Houston Food Blog

Photos by Olivia Flores Alvarez

​Where: Raia's Italian Market, 4500 Washington Avenue, 713-861-1042, www.raiasitalianmarket.com.

What $13 gets you: We'd been driving by Raia's Italian Market for a while, always meaning to stop but never quite getting there. The steady stream of customers should have been a clue, but silly us, we always kept on driving. Finally we made a special point of dropping in, and we were well rewarded for our effort.

We had a little trouble settling on our order - not because the menu is unwieldy, but because everything sounded so good. Starters include shrimp and crab claws ($12), fried calamari with marinara ($7), and sausage and peppers grilled with onions ($7). Salads range from a simple house salad ($3.50) to a more robust Insalata Butera ($8).

The pizza combinations vary from the Primavera (chopped mixed veggies, garlic, and a marinara sauce for $8), to the Sicilian Wrangler (Italian sausage, pepperoni, jalapenos, onions, cheddar and mozzarella chesses, and barbecue sauce for $10), to the Rotunno (prosciutto di parma, arugula, mozzarella, reggiano, and marinara sauce for $12).

But we turned out attention to the pasta offerings. The blue crab ravioli (raviloli stuffed with peppers, onions, cheeses, and crab meat in a spicy crema rosa sauce for $15) was out of our budget; ditto the New Orleans (fettuccini pasta, shrimp, and crawfish in a spicy cream sauce topped with lump crab meat for $14). But there were plenty of choices that fit our $13 spending limit. I chose the lasagna (layers of pasta, ground beef, cheeses and marinara sauce, $8.50), and my dining partner went for the pomodoro (cappellini pasta with roasted tomatoes and basil sautéed in garlic and olive oil, $9).

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Where: Kojak's Timberbrook Café, 1912 West 18th Street, 713-426-1800

What $13 gets you: At lunch, your money goes a little further at Kojak's (on average the lunch prices are about $1 less per entrée than the dinner prices). Lunch is from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the lineup features hot sandwiches, Po-boys, salads and entrées. Dinner, from 5 to 8 p.m., is heavier on the entrées, but some sandwiches are still available. Get there before 6 p.m., and you can ask about the lunch selections.

We got there at exactly 5 p.m. and so were able to order from both menus. We ordered the Romano pasta from the dinner menu (linguini with meatballs and marinara sauce, topped with shaved Parmesan cheese with a side salad for $9.59), and a Mediterranean plate from the lunch menu (falafel patty, Tabbouleh salad, olives and pita bread for $7.59).

Photo by Paul Knight

​Where: Brothers Taco House, 1604 Dowling St., 713-223-0091

What $13 gets you: More than enough food to feed us, a dining companion and a guy who was panhandling.

After we finished getting our food at Brothers Taco House, we walked out to the small patio and rain started pouring down, bringing in a man from the street who started dragging a plastic cup along the patio's wooden railing, saying, "Amigo, amigo, tienes dinero para comer."

We told him that we didn't have any cash but that he was welcome to one of the bulging egg tacos we had just purchased inside. "Yeah man, give it to me," he said. "I'm not trying to buy a beer, I'm hungry and I have a long way to go."

With that, the man sat down on a bench and ate the egg taco. He must have enjoyed it, because he hung around the patio asking for more food (and money) until one of the workers ran him off.

Photo by Mike Giglio

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Where: Grum Bar, 306 Main St., 713-224-6448

What $13 gets you: A solid, manly meal in a manly setting. The Grum Bar interior feels like a comfortable den, and you can be quite at home in jeans and a T-shirt during the workday lunch rush in the heart of downtown.

The fixtures hanging from the high, exposed ceiling provide just enough dark-yellow light to suit reading a newspaper, or just nursing a pint and wasting away a lunch hour staring off into space. Or one could stare off into the faux-fireplace, which is opposite two leather chairs that look like they should come with a pipe and slippers.

Above the fireplace is an impressive HD flat-screen, muted while music (we detected some "Karma Chameleon") played. It was tuned to SportsCenter with -- and it pains us to have to applaud this, but so many bars screw it up -- subtitles to better follow the action.

