In Brazil, cuisine takes on a Creole persuasion due to the African and West Indies populations brought over by the Portuguese during their 300-year colonization of the country. Despite this, Brazilian food in Houston is mostly identified with churrascarias and dancing girls in feathers and sparkly bras. For truly authentic Brazilian food, however, head to Emporio Brazilian Cafe (12288 Westheimer, 281-293-7442) for foods like feijoada — Brazil's national dish — and the shrimp stew called bobó de camarão. Pop one or two knobs of pão de queijo — cheese bread made with manioc flour — into your mouth and you might not be able to stop.
The strongly European-influenced Argentina presents an interesting balance to other South American countries, where native foods and dishes are still present in modern cuisine. In Argentina, there is little to no indigenous influence on the national cuisine. Why? Because Argentina was very sparsely populated prior to colonization by Spain and the resulting influx of European settlers.
As a result, Argentinean cuisine is what colonists made of it. German, French, Spanish and Italian cuisines have all made their mark over the years, resulting in diverse dishes like thickly pounded milanesas and mashed potatoes — strongly similar to German schnitzel but with an Italian name — alongside French-style wines and cheeses. But above all, beef is king here, something most Texans can relate to. Manena's (11018 Westheimer, 713-278-7139) is the meeting grounds for most Argentine expats in Houston, with plenty of milanesas as well as a variety of authentic empanadas (although the carne and humita — creamed corn — options are the best). Of course, leaving without pastries is almost a sin: Argentina is known almost as much for its alfajores as its beef.
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NORTH AMERICA
"I came here in 1981," recalls chef Hugo Ortega, who moved to Houston from Mexico City as a teenager. "It was a huge shock in culture for me. Coming from a big city, I thought, 'Where are all the people?' In those days, the crisis in oil was bad. It was very difficult for me."
It was difficult to find work and difficult to find food from back home, as Ortega came to discover. Washing dishes in restaurants across the city, not only could he not find the rich interior Mexican food he so desperately missed, he couldn't afford it anyway. "I ate a lot of Kentucky Fried Chicken and coleslaw," he laughs. The fried chicken reminded him vaguely of the rotisserie-style chicken with crisp, buttery skin that he longed for from back home.
"Whenever we did have Mexican food, it was always at someone's house," he recalls. "We would make things that we loved from back home, like tamales or posole at Christmas." In time, though, Ortega began to explore the burgeoning interior Mexican food scene in Houston at the same time as he began dating Tracy Vaught, now his wife and co-owner of Hugo's (1602 Westheimer, 713-524-7744) and Backstreet Cafe. "Tracy took me to places like Pico's (5941 Bellaire, 713-662-8383), and we became regulars."
When the couple decided to open a second restaurant after the success of Backstreet Cafe, Vaught suggested to Ortega that he cook the food of his homeland. "I was paralyzed!" he says, laughing. "I have so much respect for this cuisine that I love so much, that it was frightening to think of." These days, Ortega has overcome that fear to much acclaim and is able more than ever to find authentic Mexican ingredients in Houston that were so hard to come by when he first arrived.
"It's much better now than it was 20 years ago," Ortega says. He's able to purchase things at Canino's (2520 Airline, 713-862-4027) and in the stalls behind the market that he would have had to import back then. And although he still brings in items like dried peppers, cinnamon and cacao from a friend in Oaxaca — elements that are crucial to the Pueblan-style mole Hugo's makes in-house — Ortega is happy with the way Houston has been transformed over the years into a world marketplace, with something for everybody.
Those people selling food from the stalls behind Canino's aren't just Mexican, of course. People from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala are equally likely to do their buying and selling at the giant open-air market. For those from Honduras, purchases lean toward more tropical items, as the country's cuisine has much more emphasis on fruits and coconut milk than any other in the region. Sopa de caracol — a sweet, creamy seafood soup with a coconut milk base — is perhaps one of the most unique and representative dishes of the country, one that shouldn't be missed among the other delicious items at Honduras Maya (5945 Bellaire, 713-668-5002).
