Houston · for a first-time visitor
Just follow this.
Three ready-made food itineraries — one, three and five days — built only from places on the list, so you can eat well without doing the research. Every place links back to the guide.
Itinerary
One day
Breakfast tacos, a Bib barbecue line, Bellaire at night. One day in the most diverse food city in America.
One day, by car — Houston doesn't walk. Book one dinner. Book one thing: dinner at Nancy's Hustle or Street to Kitchen (Resy) — or March (Tock) if you're splurging.
The day
- 7:30Villa Arcos (East End)Breakfast tacos on flour tortillas since 1977; the line moves. Then Laredo Taqueria on Washington if you're still hungry.
- 9:30Houston Farmers Market (Airline Dr)Papalo Taqueria (a Bib), the produce halls, Underbelly Burger for later. The most Houston hour of the day.
- 11:00Truth BBQ or The Pit RoomGet in line by eleven at Truth (Heights) for brisket and the beef rib; or the Pit Room in Montrose, where the tortillas are made with brisket fat. Both are Bibs.
- 2:00Menil Collection, then BlacksmithThe free museum; then a Vietnamese coffee and the steak-and-eggs at Blacksmith on Westheimer.
- 5:00Anvil Bar & Refuge (Montrose)Bobby Heugel's bar — the 100-list cocktails, the reason Houston drinks well. Walk-in; early is the move.
- 7:30Nancy's Hustle (EaDo) or Street to Kitchen (East End)The Hustle Bread and the tartare, or Benchawan Painter's Beard-winning Thai. Both Bibs, both Resy.
- 10:00Bellaire BoulevardSinh Sinh for Cantonese at midnight, or Pho Binh's trailer if it's still open. The last stop is always Asiatown.
Itinerary
Three days
Barbecue, Asiatown, the starred rooms. Three days that cover the three Houstons.
Three days by car. Book two dinners and one barbecue line. Book: March or Tatemó (Tock), Bludorn or Le Jardinier (Resy). Everything else is a line or a walk-in.
Day 1 — Montrose and the Heights
- 8:00Blacksmith (Montrose)Vietnamese steak and eggs, a cortado, the courtyard.
- 10:30Truth BBQ (Heights)The line for the Bib brisket; get there before it opens at eleven. Beef rib, brisket, tres leches.
- 1:30Common Bond or MorningstarA pastry to walk off the barbecue; Morningstar's donuts if it's the Heights.
- 4:00Better Luck Tomorrow (Heights)Justin Yu and Bobby Heugel's neighborhood bar; the snacks are a Bib chef's.
- 6:00Julep (Washington Ave)Alba Huerta's Southern cocktails; the julep list is the point.
- 8:00Bludorn (Montrose) or Rosie CannonballAaron Bludorn's Michelin-recommended room, or Goodnight's wood-fired Bib. Resy.
- 10:30Marfreless (River Oaks)The blue door, no sign, since 1976. Quiet.
Day 2 — Asiatown and the East End
- 9:00Nam Giao (Bellaire)Hue-style Vietnamese breakfast — bánh bèo, bún bò Huế — at a Bib that costs ten dollars.
- 11:00Hong Kong City MallThe food court, the bakeries, the grocery; Ocean Palace for dim sum if you'd rather sit.
- 1:00Crawfish & Noodles (Bellaire)Trong Nguyen's Viet-Cajun crawfish — the dish Houston invented. In season February to June; the salt-and-pepper blue crab otherwise.
- 3:30Blood Bros. BBQ (Bellaire)Brisket fried rice and Thai green curry boudin from a Bib smokehouse. They sell out; go before four.
- 6:00Mala Sichuan Bistro (Montrose)A Bib Sichuan room; the water-boiled fish and the cumin lamb.
- 8:00Street to Kitchen (East End)Benchawan Painter's Thai, cooked at Bangkok strength. Resy.
- 10:00Moon Tower Inn (East End)Hot dogs and a wall of beer in a yard by the tracks.
Day 3 — Downtown, the Museum District and the stars
- 8:00Laredo Taqueria (Washington Ave)Breakfast tacos at the counter; the carne guisada.
- 10:00Museum of Fine Arts, then Le JardinierThe Kinder building; Alain Verzeroli's starred vegetable-forward lunch inside the museum. Resy.
- 2:00Buffalo Bayou CisternThe underground reservoir; book the tour.
