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I have been in precisely this situation -- depending on when you arrive, 5.5 hours is not long enough to do a lot in Houston, since you have to get back and clear security again. If you are flying into IAH, north of town, it can take 30-40 minutes to get downtown if there is traffic. My best advice, actually, is to hit Pappasitos on north I-45 -- easy to get to from IAH, and fantabulous fajitas -- the quail is excellent. There will be salads, but not too much that is vegan friendly. Good luck!
Lupe Tortilla has amazing steak fajitas (better than Pappasitos). Chuy's is another classic Texas restaurant that has good mexican food (really good chicken). Also, IAH has a Pappasitos and a Pappas bbq i think, so if you can't make it out of the airport, you can still get good food.
Chef Michael Kiss is the Cooking Coach at Whole Foods Market in Rockville, Md.
added almost 2 years agoAwesome folks! This is a great start to think about a plan of action.
Picklers rule!
Bubba's Texas Burger Shack immediately comes to mind for the carnivore in you ... can't help with the vegetarian part, sorry!
There are many more layers to Texas, and especially Houston, than chicken fried steak. Houston is a great restaurant city with many inventive chefs.
How about Indian? Indika has fabulous Indian cuisine, many veggie options: http://www.indikausa.com/. There's such a big South Asian population in Houston that there is a booming cricket league with three divisions.
For classic Tex-Mex, Ninfa's on Navigation is the real deal. For nuevo Mex-Mex, try Hugo's on Westheimer. Vegetarians will not go hungry.