Over the course of the next few months, I'm counting down 100 of my favorite Houston dishes. I chose some because they are such quintessential Houston creations, others for their cultural or historical significance, and others because they are just so damn tasty. Share your own nominations in the comments.
#4 Campechana at Goode Company Seafood
The Campechana de Mariscos at Goode Company Seafood is the Texas version of a Mexican classic and it is among the best seafood cocktails I have ever tasted. The Goode Company original contains loads of lump crabmeat and lots of shrimp tossed with avocado and tomatoes in a peppery tomato sauce. It is widely copied in many variations.
Goode Company's campechana comes in a parfait glass. Seafood "cocktails" became famous in the 1920s and were so named because they were originally served in glasses designed for martinis and other such libations. Spicy ketchup was the original sauce, and raw oysters were the most common seafood. New Orleans put a new spin on the cocktail by adding Gulf shrimp and Tabasco sauce. It was a wildly popular appetizer for most of the last century, but somewhere along the line, we started to find the sweetness of the ketchup overwhelming.
Mexican seafood cocktails added lime juice, cilantro and avocado, which toned down the ketchup a bit. Vuelve a la Vida is the deluxe version of the Mexican seafood cocktail. It comes from Veracruz and Tampico and contains octopus, oysters, crab and other seafood in ketchup sauce. The names means "return to life" or "corpse reviver" because of its popularity as a hangover cure.
The original Mexican campechana cocktail usually starts with ceviche. Some of the earliest references to campechana cocteles describe them as something like the complex Peruvian ceviche with raw fish "cooked" in lime juice and mixed with other seafoods, including oysters, shrimp, crabmeat, eels and abalone.
Goode Company Seafood's campechana cocktail usually comes with both saltines and tortilla chips. I like to switch back and forth. It also comes with a bottle of Tabasco so you can "heat it up." The ice cream sundae glass full of spicy shellfish tastes equally good with a frozen margarita or a cold beer. Maybe that's why it has become the quintessential Houston seafood appetizer.
The list to date:
#100: Green Chile Chicken Kebabs at Chatkhara Grill #99: The All-Day Burrito at Cherry Top Bakery #98: "You Buy We Fry" Trout Basket at Hank's Fish Market #97: Chicharron de Barriga at La Michoacana Meat Market # 10 #96: Pakistani Breakfast at Kings Chicken #95: Fried Mojarra at Taqueria Jesus Maria #94: Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cake Ball at Coffee Groundz #93: Cheeseburger at Leonard's Famous Burgers #92: Lasagna at Doyle's #91: Cochinita Pibil at Tacos La Bala #90: Fajita Tacos at Taqueria El Charro #89: Kubideh and Zereshk Polo at Kasra Persian Grill #88: Trentino Gelato's Dulce de Leche at Shisha #87: Deviled Eggs at Nielsen's Deli #86: Italian-Cuban Sandwich at Logan Farms #85: Vegetable Trio in Sichuan Sauce at Spicy Sichuan #84: Salchi-Burger at Brisa Cocina #83: El Ultimo Taco Truck's Breakfast Tacos #82: Kielbasa on a Sizzling Comal at Polonia #81: Shrimp and Grits at Bistro Alex, Hotel Sorella #80: A Bowl of Chili at James Coney Island #79: Lamb Dumplings at Lucky Pot #78: Crazy Irishman Sushi Roll at Soma #77: Tesar's "Magic" Burger #76: Mac n' Cheese at Two Saints #75: Spicy Armenian Kebabs at Café Rita #74: Jalapeño Gefilte Fish at Rustika #73: Greek Burger at the Hubcap Grill #72: The Basil Inferno at Thai Bistro #71: Paella at Rioja on Kirkwood #70: The Big Adrian Burger at Adrian's Local Café #69: Dulce de Leche Ice Cream Bar at La Paletera #68: Indonesian Deviled Eggs at Rice Bowl II #67: Al Pastor Quesadillas at Tierra Caliente Meat Market #66: Boudin Kolaches at Shipley's on North Main #65: Banh Cuon at Tay Ho 18 in Hong Kong City Mall #64: Cumin Lamb at Chinese Halal Cuisine on Bellaire #63: Stuffed Artichoke at Mint Café on Sage #62: Italian Sausage Pie at Russo's Coal Oven Pizza #61: Tom Kha Gai at Thai Choice on Wilcrest #60: Torta Cubano Estilo Mexicano at El Amigo Taco Truck #59: Whataburger Triple Meat, Triple Cheese with Bacon and Jalapeños #58: The Banana, Ghiradelli Chocolate Chip and Dulce de Leche Empanada at The Original Marini's #57: The Barbecue Brisket and Egg Breakfast Taco at Plantation BBQ Trailer #56: Chicken-Fried Steak at Frank's Chop House #55: Catfish and Grits at the Breakfast Klub #54: Bun Bo Hue at Kim Chau #53: Beef Tips at Davis Meat Market #52: Moules Frites at Jeanine's Bistro #51: The Fajita Taco at the Taconazo Truck #50: Frito Pie at the Rio Verde Taco Truck #49: Ceviche at Yelapa #48: African-American Beef Links at Bar-B-Que Done Right #47: Pasta with Fresh Peas, Ham and Mushrooms at Ciao Bello #46: Ice Cream at Hank's #45: Oysters with Lardons and Leeks at Brocante #44: Steak Tikka at Himalaya #43: Barbacoa Soup at De Buey Y Vaca #42: Banh Mi Xiu Mai at Don Cafe #41: The BBQ Burger at Guy's Meat Market #40: Indian Borsch at Indika #39: Mole Poblano at Hugo's #38: Banh Bot Chien at Tan Tan #37: Soft-boiled Quail Eggs with Asparagus Tips at Chez Roux #36: Surf and Turf Salad at Que Huong #35: Breakfast Tacos at Laredo Taqueria #34: French Fries at Little Big's #33: The Picnic Platter at the Grove #32: Cheese Enchiladas with Fried Eggs at Los Dos Amigos #31: The Sampler Plate at Café Lili #30: Elysian Fields Lamb and Mushy Peas at Tony's #29: The Cheeseburger at Christian's #28 Couchon de Lait at Stella Sola #27: Warm Glazed Donuts at Shipley's on Ella #26: Fried Shrimp at Segari's #25: Special Enchiladas-A-La-Taylor at Spanish Village #24: Pasta with White Truffles at Da Marco #23: Green Falafel Sandwich at Zabak's #22: The Roast Beef Poor Boy at Mama's Cajun Cuisine #21: Goat Buttermilk and Pecan Pie with San Leon Rum Ice Cream at Haven #20: The Pork Chop at Perry's on Scarsdale #19: Barbacoa Tacos at Gerardo's #18: Tex-Cajun Poutine at BB's Cajun Cafe #17: The "Instant Vintage" Burger at Rockwell Tavern # 16: Enchiladas de Tejas at Molina's # 15: The Reuben at Kenny & Ziggy's #14: Cassoulet at Feast #13: Chicken Fried Steak at Ouisie's Table #12: Fried Chicken at Frenchy's #11: Crispy Pork Belly with Steen's Cane Syrup at Catalan #10: Crispy Skin Snapper at Reef #9: Pho at Pho Binh on Beamer #8: In and Out Brisket at Thelma's #7: Turtle Soup at Brennan's #6: Barbecued Ribs at Pizzitola's #5: Fried Chicken at Barbecue Inn
