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Best Sushi

Sushi Miyagi

This mom-and-pop sushi restaurant in a slow-paced Chinatown strip mall doesn't look like much from the outside. The only indication of its quality lies in its name: Miyagi is an extremely common name in the Ryukyu Islands, and it serves to let other Japanese know that an Okinawan runs this place. Miyagi himself is the sushi chef, his wife the sole waitress (and creative force behind the restaurant's art). The two of them serve the most honest, authentic sushi in town. The rice is well-vinegared and hand-formed, while the fish is superbly cut, always served at a pleasantly ambient temperature. Best of all, the prices and the atmosphere make it easily accessible, and the Miyagis will always make you feel at home.

Best Wings

Xuco Xicana

The old Midtown location of El Patio has been transformed under Chef Jonathan Jones — he of Beaver's fame — into a raucous, vivacious exploration of modern Mexican cuisine. Between leche de tigre-laced ceviches and kicky carne guisada tacos, you'll find his Jalisco-style wings. An odd item for a Mexican menu, perhaps, but Jones makes the queso fresco-topped wings work wonderfully through a special vinegar-based hot sauce spiked with chile de arbol, allspice, cloves, cumin, pepitas, garlic and toasted sesame seeds. And forget celery sticks — these wings are served with slices of jicama to cool off your palate between bites.

Best Vietnamese Rice Plate

Com Tam Kieu Giang

Photo by Houston Press Staff
For Vietnamese people, eating a broken rice, or com tam, plate is synonymous with eating a burger. Start with a rice plate and add toppings like grilled pork, grilled beef, meatballs, shredded pork, Korean-style beef shortribs, Chinese sausage, fried eggs and more. As the name would suggest, Com Tam Kieu Giang specializes in doing these rice plates, and while many combinations are suggested for you, you can order a rice plate here with as many toppings as you like. The restaurant is family owned and operated, and the owner uses her own recipes, proudly uses no MSG and is always on-site, making sure that your rice plate is excellent every time. Most three-item plates run just $5.95, so it's a bargain as well. Cash only.

Best Calamari

Zimm's Little Deck

At most restaurants, the calamari is an afterthought. But at Zimm's Little Deck, it's given just as much attention as its fancy po-boys and signature cocktails. Here, fresh — never frozen — squid is battered as lightly as possible and served in a no-nonsense white paper boat that lets the squid shine. The sauces served on the side push this dish into award-winning territory, however: a kicky green Tabasco mash with diced bits of green chile in one ramekin and a creamy lemon aioli in the other. You'll never want to see cocktail sauce again.

Best Burger

Plonk

Although you wouldn't expect it from a wine bar, Plonk has one of the best bacon cheeseburgers we've ever tasted. And that's because Plonk is more than just a wine bar: It combines excellent food with expertly chosen wine and beer in a cozy, neighborhood setting. The guanciale burger is the best example of that food. Its buns are toasted in the pizza oven while Swiss cheese melts onto the top bun, and when combined, they sandwich a huge patty that's rampant with beef juices and covered with caramelized onions and "face bacon." The face bacon is that eponymous guanciale that is bacon's fancier and tastier cousin, trimmed from the pig's jowls and cured until delicious.

Best Cajun Restaurant

Danton's

Photo by Troy Fields
Danton Nix isn't Cajun, but you'd never know it from his spot-on Cajun and Creole dishes at his namesake restaurant. Tucked into an unassuming building in the Museum District, Danton's always feels like your own secret discovery. Nights spent gulping down fresh Gulf oysters in the mahogany-paneled bar with an IPA or Sundays spent at its laid-back jazz brunches are some of the best dining experiences to be had in Houston. Try the oyster stew with tasso or the crawfish half-and-half for a taste of the Big Easy in the Bayou City.

Best Restaurant Atmosphere

Moon Tower Inn

You don't just come to Moon Tower for the hot dogs; you come for the sign that says "This ain't fast food. Shut up and wait!" You don't come to grab your dogs and wolf them down in five minutes; you come to share pitchers of Real Ale and throw horseshoes with your friends. You come to watch motorcycle gangs mingle with hipsters arriving on fixies, Second Ward neighbors mixing with downtowners just off work. You come to watch the sun go down over downtown on this otherwise quiet stretch of Canal, then watch the backyard at Moon Tower come to life at night like a beacon in the dark. You come here to come home. Yes, and for the hot dogs, too.

Best Sangria

Ibiza Food & Wine Bar

The sangria at Ibiza Food & Wine Bar, with its light and fruity flavors, is the perfect summer drink. Not overwhelmed by the red wine, Ibiza's version has an aromatic sweetness that tastes mildly of melons; a sip, and you'll be transported to summers in Spain. The only improvement we can think of would be for Ibiza to offer this sangria by the pitcher; for now, it's available only by the glass and costs $6.

Best Gay-Friendly Restaurant

Ziggy's Bar & Grill

Deep in the heart of the Gayborhood, Ziggy's has been taking all comers and serving them delicious, healthy food for years, long before the corner of Fairview and Taft became the hot spot that it is today. Ziggy's proudly proclaims that 70 percent of its customers are regulars, and you'll see why so many of them return again and again to the creaky old dining room or well-manicured patio. The rainbow flags hung outside are repeated in the restaurant's multicolored logo, and its Twitter account isn't only a guide to what they're serving that day, but updates on local queer news like helpful Pride Parade tips and links to articles about the new remembrance garden down the street for gay victims of violence.

Best Beef Noodle Soup

San Dong Noodle House

The beef soup at Chinatown's San Dong Noodle House (formerly Santong Snack) is a rich, full-bodied potion, dark in color and redolent with the aroma of long-simmered meat. If you order the Roast Beef Soup Noodle, you get the broth plus a handful of baby bok choy, a pile of long, medium-thick wheat noodles, and diced, pickled vegetables. If you order the Roast Beef Noodle (and you should), you get all of the above as well as several large chunks of beef. Make no mistake: The richness of the broth comes from the fattiness of the beef. This is no soup for a diet. But boy, does it hit the spot. The staff can be a bit impatient if you dither at the counter about your order, but in part that's because of the line of hungry people behind you.

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