Houston

Travel, Wine Tourism, and Restaurants Forum
21

You will have to either drive or take a cab in Houston, no matter where you stay.

The two areas where you will find most of the hotels are Downtown and the Galleria. Downtown is dead after 6PM on weekdays and all through the weekend, the Galleria is congested pretty much all day, every day. But between the two I’d suggest Downtown or use AirBnB. Everything you’ll want to do is between those areas, Montrose, Midtown, Heights.

Highlights for eating and dining are
Underbelly
Hay Merchant
Reef
Uchi
Hugo’s
Backstreet Cafe
Moontower Inn (extremely casual)
Anvil
Poison Girl
Ibiza
Coppa
Lucio’s (great BYOB spot)
Market Bar (best option for downtown dining)
Any number of Taquerias
Lots of food truck options lately

22

No mention of Oxheart or the Pass and Provisions?

23

I haven’t eaten at either of those restaurants.

24

I haven’t eaten at either yet but friends that have had great things to say.

A friend recommended Caracol

http://www.zagat.com/b/houston/8-desserts-to-satisfy-a-chocolate-craving?utm_campaign=-&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_content=houston&utm_term#6

Camerata as wine bar.

25

Houston without a car is tough, if you get off the beaten path our cabs are very unreliable.
for hotels I like the Hotel Icon downtown or ZAZA in the museum district . Caracol is a new restaurant not to be missed in the Galleria, Oxheart and Pass(the formal side of Pass and Provision) is tough to get in but also worth the effort.
I know I’m in the minority but after three trips to underbelly I will not be back the small plates range from ok to very good but the entrees have been inedible I simply do not get the buzz. (I loved the chefs proviso restaurant Catalan)

26

Bill, I agree about Catalan. That was a really wonderful restaurant.

On Underbelly, we rarely get the entrees, we stick to 2-3 small plates if it’s just two of us and we’re usually fine.

I forgot to mention 13 Celsius, a wonderful wine bar in midtown. Paninis, meat and cheese plates, very interesting, well-priced wine list.

Camerata is good, but the markup is unreal. I’ll never spend my money on wine there.

27

In my view, the top tier of Houston restaurants is comprised of: Oxheart, Pass & Provisions, Uchi, Underbelly (inconsistent but sometimes extraordinary), and Tony’s

The next tier would be: Da Marco, Kata Robata, Hugo’s, Reef, Backstreet Cafe, Triniti, Etoile

Best wine bars: 13 Celsius and Camerata

Best other bars: Hay Merchant, Anvil, Poison Girl, OKRA Charity Saloon

28

I posted this in wine talk- but was checking out Underbelly- interesting menu, but LOVE the way they outline their corkage policy!!

BYOB POLICY:
Don’t see a wine you
like? I don’t believe
that BS for a second! OK,
I understand, my feelings
are hurt, but I understand.
Do you have a bottle that you’ve
wanted to pair with some fantastic
food, but don’t have the culinary skill
required to do it justice? Bring it in! You
can BYOB at Underbelly for the low, low price of
$15 per bottle. This helps cover our cost of glassware,
cleaning, etc., but gratuity for the staff serving your wine
is appreciated, and could likely be spent by them on a bottle of
wine after work — support the cause! Our only requests for BYOB are that you not
bring anything that we currently have on our list, and that you not exceed three .750ml
bottles per table. If you break either or both of these rules we will confiscate your wine
and drink it without you. Please check our wine list online, before you bring that special bottle.
THANK YOU

29

Wait … what? Did the BYOB law in Houston change? Or is it because they don’t sell spirits?

J

30

They don’t sell spirits, they tell you to go to Anvil if you want liquor.

31

I live in Houston but don’t know the BYO law. Does anyone know what it is? Is it tied to spirit sales? That would make sense, given that you can BYO at Underbelly and Oxheart (neither of which sell spirits) but not most other places. God I wish you could BYO everywhere here, especially b/c most wine lists are dreadful.

32

If a restaurant has hard liquor, they are not allowed to participate in BYO. If they don’t, it’s up to the restaurant. Somehow Quattro does it legally, though. Not too sure what their exception is.

33

So what are the best wine SHOPS in Houston? You’re in the retail game, right Nolan?