Houston Eats

Houston is the largest city in Texas and the fourth largest city in the United States. (Only New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago are bigger.) Yet when discussing Texas, we tend to think of Dallas or San Antonio, or even Austin before we get around to acknowledging Houston. The city has over two million residents and is one of the most diverse cities in the country. It is home to oil companies, energy companies, and famously NASA and the aeronautics industry. It has professional football, basketball, and baseball franchises. We’ve previously looked at the Space Center Houston, but for this week, we thought we’d look at some casual dining spots in Houston. 

Christy’s Donuts: Located in the Montrose neighborhood of Houston, Christy’s is located in a non-descript strip mall. An aging yellow sign stands on the corner. It’s unassuming nature masking the delicious doughnuts just feet away. The homemade doughnuts are crispy on the outside and fluffy and airy in the middle. The friendly owners and employees nearly always add a few extra doughnut holes in the bag. During a recent visit, one customer asked, “Which one of you is Christy?” The woman behind the cashier answered, “Oh, we have no idea. That was the name when we bought the place. We just kept it because people like the name." They like the doughnuts too. 

Jinya Bun 

Jinya Ramen Bar: Part of a chain of ramen places with several locations in the Houston area, Jinya features deliciously cream tonkotsu broth and fresh made noodles. The atmosphere is a little bro-heavy and much of the seating is at a long communal table. Beware that the seats at the communal table do not have backs. Atmosphere aside, the ramen is unbelievable, with pork, chicken or vegetarian options. The Jinya buns are a must-try—a steamed bun with slow braised pork, cucumber, mixed greens, and a homemade sauce. 

Dolce Vita Pizzeria Enoteca: Dolce Vita is an authentic Neapolitan pizza located in the Montrose neighborhood. The atmosphere is homey and comforting. It’s the ideal neighborhood pizza restaurant as it buzzes with the sound of locals unwinding after a long day. Dolce Vita boasts an impressive selection of Italian wines to pair with their char-crusted pizzas. The restaurant is the brain-child of Houston restauranteur Marco Wiles, who owns and operates two other Italian restaurants. Wiles’ nearby Da Marco restaurant features some of the best homemade pastas that you’ll find outside of Italy. 

Behold the glory of The Pit Room's BBQ and sides 

The Pit Room: Daniel Vaughn, the authority on Texas barbecue, named The Pit Room one of the fifty best barbecue joints in Texas. The restaurant features melt in your mouth brisket, tender pork ribs, crispy pulled pork, chicken, turkey, and sausages. The hidden gem of the menu is the tacos. The Pit Room make their tortillas in house and instead of using lard, they trim the fat from the raw briskets and incorporate it into the tortillas. The brisket fat gives the tortillas a depth of flavor that you can’t find in a regular old tortilla. They’re also a bit denser than an ordinary tortilla allowing them to serve as an effective barbecue delivery system. 

Amy’s Ice Creams: This Austin-based small chain has a single location in Houston and is well-worth a visit. Amy’s first opened in 1984, making handcrafted artisan ice cream and frozen yogurt. Amy’s has over 350 flavors that rotate throughout the year including their famous Mexican Vanilla Ice Cream. Amy’s is one of those ice cream places where they mix the ice cream right in front of you on a marble slab and they mix the toppings right into the ice cream. So you get a show and some delicious ice cream.