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New Houston Restaurant Recommendations

Jimbaround

By Jimbaround
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mycox

mycox 587

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1 hour ago, Jimbaround said:

No new by any stretch, but I would like to say that I have never had a bad meal at Armando's.  It's a little more expensive than your normal TexMex, but not by much.  Their vegetable queso flameado is a must order.

Armando's used to be fun on Thursday night. It would turn into a dance party with a dj. I wonder if they still do that.

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billfromlaketravis
billfromlaketravis

I’d go to the original Ninfa’s on Navigation for Tex-Mex. Everything is good, but I like the fajita burger best. Trust me. 

ERhine
ERhine

If you're staying at the Marriott Marquis, the obvious answer is Xochi.

ERhine
ERhine

Probably my favorite restaurant in town over the past six months or so. The dessert literally brought my wife to tears it reminded her so much of a dish her mother made.

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DalTxHornFan

DalTxHornFan 3130

Posted
Posted (edited)
3 hours ago, mycox said:

Armando's used to be fun on Thursday night. It would turn into a dance party with a dj. I wonder if they still do that.

Thursday night at Armando's is a trip!  River Oaks MILF's getting their groove on to get the weekend started!

Edited by DalTxHornFan
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mycox

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QJD Peking Duck opening a Houston location -  5901 Westheimer. I suppose you can get your karaoke on after, if you are into that. 

https://houston.eater.com/2018/7/9/17546954/qjd-peking-duck-opening-houston-westheimer-road
 

Later this month, a Peking duck restaurant that’s been open in China for more than 100 years will open its doors in Houston.

QJD Peking Duck is set to host its grand opening at 5901 Westheimer Road later this month, bringing the second North American location of the restaurant to Space City. The restaurant, a spin off of Quan Ju De Roast Duck restaurant in Beijing, was founded in 1864, according to its website, and has operated continuously since the Qing Dynasty. In addition to the Beijing original, a Toronto outpost of QJD Peking Duck opened in September 2017, and has since earned solid reviews for its namesake dish. The restaurant has even scored a nod from President George H.W. Bush, who dined at the Chinese outpost.

As is expected, lacquered and roasted Peking duck is the star of the menu, served with steamed pancakes, vegetables, and a sweet soybean dipping sauce. Duck liver pate, salty duck liver (a dish that sort of resembles foie gras), and spiced smoked fish are also on the menu, along with duck wings, Xi’an rice noodles, and duck tongue soup. Presentation is especially important at QJD — bites of duck are fashioned into pretty rosettes, a tofu dish is decorated with little duckling cutouts, and the garnishes are particularly extravagant.

QJD Peking Duck will kick open its doors on Friday, July 20 with a grand opening party from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

 

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mycox

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1 minute ago, mycox said:

QJD Peking Duck opening a Houston location -  5901 Westheimer. I suppose you can get your karaoke on after, if you are into that. 

https://houston.eater.com/2018/7/9/17546954/qjd-peking-duck-opening-houston-westheimer-road

QJD Peking Duck is set to host its grand opening at 5901 Westheimer Road later this month, bringing the second North American location of the restaurant to Space City. The restaurant, a spin off of Quan Ju De Roast Duck restaurant in Beijing, was founded in 1864, according to its website, and has operated continuously since the Qing Dynasty. In addition to the Beijing original, a Toronto outpost of QJD Peking Duck opened in September 2017, and has since earned solid reviews for its namesake dish. The restaurant has even scored a nod from President George H.W. Bush, who dined at the Chinese outpost.

As is expected, lacquered and roasted Peking duck is the star of the menu, served with steamed pancakes, vegetables, and a sweet soybean dipping sauce. Duck liver pate, salty duck liver (a dish that sort of resembles foie gras), and spiced smoked fish are also on the menu, along with duck wings, Xi’an rice noodles, and duck tongue soup. Presentation is especially important at QJD — bites of duck are fashioned into pretty rosettes, a tofu dish is decorated with little duckling cutouts, and the garnishes are particularly extravagant.

QJD Peking Duck will kick open its doors on Friday, July 20 with a grand opening party from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

 

 

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Tylerocks

Tylerocks 2603

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Went to Nancy's Hustle over the weekend. 

My wife and I liked it.  Mother in law, not so much..

Got the nancy cakes with whipped butter and smoked trout roe.  Loved them.

Wife got the sourdough tagliatelli, burrata, honey, pistachios, and crispy brussels sprouts.  I think this was the best dish we had.