We spent a bit of time happily lost in the menu, which features everything from oysters on the half shell to Philly cheesesteaks and roast beef sandwiches, build-your-own burgers and pizzas, steaks and English breakfasts.

"It's not bar food," said the gruff but amiable manager, who had returned from his hands-on-hips sentry's perch just outside the door. He then aggressively insisted that the Grumburger was the best in town.

Photos by Katharine Shilcutt

​Where: Huynh Restaurant, 912 St. Emanuel, 713-224-8694

What $13 gets you: A filling lunch of hearty, authentic Vietnamese food in a deceptively upscale setting. You can definitely bring your fancy-pants boss here for lunch, if you can get him past the front door.

As the center of Houston's south Asian commuity moves further and further west, it's becoming increasingly difficult to find excellent Vietnamese food inside the Loop, especially near downtown. What used to be a ground zero of family-style, homemade Chinese and Vietnamese food has made way for trendy townhomes and clubs with doormen who often don't even allow Asian people inside (a practice that's been termed "yellow-carding" by my Asian friends). How things have changed...

Luckily, Huynh Restaurant is holding down the fort over off St. Emanuel, not far from the Meridian. Every day of the week until 9 p.m. (except Sundays), you can get your fill of bún thịt nướng and bún bò huế for prices that are exceptionally easy on the wallet. The dining room is serene and warm, painted in sienna and rust colors with wood tones throughout -- decidedly different from the run-down strip mall exterior. And the service is clipped and short but friendly.

Photo by Mike Giglio

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Where: Pavani Indian Cuisine, 10554 Southwest Fwy., 713-272-8259

What $13 gets you: As many circuits through the buffet line as you need. Plan to make at least a few.

We walked in at 5:30 sharp, right when the place opens for dinner, which meant it was just us and the chef -- a burly man in a white smock who stood over the buffet like a watchful father -- for the extent of the meal. This made things slightly awkward, as it was painfully obvious where all the food was going (and who dripped curry into the rice).

Starting with the basics, Pavani has its food down exactly right. The crucial naan was just a bit greasy to the touch, crisp and crunchy at first bite, then soft and chewy. We spent the entire first plate just using it to wipe up the various chutneys, which were all kinds of spicy, tangy and sweet.

Back at the buffet line, we filled another plate with fried sides (it was impossible to read the hand-written labels on most), then stopped short at the fresh pile of chicken breasts and legs colored an enticing tandoori red, and piled several pieces on top.

Photo by Mike Giglio

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Where: Asia Market, 1010 W Cavalcade St., 713-863-7074

What $13 gets you: Thai food should leave you full, refreshed and feeling like you got way more than you paid for. Thirteen bucks at Asia Market gets you clear sinuses and more than enough food for two.

Best served from tiny roll-carts and enjoyed from flimsy plastic tables along crowded, smoggy streets, in our opinion at least, Thai food never seems right at fancy restaurants. Thankfully, at Asia Market, the small, yellow tables and chairs (the color of the king) are crammed inside an unassuming, gas-station-size Thai grocery packed with everything from curry and fish pastes to coconut milk and crispy, MSG-laced strips of seaweed (those taste exactly how you think they would); at least 80 percent of the inventory is imported from the Land of Smiles. The day we visited, the thick summer humidity outside also helped to set the mood.

The menu has all the staples, with clear explanations in English just in case you don't talk Thai, and, if you remember something special from that blurry trip to Bangkok, they'll gladly try and make that too.

Photos by Katharine Shilcutt

Solo salad with spinach, beets, walnuts, feta, jicama, bell peppers and more

​Where: Bowl, 607 Richmond, 832-582-7218

What $13 gets you: A fresh, healthy salad or sandwich that makes you never want to bring your lunch again. The cheerful, inviting interior of this unfortunately out-of-the-way lunch spot is like the office canteen you always dreamed of. Close enough to downtown and the Museum District yet far removed with its relaxing, sunny atmosphere, Bowl is ideal for a quick, delicious weekday lunch.

