 1910 building in historic downtown Rosenberg. Here you'll find lime coolers, Coke shakes, phosphates and homespun shakes and malts -- not the kind of dessert drinks you're likely to encounter at many other places. The one-pound banana splits are a thing of beauty and are best when split, of course, as are the huge burgers and chili cheese dogs.

1 article

Antica Osteria

2311 Bissonnet Kirby-West U

713-521-1155

Italian, Restaurants, Recommended, Menu

Old-fashioned Italian food in a charming little cottage with a romantic atmosphere. For an intimate evening, reserve a table in the tiny bar, or ask for a table on the patio if the weather is right for dining al fresco. Delightful, sophisticated menu options include the duck breast sautéed in pepper and herbs, Fontina-stuffed chicken breast served with a light wine sauce and an antipasto dish of thinly-sliced and air-cured beef filet with greens and truffle oil.

2 articles

Antonio's Flying Pizza

2920 Hillcroft Galleria

713-783-6080

Italian, Pizza, Recommended, Best Of, Menu

For Italian-American classics like spaghetti and meatballs, sausage-and-pepper sandwiches, cheese pizzas and calzones, you can't beat Antonio's. It doesn't just look like an East Coast red-checkered tablecloth pizzeria, it really is one. Owner Antonio Rosa threw pizzas in Connecticut and New Jersey before he moved to Houston and opened Antonio's Flying Pizza in 1971.

2 articles

Aquarium Restaurant

11 Kemah Waterfront, Kemah Clear Lake

281-334-9010

Seafood, Recommended, Menu

This restaurant offers a lot of dazzle, featuring a fish tank three and a half stories high, miniature geysers and a gift shop. A spiral staircase wraps around the tank containing 15,000 gallons of clear blue water and hundreds of tropical fish. The hostesses are a hurdle, but the waitstaff is attentive, efficient and professional. Many of the appetizers are generous enough to serve several or to double as an entrée for one. The imaginative lime-grilled chicken lettuce wraps are stuffed with sprouts, sesame noodles and peanuts. Another favorite: the rich, caramel-colored lobster bisque, served in a hubcap-sized dish. Crowds die down after 10 p.m.

1 article

Argentina Cafe

3055 Sage Galleria

713-622-8877

Argentine, Recommended, Menu

This bright and modern place is a nice cafe and bakery where home-cooked Argentinean specialties like empanadas, sausage sandwiches, milanesa cutlets and stuffed beef rolls can be found alongside traditional sandwiches (with no crust). The bakery side includes fabulous croissants and facturas (traditional pastries), as well as alfajores (cookies stuffed with caramel) and, of course, a great cappuccino.

2 articles

Aristotle Grill

2109 Highway 6, Sugar Land Outside Houston

281-277-7787

Greek, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Recommended

Aristotle Grill offers a limited menu of Middle Eastern favorites in a relaxed atmosphere where everything is homemade, including the delicious baklava. Traditional appetizers include the usual hummus, baba ghanoush and dolmas, or stuffed grape leaves. Gyros are also available. Entrées include kebabs made from beef or chicken, all served with rice and grilled vegetables.

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Locations in Houston: Recommended