I got the wood grilled half chicken, basque chili, charred scallions, and preserved lemon jus  --Kind of generic.  It was good, but just your basic roasted chicken.

Mother in law got the tomato salad with pickled shrimp--she wasn't a fan.  I liked it.  Of course I wouldn't have gotten that as my meal, but that's another story.

 

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huge

huge 3831

Posted
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16 hours ago, pepper brooks said:

Anyone been to aqui?  Heading there tonight.

Yes, for apps and cocktails.  Sat at the chef's table/raw bar area.  We liked everything we had but I don't remember any standouts.

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pepper brooks

pepper brooks 580

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43 minutes ago, huge said:

Yes, for apps and cocktails.  Sat at the chef's table/raw bar area.  We liked everything we had but I don't remember any standouts.

That was kinda our experience. Everything was good, but nothing really blew me away nor would have me rushing back to do it again.  My guess is it won’t make it much longer. Was really empty.  Granted it was Wednesday.  

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GreenspointTexas

GreenspointTexas 9963

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22 minutes ago, pepper brooks said:

That was kinda our experience. Everything was good, but nothing really blew me away nor would have me rushing back to do it again.  My guess is it won’t make it much longer. Was really empty.  Granted it was Wednesday.  

Heard nothing but good things, but when wife and I went, we had bad service and even worse food. I was surprised because we love all of PQs other concepts

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Tyler Durden

Tyler Durden 132

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12 hours ago, pepper brooks said:

That was kinda our experience. Everything was good, but nothing really blew me away nor would have me rushing back to do it again.  My guess is it won’t make it much longer. Was really empty.  Granted it was Wednesday.  

That's how  I felt about BCN once I finally got there.  

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pepper brooks

pepper brooks 580

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On 7/26/2018 at 9:56 AM, GreenspointTexas said:

Heard nothing but good things, but when wife and I went, we had bad service and even worse food. I was surprised because we love all of PQs other concepts

Our service did not help. We basically told the guy “we’ve never been here, just bring us the top 10 chefs items we should eat”.  Guy someone how neglected to include the fresh, live soft shell crab and A5 carpaccio in his selections. Wtf?  I had to Order those myself.  I would say everything was good/fine, whatever, but nothing blew any of us away.  

 

The debris po’boy and brisket  I ate at bucks bbq yesterday was better than anything i had at AQui. Of course, that isn’t as much a knock on AQui as it is confirmation champ is killing it over at bucks. 

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Storm the Field

Storm the Field 5366

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Looks like Ford Fry's duo of Tex-Mex & Gulf Coast restaurants in the Heights are getting close to opening. 

Drove by today and the signs for "Superica" and "La Lucha" have gone up on the corner of 18th and Shepherd. Would imagine they should be open to public by end of summer.

Throw in all the stuff going in at Heights Waterworks and there's going to be a lot more dining options in the Heights/Shady Acres in the near future. Pile the HEB at 23rd opening next spring on top of that and that whole area should be a real peach to drive around/park next year.

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Etexhorn13

Etexhorn13 3094

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Finally got over to Nancy’s Hustle tonight. Really really dug the place. I think we enjoyed the some of the small plates more than the entrees, but that’s only because he small plates (lamb dumplings, meatballs, and Nancy cakes) were all superb. Definitely worthy of makin a visit to. 

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closetojumping

closetojumping 65388

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Hell, I figured you guys would be talking about the new One Fifth concept somewhere on this page. Apparently they opened this weekend. I went when it was a steakhouse and we really enjoyed it. I still prefer some other steakhouses, but it was pretty good and I'll go when they open this concept in a permanent location. We went again during the Romance Languages phase and thought it was okay. They had a couple of amazing dishes and then a bunch of meh, honestly. Apparently they thought so as well, given that the owner/concept celebrity guy basically said it was a lesson learned in one of the local publications. 

Now they're on to Mediterranean food. They seem really excited about it. I'm sitting on a $500 gift card some person or entity gave me at some point in the last year. I don't remember, but I've got it, or my wife does, and I was hoping to do it up once the new concept opened. I read about it this morning and looked at the menu, and well, it's not my thing. I don't mind Mediterranean food on occasion, but of all foods I've tried, it's the least compelling to me. I don't see how hummus can ever be exciting, feta cheese is chalky, and I can only eat so many variations of lemon or yogurt flavored meats. So that sucks. 