Inside, you'll see people bent intently over white pieces of paper. They're choosing their toppings for either a Solo (10 toppings) or Doppia (15 toppings) salad, which are $7 and $10 respectively. For an additional $3, you can add your choice of proteins such as pistachio chicken and grilled shrimp. Once you choose your toppings from the vast selection -- which includes your  choice of greens, cheese and dressing in addition to the many vegetable and fruit toppings available -- you hand your list over the counter and the salad-makers work their magic. Within a few minutes, you have a fresh salad with one of the signature house-made dressings on the side.

Photos courtesy of Fadi's

Where: Fadi's Mediterranean Grill, 1236 Westheimer, 281-556-8390‎

What $13 gets you: A free-for-all romp through an impossibly enticing cafeteria line. Fadi's gives you a tray, then fills it with food. Meat dishes come with any number of sides. Given the decreasing price scale for upping the ante ($1.50, $1, $0.50), and the colorful assortment of food-art to choose from, plan on getting a few.

We went for a falafel plate and sides of couscous, eggplant and hummus. Then we were handed a small plate of "comes-with-it-anyway" vegetables and rice, which we never got to, and a loaf of fresh-baked bread.

Photo by Robb Walsh

Where: Edomae Sushi, 12225 Westheimer, 281-558-5599

What $13 gets you: Sushi Special C from the lunch special menu is $10.95 and includes a California roll rolled in bright orange flying fish roe and a Spicy Tuna roll with your choice of miso soup or salad. If you can't afford the tip, get the lunch to go.

This Japanese restaurant was remarkable for its monochrome modern interior, throbbing techno soundtrack and cutting-edge cuisine when it originally opened as Blue Fin Sushi. In its new incarnation as Edomae Sushi, it's got the same modern décor and music, with the added attraction of cheap sushi. $13 will get you seriously full of fish rolls at noon. The new owner, who also owns several Schlotzsky's sandwich shops, is marketing the place as an upscale restaurant without the upscale prices.

Photo by Mike Giglio

Where: Reggae Hut, 4814 Almeda Rd., 713-520-7171

What $13 gets you: Any main course or seafood dish, which will be more than enough. Favorites include the jerk chicken and garlic shrimp, along with a Jamaican take on oxtail. We tried that, mainly because we weren't quite sure what it meant.

Instead of the standard soul-food gravy normally featured in these-here parts, the four large tails (chunks of tail-bone surrounded by juicy meat) were soaked in a bright brown sauce. It was tangy and decidedly Caribbean, and it squirted and splashed as we pulled the soft meat from the bone with a fork, ruining our white shirt for the rest of the workday. The meat had just enough fat to make it soft and sweet without causing us to feel too guilty.

The rice and kidney beans seemed dull at first taste. But by the third bite, there were subtle and perhaps even tantalizing hints of spicy and fruity flavors. And then the rice and beans were gone.

Photo by Robb Walsh

Where: Pagoda Vietnamese Bistro & Bar, 4705 Inker St., 832-673-0400

What $13 gets you: A cup of pineapple seafood soup ($5) and a big bowl of vermicelli salad ($8) or a Vietnamese sandwich ($4) and a bowl of pho ($8).

Pagoda is an authentic Vietnamese restaurant with a chic modern décor that's close to the Heights and downtown. If you love Vietnamese food but don't get around to driving out to Bellaire Chinatown very often, you need to know about this place. The slightly hidden location is one block east of Shepherd just south of I-10 (across the street from the Cadillac Bar's parking lot).

Photo by Olivia Flores Alvarez

Where: Leon's World's Finest Bar-B-Que, 55th and Broadway, Galveston Island, 409-744-0070

What $13 Gets You: Leon's dinner plate gives you a generous serving of meat (your choice of brisket, ribs, two types of links, or yard bird) and two sides for just $9. (Two-meat plates are $12, and three-meat plates are $15.) The single plate is more than enough for two people. During our visit, we ordered the brisket, which was excellent. There was lots of flavor, and while the meat was fall-apart tender, there was still plenty of substance to it. You can order your brisket extra-lean, but our regular serving seemed plenty lean already.

