8 cheap eats rooms in Houston, editor-picked. the best low-budget rooms in Houston — the places editors actually return to. All Houston food.
Tacos Tierra Caliente ★ 4.6
montrose · 2003 W Alabama St, Houston, TX 77098
Tacos Tierra Caliente in Houston is the long-running taco truck on West Alabama in Montrose, with al pastor sliced from the trompo and an ice house next door.
Tip: The truck is parked next to the West Alabama Ice House; bring your tacos inside for a beer. Cash and card.
Frenchy's Chicken (Scott Street) ★ 4.5
third-ward · 3602 Scott St, Houston, TX 77004
Frenchy's Chicken on Scott Street in Houston is Percy Creuzot's 1969 Third Ward Creole fried chicken counter, two blocks from Texas Southern University and a Houston Sunday tradition.
Tip: Sunday after church is the line. Weekday lunch is the move. The Scott Street counter is the original; multiple satellites exist.
Pho Binh (Bellaire) ★ 4.4
bellaire-asiatown · 10827 Bellaire Blvd, Houston, TX 77072
Pho Binh on Bellaire Boulevard is the original 1983 Houston pho counter from the Le family, with clean broth, rare-beef pho tai and the city's pho-as-everyday-meal tradition still in place.
Tip: Cash strongly preferred. Bellaire location is the original; the four other branches (Westheimer, Heights, Sharpstown, Katy) are family-run.
Lankford Grocery & Market ★ 4.4
midtown · 88 Dennis St, Houston, TX 77006
Lankford Grocery & Market in Houston is the 1939 corner-store-turned-burger-shack on Dennis Street in Midtown, with the Grim burger, weekday breakfast and a Diners Drive-Ins and Dives feature.
Tip: Cash and card. Closed weekends. Sit at the picnic tables outside; the indoor counter is a single bench.
Eight Row Flint ★ 4.4
the-heights · 1039 Yale St, Houston, TX 77008
Eight Row Flint in Houston is the Heights icehouse from Agricole Hospitality in a converted Citgo gas station on Yale Street, with brisket tacos, frozen margaritas and 200 whiskeys.
Tip: The patio under the old gas station canopy is the seat. East End second location for a different crowd.
Cali Sandwich & Pho ★ 4.4
midtown · 2900 Travis St, Houston, TX 77006
Cali Sandwich & Pho in Houston is the Travis Street Vietnamese counter in Midtown, a Houston banh mi institution since 1979 with bo luc lac, rice plates and salt-pepper tofu.
Tip: Cash strongly preferred. Closed Sundays. The pho here is solid but the banh mi is the reason.
The Original Marini's Empanada House ★ 4.3
galleria-uptown · 10001 Westheimer Rd, Houston, TX 77042
The Original Marini's Empanada House in Houston is the Argentine family kitchen on Westheimer in Westchase since 2007 (1971 in Montrose), with 80 savoury and 39 sweet empanada flavours.
Tip: Order half-dozen mixed (savoury) plus a single sweet to taste. The fried versions are heavier; baked is closer to the Argentine original.
Goode Company Barbeque ★ 4.3
rice-village-upper-kirby · 5109 Kirby Dr, Houston, TX 77098
Goode Company Barbeque on Kirby Drive in Houston is Jim Goode's 1977 mesquite-smoked barbecue room, the city's introduction to commercial Texas barbecue and still a Rice Village staple.
Tip: Multiple Goode Company locations across Houston exist. The Kirby flagship is the original and the only one with the screened porch.