Restaurant Reviews

BBQ Cookoff at Hotel ZaZa Yields Tasty Sliders

BBQ Cookoff at Hotel ZaZa Yields Tasty Sliders

The Chef's Table: A Delicious Social Hour

The Chef's Table: A Delicious Social Hour

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The Lymbar: Houston Restaurant Weeks Lunch

By Lorretta Ruggiero
Aug 22, 2023

Houston Restaurant Weeks, which launched August 1, is heading into its third week so we figured we needed to brave the heat and head for a new establishment before the annual fundraising event ends September 4. Having already tried Dario's Steakhouse & Seafood on our side of town, my companion...
Dario's: Houston Restaurant Weeks Lunch

By Lorretta Ruggiero
Aug 16, 2023

Houston Restaurant Weeks began August 1 and social media across Houston is teeming with photos and reviews from enthusiastic diners. The citywide fundraising event from the Cleverley Stone Foundation raises funds for Houston Food Bank and brings in business for local restaurants while offering Houstonians the opportunity to take advantage...
Tumble 22: Summer Happy Hour

By Lorretta Ruggiero
Jul 18, 2023

For the past month, we have made some forays into different parts of Houston to find happy hour specials and dining deals to help relieve the heat of summer and the pain of inflation. And it's been a good thing. For this writer, July and August are my cabin fever...
Checking Out J. Christopher's Kingwood

By Lorretta Ruggiero
Jul 11, 2023

Lately, we've been checking out new Houston happy hour places here at the Houston Press to find some drinking and dining deals for our readers. Oftentimes, my husband, Classic Rock Bob is my companion on these tough assignments. However, he was out of town this past week and my friend,...
Weekend Happy Hour at The Rustic

By Lorretta Ruggiero
Jul 4, 2023

Houston is a third of the way through summer, if you don't count September, a month which takes its sweet time to cool down. With a promised break in the heat wave that has held us in its steamy hands for nearly two weeks, we are once again heading outdoors...
Happy Hour Houston: Loro Asian Smokehouse

By Lorretta Ruggiero
Jun 27, 2023

It's summer in Houston which means it's getting hot, quick. However, it's not only the temperatures that are rising but the cost of going out to eat and drink as well. The COVID pandemic put many restaurants in jeopardy with the shutdown restrictions. Once those were lifted, restaurants were affected...
First Look: Los Tios Buffalo Speedway

By Lorretta Ruggiero
Jun 20, 2023

On a sweltering Friday afternoon, my husband, Classic Rock Bob, and I decided to check out the current Impressionist exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. After a perspiring walk back to our car, we felt that a couple of frozen margaritas were just the thing to cool us...
Sharky's: Waterfront Dining in Kingwood

By Lorretta Ruggiero
May 31, 2023

Houston in the summer means sizzling pavements, 100 percent humidity (without rain, somehow) and weather patterns that range from extreme drought to sudden, torrential downpours. While many Houstonians escape for a week or two to some less ferocious climate, there's still the rest of the season to contend with, unless...
Urban Bird Hot Chicken Flies High

By Lorretta Ruggiero
Apr 12, 2023

There's no shortage of hot chicken restaurants in Houston. As a local food writer covering new eateries, I continue to be amazed, and sometimes baffled, by the number of fried chicken sandwich, tender and wing businesses that not only continue to open, but thrive in our city. "What the cluck?"...
Los Compadres: First Look at a Hidden Gem

By Lorretta Ruggiero
Mar 2, 2023

When the weather is beautiful and warm in Houston on a February day, it's tempting to play hooky from work and responsibilities. If you can find a partner to join you, that's even better. Such was the case recently when I convinced my spouse, Classic Rock Bob, to step away...
Quick Bites: Tacos El Patron and Home Slice

By Lorretta Ruggiero
Jan 12, 2023

While some Houstonians began their January dry or by joining a gym, my household was still in vacation mode. With kids on college break and post-holiday funk, my husband Classic Rock Bob and I weren't quite ready to start our New Year's resolutions. Recent outings that included errand-running and concert-going...
Mexican Pizza Showdown: Taco Cabana Vs. Taco Bell

By Lorretta Ruggiero
Jan 4, 2023

During the height of the COVID pandemic, many of us dealt with supply chain issues and not always getting what we wanted. Restaurants and food businesses had to adapt and customers were understanding, for the most part. However, when Taco Bell announced in September 2020 that it was removing the...
First Look: Revamped Playa Azul

By Lorretta Ruggiero
Dec 14, 2022

I live north of Houston in the suburbs. Though my culinary travels take me all over Houston, it's always nice to have a solid go-to restaurant or two nearby that I can rely on. For my family, Playa Azul was one of those places. Sometimes, we took our teenage kids...
First Look: Cherry Block Stomping Grounds

By Lorretta Ruggiero
Nov 3, 2022

Houston has a multitude of new retail and dining destinations opening every day so it can be hard to settle upon where to go for lunch or a quick bite. There are downtown food halls, suburban plazas and repurposed structures doubling as dining and workspace destinations everywhere it seems. That's...
BB's Tex-Orleans: Houston Restaurant Weeks

By Lorretta Ruggiero
Aug 23, 2022

Houston gourmands and restaurant connoisseurs love the month of August when Houston Restaurant Weeks runs from August 1 through Labor Day. Restaurants around the Greater Houston area participate in the annual event to help raise funds for the Cleverley Stone Foundation and Houston Food Bank. For the participants, it helps...
A Sneak Peek at Uchiko Houston

By Lorretta Ruggiero
May 25, 2022

Houstonians love their sushi. They also love their live fire. It doesn't take much to get barbecue enthusiasts debating different woods and techniques when it comes to working with coals and flames. Though often it's centered heavily around meat and occasionally vegetables, others are taking the live fire technique to...
Michy's Chino Boricua Adds Chinese Puerto Rican Cuisine to Houston's Diverse Food Scene

By Jesse Sendejas Jr.
May 24, 2022

Few Houstonians are as qualified as Michelle Lao to expound upon the goodness of Chinese Puerto Rican cuisine. We sat rapt and ready to eat at Lao’s westside restaurant, Michy’s Chino Boricua, as she related her own story with the fare, one which began in China, was forged in Puerto...
First Look at La Calle Ella, Margaritas at Juanita's

By Lorretta Ruggiero
May 10, 2022

When the weather heats up in Houston, many of us get a yen for a cold margarita at the end of the work week and it's even better when you find a willing partner to convince you to play hooky. Last week, my husband and I decided to satisfy our...
Backstreet Cafe: Picture Perfect Patio Day

By Lorretta Ruggiero
Feb 15, 2022

The winter months in Houston this year have been up and down temperature wise. And though we are used to the fluctuations, this year seems particularly erratic; 70 degrees one day, 35 degrees the next. Last week, however, a bright sunny day with temps in the low 70s and no...
First Look: Krazy Dog Korean Corn Dogs

By Lorretta Ruggiero
Jan 4, 2022

I have never been a fan of hot dogs but corn dogs are another matter. The deep-fried cornmeal batter transforms the humble weenie into something sublime and I usually enjoy mine with more yellow mustard than a person should eat in one sitting. So, when I saw that Krazy Dog...

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