Over the course of the next few months, I'm counting down 100 of my favorite Houston dishes. I chose some because they are such quintessential Houston creations, others for their cultural or historical significance, and others because they are just so damn tasty. Share your own nominations in the comments.
#18 Tex-Cajun Poutine at BB's Cajun Cafe
"The Tex-Cajun Virgin" at BB's Cajun Cafe is a plate of hot, crispy, shoestring French fries topped with thin roast-beef slices, chile con queso and brown gravy. In this amazing triumph of Gulf Coast folk cuisine, BB's owner Brooks Bassler has concocted a Tex-Mex Cajun version of poutine. When I congratulated Bassler, he told me he had never heard of poutine, the famous Québécois snack of French fries topped with cheese curds and gravy.
"I got the idea from a restaurant in New Orleans called Domilise's," Bassler said. Domilise's is famous for its roast beef poor boy and for shoestring fries with gravy. "While I was sitting there, I saw a lot of people ordered a side of roast beef on top of the fries and gravy." As a long-time Texas resident, Bassler had the bright idea of adding that quintessential liquid cheese, chile con queso.
Poutine has been the subject of lots of food blogs. The much-beloved dish, which is available at every pub, school cafeteria, and McDonald's in Quebec, is enjoying a renaissance lately. At au Pied de Cochon in Montreal, the chef made headlines a few years ago by adding foie gras to his poutine. And of course, sweet potato fries started showing up in poutine during the great sweet potato fry fad. I'll put Bassler's Houston Poutine up against any of them.
The list to date:
#100: Green Chile Chicken Kebabs at Chatkhara Grill #99: The All-Day Burrito at Cherry Top Bakery #98: "You Buy We Fry" Trout Basket at Hank's Fish Market #97: Chicharron de Barriga at La Michoacana Meat Market # 10 #96: Pakistani Breakfast at Kings Chicken #95: Fried Mojarra at Taqueria Jesus Maria #94: Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cake Ball at Coffee Groundz #93:Cheeseburger at Leonard's Famous Burgers #92: Lasagna at Doyle's #91: Cochinita Pibil at Tacos La Bala #90: Fajita Tacos at Taqueria El Charro #89: Kubideh and Zereshk Polo at Kasra Persian Grill #88: Trentino Gelato's Dulce de Leche at Shisha #87: Deviled Eggs at Nielsen's Deli #86: Italian-Cuban Sandwich at Logan Farms #85: Vegetable Trio in Sichuan Sauce at Spicy Sichuan #84: Salchi-Burger at Brisa Cocina #83: El Ultimo Taco Truck's Breakfast Tacos #82: Kielbasa on a Sizzling Comal at Polonia #81: Shrimp and Grits at Bistro Alex, Hotel Sorella #80: A Bowl of Chili at James Coney Island #79: Lamb Dumplings at Lucky Pot #78: Crazy Irishman Sushi Roll at Soma #77:Tesar's "Magic" Burger #76: Mac n' Cheese at Two Saints #75: Spicy Armenian Kebabs at Café Rita #74: Jalapeño Gefilte Fish at Rustika #73: Greek Burger at the Hubcap Grill #72: The Basil Inferno at Thai Bistro #71: Paella at Rioja on Kirkwood #70: The Big Adrian Burger at Adrian's Local Café #69: Dulce de Leche Ice Cream Bar at La Paletera #68: Indonesian Deviled Eggs at Rice Bowl II #67: Al Pastor Quesadillas at Tierra Caliente Meat Market #66: Boudin Kolaches at Shipley's on North Main #65: Banh Cuon at Tay Ho 18 in Hong Kong City Mall #64: Cumin Lamb at Chinese Halal Cuisine on Bellaire #63: Stuffed Artichoke at Mint Café on Sage #62: Italian Sausage Pie at Russo's Coal Oven Pizza #61: Tom Kha Gai at Thai Choice on Wilcrest #60: Torta Cubano Estilo Mexicano at El Amigo Taco Truck #59: Whataburger Triple Meat, Triple Cheese with Bacon and Jalapeños #58: The Banana, Ghiradelli Chocolate Chip and Dulce de Leche Empanada at The Original Marini's #57: The Barbecue Brisket and Egg Breakfast Taco at Plantation BBQ Trailer #56: Chicken-Fried Steak at Frank's Chop House #55: Catfish and Grits at the Breakfast Klub #54: Bun Bo Hue at Kim Chau #53: Beef Tips at Davis Meat Market #52: Moules Frites at Jeanine's Bistro #51: The Fajita Taco at the Taconazo Truck #50: Frito Pie at the Rio Verde Taco Truck #49: Ceviche at Yelapa #48: African-American Beef Links at Bar-B-Que Done Right #47: Pasta with Fresh Peas, Ham and Mushrooms at Ciao Bello #46: Ice Cream at Hank's #45: Oysters with Lardons and Leeks at Brocante #44: Steak Tikka at Himalaya #43: Barbacoa Soup at De Buey Y Vaca #42: Banh Mi Xiu Mai at Don Cafe #41: The BBQ Burger at Guy's Meat Market #40: Indian Borsch at Indika #39: Mole Poblano at Hugo's #38: Banh Bot Chien at Tan Tan #37: Soft-boiled Quail Eggs with Asparagus Tips at Chez Roux #36: Surf and Turf Salad at Que Huong #35: Breakfast Tacos at Laredo Taqueria #34: French Fries at Little Big's #33: The Picnic Platter at the Grove #32: Cheese Enchiladas with Fried Eggs at Los Dos Amigos #31: The Sampler Plate at Café Lili #30: Elysian Fields Lamb and Mushy Peas at Tony's #29: The Cheeseburger at Christian's #28 Couchon de Lait at Stella Sola #27: Warm Glazed Donuts at Shipley's on Ella #26: Fried Shrimp at Segari's #25: Special Enchiladas-A-La-Taylor at Spanish Village #24: Pasta with White Truffles at Da Marco #23: Green Falafel Sandwich at Zabak's #22: The Roast Beef Poor Boy at Mama's Cajun Cuisine #21: Goat Buttermilk and Pecan Pie with San Leon Rum Ice Cream at Haven #20: The Pork Chop at Perry's on Scarsdale #19: Barbacoa Tacos at Gerardo's
