 November 5th, 2010
01:30 AM ET
Chef Bryan Caswell has gotten a Best New Chef nod from Food & Wine magazine, been a James Beard Award nominee, and is currently vying for the position of Next Iron Chef. He also co-hosts radio show Southbound Food, is the chef/owner of Stella Sola, REEF and two outposts of Little Bigs, and will be opening a fifth restaurant - El Real Tex-Mex Cafe - with Texas food-writing legend Robb Walsh in 2011. He gets reeeaaaalllly cranky when his beloved Houston is overlooked by the food media. We dig the folks at Eater.com, the site Caswell is citing, but let's give the man a chance to stand his ground for H-Town. Take it away, Caz. Yesterday, I began my ritual surfing through the better-known food blogs and happened upon Eater.com where they are promoting their 2010 Eater Awards for the best restaurants and chefs in the seven cities that Eater.com covers: New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Miami and Austin. Once again, my hometown of Houston has been omitted – and not just from the award competition but from an entire site dedicated to good eats across the country. And it’s not just Eater.com that ritually snubs the fourth largest city in the U.S . - it’s endemic of all the major national publications, both in print and on the web. Well, I’m sick of it. - In the past 10 years what U.S. city has grown 24% (five times the growth rate of San Francisco, Boston and NYC)? The answer to all of these is Houston. That’s right, you heard me: H-Town, baby. Those who write about food, music, culture and art are supposed to be in the know. Obviously, they’re not paying attention. Well, I’m here to put you in the know: Houston’s restaurant scene is thriving as fast as the city is growing. What is it going to take for Houston to get the recognition it deserves from the nation’s top culinary publications? If you base your decisions on cultural diversity, I dare you to say we are not at least within the top five cities in the country in that category. Our proximity to the Gulf definitely gives us an edge on the Farm to Market phenomenon; that glorious body of water is the greatest patch of farmland I have ever set eyes on. If it is diversity of cuisine, I will walk you through a typical day any “foodie” could easily experience in this town. Pop some Texas Star Ruby red grapefruit sections for a snack on the way to grab a few jalapeno, sausage and cheese kolaches. Wolf down a chicarron, al pastor and nopales taco to tide you over as you hit an oyster house to knock back a dozen with some cheap, frigid beer. Plunge ahead for a quick bowl of Pho and an abundant, shattering crust Banh mi as you decide on what cut from the brisket (I prefer deckle) you want for a light lunch. An afternoon snack might include a pizza made with Tipo 00 flour and smothered with Burrata - no more then two days old - flown direct from Puglia. Dinner could range from myriad New American offerings to an Indian restaurant touted as the most creative in the United States. Hungry yet? Houston has it all. Our extensive and diverse food culture goes beyond restaurants and into the supermarkets. Yes, we’ve got local farmers’ markets but we also have one of the largest Asian supermarkets you can find anywhere. And when I say large, what I really mean is giant. And when I say giant, what I really mean is bigger than any I have seen in San Francisco’s Chinatown or Inner and Outer Sunsets combined, with an entire aisle devoted to different brands of fish sauce. The produce section would give a copy of 'Demystifying the Asian Grocery Store' a serious run for its money. Of course, there is more that I could tell you about why Houston is a great town to eat, and live, in - but very few people outside of here know this. Talking to people who don’t live here about our food culture is like a true outdoorsman trying to explain a visit to Alaska to a puffy coat-wearing tourist who thinks “roughing it” is a weekend at a cabin in the Poconos. Now that you’re “in the know,” Eater.com (and everyone else), I think it’s high time you gave Houston a permanent place in your round-up of cities worth watching, writing about and voting for. Does your town deserve a culinary shout-out? State your case in the comments below. Previously – Bryan Caswell on 5 Reasons You Always Hire a Cook with Waffle House on His or Her Résumé |
  Recent Posts
Why Atlanta's @sugarradical rocks: http://t.co/hStITSCq & why folks are banding together to help them now: http://t.co/aTxRyESk 6:54 pm UTC, February 23 2012
RT @nhallfreelance: i consider teaching kids how to dine out a civic duty. http://t.co/r6ieIEa3 3:39 pm UTC, February 23 2012
On National Banana Bread Day, essentially eating dessert for breakfast is a perfectly valid lifestyle choice: http://t.co/8b9ZcOvx 2:59 pm UTC, February 23 2012
When crying kids disrupt dinner, who pays the price? A peek at restaurant polities: http://t.co/N290ZDuB 2:36 pm UTC, February 23 2012
@FoodAllergyBuzz You have such a fantastic resource! So pleased to have come across it. 4:14 am UTC, February 23 2012
 |
 |
|
© 2010 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
| Advertise with us | About us | Contact us | Help | Advertising Practices
I've eaten at his new "El Real" restaurant twice now. I can honestly say it's some of the worst tex mex I've had. I've had better food from a lot of places. I'm usually not brutal on restaurants but this place is just truly terrible. Add to this that they practically force you valet park and I won't be back. The service is fair but the food is mediocre at best and it's not exactly cheap. It's in the $15-20 range if you don't get booze. For that price, I'll go to Habaneros on Milam. Way better food and service for about the same price.
Gotta love the Texas and Houston bashers. I love my state and my city. I don't have to make myself feel better by bashing others. We have plenty of culture here, great dining and it is a vibrant, growing powerhouse of a city. Other cities in Texas have their charms, but the ethnic diversity is one of the greatest things in Houston for me. Oh, and if you can't stand the heat.... well, we're pretty tough down here, we can take the heat, doesn't bother me a bit.
While Houston has some premier restaurants with lots of local flair and flavor, the city itself doesn't warrant the attention like Bryan calls for. Obviously the residents of Houston are tolerant of the weather, but most others aren't. After trips to Houston, visitors usually immediately recall the hot, humid and muggy air. Having dined at Little Bigs, (one of Caswell's restaurants) that isn't the joint to put H-town on the map, nor does it give BC anry more credibility.
