Houston - A Diverse Food Town

If you live in Houston, you've always felt it.  We're a cowboy town. Anyone who hasn't ever been here thinks so.  We have the movies to thank for that.  Remember Urban Cowboy? That was so yesterday.

During the last 30 years, Houston has blossomed and grown into a melting pot of wonderful, tastefully diverse food.  Bryan Caswell maps out a possible day of food fun in an article on eatery.com while he calls out people for not taking a look at all the city has to offer.  But sshhh...don't tell the rest of the world or they will want to live here too.

Yes, you have to have a car since our public transportation sucks but you can spend a day and not go 20 miles and have a great meal.  The next day, pick a different part of town and hit every hole in wall joint you see.  That's where you are going to find really awesome food.  Granted in some places you may need an interpreter.  Along with diversity comes a few language barriers, spanish, indian, vietnamese and chinese to name a few and that's just in my neighborhood.



Upscale, locally owned restaurants are plentiful in all areas of the city but so are casual, affordable ones that offer meals that every budget can afford.  Houston is also 'beefing up' it's farmer's markets, giving us all ways to eat fresher, locally grown items.  Don't forget 5 a day!  For a long while now, zoning and health department regulations have slowed attempts to grow these markets.  We always had Canino's and that was about it.  Now, Urban Harvest is going strong, Highland Village Farmer's Market is growing and even Deer Park gets into it with their own.

Have you ever had a Whataburger?  They aren't your regular fast food hamburger.  Made to order, fresh everytime and don't forget the fries with 'fancy' ketchup.  They started in Corpus Christi but I'll claim them here too.

How about pho?  Ever tried it.  It's basically vietnamese noodle soup and there's a trailer down the street from our house that sells the best in the city.  So good they run out everyday. And yes, I said a trailer.

You can get chicken fried steak almost anywhere but you have to have it at Hickory Hollow.  Their website says 'this is as good as it gets' and they aren't lying.  Yum...way too much to eat.

While Chef Caswell and I may favor different kinds of Houston foods, it's nice to know that others here take up the cause to get the word out that we aren't the Houston of yester-year.  Now, if we could get City Council to change their views on food trucks....