7. The Jess Special at Tacodeli, 1902 Washington

During a breakfast visit to Tacodeli on Washington, reviewer Erika Kwee wrote, "the popular (and my personal long-awaited taco) Jess Special impressed with creamy eggs, a sea of melty jack cheese and avocado slices. Although the corn tortillas underwhelmed with a lack of flavor and structural integrity (a lone tortilla ripped under the weight of a juicy egg white and spinach taco), the tender flour tortillas worked well with most tacos."

6. Fresh fruit shaved ice with banana, mango and flan at Juice Box, 9889 Bellaire

"When I'm feeling down, dessert always perks me up," says Mai Pham. "It was hot and muggy outside and my spirits were low in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. So I decided to reward myself with a bowl of fresh fruit shaved ice at Juice Box. It had been awhile since I'd had it, so I didn't hold back — getting two fruits — banana and mango, and opting to add a whole flan on top. They finished it off with condensed milk and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The flan added this silky texture that you don't always get with shaved fruit ice. I couldn't get enough of it."

5. YoYo's Hot Dog, 5555 Morningside

Dash of pepper, warm cream cheese, spicy mustard, curry ketchup, griddled onions, crunchy fried onions, honey mayonnaise and a touch of sriracha sauce. These are the toppings on one of Houston's best late-night bites, YoYo's Hot Dog, which as the name suggests serves just one glorious thing: this righteous hot dog. Available Friday and Saturday, 9 p.m. to 3 a.m.

4.  Mixed BBQ Platter at Aga's, 11842 Wilcrest

This palatial Indo-Pak eatery has a lot going for it. It's located in the most Houston of all Houston shopping centers, sandwiched between a Marshalls and a big-ass firing range with parking lot security that circles in a blinking white pickup truck. It boast banquettes and glittery silver and purple chairs that look plucked from a '50s diner, though the restaurant itself is far more formal than that, and yet also so casual. Servers carry iPads anyway. Needless to say, it's a total joy to dine here, from the meat platters, including a mixed grill that combines chicken and beef seekh kebab, bihari, and boti on a heaping sizzling skillet, to the numerous goat curry specialties, fiery jalapeño naan and then some. Do yourself a favor and make the trip. Or order online. They have that down pat too.

3.  Moist Brisket at Rudy's Country Store, 20806 Interstate 45

From the looks of it, the Rudy's on Interstate 45 in Spring is the spot to order huge take-out (or dine-in) servings of barbecue, sausage and smoked chicken by the pound, along with incredible grab-and-go sides, perfect for catering your football-watching needs on Sunday, or just for a drop-in weekend trip with the family. The moist brisket is exactly that, moist and succulent, best accompanied by a squirt or two of the restaurant's signature fiery sauce. The baked beans here are great too, not in the least bit sweet, for a change, though the cobbler does deliver on that front.

2.  Cacao at Xochi, 1777 Walker

"If you want a show-stopper, go for 'Cacao,'" wrote Nicholas Hall in his review of Xochi in early August. "Your dining companions might not believe you when you tell them that the picture-perfect cacao pod that lands in front of them is fully edible. Mine didn’t, until one brave soul got up the nerve to call my bluff. Doubt turned to delight as she popped an airbrushed piece of molded white chocolate into her mouth. Inside that pod, a dream boat for chocolate lovers spins through a wild panoply of flavors and textures. Some midnight dark, bitter and beguiling. Some milk-sweet and light as a cloud. Some spiced with cinnamon and other things, dusky and mysterious. Crumbly 'soil.' White puffs of tejate foam break up the chocolate landscape, tasting like a nutty and slightly wild vanilla."

1. Felix-style Queso at El Patio, 6444 Westheimer

We're not sure how it's possible ever to go back to real queso after eating this little cheese pillow sent from heaven, or rather from the recipe of long-lost Houston institution Felix Mexican Restaurant, which you can order at El Patio. But then again, this queso is not for everyone. It's fairly reminiscent of baked macaroni and cheese in its béchamel-esque existence, but doughier, really, paste-like in appearance and also in its ability to turn you into a six-year-old that knows you shouldn't be eating this but will continue until the teacher finds out and calls your parents. It's also soaked in a sinful lair of cumin-tinged oil. Oh, that glorious oil. Let it drip down your chin. Let it drop onto the soft cotton ply of your favorite T-shirt, so that you may carry around this moment forever. Either that or your thighs will.