Turning Houston into a city that is more attractive, removing some of the elitest attitudes and toning down the "I'm from the south and have more manners and class than those of you north of the Mason Dixon line" would go a long way with people.
We all just returned from Houston. Our son and daughter-in-law took us all to Bryan Caswell's The Reef for dinner. My husband was raised in a cattle ranching family and his experience with fish was dunking a line in a reservoir on a cattle ranch in the middle of Nevada. But his mom, a dietitian, was a superb cook as are his 3 sisters (and our daughter – also part of the dinner party.) My husband said that he had never eaten anywhere where EVERY dish was such a wonderful eating experience. (We all ordered different things and shared entrees and 2 different appetizers.) Wow! And Bryan Caswell, caught visiting with his daddy, was gracious enough to pen a note to our family's next generation hopeful chef, our 9 year old granddaughter. Thanks again, Bryan! She was thrilled! Snapped her picture the next day at Little Bigs by the zoo. BIG smile!
Hallelujah and pass the picante sauce! I am a native Houstonian but have lived and traveled around the country and world.I can honestly say that Houston can stand toe to toe with ANY of the great food cities on the planet, for diversity, economy, tastiness and availability. I'm glad to see someone standing up for my home town's wonderful cuisine, which marries Cajun, Tex-Mex, Texas Country, Asian, Latin and European cooking into a melange of sublime fused gustatory delight.
I'm drooling right now. Most excellent post.
Biggest bummer for me about Houston's resto scene is that everything Scott Tycer's done lately is, in my opinion, crap. I don't know it's me or it's him, but Pic/Gravitas/Textile don't do it for me. Not even a fan of Kraftsmen.
God, I miss Aries.
Yes I would like to know the name of this indian restaurant too!
What is this "most creative indian restaurant in the united states"??
I MUST KNOW!
Off the top of my head, I'd guess Indika on Westheimer.
If it's too crowded, go to Dolce Vita next door and order a bunch of small plates and share them, tapas-style. And maybe a pizza. Fantastic.
(Truth be told, Indika's not my favorite Indian in Houston. I prefer the greasy vegetarian south Indian places in the newly-named "Gandhi district".)
As someone who has lived in several states and in several countries, I can tell you that Houston has a tremendous selection of foods and restaurants. There are so many great chefs and high-end restaurants in Downtown, River Oaks, and the Galleria area! The diversity of Houston means that there is a great amount of ethnic foods! Just look at the huge Hispanic, Asian, and Black population! Chinatown could be an entire city by itself! Whenever I visit for the holidays, I never go to the same restaurant twice....there are so many options that it would be a shame to simply eat the same foods every day. As to what there is to do, there are always events occurring all over the city. Music festivals, concerts, theatre, etc. Many Americans have no "joie de vivre" and want to be entertained at all times. Just relax and take in your surroundings! If you're at a loss for what to do, take a drive up and down Westimer or Bissonnet, you could explore both of those for days!
As the song says..."I'll never go to Texas anymore...."
I grew up in Houston and now live in Austin. Houston has great diverse cuisine that I have enjoyed throughout the years, but I have to admit that I have had better dining experiences in Austin. Austin also has more restaurants, bars and movie theatres per capita than any other city in the US. It seems in Houston there are too many chain restaurants.
honestly, Houston's heyday has long gone.
The oils pretty much dried up, so it's outlived it's use as a state. Time to give it back to Mexico.
First off, I'm a native Texan (Beaumont/Pt.Arthur) who lives in Boston. I go down twice a year to see family. Texas has THE best food, friendliest people, and best lookin' women as far as I'm concerned. I think per square mile it has the most restaurants than any other city in the country. But....I think Houston suffers an image problem (both fair and unfair). Not to mention most major media outlets are based out of NYC, LA, or Chicago. I think for outsiders who come from a place like NYC, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, etc., they are not use to having to drive everywhere. Also, everything is so spread out that there's not a real centralized downtown walking area of the city. I guess you could say Buffalo Buyou is...but it's nothing compared to areas like NYC for example. Downton H-town is dead after working hours, but they are making improvements. I think H-town city planners need to try and focus on making a River Walk area (like San Antonio) for example and stop making more strip malls. Outsiders from these media outlets aren't going to know to drive to specific areas in the suburbs in Houston. In some of the other cities the top restuarants are somewhat in the same area for example.
I have lived here all of my life, every now and then I think about living elsewhere, but I'm spoiled here. Yes it is hot and humid, but you get used to it, somehow, that's why there is AC. The food here is great, comparable to others, it is unique, much more diverse restaurants. I have been to San Antonio many times, food is good, but I still think Tex Mex is at it's best in H-Town. Vietnamese here is excellent! I personally like the hole in the wall places, best taco joints and BBQ can be found there. Irregardless, it is better to live here than in DFW, too hard to find anything there, San Antonio has too much Mexican, Austin is nice scenery, but food is not all that. Visit here, during the fall or Spring and you can find something to do, if you are open minded of course.
Let's not forget THE BEST ART CAR PARADE EVER, where else can you get that?
Pretty confused by this article. I lived in Austin for a couple of years. Now I never went to the high end restaurants but the low to middling price places were fine but nothing great (omitting the BBQ at the salt lick, etc which was good but you can find good BBQ other places too (Lockhart, etc). Well, I did try Uchi and that was pretty good. but anyway, not sure why Austin is on a list with LA, NY, etc.
Also, I have always heard that Houston is amazing for food (never been though). I could have moved there but was turned off by the intense heat and humidity plus the endless suburbs. Blah. I talk of the great food almost changed my mind, and perhaps I should have just bittin the proverbial bullet. So anyway, I don't get the article since everything I have heard has raved about Houston's food.
"Also, I have always heard that Houston is amazing for food (never been though). I could have moved there but was turned off by the intense heat and humidity plus the endless suburbs."