Leon's bar-b-que sauce (in the red squeeze bottle on your table) is tangy, with just the tiniest hint of sweet after bite. The perfect "not too thick, not too thin" consistency, it's very tasty. A little goes a long way, so give it a try before you slather it on.

Photo by Olivia Flores Alvarez

Where: El Jardin, 7849 Harrisburg, 713-921-3633

What $13 gets you: enchiladas Mexicanas. Corn tortillas rolled in a tomato sauce, filled with white Mexican cheese, topped with more sauce, more cheese, cubed fried potatoes and grilled jalapeño slices, served with refried beans and a lettuce and tomato salad ($9.95).

Photos by Margaret Downing

Where: Charlie's Restaurant and Catering, 8817 Highway 6, Ste. 900, Missouri City, 281-778-5222.

What $13 gets you: Your choice of basic American comfort food and a dessert. Portions are substantial, and the food is served hot and fairly quickly.

Charlie's is sparkling-clean, with friendly service and not a lot of business on a recent Saturday noon hour. Menu items include a reasonable selection of hamburgers and salads in the $6 to $8 range, as well as the more expensive "plates & platters" ($10 to $16), which include meatloaf, Salisbury steak, pork chops, baby back ribs and brisket.

This newly opened restaurant is part of an equally new strip shopping center hanging on to an edge of Highway 6 in Missouri City. Making the abrupt turn into the strip center takes an alert driver, as speeds tend to run 50 miles per hour and above on this stretch of the roadway.

Photos by Mike Giglio

Where: Kitchen Kreations (but the sign outside still says Milburn's Café), 8601 MLK Blvd. & Reed Rd., 713-738-3011

What $13 will get you: A euphoric food coma that lasts well into the evening. Doors are open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.; lunchtime saw a grown man giddily jumping and wringing his hands as he watched his plate fill up behind the counter.

The hefty lunch plates are layered first with enough white rice to feed a small family. You can have it flavored with gravy from any of the meat entrees--oxtail, baked chicken or pork chops. The juice from the oxtail made the rice just the right kind of spicy, and our server generously included bits of tender ox with his two full scoops (he'd have kept going if we didn't stop him).

Photos by James Holmes

Patio dining at Picazo

Where: Picazo, 1421 Preston St., 713-236-1300

What $13 gets you: The first page of the menu. You will be able to take your pick from a pretty wide selection of appetizers, pizzas and soups or salads. Picazo has a little something for everyone, including the over $13 crowd if you stray farther into the menu.

My dinner companion and I were waiting for a concert at Toyota Center that night. Picazo's most immediate draw is simply their location: The prime corner spot is almost literally in the shadow of Minute Maid Park, which makes for a great view from the big patio out front.

As we took a seat on the corner of the patio closest to the ballpark, the busboy brought out complimentary chips and salsa. The waitress was quick to greet us with a smile after that. The menu was an amalgam of Tex-Mex and Italian. Pizzas and pastas comingled with fajitas and mole in an inspiring rainbow of cuisine-based tolerance.

Photos by Mike Giglio

Where: DNR European Café and Deli, 4621 Montrose Blvd, 713-529-0367

What $13 will get you: That's way more than you ever need to spend here. We tried anyway.

Take the quintessential European fast food joint--the döner kebab stand, which was invented in Berlin by Turkish immigrants--Americanize it and stick it on a street corner in Montrose, and you have the kind of place that gets away with advertising itself as Mediterranean healthy (Olive oil! Fiber!) while providing the opportunity for a saturated fat coma to compete with the likes of a McDonald's or Taco Bell.

