Everyone has an opinion . There was my Uber driver Arlene, who suggested a local chain of Tex-Mex restaurants called, where I’ve been told to order the “best chicken fajitas” as long as I “ask them to really, really caramelize the onions.” A colleague shared her Google map with 129 restaurant recommendations. I crowdsourced via social media, and one person responded, with a laughing emoji, “Everywhere.
I moved here in July after 14 years in New York City, where I lived and paid my rent writing about food. As, I have a lot of eating ahead of me — especially to keep up with my colleagues Alison Cook and Greg Morago, who tirelessly cover Houston’s dining scene year after year. But I’m up for the challenge. I don’t think there’s a better way to learn your way around a city then eat your way through it, especially in one of America's best restaurant cities. So for the past month I’ve done just that, sometimes eating two dinners in one night.
Below are the 31 dishes that have given me a preview of what’s to come: time-tested classics and trendy new spots, an array of cuisines, restaurants inside the Loop and out in the suburbs, and new favorites I already know I’ll be returning to again. This is not a list of Houston’s best dishes — though I keep dreaming of the boudin egg roll my editor pointed me to at Robin’s in Spring — because while I’m quickly catching up, I’m still new around here.
I’d love to hear from Chronicle readers, so drop me a recommendation on where to eat next. Send an email to bao.ong@chron.com or get in touch