Austin is actually hotter (though less humid) so the weather is mostly a wash.
Houston is no more more suburban than Austin... in fact, Houston is probably more urban. Just as in Austin's case, if you don't like "endless suburbs" you need to live centrally. Austin is surrounded by cookie-cutter suburbs more and more now too. Houston's Montrose is probably one of the best, if not the best neighborhood in Texas.
I've been all over the country and different parts of the world but nothing, NOTHING compares to Texas. Food, people, entertainment, culture, geography.....nothing.
The only "great" thing at the Salt Lick is the sauce. Their bbq is average at best. Uchi is awesome, though. Haven't been there since I moved from south Austin to Hutto.
Good heavens, it seems like every other building in Houston has something to do with food. I was there only a week and couldn't help but notice. Fast food franchises to fancy eating, Houston takes its eats seriously. Sooner or later the FoodFad people will assign Houston a signature dish and pretend to be old buddies with all the prominent cooks and chefs.
Just moved to Houston from DC - food is not quite comparable, but very good. Caswell's REEF is top notch.
Austin is a terrible horrible place to live; too expensive, terrible traffic with clueless drivers, horrible infrastructure, taxes through the roof, bad food and hundreds of homeless living on handouts. Bad food, dog poop fills the parks and all the bats have rabies. Don't ever come here, er, go there. Definitely go to Houston or Dallas!
The city might be experiencing a lot of growth, but it's really still second tier compared to san francisco, new york, la, etc.
Van f-ing couver! Vancouver, BC, is seriously one of the most amazing places to be a foodie, you can feel secure walking into random restaurants and coming out delighted. From the world famous Tojo's (with by far the best Japanese food I have ever had in my life) to the street corner Japadogs (It almost makes me not miss Pink's in LA. Almost. Sorta.) Vancouver is a dream. The most incredible fresh seafood is never difficult to find, and it's got a remarkably large diverse asian population giving rise to tons of asian food besides simply chinese and japanese.
The only food I feel is sorely missing is something with a Mexican or Latin American flare. Some exists, though it's tragically rare compared to the plethora of other astounding food.
How are the Grizzlies doing?
Houston is a big, ugly, boring hellhole. Lots and lots of illegal aliens, ahole Republicans, Christian fundamentalist wackos and now New Orleans criminal thug refugees blowing up the crime rate. If you like terrible sh*tty hot humid weather you will love it. And I am a lifetime Houstonian! I need to get out of this place if its the last thing I ever do!!
One of the many great things about my home state is its diversity. Every city, every region has a distinctive culture and food. All the big cities have great food and wonderful attractions. So do the small towns. Try the German cuisine around New Braunfels, the Czech food in Central Texas, the seafood along the coast, the Tex-Mex in South Texas .... I could go on. Sure, the cities have shortcomings, but so does every city. So if you think Texas sucks, fine, stay away. We're happy without you.
I am a native Texan, Native Houstonian and the thing that amazes me is how many people who live in Texas brag about how great it is, how it is the best place in the world yet they have never been anywhere else and have nothing to compare it to!! To be honest I don't get all the hype about Texas. There are so many more beautiful better cities with better people all over the USA. I think what annoys people about Texas is the bragging about a place that does not really deserve to be bragged about in comparison to better places.
I totally disagree ... I am a Native Texan and have lived in other areas of the US and other countries, but Texas is the best. Why do so many people, including my husband, who are from other States like to settle in Texas? Because as it's name says, it's friendly. To the other Texans on here, quit arguing over which city is best ... they all have their good points and their not-so-good ones. Also, the other cities and towns also have a lot to offer including the 2nd largest canyon in the US just outside of Amarillo.
I've lived in Houston my whole live -Yes other place are more scenic and beautiful and the weather is not that great but I love how affordable the city is. I bought my 2000+ sft house for under 100,000. Like any city it has it's good and bad but it is home. When we need each other houstonians are there Remember Ike- Go Brian we are proud you represent us in such a positive way.
I miss Houston. I just moved to the DC area 4 months ago. I have to say the restaurants over here are just lame compared to the spots in Houston.
Having lived in Houston, Dallas and currently, San Antonio, I can say that Houston is hands down the winner. I look for good, diverse food everywhere I go, but I just can't seem to find the same quality of "mom and pop" ie independent restaurants anywhere near the level I can in Houston. From the Bars, BBQ, Pho, etc., Houston is a foodies DREAM. If you live there, you know, it's not hard to find excellent, authentic food from a variety of cultures, made with love, pride and heart. Houston is top notch for food. I'm SO thankful for user driven sites like yelp, which have helped me discover the many gems Houston has hidden. I keep looking for the gems here in San Antonio, but just can't seem to find them no matter how far I drive. I was so spoiled by Houston.
Houston is the best city in Texas......period.
Vietnamese food in dallas is awesome!
every time I have visted Houston the only restaurant that anyone seems to know is Pappadeaux's. San Antonio, Austin and Fort Worth have better selections.
You need to find people who actually eat stuff other than Pappadeaux's/chain restaurants to ask. I've lived in Austin, Houston's food scene is definitely better.
you are probably right. But the people I am asking at Hotel staff and locals at the airport and conventions. I keep getting told not to go to far as it is dangeous is you get in the wrong part of town and the taxi service is lousy. I usually end up in the hotel restaurants.
I grew up in South Texas and I have always found good resturants (most just holes in the walls) everywhere in this great State. There is great Tex-Mex in San Antonio, El Paso and the Rio Grande Valley, good sea food from SPI all the way to Houston and Galveston, good Asian just about in any city in Texas. As far as BBQ, I do my own right in my own backyard every weekend. Where else can you do that but in TEXAS.
Eerr, actually I've roasted a mean Puerto-Rican style suckling pig over Christmas in the back yard of my house in Georgia, a Mexican-style cabrito in Puerto Rico and an Argentinean boucan-style asado with a whole calf on Long Island, NY. You don't have to live in Texas to do good BBQ, which was introduced to Spaniards and Buccaneers by the Native Americans of the Caribbean, Central and South America 500-400 years ago, by the way, and adopted by the Southern Colonists, Texans and Mexicans.