- 4:00La Carafe (Market Square)Candles, cash, the oldest bar in Houston. One drink.
- 5:30Tongue-Cut Sparrow (Downtown)Upstairs from the Pastry War; the rules are posted, the drinks are exact.
- 8:00March (Montrose) or Tatemó (Spring Branch)Felipe Riccio's Mediterranean tasting, or Emmanuel Chavez's eight-seat masa tasting. Tock, weeks out.
- 10:30The Continental Club (Midtown)Whoever's on; the Big Top next door if it's full.
Itinerary
Five days
The three-day plan, plus a barbecue pilgrimage north and a day of Hillcroft and the Third Ward.
Five days by car. Book three dinners and one steakhouse. Add to the three-day bookings: Musaafer (Resy), Pappas Bros. (OpenTable), Killen's Steakhouse (OpenTable).
Days 1–3
- —The three-day planAs above.
Day 4 — North: the starred smokehouse
- 9:30CorkScrew BBQ (Spring)The barbecue joint with a Michelin star; the line forms before ten. Brisket, ribs, the sausage.
- 12:30Tejas Chocolate & Barbecue (Tomball)A chocolate shop that became a Top 50 smokehouse; the carrot soufflé is the side.
- 3:00Killen's (Pearland) — the drive southRonnie Killen's beef rib at the barbecue, then the Bib steakhouse next door for dinner. OpenTable.
- 7:30Killen's Steakhouse (Pearland)The dry-aged bone-in ribeye; a Bib for a steakhouse, which is rare.
- 10:00Neon Boots (Northwest)The country dancehall; two-step lessons early, the floor late.
Day 5 — Hillcroft, the Third Ward and the old rooms
- 9:00Shri Balaji Bhavan (Hillcroft)Dosas and filter coffee in the Mahatma Gandhi District.
- 11:30Himalaya (Hillcroft)Kaiser Lashkari's Indo-Pakistani kitchen — a Beard semifinalist for years. The chicken hara masala and the biryani.
- 2:00Frenchy's (Third Ward)Creole fried chicken since 1969; a two-piece and a side.
- 4:00This Is It Soul Food (Third Ward)Oxtails and greens from the cafeteria line, since 1959.
- 6:00Bayou & Bottle (Four Seasons)The bourbon library; a pre-dinner pour.
- 8:00Musaafer (Galleria) or Pappas Bros.Mayank Istwal's starred Indian tasting in a room built like a palace, or the steakhouse with 3,000 wines. Resy / OpenTable.
- 10:30House of Pies (Kirby)The Bayou Goo pie, 24 hours. The right end to Houston.
Gotchas & reminders
Before you go.
The things New Yorkers know and visitors learn the expensive way.
Houston is 665 square miles and the food is spread across all of it — Bellaire is twenty minutes from Montrose, Pearland forty, Spring an hour. Rideshare works inside the Loop; a rental is cheaper for two days or more. The light rail covers Downtown, Midtown and the Museum District only.
Truth, the Pit Room, Pinkerton's, Blood Bros., Killen's and CorkScrew open at eleven and sell out of brisket by early afternoon. Be in line by 10:30 on weekends; weekdays are gentler. Order by the pound, and get the sides.
March, Tatemó and Hidden Omakase sell tickets on Tock, weeks out. Bludorn, Le Jardinier, Musaafer, BCN and the Bibs are Resy, 30 days out. Pappas Bros., Hugo's, Xochi and the old rooms are OpenTable.
Viet-Cajun crawfish runs February to June; Crawfish & Noodles and Cajun Kitchen are the reason to come in spring. Outside the season, order the salt-and-pepper blue crab instead.
Asiatown runs late — Sinh Sinh until 2am, the boba shops until midnight, Pho Binh's trailer from dawn. It's a strip-mall city; park once per block and walk.
Villa Arcos, Gerardo's, Tacos Tierra Caliente, La Carafe, Irma's and most of Hillcroft are cash-first. Carry $60 on the taco day.
May to October, plan the outdoor stops — the ice houses, the beer gardens, the barbecue lines — for before eleven or after six. Everything indoors is over-air-conditioned; carry a layer.
Resy runs the Platinum dining credit; Bludorn, Le Jardinier, Musaafer, Nancy's Hustle, Rosie Cannonball, Squable and most of the Bibs book through it. Tock and OpenTable rooms don't count.