HOUSTON HERE I COME!!!!

[TubaRay]

RC
(who is secretly hoping Doc lives within 200 miles of Houston........)

I believe you'll find he lives a bit closer than that.

[Rick Denney]

The jazz scene has changed so much since the days of the La Bastille club I wouldn't know where to point you for that.

But...food I can help you with.

Mexican: Do make sure you drive out Westheimer to Molina's Mexico City Restaurant, on Westheimer, just west of Hillcroft. Take a cab if you have to. Walk if you have to. It's worth it. (7901 Westheimer) Alternatives: Ninfa's. The original is on Navigation (go in a group, or for lunch), but the one on (yup) Westheimer is in a safer neighborhood. (6154 Westheimer) Another good alternative is Los Tios, also on Westheimer. These are all Old Houston establishments, and my father first had a meal at Molina's when he was 12 or 14 and lived in the Montrose. The restaurant is run by their grandchildren now, but it is as good as ever. I first ate there before my memory started, and at Los Tios when in junior high school.

Barbecue: The best barbecue in Houston is really in San Antonio (Rudy's), but if you can't find a Rudy's in Houston, you really can't go wrong with the Pappas Brother Barbecue. It's a locally owned chain, but it's as good as any of the one-off spots. There are several locations, and probably one in the Montrose (and it's "the Montrose" to Houston natives), but the one I know is on the Southwest Freeway, on the inbound side between Bellaire Blvd and Hillcroft. (7007 Southwest Freeway)

If you want traditional Houston barbecue, go to Otto's, which is on Memorial Drive just east of where Westscott comes in from the north, which is just east of Memorial Park. (5502 Memorial Drive) But I have to say that I prefer Pappas.

Seafood: The Pappas family also originated Pappadeaux, which is also now a big chain. But the chain started in Houston and the Pappadeaux on Westheimer sees the Pappas family members often enough so that they are especially diligent at maintaining their standards. It's cajun-style, with a bit of Nawlins thrown in. Highly recommended. The traditional old Houston seafood joints are no longer there. Christie's is an old name, but it ain't the same and it started downhill decades ago. The real good spot was Guido's, but it is no more. But Pappadeaux is just as good as either were in their heyday.

For hot dogs with chili, there's James Coney Island. A Houston tradition. I have eaten those since before my memory started. There are several, but the most recent one I went to was on Westheimer. (5745 Westheimer)

And for a classic Texas diner, you can't go wrong with the 59 Diner, just north of the Southwest Freeway (aka U.S. 59--hence the name) between Shepard and Greenbrier. (3801 Farnham Street)

How long did you say you were going to be there?

There is much that is funky and interesting down in the Montrose, but it changes so much that I can't keep track of it. No doubt those with whom you work while there will know the good spots.

Rick "salivating" Denney

[Mark]

And for a classic Texas diner, you can't go wrong with the 59 Diner, just north of the Southwest Freeway (aka U.S. 59--hence the name) between Shepard and Greenbrier. (3801 Farnham Street)

I used to live within walking distance of the 59 Diner. When I ate there, they had the best shoe-string french fries.

If the new Ouisie's Table (http://www.ouisiestable.com/index.html) is anything like the old place she used to have on Sunset, then it will have really good seafood. But, it will be very pricey.

[Rick Denney]

Two weeks. I've spent lots of time in Houston working on other organs, have been to Pappas, 59 Diner etc.... All great....

But have you been to Molina's?

And if not, when you go, will you have them ship an order of chips and queso to me here in Virginia? Nobody made better Tex-Mex chile con queso than Molina's.

Rick "Anybody can sell beer" Denney

[John Caves]

I've only been in Houston area for a short time; the only Guido's I know about is in Galveston. Not cheap, but goooood! My wife also suggests her favorite, Houtson's on Westheimer

[Rick Denney]

BBQ? Goode Co. is not anything I'd recommend. Pappas ain't bad, but if you want good cue, come to my neck of the woods.

Concur. But people not from Texas don't have a clue about Texas Barbecue. And for them, Pappas is state-of-the-art. I can think of places that have better brisket, and other places that have better sausage, and still others that have better sauce, ribs, quantity--what have you. Pappas delivers the whole experience to a reasonably high level.

It's been a while, but on Kirby near Buffalo Speedway, there used to be a Chuy's mexican restaurant.

There are some local restaurants named for their owners that are called "Chuy's", but the "used to" in your sentence suggests to me Chuy's of Austin. Outstanding. They opened a number of restaurants around the state. The only one I recall in Houston was on Richmond at Hillcroft. But they didn't take in Houston and they closed them down. There is still one on McKinney in Dallas, plus several locations in Austin in addition to the original on Barton Springs Road. I have no idea why it wasn't a hit in Houston.

Also, go to Alfred's Deli for the best deli (and best kosher) food in town.