Jorge,
Hermano, thanks for the history lesson on BBQ. My point was that there was great food throughout Texas, not just great BBQ in my backyard. I know people in other states BBQ, but people in Texas just do it better and all year round.
I'm with Cory ... except I have lived here for 54 years and continue to find new food gems. In addition to Bryan, our city has some of the best culinary talent in the country; Charles Clark, Monica Pope, Chris Shepherd, Philippe Schmit, Jason Gould, Michael Kramer, David Grossman and Randy Evans. Remarkable talent like Matt Marcus and Seth Siegel Gardner who grew up here, left to learn and experience and have returned to cook great meals for all of us. Their "elders' have welcomed them back with open arms.
It would be easy - real easy - to spend four days eating only Asian or Hispanic food in Houston. Heck, I have spent two days eating barbecue (BBQ) with food writers and restaurateurs from NYC.
Our new Mayor and her team are encouraging farmers' markets and food trucks.
And ... we have two or three full growing seasons; always great farm to table foods.
Who could ask for more?
Hey – You didn't mention my cousin – Chef Bruce Molzan. His restaurant, Ruggles Grill, is outstanding.
He trained at The American Culinary Institute in New York, and sits on their board.
And ... his new iteration, Ruggles Green - both locations - are awesome, too.
Whoa that's a vintage Astro's cap. Like around 1973, the "orange years"...
Houston doesn t just have plenty of decent culinary places to go.It has a great airport, whch can take you too the great small island of South Padre in forty minutes and this small island also has great food "Gabbriellas" and many good small food establishments.There is more to "Houston" than meets the eye.
Odd to connect Houston to South Padre. Galveston would be a closer conneciton, and an equally attractive tourist destination.
Houston is not the kind of place one should vacation in, unless visiting friends/family. It is just not geared to being a tourist attraction. Thank GOD. That being said, this is hands down the best city in the state to live in. You want a job and a nice house, come to houston. you want a fun vacation, go to disney world.
I live in Houston. It is annoying when we are continually snubbed by all forms of media since we are the 4th most populous city in the NATION. To the commenter who saw the whole city in 2 days......haha it takes me about that long to drive from one end of westheimer to the other. ehk dallas is only nice if you like the small town environment with a bunch of hicks. Back to topic, houston has tons of great food, come here you will never leave hungry.
Hmmm. Considering the Dallas-Ft. Worth metropolitan area is larger than Houston is. I don't really think it fits under the "small town" category.
you must have stayed in Houston far too long. Latest census indicate Dallas surpass Houston to 4th most populous city in the NATION. Dallas is no small town, the DFW metroplex is bursting with over 6.5 million people. What I noticed about Dallas is one have to hunt down great food . There isn't a centralize "ethnic" town aka Chinatown or German town or Indian town but you get pretty much great food spread around the city .
Dallas the CITY did not pass up Houston to be 4th largest city. You are confusing Dallas alone, with Dallas PLUS Fort Worth PLUS suburb towns, which would be the metro. DFW metro is larger than the Houston metro, but Houston the city is larger than Dallas the city.
Here's a clue–nobody gives a crap about texas. Pretty easy, eh?
We drink y'all's milkshake. We drink it up.
I understand where the Chef's coming from, but I can't buy into the argument.
There's nothing all that unique about Houston. It doesn't have a huge history or special regional cuisine. Gulf seafood? I'll take New Orleans. Tex-Mex? Sorry, but San Antonio does it better. Diversity? I'd go to Vegas before even thinking about Houston.
I'm sure the food is good, but there are just more interesting places in the U.S. to check out.
1. I call bullshit on you having the experience to judge Houston's Tex-Mex vs. San Antonio's
2. What is the "special regional cuisine" of NYC? LA?
3. It's the diversity of Houston's food that makes it great. Reread Caswell's "foodie day". Tell me that Houston isn't place a fantastic place to live for those who love their food.
Sorry.....
I've lived in Texas all of my life, and I've visited all of its major cities. I have to say that Houston is my least favorite. It's a humid, hairy armpit of a city. I have family there that I love–otherwise, I wouldn't bother visiting at all. The bright spot on my road trips to Houston is knowing that I will stop at the Mt. Zion Baptist Church for their BBQ.
You say Houston is the armpit of Texas, then put on some deodorant!
Austin and San Antonio are hot and humid too. Only average about 10% less humid than Houston (from weather stats.) As far as a "hairy" city what's that supposed to mean? I call BS. Same old, tired comments from people who stayed on the freeways the whole time and didn't bother to explore the city much.
How does Houston compare to Phoenix, anybody out there know?
Phoenix is hot, miserable and caters to senior citizens. Everything that I've eaten there has been bland.
Denver...really? I lived there for seven years and tried everything from 17th Avenue Grill to the Bump n Grind...completely unimpressive culinary line-up.
Glad you left!
Hey! What about Denver? From Lobster mac and cheese at Mizuna to to elk medallions from the Little Nell (technically in Aspen) to PLENTY of smoked venison, buffalo, deer, pheasant.......Denver and Colorado can give any major city a run for its culinary money.
I love Houston. We have so many restaurants, museums, local art/music, nightlife, historic districts - the list goes on. Admittedly, if you are not from here (heck, even if you are!) it is hard to 'know where to go'. As with most cities, the best places are always found by word of mouth. My suggestion to any visitors or bored Houstonians is to jump in feet first! Take a drive and don't be afraid to get lost! :)
I've been watching The Next Iron Chef since Jose Garces won as my daughter was working at his Chicago restaurant at the time. That being said and meaning absolutely nothing, I am however now hooked on the show and I am cheering for the power forward Chef Caswell this season! I look forward to Sunday evenings – keep rocking out the food Chef Caswell.
