Xochi in Houston is Hugo Ortega's Oaxacan dining room at the Marriott Marquis downtown, a James Beard winner with seven moles, a tasting menu and a masa bar in view.
Must order: Mole tasting flight. The chichilo (one of the harder moles). House-made tlayuda.
Tip: Lunch tasting at $48 is the value entry. Sit at the masa bar to watch the corn ground fresh.
Address: 1777 Walker St, Houston, TX 77010
Pappas Bros Steakhouse Downtown is the Houston steakhouse on McKinney Street with a 4,000-bottle James Beard outstanding wine program, dry-aged ribeyes and cellar-aged Bordeaux by the glass.
Order: 28-day dry-aged bone-in ribeye. Creamed spinach. Ask the sommelier for a glass of older Bordeaux.
Tip: The wine list is unrivalled in the city. The Galleria-area location on Westheimer serves the same menu but with a busier room.
Killen's Steakhouse in Pearland is Ronnie Killen's white-tablecloth steakhouse on West Broadway, with a 1,200-bottle wine tower, 44-Farms wagyu and dry-aged cuts off the side menu.
Order: The bone-in ribeye, dry-aged. Le Cordon Bleu mashed potatoes. The wagyu flight when offered.
Tip: Pearland is south of downtown Houston; 25 minutes drive. The bar serves the full menu and is easier than the dining room.
Brennan's of Houston is the 1967 Texas Creole dining room on Smith Street, the New Orleans Brennan family's Houston outpost, with turtle soup, bananas Foster tableside and Sunday jazz brunch.
Order: Turtle soup with sherry. Bananas Foster, flambeed tableside, to close. Pecan-crusted Gulf fish at dinner.
Tip: Sunday jazz brunch is the local routine. Reserve the courtyard if the temperature stays under 30C.
Da Marco in Houston is Marco Wiles's Italian dining room on Westheimer since 2002, with hand-rolled pastas, a salt-baked branzino and Houston's most serious Italian wine list.
Order: Whichever pasta is on the daily blackboard. Salt-baked branzino if it is on. Order one of the older Barolos.
Tip: The upstairs room is quieter and smaller. Closed Sunday and Monday.
State of Grace in Houston is Ford Fry's River Oaks dining room on Westheimer, a Southern-and-steakhouse menu in a redesigned room of limewashed brick, chandeliers and Gulf oyster service.
Order: A dozen Gulf oysters and the wood-grilled wagyu strip. The Gulf fish of the day on a Friday.
Tip: The bar serves the full menu and is the quickest seat at peak. Sunday brunch is the local routine.
Hugo's in Houston is Hugo Ortega's regional Mexican room on Westheimer since 2002, with cochinita pibil, chiles en nogada in season and a chocolate-from-the-stone service tableside.
Order: Cochinita pibil. Chiles en nogada when in season (August to September). Tableside hot chocolate.
Tip: Sunday brunch buffet is the city standard. Reserve the noon slot; it sells out by Tuesday.