Concur. For a non-kosher deli, try Antone's, if it's still in existence. Last I saw it, it was on Voss Road, but it used to be much closer into town in the old days.

If you want a great steak at the top steak place, go out I-10 west to Taste of Texas. Costs some bucks, but a great experience.

Concur absolutely. Even higher on the cost scale is the Rotisserie for Beef and Bird, on Wilcrest. Bring a fresh credit card. But it's not better than Taste of Texas.

Rick "trading culinary notes with Doc--and off topic" Denney

[Rick Denney]

What was the place on Heights Blvd just off I-10 that had a chicken fried steak the size of a cookie sheet? I'll have to look that one up. Dave Kirk? You out there? Was it Hickory Hollow??? Help a brother out here.

There is a Hickory Hollow Inn just north of Washington Street on Heights. I've been there a coupla times from back when I worked at the Houston Urban Freeways office (I-10 at Washington St.). But that was 1980 and I just can't dredge up memories of it. It wasn't my neighborhood and I only spent time in that part of town during that employment.

Mike Lynch might remember it--that's his old stomping grounds. (Of course, MUCH longer ago in his case.)

Rick "poking a stick in the anthill" Denney

(There was another old Houston spot in that general part of town, on West 18th as I recall, west of Ella? Kojak's? It was the typical food-trough kind of place. I didn't eat chicken-fried steaks in Houston--those were served at home, cooked by my mother. It wasn't until I moved away (1981, for good) that I started my search for the perfect chicken-fried steak. I stopped eating them in 1994, when I reached 275 pounds and couldn't see my feet. I really liked the chicken-fried steaks at the 410 Diner in San Antonio--Ray and I had veritable tons of deep-fried good stuff in that restaurant after Municipal Band rehearsals. For a long time, we had a favorite waitress, too. Ah, good times, except for the acid reflux.)

[Rick Denney]

Rick,

You ever eat at Rudy Lechner's? Good German food. Old Heidelberg is not as good, but more costly. AND, Rudy's has entertainment and Wednesday night buffets in the fall. Maybe even right now, but I'd have to check. Kaesespaetzle on a buffet is pure, unadulterated SIN. Especially when washed down with Franziskaner!

Nope. It wasn't around back in the day, I don't think. When going out for German food, we went to Bavarian Gardens. That's where I first met Mike Barker--Alpenfest (or what became it) had the standard gig there at the time. That would have been 1982, I think. We were not German-food fans in our house.

Rick "whose sausage limit is now one link per year " Denney

[Rick Denney]

I know that Tejas has a huge coastline...I've been all over it. I have a lot of trouble, though, finding the common denominator between "Texans" (at least, as I know them) and "divine seafood".

Your problem is that you expect to find it in restaurants.

I remember going to my great-grandmother's house in Chambers County (east side of Galveston Bay). We would drive the 2 or 3 miles down to Smith Point and buy the seafood right off the boats. We'd shuck oysters and eat them raw, in soup (my great-grandmother called it stew, but all it had was oyster, milk, butter, and pepper), fried, and mixed into gumbo. We'd eat boiled shrimp by the pound, and also have it fried, stuffed, and in gumbo. And then there was the redfish, saltwater catfish, red snapper, and whatever else we could get. Again, they would be fileted and fried. And crabs. I recall watching three maternal generations (the youngest of which now in her 70's) standing over a kitchen counter cleaning crabs. The crabs would end up in everything from dip to gumbo. We'd have turkey at Thanksgiving, but we were usually too full to eat much of until the next day. It must be divine--it will send you on your way to Heaven sooner than most diets.

Rick "finding restaurant seafood a pale imitation" Denney

[TMurphy]

My brother recently returned from a business trip in Houston, raving about the BBQ places he went to. "They don't know anything about BBQ around here."

I have got to get myself down there one of these days...

[NC_amateur_euph]

A good way to start a bar fight in Texas is to announce your choice for the best chicken-fried steak.

For me, it's Massey's in Ft. Worth - in the hospital district. Crummy decor, crabby wait-staff, huge slabs of beef with plenty of (good) gravy - and so tender you never need dirty a knife.

'T'aint in Houston - but it's worth the drive. Heck, it's only about 4 six-packs from Big H.

Aaah - been in North Carolina too long - haven't found true chicken-fried steak around here yet.

[Rick Denney]

Aaah - been in North Carolina too long - haven't found true chicken-fried steak around here yet.

I know exactly how you feel. I was expecting a very old friend from Texas and his wife for a visit this weekend, but he had some heart trouble and is carrying three new stents but is not allowed to travel. I don't know who was more disappointed, he or I. Food is a reminder of where we grew up, just like old friends. I would risk complete digestive breakdown for a good chicken-fried steak just now. Or a trip to Molina's.

Rick "who actually had an excellent chicken-fried steak a couple of years ago at Lamberts in Sikeston, MO, and, yes, paid heavily for it" Denney