Mens Health has Austin at 97 and Forbes has em at 18. Real scientific...
There were several national lists in the recent past (Forbes, Wine Spectator, Esquire) that listed Houston as one of the top 8 or so restaurant cities in the US. No Austin or Portland. Not even Dallas. So apparently not EVERYONE is ignoring Houston... just an observation.
The fattest city nod was crap. All you have to is read how they came up with the data. It has nothing to do with BMI. Actually one of the reasons for the title was how often we eat out. Sooooo we love restaurants.... Get it? We're a food town. A great one!
Austin: All the cool people I know from Austin moved there from somewhere else. Actually Austin Is a great town but everyone from Mathew McConaughey(born in Uvalde) to Wes Anderson (born in Houston) already knows this. The point of the article isnt that Austin or Dallas sux but that H-town doesn't!
I have one thing to say about Houston. Its Funky! The art, food and bar scene here are funky. Not pretty, not historic, not clean and certainly not touristy. Take for example, The Art Car Parade and the Orange Show. HTown had the FIRST art car parade. Now they are all over the world. The random urban art of Knitta Please started here. There are so many good dive bars in Houston People have written books about it. And the food? Well the food is amazing. but there are not any food tours or buses or maps to show you the way.
Houston is the most underrated international city in the world. The ethnic diversity here is staggering and so is the food.
Houston Immigration:
3rd largest Hispanic population in the United States
Huge African population
largest Nigerian population in the United States
3rd largest Vietnamese population in the United States
From Wiki:
Since the 1970s, when Houston began absorbing refugees after the Fall of Saigon, Houston became a magnet for refugee resettlement. About 1,600 refugees arrive at George Bush Intercontinental Airport per year. Refugees from Afghanistan, Bhutan, El Salvador, Cuba, Iraq, Myanmar, and Somalia have settled in Houston; Burundians from Rwanda have also settled in Houston. Over the three years leading to 2009, Houston took about 2,200 Burmese.[12] Since the mid-1990s changes in immigration from Cuba to the United States occurred due to the wet feet, dry feet policy and other policy changes; many Cubans immigrated through Mexico and people who did not have relatives in Miami settled in Houston; this caused an expansion of Houston's Cuban American community.[13] After Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, many ethnic Hondurans moved to Houston.[14] By 2007 many Vietnamese Americans in Southern California were moving to Texas to take advantage of lower costs of living.[15]
In 2010 many residents of Monterrey, Mexico moved to Houston to escape drug cartel violence.[16]
Thanks Caz ... Htown loves you back!
According to this list, Austin surpassed Houston on obese cities.
http://www.forbes.com/2007/11/14/health-obesity-cities-forbeslife-cx_rr_1114obese_slide_20.html?thisSpeed=undefined
hahaha figures!
Entertaining comments ALL !! BUT, why the need for one CITY to be better than the other in order to make a comment. Why focus on a weakness of a city to defend your fav town??? HOUSTON is a great FOODIE city, but by the way iti s hot outside most of the time, You are SAVED! All of the good restaurants have air conditioning ....well most of them anyway.....GREAT JOB Bryan !!!
"Yesterday, I began my ritual surfing through the better-known food blogs and happened upon Eater.com where they are promoting their 2010 Eater Awards for the best restaurants and chefs in the seven cities that Eater.com covers: New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Miami and Austin."
Austin? This had me laughing out loud. Apparently Eater.com must go by the puff pieces and "cool cities" of the month rather than ones that actually have great foodie scenes. As a former resident of Austin for many years, their restaurant scene SUCKED compared to Houston. Sorry. As a huge college town, is it really surprising?
If Eater.com was actually a serious foodie city site, they'd knock off Austin to replace it with Houston, Portland to replace it with Seattle, and then add New Orleans, Atlanta, Las Vegas, and throw in Dallas if there's room.
I grew up in Houston, lived in Austin for five years, and now live in Dallas. People think I'm crazy when I say I prefer Houston over the three cities. Houston is more diverse, affordable, laid-back, and welcoming than the other two cities. This goes for more than just the restaurants. Austin gets credit for creating styles "outside of the box" but that is what the city is known for. "Keep Austin Weird". Therefore, locals and visitors are more prone to try those establishments. My dining experience in Dallas has been very enjoyable, especially the finer dining. I live in Uptown so many fine dining restaurants are a cheap cab ride away. As far as regular, normal or whatever you want to call it, dining there is not as much diversity in Dallas as there is in Houston.
For those who aren't aware, there is as much outdoors type things to do in Houston as there is in Austin. Its just a matter of finding out what and where it is. I actually spent more time outdoors in Houston than Austin. Houston's arts, musuem, theater, and all that stuff is also larger than the other two cities. One good thing about Houston is that its not far away from Galveston. When I needed a break, I'd drive my truck to Galveston, get on the ferry to Crystal beach, park on the beach and hang out there with my dog. If it was decent weather, I'd stay the night on the bed of my truck.
Every time someone tells me not to mess with Texas, it makes me want to mess with Texas. Bunch of belligerent cowboys.
Really, Bubba? I think that stereotype is pretty old and very dull. You need some new material.
Where are you from you Arklahoma hillbilly?
Well, who tells you not to "mess with Texas, Bubba?" Did you know what that slogan "Don't Mess with Texas" even actually meant before you posted?
See, you are all ready to fight me, each other, other states, other states' restaurants, whatever. Did you think about not conforming to stereotypes before you posted? If you weren't all insulting each other already I wouldn't be digging you in the ribs like this and laughing at you. Hint: my name is Bubba so likely I'm not from a big northern city.
Bubba, you're silly! But I bet you've already been told that.
See, at least Texxass can tell I'm funning you.
Well, Bubba, before we commence to scrappin', why don't you come down and enjoy some eats and a cold Shiner Bock? Let us squire you around our charming burg and show you the sights. You'd love the Orange Show and – dare I say it – the awesomeness of Super Happy Fun Land (I am not making that up). Perhaps even the Rodeo if you're here in March, or the Art Car Parade it's early May.
