2024 the best restaurant houston review

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(as of Nov 07, 2024 06:54:10 UTC - Details)

With more than fourteen thousand eating establishments covering seventy different ethnic cuisines, Houston is a foodie town. But even in a place where eating out is a way of life and restaurants come and go, there were some iconic spots that earned a special place in the hearts and stomachs of locals. Maxim's taught overnight millionaires how to handle meals that came with three forks. The Trader Vic's at the Shamrock offered dedicated homebodies a chance for the exotic, and Sonny Look's Sirloin Inn maintained the reputation of a city of steakhouses. From Alfred's Delicatessen to Youngblood's Fried Chicken, Paul and Christiane Galvani celebrate the stories and recipes of Houston's fondly remembered tastemakers.

Publisher ‏ : ‎ The History Press (April 23, 2018)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 208 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1467138282
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1467138284
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.48 x 9 inches
Reviewer: Bill Penczak
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A great throwback in Houston's Culinary History
Review: Houston's grown to become a foodie hub, but was so fun to read Paul's book about the restaurants that set the stage for Houston's food scene today. I've shared this book with others, and the conversation always turns to earlier memories of dining with family and friends. My wife and I were married at Vargo's, which is now a condo project. And there are so many other great stories, photos, menus, etc. Well written and researched. Highly recommended.

Reviewer: Debra O.
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Great book!
Review: Great book with lots of memories for us natives. Interesting history for foodies visiting or moving to Houston

Reviewer: Dan J. Henderson
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Trip down Memory Lane
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed the stories and pictures of the 24 reviewed establishments, and there are *so* many other places I wish they'd included!: Los Troncos (a restaurant built in a tree!), Athens Bar & Grill, Zorba's (world's best fried shrimp), Jamie's, Ninfa's (still around, but as Mr. Sanders notes in his review, sold long ago and we'd love to read the story of the founder), Shanghai Red's (floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the ship channel Turning Basin), The Bounty, Steak & Ale, Victoria Station (prime rib served in a railway box car setting), Velvet Turtle, Nick's Fish Market, Roznovsky's, The Hobbit, Star Pizza, Village Inn Pizza (Boyce & Kramer live!), Cafe Express, Red Pepper, Cafe Annie (house made ketchup!), whatever the name of that place was of that burger restaurant the guy opened in his garage off of Chimney Rock south of 59, and dozens more I'm forgetting from my years there, 1967-92. *DO* get this book, and if you want more, a search for "defunct Houston restaurants" should lead you to the Houston architecture site whose Forum has a thread on the topic, where I learned of the existence of Lost Restaurants of Houston. It has a Search function if you're curious about a particular restaurant, which is very helpful, since there are nearly 50 pages of material so far (as of July, 2018).

Reviewer: JUNEBUG51
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: ALMOST PERFECT
Review: As a native Houstonian this was a great book. Still there were a few more restaurants that could have been included. Great pictures, too!

Reviewer: Ashley von Eschenbach
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Great book!
Review: I bought six of these and have them to the men in my family! They really enjoyed them! We are all from Houston and it was fun to look back at the photos of restaurants we enjoyed that are gone now. Brought back tons of fun memories! Thank you! We really enjoyed this book. I will be purchasing more!

Reviewer: Russell J. Sanders
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Good addition to Houston history books, but shallow
Review: I’ve been a Houston resident for over forty years and a frequent visitor long before my arrival to stay for good. So when I saw Paul and Christiane Galvani’s Lost Restaurants of Houston, I knew I had to have it. Sadly, it didn’t fulfill its promise for me. Almost half the book is introductory material. There is a semi-interesting late nineteenth century/early twentieth century history of restaurants in Houston but so much of that is simply naming them and perhaps a short description, as I’m sure there is very little information left about them. That’s all well and good, but it doesn’t address the restaurants I have been to and remember. Then the Galvanis let us know why a restaurant fails. Again—good info, but not what I bought the book for. Finally, they get to individual descriptions of several classic, now closed, Houston eateries. Having eaten at many of them, this was what I was longing to read. I have to admit I enjoyed reading about them, although the writing style is nothing exciting. I found the book, although a glossy volume from a publisher who offers similar books for other cities, to be more like a self-published tome written by an amateur aficionado, rather than a seasoned journalist, as Paul Galvani is. Still, there were a few fascinating anecdotes that enriched my knowledge of Houston history. Compiling the list of what restaurants to write about must have been difficult. There, I suppose, had to be a balance of cultural importance, information available, and the Galvanis’ personal favorites. I do feel that there is a noticeable lack of ethnic restaurants, although one or two seemed to have been owned by African-Americans and a couple of Tex-Mex icons are talked about. Missing is one of the queen of Houston restaurateurs, Ninfa Laurenzo, perhaps because her iconic restaurant is still flourishing but sold by her long ago. I just somehow think that she should have been mentioned somewhere in the book. And three of my personal favorites—Tokyo Gardens, Hamburgers by Gourmet, Cellar Door—were ignored. I understand that not everyone’s favorites could have been included, but a fun, tasty experience with Japanese food, a hamburger place with twenty to thirty choices of toppings, and an iconic bbq/steak house could and should have made the list. In short, the book is a good addition to Houston history books, but it is a not a great one.

Reviewer: Detesdeb
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: trip down memory lane.
Review: As a native Houstonian I have enjoyed almost all the restaurants in the book. It was a fun trip down memory lane. So much fun that I bought several copies for friends and family.

Reviewer: Morton Levy
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: I was pleased that so many of the restaurants I fondly remember ...
Review: Overall, this is a "fun" book and deserves a place in any collection of Houstoniana. Uniform coverage of each restaurant was, obviously, limited by the information that could be uncovered. It is unfortunate that some of the images are too small to read. As a lifelong Houstonian, I was pleased that so many of the restaurants I fondly remember were included.