I have trouble seeing how anyone could not want to embrace breading and deep-frying a stick of cheese (especially in Texas), yet strangely I've found my all-time favorite appetizer is not as popular in Houston as I would expect. I know we have our loyalties to chips and queso, but there's room in our hearts and bellies for additional forms of fatty fromage. Visit these five restaurants if you haven't yet learned to love that ooey-gooey cylinder of goodness so often simply known as the Cheese Stick.
5. Fried Mozzarella Sticks (Little Napoli Ristorante). With a thinner, lighter bread coating, the cheese sticks at Little Napoli can be a bit flimsier than other restaurants' versions. Then again, who the hell cares about being neat while you're eating fried cheese? Bust out a fork and chow down on those suckers. Slightly soggy but delicious.
4. Cheese Sticks (Lucky Burger). Skip the fries at Lucky Burger and pair that double mushroom swiss burger with a side of "cheese stick," medium logs of mozzarella coated in seasoned bread crumbs. Lucky Burger may cook its patties medium, but its cheese sticks are well done, resulting in a crunchy exterior that contrasts pleasantly with the soft inside.
3. Store Brand Frozen Mozzarella Sticks (H-E-B). I bought these on a whim one Friday night when I had promised myself I would "cook" instead of ordering takeout. Needless to say, I had rock-bottom expectations for generic frozen cheese sticks that cost just over a buck. Though smaller in length than most restaurant varieties, H-E-B's version is decent, containing rich but not greasy mozzarella and ample breading. Plus, if you oven-toast rather than deep-fry, you produce a more tender stick...and reduce your chances of getting a third-degree burn in the process.
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