After a proper visit then you can slag our BBQ and hostilities can begin. But not before then.
Yet your name is Bubba.
Looking at that "Eater" site, it's one of those that thinks it knows what a cool city is to include. Austin tries too hard to be cool, it's just lucky the national media eat them up and buy into the ATX. Houston is a very cool city that doesn't even try. You just go down Bellaire Blvd and go to those many cool neon trim Asian cafes (similar to what you see in L.A., oops!)...see if you find those in Portland or Austin!
Portland. Austin. I've been to those places and those little cutsie-ootsie towns get so damn predictable. I'm surprised they don't have San Diego (another predictable tourist fluff town) listed at "Eater".
Houston...man, you can have a sip of some tasty mocha at the patio of Cafe Europe among a mixed and interesting international crowd, watching different people walk to Taiko, Darband Grill, Kentucky Club and others at that colorful strip center off Fountainview/Westheimer.
That is Houston's raw coolness: having many entertaining strip centers that are fun and yet outside of some cute sidewalk touristy set-up in other cities (yes, we have our share of cute sidewalks cafes and pedestrian districts here too). But it goes to show Houston is fun just about anywhere. Unlike other lesser but more popular little burgs that rely on tourist districts, H-town just has it anywhere: Richmond Avenue, downtown, Washington Ave, Rice Village, Kemah Lighthouse District, up and down Westheimer...any format and you find all types of REALLY cool places to eat and imbibe. Suck on that, "Eater!"
I'm headed to Texas next week(11/11) :) San Antonio to be exact, not Houston. Any particular places to hit up for good eats?
Great post Bryan, thanks for telling it like it is here in Houston.
Dallas' best is mostly national chains, not local. Austin is good if you like burritos or BBQ (but getting better.)
Now that I think of it, maybe it's better if TX and the country NOT come find out about how great we have it here. More for those of us that appreciate and love Houston's dining and arts scene.
justme1983 – El Jarro de Arturo for good mexican food & GREAT margaritas! Bracken Cafe or Chris Madrid's for fabulous hamburgers. Old World Deli for good German food. Capparelli's for excellent pizza.
For good eats in San Antonio:
The original Rudy's in Leon Springs for BBQ, Pho San Antonio on Wurzbach for Vietnamese, Fugiya on Wurzbach for Japanese. Thai Taste on Evers
Perico's on Bandera for good Mexican food
San Antonio is full of good eats – can't wait to get back for Christmas!
Good places in SA? There are so many... The Cove if you want local, sustainable and organic. Boudro's for excellent Riverwalk Tex-Mex – and I recommend the tableside guacamole – simply the best. Paesano's for Shrimp Paesano. Los Barrios for Tex-Mex – they've been featured on Food Network where Diana won Throw Down w/ Bobby Flay. Burgers? Sam's Burger Joint – you won't be disappointed.
Mr. Caswell is correct about Houstons diverse food offerings. I have sampled many of the ones he spoke about in his blog. Perhaps Houston is snubbed due to hospitality or level of service. I can attest to being snubbed at a local eatery in midtown by one of the owners. It's an argueable point but a valid one .
no "wow" restaurants? all i can say is "wow" to that statement. how can you not say "wow" to the cheesesteak burger at hubcap, or the crab bucatini at stella sola, or a banh mi, the cheapest *nearly* foot-long torpedo of love you'll find. what about the 'just august' project, a pop-up restaurant that featured a chef line-up with real-deal blue chip pedigrees? or the simple pleasure of a freshly glazed shipley doughnut? or duck fat popcorn at branch water tavern? or the freshest beer aound made at the st. arnold brewery paired with a slow dough pretzel? i could go on and on...
I havent visited Houston since I was a kid so I have a few questions to those that live there now. Does Houston have the same issues of the neverending road work like San Antonio? How are taquerias comparable to those say of South Texas i.e. Laredo or the valley. Compared to Austin how ecclectic are its people and festivals if any.
I grew up in Texas and other then the last 5 years I had been there for 30 years. I found that Austin a place that I could settle in and Dallas area too big. Houston had always that reputation that if you werent from there you wouldnt like it. I guess I need to pay it a visit and see.
Well, there's just more to experience in Houston than in a city like Austin (or San Antonio for that matter). You should check it out. We've got a great visitor's site to get more than enough info.
Chef Cal-
The traffic construction is not nearly as bad as it used to be. When I-10 was being expanded (for, like, 8 years), it was pretty miserable. 290 has gotten steadily worse.
We have festivals all the time during the nice weather months (especially April, May, September, and October). There are food and wine events CONSTANTLY now, to the point where it's frustrating. I want to see/do it all, but we all have limits. :)
As a native Houstonian - who now practically qualifies as a native Austinite, since I've lived here for almost 18 years - I can tell you that the roadworks in Houston never WILL end. My father always said, "Houston would be a great city - if they'd ever finish it!"
(But the same goes for Austin, and Austin drivers are getting just as bad as the Houston ones. "Rush hour" here starts at 3:15 pm and lasts until at least 7 - and NOBODY in Texas knows what that little stick on the side of the steering column is for, either.)
I love Austin... don't get me wrong. But traffic there is for the birds. It doesn't matter what time of the day, it is rush hour. There is no logical cross-town freeway system. What there is is crowded because it is so far overdue to be expanded that TXDOT has given up on the endeavor. I love the restaurants and other attractions in Austin – but I avoid going there because I don't want to sit in traffic for literally hours in order to reach my destination.
At least the traffic here in SA keeps moving... :)
WONDERFUL post! Thank you for sticking up for our great city.
Houston is huge, literally. Fattest City.
If you want to see the best of Texas, visit us in Austin. Nothing like it in TX.
There are ALL the other cities in TX, then there is Austin.
