Specialties in Houston

Absinthe overflows with lush libations in an unmarked lower Montrose building that looks like an office warehouse. Ideal for date night or a low-key nightcap, the low-lit lounge offers a variety of martinis, beer and wine to accompany signature "Green Fairy" cocktails such as the Hallucinating Melon, Inferno or Hemingway's Revenge. The bar seating is supplemented by some couches up front and tables in the back room.

This Memorial-area location is an unusual buffet and salad bar restaurant located in the middle of a health food store. The vegetables on the salad bar at Georgia's Farm to Market are exquisitely fresh, the bread is whole wheat, and everything on the hot food buffet is healthy. Don't miss the herb tea cart.

Though the once-legendary Sunday brunch at Hilton Houston Post Oak's The Promenade is no longer served, a substantial daily breakfast buffet featuring more than 60 items goes a way toward filling that void. In addition, upscale American fare is served during lunch and until 10 p.m. for dinner. There's no shortage of dining options in the Galleria area, but getting citrus-crusted salmon with sweet potato bisque or braised short ribs with lemon-garlic broccolini without having to leave the hotel lobby should make your stay a little sweeter.

The Montrose heavy-hitter from James Beard Award-winning chef Chris Shepherd strives to tell “the story of Houston food” and it does a mighty fine job of doing so. The menu reads like a playbook of Houston’s melting pot culture, with large and small shared plates kissed by Mexican, Vietnamese, Korean and the other ethnic influences that have shaped Houston's food scene in the last generation. Dishes like Korean goat dumplings and vinegar pie are mainstays, but expect the rest of the menu to change regularly, with a focus on farm-to-table eats from the best produce and meats local farmers and ranchers have available. Don’t miss the excellent wine list from Matthew Pridgen or the weekday happy hour at the wood-toned wine bar, where there’s a list of “cover dishes”; Shepherd’s homages to his chef friends around the country.