Cali Sandwich & Pho in Houston is the Midtown Vietnamese counter on Travis Street since 1979, with BBQ pork banh mi for $5, bo luc lac rice plates and Vietnamese iced coffee.
Tip: BBQ pork is the canonical banh mi. Cash strongly preferred; closed Sundays.
Address: 2900 Travis St, Houston, TX 77006
Frenchy's Chicken in Houston is Percy Creuzot's 1969 Third Ward Creole fried chicken counter on Scott Street, the city's defining Black-Houston Sunday-after-church institution.
Try: Creole fried chicken three-piece
Tip: Three-piece dark meat with dirty rice and red beans. Sunday after church is the queue; weekday lunch is the move.
Crawfish and Noodles in Houston is Trong Nguyen's Bellaire Boulevard Viet-Cajun crawfish room since 2008, the country's defining lemongrass-garlic-butter crawfish boil.
Try: Viet-Cajun crawfish boil
Tip: Crawfish season is late February to early June. Off-season the kitchen pivots to blue crab and Dungeness; both are worth ordering.
The Original Marini's Empanada House in Houston is the Argentine family kitchen on Westheimer in Westchase since 2007, with 80 savoury and 39 sweet empanada flavours.
Try: Argentine beef empanadas
Tip: Get a half-dozen mixed savoury plus one sweet. The baked beef empanada is closer to the Argentine original than the fried version.
Lankford Grocery & Market in Houston is the 1939 Midtown corner-store-turned-burger-shack on Dennis Street, with the Grim Hatch-chile burger and a Diners Drive-Ins feature.
Try: The Grim (Hatch chile burger)
Tip: Get there at 11am for a counter seat. The Grim and sweet potato fries are the canonical order; Fri lunch has a line.
Tacos Tierra Caliente in Houston is the West Alabama taco truck in Montrose, with al pastor from the trompo, carne asada and the West Alabama Ice House next door for beers.
Try: Tacos al pastor
Tip: Three al pastor with pineapple and a side of consomme is the canonical order. Bring tacos into the ice house for beers.