Sorry for the downer post, I guess. Maybe that food style excites someone here and they'll dig it.

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PappyVanVinceYoung

PappyVanVinceYoung 85

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On 3/29/2018 at 10:24 AM, Hank Kingsley said:

Went to Doris Metropolitan for the 2nd time last night.  Really like this place.  Bread service is incredible.  Got the "classified cut" this time and it was excellent. 

I went there this weekend, and I think it was the worst steak I have had in years. It was flavorless. I just had the ribeye, medium rare. It looked good, but it was just incredibly bland. My wife had the classified cut, and she thought it was okay, but not great. I don't really have any explanation. Maybe I just got a bad cut of meat. 

The bread service was good. I also got the tuna tartare appetizer, which was solid. I got mushrooms for a side. They sucked.

All in all, it was a very disappointing experience.

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Storm the Field

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Semi-interesting: Pit Room owner is buying, tweaking the menus and renaming all of Lee Ellis' restaurants (Star Fish, Lee's Fried Chicken, Pi Pizza)

The company's plan begins with changing the names of both Pi and Lee's to disassociate them from the previous owners. Other changes will include updated branding, new menus, and improving service. To assist with the growth, Sambrooks has brought on Houston restaurant veteran Steve Breaker (Uchi, Reef) to serve as director of operations. 

Sambrooks tells CultureMap that Pi will be his first priority. He intends to expand the menu with more wing flavors, more sandwiches, and the addition of a deep dish pizza. At Star Fish, the short term plan is to improve the current menu, but at some point in the next couple of months, the restaurant will close briefly to install a completely new menu. Of course, his experience at The Pit Room will play a role, too. 

"You're going to see smoke and barbecue popping up on all the menus somewhere," Sambrooks says. "We've already talked about a barbecue pizza. [At Star Fish] we're gonna have some fun with it by smoking some fish." 

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closetojumping

closetojumping 65388

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On 9/4/2018 at 11:11 AM, closetojumping said:

Hell, I figured you guys would be talking about the new One Fifth concept somewhere on this page. Apparently they opened this weekend. I went when it was a steakhouse and we really enjoyed it. I still prefer some other steakhouses, but it was pretty good and I'll go when they open this concept in a permanent location. We went again during the Romance Languages phase and thought it was okay. They had a couple of amazing dishes and then a bunch of meh, honestly. Apparently they thought so as well, given that the owner/concept celebrity guy basically said it was a lesson learned in one of the local publications. 

Now they're on to Mediterranean food. They seem really excited about it. I'm sitting on a $500 gift card some person or entity gave me at some point in the last year. I don't remember, but I've got it, or my wife does, and I was hoping to do it up once the new concept opened. I read about it this morning and looked at the menu, and well, it's not my thing. I don't mind Mediterranean food on occasion, but of all foods I've tried, it's the least compelling to me. I don't see how hummus can ever be exciting, feta cheese is chalky, and I can only eat so many variations of lemon or yogurt flavored meats. So that sucks. 

Sorry for the downer post, I guess. Maybe that food style excites someone here and they'll dig it.

I went to the new One Fifth concept this weekend with my wife and another couple and we used our GC. I have to tell you, this place surprised me. I really liked it and we're looking forward to going back. The Turkish Hummus was fucking awesome, and who gives a shit about hummus, right? It was damn near like queso. The lamb plates were all the balls as well. Cheap bastards can go there and eat what I think may be the best price/quality ratio food in the city. They have a tasting menu for $65 a person. We blew through that because of the card, and had damn near everything on the menu. 

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pepper brooks

pepper brooks 580

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Georgia James opening tonight.  Anyone going?  Based off my experience at 1/5 Steak, this doesn't really move the needle for me.  I can't help but think SHeppherd has made a strategic error gutting UB, and converting to a steakhouse when his 1/5 steak seemed to be pretty underwhelming to most people I know who tried it.  I don't ever even thingk to go to UB Preserve, and my friend who have been have largely been disappointed that is just doesn't seem to have the same juice it did as UB.  THat said, I am sure he is going to make way more money on the steak house in the short term.  I suppose if he gets it right it will be a huge money maker for him.  I'm just not that excited about it, but interested in hearing if it turns out better than the 1/5 steak.  

