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. ;)

a Whole Foods Market Customer
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5 Comments

latoscana
latoscana July 8, 2011
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.
 
wssmom
wssmom July 8, 2011
Bubba's Texas Burger Shack immediately comes to mind for the carnivore in you ... can't help with the vegetarian part, sorry!
 
Author Comment
A Whole Foods Market Customer
A Whole Foods Market Customer July 8, 2011
Awesome folks! This is a great start to think about a plan of action.
Picklers rule!
 
bexcahlik
bexcahlik July 8, 2011
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.
 
PuppyMonster
PuppyMonster July 8, 2011
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!
 
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