Like any good döner stand, there was the requisite group of single men, some in suits, who seemed to have been sitting at a table in back all day. Only here, they can take advantage of the free Wi-Fi. Other than these usual suspects and the rustic-ish wall-paper, DNR looks like an updated version of The Max from Saved by the Bell. The booths are lined with an early-nineties pleather, but HD flat screens on the walls and even cash registers flash an endless loop of menu items to a soundtrack of songs such as the Seal version of "If You Don't Know Me By Now".

Photos by James Holmes

Where: Bill's Café, 22845 Loop 494, Kingwood, 281-358-6198

What $13 gets you: Basically anything on the menu, from burgers, fries and beer to chicken wings and fried mozzarella sticks. This unpretentious burger joint doesn't put on airs or gouge its customers.

Bill's is a long-held Kingwood secret. It looks a lot like an icehouse, made up of a small trailer and what's basically a garage with picnic tables. Bill's advertising runs along these lines: Someone exclaims, "What!?! You've never been to Bill's?" and the myth continues to grow.

Where: A Moveable Feast, 9341 Katy Freeway, 713-365-0368

What $13 Gets You:  A sandwich to beat Subway any day.

$13 will get you more than a sandwich at this popular health food store cum restaurant named after Ernest Hemingway's memoirs.  And if sandwiches aren't your thing, you can fill up on a hearty bowl of delicious vegeterian chili or one of their many healthy entrees.  But if you're on the run, their sandwiches can't be beat.  Pick up a $4.99 ready-made sandwich from the fridge by the register (the apple-pecan tuna salad on fresh wheat bread is my favorite) and a bag of Kettle Chips for $1.29 for a cheap lunch on the go.  If you can stay a while, I recommend the grilled shrimp, avocado and sauteed onion sandwich with chipotle mayonnaise on ciabatta bread for $11.99

Where: Kraftsmen Baking, 4100C Montrose Blvd, 713-524-3737

What $13 gets you: Actually $10 will cover almost everything. They specialize in bread, pastries and for lunch, sandwiches made with that wonderful bread.

This was my first time for sandwiches here. First of all, they are very good. But they take waaaaay too long to get to you. That's why there's a couple chunks out of half the sandwich pictured with this post. I just a) couldn't wait any longer and I was really hungry and b) was getting pretty sure that what they had to offer wasn't very good since even with three people behind the counter and not that many people waiting, they couldn't seem to fix me a sandwich.

Where: The Black Labrador Pub, 4100 Montrose Blvd, 713-529-1199

What $13 gets you: Many of their main course dishes for either brunch or lunch.

The Black Labrador during the daytime has the most wonderful ambience. Located next to the Montrose branch of the Houston Public Library, you can go in for a book and then sit outside and read while you order and eat. The outdoor tables allow patrons to bring their dogs along and there were several there on a recent pleasant Saturday.

It's best to remember that the Black Labrador is an English sort of eating establishment. Thus, my dining partner who ordered a brunch offering of grilled glazed ham, potatoes with sausage mixed in, scrambled eggs and a small fruit cup had a wonderful meal. The ham was delicious and the potatoes superb. In fact, so much food came for $12.99 that she was able to make another meal out of her takeout order.

Where: This Is It Soul Food, 207 Gray, 713-659-1608

What $13 gets you: A plate of good, down-home Southern soul food, with three heaps of vegetables and your choice of meats

Thank goodness Frank Jones was poor as a kid. Jones, who along with his wife Mattie, founded This Is It Soul Food in 1943, grew up stretching meals to feed his brother, sister and himself after his mom died when he was 12. He dreamed, his PR info says, of owning a restaurant where "only hearty portions would be served." And once you see the overflowing plate lunch that's the This Is It standard, you'll be happy he did.

What $13 gets you: A medium-sized pizza with two toppings or an eight-piece mixed serving of Italian fried chicken with rolls, coleslaw and potato wedges.

Rizzi’s opened up just two months ago, taking over the space in a small, out-of-the-way strip mall from a seafood restaurant that went under. We went there two times: a weeknight about an hour before closing and at noon on a Saturday. A sign on the front door encourages you to BYOB, but the few customers we saw were – like us – only interested in takeout.