Houston is a debbie downer!
Austin is a great place. Not the best food town of Texas by any means, although there are some great restaurants. Definitely not a magnet for jobs though.
Where are you getting your "fattest city" info? People.com?
Yes, Houston has a ton of restaurants vs residents (which equates to make us one of the "fattest cities" for media/gimmick reasons), many "restaurants" being gas stations and fast food, but when you live in a city this large in square miles with this many people who drive everywhere, it's gonna have a lot of unhealthy food sources, unfortunately, and gimmicky results claiming us as a fat city. Obesity is an issue nationwide. Have you been to Philly, Chicago, or anywhere in the midwest? You be the judge.
LOL – said like a typical Austin douche. Lemme guess, you're actually from Houston and have now moved to Austin and developed the hipster superiority complex that follows living there after college? Nice.
Austitude at its finest.
I've lived in both Houston and Austin. HOUSTON BLOWS AUSTIN OUT OF THE WATER ON RESTAURANTS. Seriously... let's compare NYC to Albany and Los Angeles to Sacramento while we're at it!
Austin cannot begin to compete with Houston on the overall restaurant scene, not even close. Many national publications have agreed. Same for the museums, performing arts, and most of the typical big-city stuff. That's the facts... too bad so many Austinites can't accept this, and in addition they have to constantly bash on Houston. Very sad.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Austintude
*High fives JP* Well said!
I'm sorry Kit.
Apparently you haven't checked this list of "most obese" cities. Yep, there's Austin, ranked MORE OBESE than Houston.
http://www.forbes.com/2007/11/14/health-obesity-cities-forbeslife-cx_rr_1114obese_slide_20.html?thisSpeed=undefined
ohh snap!
That list is from 2007. Austin is very fit. Corpulent Christi is now the fattest city.
Kit, ATX is nice but it's a little overly metro...
San Antonio is actually the fattest Texas city. Sorry. :(
It's not the eat, it's the humidity.
this comment wins by a long mile!
Amen, Eric!
I've lived in Houston for over 30 years, and I STILL have not tried all of our restaurants. I haven't even tried half of them, and I'm an adventurous eater. There are still so many places I want to go, and there is just not enough time. This is a huge city.
Visiting only "the best" restaurants sounds really boring. The best according to what? The price?
Some of the best food I've ever had was found in some dumpy-looking places, although we certainly have our fair share of upper-scale, innovative establishments (that I think are often still very reasonable). If you only seek good food in "respectable" looking joints, you will miss out on many of the delightful cuisines to be found here. I had some of the best pho in town two days ago at a shop in a strip mall. You know what that means? The restaurant isn't paying rent out the wazoo, so they can offer great food cheap.
As far as having great food that is accessible to everyone, I would put this town up against any other.
If you ran out of places to check out, you need a better tour guide or more of a sense of adventure. I'm not surprised though, if you just went by the few articles published about our fair city.
Someday, the rest of the world will figure it out. In the meantime, us Houstonians will simply continue to enjoy our good fortune.
Houston is a huge city.le Caswell points out the broad variety of snack shack foods – and there are some very good joints. There is also a lot of diversity of cuisines. However, there is a lack of really WOW food. Caswell's restaurants are good, but they are not WOW. Monica Pope's place is also good, but not WOW. Feast can be really really good – especially if you like offal, but it's not WOW. The closest thing to WOW in Houston is probably Mark's. But it's not consistent. Austin has some WOW places. So does LA, Chicago, NY. Houston just doesn't.
When you say Austin is more of a "WOW" restaurant city than Houston, a much higher end city than ATX will ever be, I believe there's credibility lost on your part. It seems there will always be people who dismiss Houston in most categories of note. I'd rather place greater stock in N.Y. food critic John Mariani who rates Houston somewhere in the top 10 in terms of "best restaurant cities" rather than you.
Bret – what constitutes a wow factor for you? And which of these "LA/NYC/Austin resturants" has it? I would beg to differ about Houston's lack of "Wow" – have you tried the bone marrow service at Stella Sola? How about the Wild Boar Ragu there? Or the amazing local tasting menu at T'afia? They are all pretty excellent and, for me – who has lived in both New York and London, and enjoyed some of the top restaurants in those cities, have a major wow factor.
Well said Caswell – thanks for sticking up for our wonderful city!
Completely disagree Bret. Never experienced much "wow" in the restaurants in Austin. Good barbeque and Tex-Mex, but not much else to get "wow" over.
The central part of Austin is primarily an oversized college town. The outer areas are suburban, with many typical chain restaurants. There is just no comparison to a huge, big-business, old money, multi-national city like Houston, no matter how you try to spin it. I've lived in both, so am intimately famililar with both.
hmmm ... i guess by "wow" you want a nice atmosphere and great cuisine ... no shortage of that imo ... Haven (just named by Esquire Mag as one of the top new restaurants in the country) and i'm surprised nobody has mentioned DaMarco which is absolutely stellar. Off the top of my head I also love Mockingbird Bistro. But I say "wow" over things like a burger from Hubcap or cheap/great Vietnamese, or a taco from my favorite taco truck – but maybe that's just me.
I spend a lot of time in Austin and really enjoy it but I don't think the food scene compares with Houston overall. I do love Olivia – that's my favorite restaurant in Austin.
I guess you missed the Rainbow Lodge; that place has WOW factor for days and days. Or the dim sum at Fung's Kitchen on the Southwest Freeway. Or the roasted pork to die for at Cafe Piquet on Bissonnet. There's a vendor at the Urban Harvest market on Richmond on Saturdays that makes an awesome savory crepe. And the holiest burger of holies, Bellaire Broiler Burger. All of their food is WOW.
Great article, Bryan ... those who "get it", get it and those who don't should definitely just stick with Dallas – ha!
