Is Houston the culinary and culture capital of Texas? One study says yes (Austin: for sale, 2013)

[dalparadise]

Originally Posted by HtownLove

You go down a street in SW Houston and the best of everything is within a 5 mile radius.

It's funny how you cite "within a 5-mile radius" as indicative of Houston's superior consolidation of amenities.

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[Cowboys fan in Houston]

Originally Posted by Trae713

He was right, except for saying Houston is the better sports town. Dfw has that one.

Or that Houston is second in the US for food. Houston is a great eating town. It isnt above Chicago, Los Angeles, or San Francisco.

As for food, the city of Houston has the city of Dallas on that one, but Greater Houston vs. DFW is pretty even. Maybe a slight edge to Houston. As mentioned in past posts, its not that Houston offers something you cant get in the same quality as DFW, but you wont have as far to go to get it.

Of course in the arts, Houston is king in Texas. That I do fully agree with.

[Trae713]

Originally Posted by justme02

Or that Houston is second in the US for food. Houston is a great eating town. It isnt above Chicago, Los Angeles, or San Francisco.

As for food, the city of Houston has the city of Dallas on that one, but Greater Houston vs. DFW is pretty even. Maybe a slight edge to Houston. As mentioned in past posts, its not that Houston offers something you cant get in the same quality as DFW, but you wont have as far to go to get it.

Of course in the arts, Houston is king in Texas. That I do fully agree with.

Okay, somehow i missed that last sentence. Houston is a top five food town though. I wouldn't say a lot better than DFW, but it is better. DFW feels more national chain oriented than Houston, which has more local chains.

[HtownLove]

Originally Posted by justme02

Excellent point and I agree completely with this. Taken from a centralized view, Houston has more in a central area. DFW has the same things, but you have to go to different parts of the metro to get them (Plano for Chinese, Garland for Vietnamese, Irving/Plano for Indian, Northwest Dallas/Carrollton for Korean, etc.).

So if the argument is not that one's food is better than the others (on a metro area basis), but rather you can get more in a central area, then I agree.

I may sound like a pig for saying this but by far, the number one reason why I wanted to leave San Antonio was the Culinary offerings (or lack thereof). I remember living on Westheimer and just having to step outside to find a variety of restaurants. Many of these delivered.

There was a Chinese place that had delicious dinner specials for $4.25 with minimum delivery of $4.00. Man I miss that place.

SA had a few good places but it seemed always like a pilgrimage to get to these places. Head a zillion miles north for best breakfast at Magnolia Haus Cafe. Or a million NE to find Caribbean food. A couple Million NW to find an Indian restaurant. Scrap that, it wasn't good anyway. Same with the Greek.

Oh and the burger places they rave about (from Good Time Charlies to that sandwich place in King William) are all not worth it.

To me Austin was even worse. If you bring out the big bucks you can find decent Mexican, or Italian in San Antonio, but good Ethnic Food was even fewer in Austin. Austin seemed to do American well, but heck, who doesn't???

I cannot speak to everyday life in DFW because eating there has always been as a visitor (while in Houston, Austin and SA, I was a resident) and although we had excellent food it was always a planned dinner driving somewhere.

I guess what I love Houston is that you get lots all in one area. Turn unto Hillcroft from Westheimer and you find the most delicious Indian food, Turn off Corporate and you find great African, a hop over unto Richmond and you find back to back Colombian right next to Jamaican and Ethiopian. One block over and there is teh Jewish Bakery.

Finding a good ethnic restaurant in SA and Austin was one thing, but all in one compact area like in Houston? I could only dream.

[Cowboys fan in Houston]

Originally Posted by Trae713

Okay, somehow i missed that last sentence. Houston is a top five food town though. I wouldn't say a lot better than DFW, but it is better. DFW feels more national chain oriented than Houston, which has more local chains.

Ok, but that isnt what he wrote. Not even close.

He wrote "Austin and DFW have nothing on Houston as far as arts, cuisine, and sports.". Im not going to speak for Austin because I dont feel qualified. As for DFW, what you are saying (which I dont necesarily disagree with) is that Houston has a slight edge over DFW in terms of food. To me, that edge is Seafood. Admittedly, its hard to find the same quality in DFW that you can get in Houston. Everything else is a wash.

Htownlove is right. Its the proximity of all these cuisines to each other that makes Houston stand out over DFW. The difference is in DFW you have to drive to get the best of what you want. If you want good authentic Chinese its Plano/Richardson, if you want Vietnamese its Garland/Grand Prarie/Arlington, if you want good Korean its Northwest Dallas/Carrollton, etc. In Houston, these things are closer together.

As for the chains, dont forget many of the "national chains'' started in Dallas. Chillis, Macaroni Grill, On the Border, etc. I agree, they arent very good except for the Molten Cake at Chillis. Sadly, the all lost character and quality so Im told.

Both Houston and DFW are excellent for cullinary options. To me they are both in the tier below LA, Chicago, and San Francisco.

[BarcelonaFan]

For food, I would have to say LA is tops for that then Houston, then NYC and Chicago tied.

And I was mostly joking about a Houston PR campaign, it's just that in the past Austin and Dallas received most of the attention. I am sure that's changing now.

[BarcelonaFan]

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I was spoiled living in Houston though and was able to just sample foods from all over the world.

[HtownLove]

Originally Posted by justme02

As for the chains, dont forget many of the "national chains'' started in Dallas. Chillis, Macaroni Grill, On the Border, etc. I agree, they arent very good except for the Molten Cake at Chillis. Sadly, the all lost character and quality so Im told.

I think both Trae and I gave the nod to DFW on national chains but as Trae mentioned Houston has the edge on local chains such as:

Landrys, Salt Grass Steakhouse, Pappas, 59 Diner, Barnabys, Pappadeaux, Brown Sugars BBQ, Pappasitos, Carabbas, Pappas Seafood, Cafe Express, Pappas Bros Steak House, Tree Beards, pappas Grill, Niko Nikos, BB's cafe, Pappas Burger, Molinas, El Tiempo, Ninfas, Felix, Rain Forest cafe, Mortons, Bambolinos,

a lot of these local chains have good cheap food.

[Cowboys fan in Houston]

Originally Posted by HtownLove

I think both Trae and I gave the nod to DFW on national chains but as Trae mentioned Houston has the edge on local chains such as:

Landrys, Salt Grass Steakhouse, Pappas, 59 Diner, Barnabys, Pappadeaux, Brown Sugars BBQ, Pappasitos, Carabbas, Pappas Seafood, Cafe Express, Pappas Bros Steak House, Tree Beards, pappas Grill, Niko Nikos, BB's cafe, Pappas Burger, Molinas, El Tiempo, Ninfas, Felix, Rain Forest cafe, Mortons, Bambolinos,

a lot of these local chains have good cheap food.

Yeah, but national chains tend to lose their character and quality as they grow. I refuse to eat at any of them. I spend most of my time eating ethnic food (Indian, Mexican, Korean, Chinese, Thai, etc.). Outside of a good hamburger, I dont really care for American food.

[BarcelonaFan]

How can ya'll forget Becks Prime and Smashburger!

Houston alone gets massive props for Niko Nikos. Not to mention Taqueria Arandas!