june-2010

But this daunting Mexican brunch was only the
beginning. Pacing and self-control, as I learned soon
enough, are the keys to surviving a Houston food tour.
Immediately after our gargantuan meal at El Hidalguense,
we strolled a few doors down to Vieng Thai for
an equally massive Southeast Asian lunch. We nibbled on
fish cakes, papaya salad and green curry beef before taking
a short break to look at—but not eat—foodstuffs at
a sprawling new Asian supermarket located a 15-minute
ride away. “Some of the best food in Houston is found
in grocery stores,” said Evans, who led a tour focused
specifically on food shops a few weeks later.
The brief detour was followed by a drive to the
edge of town, past the large collection of Chinese and
Vietnamese restaurants on Bellaire Boulevard—the city’s
so-called Chinatown—but no stops for a snack. “We
couldn’t choose one place,” said Shepherd, as we zipped
by modern retail centers lined with Chinese dim sum
parlors and Vietnamese sandwich shops. “There are too
many good ones, and everybody’s got a favorite.”
There is little disagreement, however, about the
caliber of cooking awaiting us inside Himalaya, the
third scheduled eatery on the food tour. “You had me at
samosa,” jokes one chef, as we dig into food so spicy we
all break a sweat and so delicious it takes every ounce of
self-control not to dive in for seconds.
One last spread still looms at London Sizzler Indian
Bar & Grill, located just a few steps away from Himalaya.
The restaurant, Shepherd’s favorite off-duty haunt (he
stops in every Sunday), serves British-style Indian curries
(the owners are Indian expats by way of London) in a
sports-bar setting with British soccer matches playing
on a flat-screen television. “These people are like family,”
says Shepherd, as he introduces the owner and his son.
The food is certainly tasty enough, but after three huge
meals and plenty of beer—the tour bus comes stocked
with a bottomless cooler of local brews from Saint
Arnold Brewing Company—I have finally hit the wall.
And besides, I am going to need all of my strength
to chase down even more authentic hole-in-the-wall
food finds before leaving Houston, like the Vietnamese
sandwich shop one chef on the tour swears I can’t
possibly miss.
HIMALAYA
6652 Southwest Freeway;
713-532-2837
EL HIDALGUENSE
6917 Long Point Rd;
713-680-1071
VIENG THAI
6929 Long Point Rd;
713-688-9910
LONDON SIZZLER
INDIAN BAR & GRILL
6690 Southwest Freeway;
713-783-2754
TO LEARN more about what to do, where to eat and where to
shop in Houston, turn to page 124 in the Go Guides.
GET THE DISH
SOME OF HOUSTON’S CHEFS-TURNED-
TOUR GUIDES REVEAL THEIR FAVORITE
HOLE-IN-THE-WALL MENU ITEMS.
HUGO ORTEGA,
of the acclaimed, high-end
Mexican restaurant HUGO’S
(1600 Westheimer Rd; 713-
524-7744; hugosrestaurant
.net), likes to spend his days
off slurping menudo (tripe
soup) at LA MEXICANA (1018
Fairview St; 713-521-0963;
lamexicanarestaurant.com).
CHRIS SHEPHERD,
from CATALAN FOOD & WINE
(5555 Washington Ave; 713-
426-4260; catalanfoodand
wine.com), which, in spite of
its name, serves food more
American than Spanish, has
a weakness for the pho found
at THU THU (5015 Antoine Dr;
713-956-4970), a Chinese-
Vietnamese dive.
BRYAN CASWELL,
the top toque and 2010 James
Beard Award nominee at
seafood spot REEF (2600
Travis St; 713-526-8282;
reefhouston.com), escapes
to LES GIVRAL’S KAHVE (801
Congress St; 713-547-0444;
lesgivrals.com) for dirt-cheap
($2.75) roast pork banh mi.
MARCUS DAVIS,
whose down-home THE
BREAKFAST KLUB (3711 Travis
St; 713-528-8561; thebreak
fastklub.com) specializes in
soul food like catfish with
grits, indulges in gyros at
the Greek-American Houston
institution, NIKO NIKO’S
(2520 Montrose Blvd; 713-
528-0966; nikonikos.com).
HOUSTON CULINARY TOURS Most tours depart from Whole Foods Market (2955 Kirby Dr) at 11am and return at 4pm.
The cost is $180, which includes tastings at each stop, complimentary Saint Arnold’s beer, limo-bus transportation and a gift bag.
visithoustontexas.com/culinarytours
JUNE 2010 GO MAGAZINE
061