My husband and I plan our travels based on different locales' restaurants. We're each from Texas and we'd visited Houston as kids and gone to see friends there, but this year we went to Houston for a four-day weekend getaway. After two and a half days, we had visited the best restaurants and done all the things to do, so we left early. Houston is going to have to not only increase its number of great restaurants but offer more for people to do between meals before it becomes a destination city. You only need to go to NASA and San Jacinto once–what is left for a return trip?
Hi Patriot,
I live in Houston, did you go to any of the museums? How about the Houston Zoo or Hermann Park? Did you go to the Kemah Boardwalk? Shopping at any of the nicer malls, like the Galleria or Katy Mills, heck even Rice Village. I'm pretty sure you went to only the well known establishments to eat, otherwise you would've been talking about the food in Chinatown, or the small Taqueria's around town. The hole in the walls are often the best place to experience the food. A favorite place of mine for Pho is Pho 21 off Gessner and Westpark. I enjoy going to the 24/7 Ruchi's Taqueria's, as well as a place called Sinh Sinh in Chinatown for some of the best Chinese food. It's not so hole in the wall as it is quite a large place but it's open late and yummy! I certainly hope when you come back, you try a few other places and check out the sites I've listed. Have a good one.
PS – Good luck Bryan Caswell on The Next Iron Chef.
Thanks for saving me the response I was about to post – ha! You could spend 4 days in our amazing (world-class) museums alone not to mention a thriving arts community and amazing year-round farmer's markets and all kinds of events every weekend at Discovery Green (in addition to what you mention above).
I was also going to suggest that they go to Branson, MO ... :)
Hi, Keith...actually, we did spend two and a half days in your downtown museums and loved them. We happened to be there on a lovely weekend in March and the weather couldn't have been better. While in general I agree with you that the best food is usually found at holes-in-walls, for an anniversary weekend that wasn't exactly what we were looking for. =)
Hi Jodie, I'm not exactly sure why we would want to buy vegetables at farmers' markets to drive home with, when we have our own FMs, but we did enjoy our time at Discovery Green. It was a beautiful, sunny day and it couldn't have been nicer.
Houston is a huge city, and I'm sure if you were bored after 2.5 days, you only stayed in a 2 mile radius. If it sucked so much, 4 million people wouldn't stay here. Ask the locals what they do, where they go. That's probably what everyone should do when they visit outside their own hometown.
Houston's food scene and chefs are top-notch. They're not the problem, it's the awful weather. Houston's hot, humid tropical climate affords two seasons in this area of the globe: hot and hotter. Oh yeah, we'll get a cold front here and there for 48 to 72 hours, then it's back to hot and humid. Why would anyone want to vacation here?
The only reason 4 million people live here is because they used to live in the Mid-West which enjoys four seasons. When jobs became tough to find, they migrated south. Ask any midwesterner if they REALLY enjoy it here and if they are honest, they will tell you "it's too hot" and "there are no seasons." What a shame because Houston would be a great city if it wasn't for the lousy climate!
Again, having been to Houston repeatedly over the years, we had been to many things before. But really, on an anniversary weekend, we were looking for the best of the best. It is telling that our friends from Houston couldn't recommend anything more but the museums we hadn't seen already.
"After two and a half days, we had visited the best restaurants and done all the things to do..."
No. No you didn't. If you really believe that, you should apply to Guinness to be listed as "Most boring couple in the world."
Wow. That is your response?
Yeah, uh, what? I've been living in this city for going on 8 years, and I've barely, just *barely* started scratching the surface of the art and dining scene here. Trust me, I know what a modern-culturally barren town is from growing up in Alabama. Houston is first class.
I haven't been to Houston in a few years, but one of my favorite restaurants (which is anniversary-worthy) is Mark's on Westheimer; there are many, many fine restaurants in Houston, but one of my all-time favorites is Ruggle's! There's lots to do in Houston. Go see the Forbidden City reproduction in Katy!
Mark's... Simply the best. :)
Screwston blows compared to the big D.
That *is* something that someone from Dallas (and only a person from Dallas) would say.
Texas as a whole sucks. You could cut Alaska in half and Texas would become the third largest state. Sorry, RichardHead. X)
Nah, I don't mind Texas. Like anywhere, it has its share of weird overly-proud residents. Had a good time in San Antonio for 6 months in 2000. I assume there are better towns, though. Seemed a little run down to me.
San Antonio was 'run down' to you? Wow... now, that was 10 years ago. Perhaps you should give it another try. Of the three (Dallas, Houston, San Antonio) I prefer San Antonio. Austin has some goofy people, but incredible restaurants.
Austin is the place to be. Unfortunately, it is a victim of its own success – housing shortage, tons of affluent immigres, etc. Still a hugely fun and youthful place to be. Pretty darned close to paradise.
As for Texas bashers, there is something special about living here. You certainly do not feel such a strong sense of identity in very many other places. Three other places with a similarly strong identity include California, Hawaii and NYC.
Yeah, felllow weirdo, Austin is the place to be!
Food, music, doggies and sunshine. I do think its becoming too richy-rich though. I won't say anything about Rick Perry. : )
Rachel's response made me smile. Austin is quintessentially food, music, doggies and sunshine! Also enjoy the diversity, health conscious perspective and some of the prettiest scenery– the Hill Country.
I've lived in Texas for almost 22 years (originally from SoCal). Texas has some of the best food in the WORLD! Texas BBQ? Just the best thing there is to eat.
Thanks. Seems as if we have shared states. Best
Just moved away from Houston to Atlanta and will not miss Houston much at all (aside from the great Mexican food). Other than the food, Houston can be summed up as follows: A very large (fat) city, with the worst humidity in the US topped off with houses that are built on top of one another. The landscape is flat and void of all character and it always has a giant cloud of smog engulfing the city. Will NOT be back. Sorry.
I am what I am....its hot so everyone goes to eat..thus the chain restaurants.
Hats off to anyone forging ahead with new ideas for food.
About the chef and their idea.....
what a big Dumb idiot.
response to the screwston comment