The best feature of the pizza is its crust which comes in somewhere between thin crust and deep dish. The toppings seemed a little on the salty side (we did a straight sausage, a pepperoni and mushroom and a pepperoni and black olive) but had a nice flavor overall. The pizza reheated well the next day in a toaster oven. Rizzi’s might want to work a bit more on presentation – as one of my dining companions commented, his sausage pizza didn’t look especially great, but it tasted good.

Where: Dragon Bowl Asian Bistro, 1221 W. 11th Street, 713-426-2750

What $13 gets you: Not being a philistine who asks for spring rolls at a Japanese restaurant.

These noodle-bowl places seem to be popping up everywhere, and there's all pretty similar in terms of both looks and food. The décor: decidedly urban loft. The fare: a hodgepodge of Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese and Thai, all clumped together under the generic-yet-accurate term “Asian.”

This particular spot is right up the street from my house, and I often forget it's there – that is, until I get burnt out on the various Mexican joints nearby and have a hankering for some veggies.

What $13 gets you: The satisfaction of having all your columns add up.

This vegetarian joint sits in that strip center a block north of 59 that looks just as likely to house a company like Dunder Mifflin as an award-winning restaurant. Inside you'll find tile floors, glass-covered tables and steaming plates of South Indian fare.

The dishes of southern India are generally considered among that country's spiciest, and I was glad to have plenty of white rice to help temper the bite of the vegetable moghlai (listed at $10.99, but more on that in a sec). I originally had my eye on the special vegetable curry, and when I asked the guy at the counter whether it was good, he said yes (big surprise there), but when I asked if he'd recommend anything else, he told me the moghlai was nice and creamy, so there you go.

What $13 gets you: I ordered the Fantasy sandwich (and made the mistake of saying, “I’ll have your Fantasy, please,” when I ordered – giggles all around). Normally, the Fantasy runs $8.95, but I subbed out fresh fruit for the potato salad for a dollar more. Add in my iced tea for $1.50, taxes and tip, and I make it out the door for $13 exactly.

The Fantasy is baked ham and melted provolone cheese, topped with and avocado slices, all on a baguette. Simple, yet yummy. And filling.

My friend ordered the grilled rainbow trout ($12.95), a beautiful filet which came with rice and grilled veggies. He pronounced it “worth a return trip.”

What $13 gets you: If you’re me, a profoundly dissatisfying and discomfiting meal.

I steer clear of upscale restaurants because too often I end up feeling out-of-place, undeserving and just plain sad. And when it comes to ordering, it seems I always choke.

Recently, following an interview with a Rice University professor, I rode Sunset west into Rice Village and wandered into Café Rabelais. I should have followed my instincts and returned to the street after noticing how nearly every table included a middle-aged white woman with a pageboy haircut and white sweater tied at the neck. Was this a café or a country club?

What $13 gets you: A delicious, healthy, heartwarming meal – followed by a firm slap in the face

That was my experience, anyway.

I wandered into Nam not knowing what I was getting into. It’s located in a charming little mall just north of Harwin. It was after two and I arrived hungry. I knew right away that I had scored when I saw Press food critic’s Robb Walsh’s review from about three years ago framed and hanging on the wall.

I got the daily special, grilled snapper ($8.95), and since it was before three o’clock it came with choices of egg drop and chicken rice soups, spring or egg rolls and fried rice or vermicelli noodles. I wanted a Vietnamese coffee ($2.50) but decided instead to stick with water and lemon and leave a more generous tip.

Recommended? Yes, I recommend it, even if that does make me unadventurous, mainstream and white bread.

What $13 gets you: Some not-too-bad barbecue from the city’s biggest corporate chain of barbecue restaurants

I never much cared for Pappas Bar-B-Q. The barbecue sauce is thin, the links and ribs are nothing special and I still don’t get the appeal of sliced beef served atop a giant baked potato. Plus, the food there isn’t expensive but it isn’t cheap either. Add fries and a drink to that sandwich and you’re up to about ten bucks.

But there are things to like – it just took me a few visits to find them.