Cuisine of Houston facts for kids
Houston, Texas, is famous for its amazing food! In 1998, a newspaper called USA Today even said it was the "dining-out capital" of the United States. People in Houston love to eat out more than in most other big American cities. Plus, restaurants here often have lower prices.
Why is Houston's food scene so great?
- It's a very diverse city, with people from all over the world. This means you can find many different kinds of food!
- Houston is a big city for energy and a busy port. This brings many different cultures together.
- It's close to Latin America and the Cajun areas of Louisiana, which influences the food.
- It's easier to open a restaurant in Houston because land can be cheaper and there are fewer strict rules.
- Houston has a great system of highways. This makes it easy for most people to drive to restaurants in about 15-20 minutes.
- Because so many people live in Greater Houston, there are enough customers for all sorts of unique restaurants, even those serving very specific ethnic foods.
- Lots of competition means only the best restaurants stay open.
- Living in Houston is often less expensive. This means people have more money to spend on eating out.
In 2010, many food truck vendors faced challenges with city rules. A group called "Save Our Food Trucks" started to help them get their licenses. By 2019, food halls became very popular in Houston. These are places where you can find many different food vendors under one roof.
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Diverse Food Neighborhoods
Houston is a melting pot of cultures, and you can see this in its food. Many neighborhoods specialize in certain types of food from around the world.
Houston's Ethnic Food Spots
- Bissonnet: Filipino, Nigerian, Ethiopian, African American food
- Briar Meadow: Iranian, Lebanese, Arab food
- Chinatown: Chinese, Vietnamese food
- Denver Harbor: Mexican food
- East Downtown: Chinese (this was the old Chinatown)
- Gulfton: Salvadoran, Honduran, Mexican food
- Little Saigon: Vietnamese food
- Second Ward: Mexican food
- Spring Branch: Korean, Salvadorian, Mexican food
- Little India/Mahatma Gandhi District: Indian, Pakistani food
- Meyerland: Jewish food
- Midtown: Vietnamese food
- NRG Park/Texas Medical Center area: Filipino food
- Third Ward: African-American, Louisiana Creole, West Indian, West African food
Food Beyond Houston City Limits
You can also find great ethnic food in towns near Houston:
- Galveston: Italian food
- Katy: Venezuelan food
- Sugar Land: Indian, Chinese food
- Missouri City: Filipino food
Tex-Mex Cuisine
Tex-Mex cuisine is super popular in Houston. It's a mix of traditional Mexican cuisine and Texas flavors. Many Mexican restaurants in Houston add their own Texas twists. When new immigrants from Mexico come to Houston, they also bring new dishes. This keeps the "Mex" in Tex-Mex fresh and exciting! The long-standing Mexican-American community in Houston also influences how these dishes are cooked.
Louisiana Creole Cuisine
People from Louisiana who settled in Houston in the 1920s brought their delicious Creole food with them. After World War II, this style of cooking became even more popular. Today, you can find many restaurants selling Creole food, like Frenchy's Chicken, Pappadeaux, and Popeyes.
Some famous Creole dishes include:
- Boudin (a type of sausage)
- Black rice
- Shrimp creole
- Crawfish
- Gumbo (a hearty stew)
- Jambalaya (a rice dish with meat and vegetables)
Creole cooking became a very important part of Houston's food culture, especially for the African-American community.
Vietnamese Cuisine
Many Vietnamese immigrants have come to Houston, and they've opened many wonderful Vietnamese restaurants. Some places even offer Vietnamese-style crawfish, which is a tasty mix of Louisiana and Vietnamese cuisine.
Houston also has many "you buy, we fry" seafood restaurants. At these places, you can buy fresh seafood, and they will cook it for you. Most of these restaurants are run by Vietnamese immigrants and Vietnamese Americans. This is because many Vietnamese people have worked in the fishing and shrimping industries along the Gulf Coast. These restaurants are especially popular in African-American neighborhoods like the Third Ward, Houston.
Barbecue
Houston has over 100 barbecue restaurants! The first new "craft barbecue" places opened around 2011. You can find many great barbecue spots all over the city, especially in northwest Houston. It's sometimes harder for news to cover Houston barbecue compared to Austin, Texas, because Houston is so spread out. But this also means less competition for each restaurant.
Beef brisket, a popular barbecue meat, became a regular menu item in the 1960s.
Houston's Po-Boy Sandwich
Houston has its own special version of the Po-Boy sandwich. It's traditionally served cold with ham, salami, provolone cheese, and a special relish called chowchow. This sandwich is now called the "Original Po' Boy." There's also a "Super" version with extra meats and cheeses. People say this "Original" Po' Boy is a big part of Houston's food history.
It was created in 1962 by Jalal Antone, a Lebanese American who owned Antone's Import Company. He wanted to offer something familiar to people who might not be used to Middle Eastern food. The Po-Boy was very popular in the 1970s and 1980s. Even though other sandwich shops and banh mi (Vietnamese sandwiches) became popular, the "Original" Po' Boy is still a favorite at Antone's.
Middle Eastern Cuisines
Since the 1960s, many Houston restaurants selling Middle Eastern food also offered sandwiches. This idea came from Jalal Antone, who thought that Americans might find traditional Middle Eastern dishes too unfamiliar at first. So, he suggested opening sandwich shops that also had Middle Eastern items on the menu. This helped introduce new flavors to the city.
Vegan Food Scene
By 2020, Houston had many vegan restaurants, offering plant-based meals. A large number of these vegan restaurants are owned by African-Americans and other non-white owners. This shows the diverse and growing interest in vegan food in Houston.
Famous Houston Restaurants
Houston is home to many well-known restaurants. Here are some of them:
- Antone's Famous Po' Boys
- Bambolino's
- Becks Prime
- Blood Bros. BBQ
- Carrabba's Italian Grill
- Felix Mexican Restaurant
- Frenchy's Chicken
- James Coney Island
- Kim Sơn
- Landry's Restaurants
- Luby's
- Mai's
- Marble Slab Creamery
- Mexican Restaurants, Inc.
- Molina's
- Niko Niko's
- Ninfa's
- Pappas Restaurants
- Saltgrass Steak House
- Shipley Do-Nuts
- Two Pesos
Notable Food Personalities
Some people have become famous for their contributions to Houston's food scene:
- Jim Goode
- Christine Ha
- Ninfa Laurenzo
