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5 and a half hour layover in Houston, TX...Let's Eat!

Howdy Food Picklers,

I am going on vacation and on the way back I have a chance to taste the best of houston.
5 1/2 hours of layover generally would make me cry, but I hope it will be enough time to leave the airport and eat something Authentically Texan, Authentically Houston, Authentically Delicious!
Any and all suggestions welcome.
I know this is Texas where beef and BBQ is king, but there is extra bonus points for any vegetarian friendly suggestions, My wonderful wife is a vegan, and altough she is very gracious and flexible with her eating, i think it would be a hoot to take her to a vegetarian place....eh hem, after I have had some BBQ. ;)

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Answer »
PuppyMonster added almost 2 years ago

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!

bexcahlik added almost 2 years ago

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.

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Chef Michael Kiss is the Cooking Coach at Whole Foods Market in Rockville, Md.

added almost 2 years ago

Awesome folks! This is a great start to think about a plan of action.
Picklers rule!

Me
wssmom added almost 2 years ago

Bubba's Texas Burger Shack immediately comes to mind for the carnivore in you ... can't help with the vegetarian part, sorry!

Debbykalk-photo
latoscana added almost 2 years ago

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.

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