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pepper brooks

pepper brooks 580

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Just now, GreenspointTexas said:

He’s the most overrated chef in town, imo. Never had anything amazing from him, been to 6 different restaurants of his

I think that's a bit harsh.  He did great things at Ibiza and Catalon.  I think Underbelly was definitely deserving of it's praise.  I think the guy is creative and talented, and really good at marrying various cuisines of the Houston melting pot.  He does seem to have a bit of chef ADD, but I also admire that he doesn't sit on his laurels and is willing to take risk and do something new and creative.  

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GreenspointTexas

GreenspointTexas 9963

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I do have to agree with your last point. Thats pretty badass. Catalon was his best, but i guess i just expected more from underbelly. The 3 iterations of 1/5th have been ok, but the pricing sure as fuck aint worth the food/drinks. I do like how he is trying to tell the story of houstons culinary scene, but I just think he is a little too spread out/all over the map at this point

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pepper brooks

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3 minutes ago, GreenspointTexas said:

I do have to agree with your last point. Thats pretty badass. Catalon was his best, but i guess i just expected more from underbelly. The 3 iterations of 1/5th have been ok, but the pricing sure as fuck aint worth the food/drinks. I do like how he is trying to tell the story of houstons culinary scene, but I just think he is a little too spread out/all over the map at this point

definitely seems to lack some focus.  ANd you're absolutely right on the pricing.  I would definitely not consider myself "cheap", but I was astonished when I got the bill at 1/5 steak.  I eat at more steakhouses than I care to admit so I know the deal when you walk in.  Even knowing that, my god.  Our party was 3.  Me, wife (from nam - literally), son (8 at the time).  We had 2 apps, mediocre wine that I think was probably $95ish if I recall, 2 steaks.  Son and I split the porterhouse special.  Don't recall dessert or not.  I do recall getting the bill, and just shaking my head.  It was a true WTF?  Worse was our porterhouse that was allegedly from one of God's most impeccable creatures was tough as hell, and lacking any sort of flavor one would expect from such an alleged prime cut.  

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Storm the Field

Storm the Field 5366

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Went to check out Superica for lunch today with a bunch of guys from work. We were all quite impressed. 

They have a great lunch special going right now but it sounds like it's just an introductory deal. 

Anyways, the steak in their tacos al carbon is legit, and a couple of guys were raving about the massive carnitas they ordered. 

Also, whoever they have making their drinks there is a pro.

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Hank Scorpio

Hank Scorpio 17924

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Went to Georgia James last night. Had charcuterie and roasted oysters to start, both of which were very good. Got the bone in ribeye, it was well seasoned but slightly overcooked. I didn't send it back because I'm a pussy. Overall it was comparable to any other high end steak house in town, except 50% more expensive. I wasn't paying so I can't complain, but Jesus fuck it's just a steak. I think if I'm paying I will just stick with Papas or B&B. 

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huge

huge 3831

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I went to Mastros last night as kind of a joke because my I Banker friend was in town and paying.

I’ll admit it was fun and the food was mostly good.

The whipass $235 bottle of Red didn’t hurt. My goodness that was good wine. As was the $28 Kentucky Owl.

5cc8880d3eaac5a5d16b0782cbbf95d5.jpg

I didn’t even bother with a steak as I was already drunk and ate a ton of bread. Octopus carpaccio was excellent.

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Storm the Field

Storm the Field 5366

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https://houston.eater.com/2018/10/12/17966538/bobby-heugel-justin-yu-new-bar-southern-goods-space-rumor

After the smash success of Better Luck Tomorrow, it looks as if the Houston dining power duo of Bobby Heugel and Justin Yu are planning a brand new establishment.

Permit applications filed this week with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission indicate that Heugel and Yu intend to take over the building at 632 West 19th Street, formerly occupied by now-shuttered restaurant Southern Goods.

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huge

huge 3831

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I wish Bobby wasn't such a pedantic dick half the time.  Figured out he lives in my neighborhood when he posted a passive aggressive selection of snide comments on NextDoor.

We get it Bobby, you're the best bar/restaurant guy like evar.

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Tonesky

Tonesky 1056

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3 hours ago, Johnny Sack said:

Went to Amalfi on Westheimer Friday night with wife and kids.  Looks like nothing on outside.  It’s in a strip mall near the Palm and Sun and Ski Sports.  Food and service were just outstanding.  Highly recommend.  

Been meaning to try it for some time, and finally did for HRW - very impressed. 

But, we did get a bit of a snooty response to rejecting a bottle of wine - an assumption that the wine was fine and an offer for us to select a different bottle. No, asshole, taste this shit and bring us another bottle of this wine. 

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