02-06-2025
The Best Dishes Eater Houston Ate This May 2025
There are more than 12,000 restaurants in Houston . With at least 145 languages spoken across town and communities bringing compelling fare from regions like South Louisiana and the West Coast, and countries like Mexico, Syria, and the Philippines, there's no shortage of outstanding food in Space City. Check back monthly to see the best things Eater Houston's editor ate this month. Fried kimchi, crab rangoons, and rice cakes at Agnes and Sherman
My love for chef Nick Wong's scallion waffle with sambal honey butter and egg foo young has already been well-documented, but a recent return to his restaurant yielded some new favorites and solidified Agnes and Sherman as one of the city's best new group dining spots. The fried kimchi comes to the table delightfully hot, with a server cutting it into pieces, making the chunks much easier to dunk into the accompanying kimchi mayo. The deconstructed crab rangoons — fried wonton chips served with the creamy crab filling and homemade pepper jelly. Agnes and Sherman is a place you definitely want to bring friends and order a bunch to share, but the tteokbokki, tender rice cakes served with beef ragu, uda peppercorn, and Parmesan, is a dish that I would keep all to myself. Lemongrass catfish congee from Burmalicious
Top Chef alums Evelyn Garcia and Henry Lu have gotten innovative at Jun. At night, their Latin and Southeast Asian restaurant in the Heights serves signature dishes like fried chicken cooked with a punchy fish paste and carrots with salsa macha and Salvadoran cheese. By day, it's Third Place — a chill hangout spot, a coffee shop, and a collaborative space for chefs in the area to pop up and display their prowess. With two rowdy toddlers in tow, I caught James Beard Award semifinalist Suu Khin on her last day of her pop-up. We peeked into the kitchen as she plated her dishes, and later dug into chicken salad loaded into lettuce wraps, and her lemongrass catfish congee, which was a symphony of flavors — a savory porridge with a medley of spices, chunks of tender catfish, a peanut-sesame crunch, slices of youtiao (Chinese doughnuts), and a jammy soy-marinated egg. Lobster gnocchi (and everything else) at Little's Oyster Bar
One of the newest additions to the Pappas Restaurants catalog has recently switched up its menu, reminding me why we named Little's Oyster Bar the Best New Restaurant in 2023. From start to finish, the menu beckons with quality cold raw bar offerings; refreshing appetizers like the delicate local greens salad with honey dressing and creamy goat cheese; a warming cioppino served with buttery sourdough bread, plus Pappas's irresistible fries, and a tender grilled octopus, arguably the best in the city, served with an aromatic zhug sauce you'll want to sop up with the marbled potatoes. Aside from its fresh catches, including a standout Gulf Grouper (ask for the heirloom tomato sauce vierge), the lobster gnocchi was the standout with an herbaceous sauce composed of blistered cherry tomatoes and crisp potato chips for texture. The best bites come when every element ends up on the same spoon. This is a dish I'll keep coming back for. Cornbread with mole and caviar and heart of palm salad from Maximo
As a food writer, trying new dishes is a part of my job, but the heart of palm salad at this West University neighborhood restaurant was so good that I couldn't help but order it again. It proved to be just as good and refreshing as the first time, with slivers of heart of palm, strawberries, basil, queso enchilado, and nuts, covered in a Champagne vinaigrette that delivers just the right amount of acidity. The homemade masa cornbread, served over a buttery mole soubise, is a scene-stealer, topped with umami-loaded chicatana butter made with fire ants — a Mexican delicacy; caviar for salinity; and hoja santa oil.
Consider Maximo's new five-course tasting menu for an affordable and well-rounded overview of what the restaurant offers. Tuna tostada at Tatemó
Dining at Tatemo has become my unintended summer tradition, and each visit brings something new. While I look forward to the rotating specials and how James Beard Award finalist and chef Emmanuel Chavez and his team switch things up, I'm also a sucker for the staples. The Mexican tasting menu prides itself on always featuring something raw, something fried, and something greasy, and I know Chavez's mole is bound to make an appearance somewhere. Favorites, the tuna tostada during this visit was especially refreshing. Between a crispy tostada and a thin layer of Big Eye tuna lies a tantalizing, slightly tangy layer of pico de gallo and chipotle spread; it's an exciting way to start the meal.
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