Houtonian Delicacies - Plethora of International Choices

As the Finnish and German saying goes...love goes through the stomach. I think it applies also to different cultures. Food plays important part in whether one starts to like country / area / town.

Houston is the melting pot of different cultures for centuries already, and respectively the variety of foods available is colorful. Also, eating out is very much part of the Houstonian culture. On top of variety of restaurant chains, there are plenty of nice smaller scale restaurants. The issue is not finding one...the issue is deciding which one to choose! :)

The best part here is that one can eat out and not go broke on it. Through the fact that I love cooking, eating out has been staying as special treat in our household.

I have listed below few of my personal favorites, which have been part of my cultural journey into the heart of Houston.
I have ordered Houstonia magazine for few reasons: it has the upcoming events, but also lists restaurants & places to go around Houston. I can only warmly recommend browsing even its web page, when you are looking for new ideas.
Happy exploring and Hyvää ruokahalua! / Bonne appetit!

Kolach / Kolache - originates from Check & Slovak immigrants. Houston style is slightly sweet bun with e.g. egg & bacon or other savory filling. Of course spiced up versions exist, when in Texas.
I got introduced to this at work. Friday morning meeting was energized with Kolaches from Kolachi Factory. I am not a sweet bun eater as such but the combination was delicious.
Colache Factory - One of the many places offering delicious Kolaches.

Mexican / Tex-Mex - Endless list of excellent real Mexican places (not just Tex-Mex) exists in Houston. One of the best one's is The Original Ninfa's (with their own Wikipedia page:LINK).
La Fisheria is known for their excellent Mexican seafood. Even my Mexican friends living in Alabama recommended this restaurant.

BBQ - Well it ain't Texas unless there is proper BBQ. Meat eaters love Houston and for a reason...this place hosts so many great BBQ places. One of the favorites is The Brisket House. My husband and myself took one of the Finnish friends there for his farewell dinner. We were all very happy of the outcome. The Brisket House is not a fancy place...it is down to earth BBQ joint, creating a cosy feeling with the slight smoky notes in the air.


Margarita / Tequila - Another create remains of the Mexican influence to the Texan history. Margarita's are available in any / every restaurant and mostly they are prepared well. Also, one can get here proper tequila without paying a fortune for it. One of the best places was TQLA, which I really liked...unfortunately now closed. But here is a list of some top places to go: LINK.

In Finland, Germany and Singapore...I tried tequila few times and thought that tequila & me do not match. I felt always so sick next day...even just after 1-2 tequilas. Till I was taught last summer by my project team / friends in San Luis Potosi how tequila is drank properly. If you get the proper tequila, you feel just great next day :) So, it is not allergy towards tequila...it is just crappy tequila, which causes the hang over. Claro que si!

Cajun & creole kitchen - the main meals I have enjoyed are the cajun style seafood - crawfish, fish and shrimps. Mainly in Galveston, which is THE place for excellent seafood (more about Galveston later). These dishes have made their way from Louisiana and as they are spicy, Texans have adopted the dishes with open arms. In Houston one of the best places for great crawfish and true Cajun style is Ragin Cajun. Relaxed atmosphere and bucket full of crawfish.

Vietnamese - Houston houses the 3rd biggest Vietnamese community outside Vietnam (as per the
statistics available now over 100 k people). Which leads to the positive outcome of having Vietnamese restaurants & "sandwich shops" everywhere. Some of them are ok, some of them are excellent. Vietnamese Pho restaurants have been well established around Houston. One of the mainstream offering of the restaurants is Pho. Pho is Vietnamese noodle soup, delicious broth, rich in vegetables and herbs with different meat choose.
I used to eat Chicken Pho in Singapore when ever I felt that I was coming down with something. I have taken back that habit here :) It is delicious and super healthy. Based on my experience, the Asian logic applies here too. You get the best Pho in places, which are not equipped with fancy exterior and glitter. Great examples are: Pho Basil and Nom Nom Noodles.

Japanese - Japanese places can be found anywhere and everywhere around Houston. As I am absolute fan of Japanese food and like making sushi at home as well...I love going to Japanese restaurants. Some of the ones I keep going back are: Sushi Nikko and Azuma. But like said, there are lot of places which I still need to explore. Now that I have found a Japanese store, Nippan Daido, close to our new place...I am looking forward to getting the ingredients and making sushi at home again.

Greek - I cannot say anything about Greek restaurants...except this one awesome Niko Niko's Greek kiosk in downtown Houston. It is right on the market square and one can sit outside enjoying the meal, observing people and happenings at the square. The food is excellent! Niko Niko's has also 2 restaurants (Montrose and Pearland) but the kiosk is just so cool. Reminds me of Europe and Asia with small food kiosks, simple and but delicious food.

German - There is one must place to go, when you want good German food...and that restaurant is now exactly behind our building :) Rudi Lechner's is the "Stamm Platz" / Regular place to go for Germans or those of us, who have lived in Germany and appreciate the German kitchen. Rudi's has been there since 1976 and they sure know to do their Schnitzel and German potato salad, as well as other German dishes. On top of that they have live entertainment several evenings a week, German schlager songs. Every month the Austrian & German community's Stammtisch gathers here. It is still on my to-do list to get connected to the German speaking community here.

Brunch - Weekend brunch is definitely the thing here. I really enjoyed getting introduced to brunch during my years in Germany & Singapore....then I lost the habit of that in between. After I moved here I introduced a habit in our household...every Sunday we go somewhere different for breakfast & coffee. My husband is a latte connoisseur and very picky about getting a proper coffee / latte. Sundays we got the time to find out new places to find latte for him and place to explore new breakfast menu. The list of good places to go around Houston is...again endless :)
Link to some places HOT right now: LINK.
Just some of the many places I have liked: Backstreet cafe, Grafiti, Siphon Cafe, Andes Cafe, Honeymoon, Tout Suite and Baby Barnaby's Cafe.

Food trucks - They are slowly making their more visible entry to the Houston streets. Austin is definitely the place to go if you want excellent food truck experiences. My bro can tell you by heart any of the new and delicious Austin food truck places :)
But Houston is promoting the food trucks and people are starting to find them easier.
List of some of the most popular ones: LINK1, LINK2.