In Houston next week any BBQ shop Recommendations?

Hntnhrd

gonna be in Houston next week. Any recommendations on some places I need to check out ? BBQ related . Main goal is to bring some pork home ( wild type) but would like to check out some places maybe pick up some new runs.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Go to @20stone 's house. Wild pig abounds. 

Hntnhrd

That should have said rubs not runs.!! Don't need the runs while I am there!!

DoubleEgger

There's a lot better options than BBQ in Houston. Houston Q is meh. 

caliking

DoubleEgger said:

There's a lot better options than BBQ in Houston. Houston Q is meh. 

I probably agree with you. But I haven't really hunted for BBQ in Houston as such. @cazzy can probably give you better Intel. 

I usually steer visitors towards Chinatown here. If you have a car or use Uber @Hntnhrd , I'd be happy to give you some recs. 

Spring Hen

Corkscrew BBQ in Old Town Spring is fantastic. It's about a 30 minute drive from town but worth it. They are only open until the food runs out...Sometime around 2pm. Check them out....www.corkscrewbbq.com.

DoubleEgger

caliking said:

DoubleEgger said:

There's a lot better options than BBQ in Houston. Houston Q is meh. 

I probably agree with you. But I haven't really hunted for BBQ in Houston as such. @cazzy can probably give you better Intel. 

I usually steer visitors towards Chinatown here. If you have a car or use Uber @Hntnhrd , I'd be happy to give you some recs. 

I'm interested if you don't mind @caliking

I seem to be in H town more frequently these days. 

Hntnhrd

Not sure how long we will be in town maybe just a couple days but see what We can find!! Thanks for the tip @Spring Hen I have Ben to Chinatown in DC that was an interesting place!!!!

Space_City_Egger

People should not be sleeping on the Houston food scene, In any cuisine category. Lots of emerging restaurants in Houston. An overall fantastic food city as said by NY Times. For BBQ I like:

Killens is a drive 30 minutes south. A perennial #1 and rivals franklins according to some. I've never been to franklins so I can't say. 

My personal favorite is Roegels. Brisket is fantastic. I like their coleslaw. He also experiments with pastrami and pork belly. It's not far from galleria. 

Gatlins is in the heights and very solid. 

All three i believe are top 100 per our local food critic, Allison cook (I agree). 

Also new to the scene...The pit room in montrose. Really fantastic bacon fat tortillas in play with good bbq. 

Ive eaten at all of them and would go back and send friends. 

A Non bbq list is too long to think about. 

caliking

My apologies @Hntnhrd, for the hijack of sorts, but maybe you'll find something that will pique your interest too.

@DoubleEgger - here you go. Not an exhaustive list, but we've eaten at each place ( except for one). We don't get out as much with a toddler in tow, but would go back to any of these places in a heartbeat.  As @Space_City_Egger  said, a non-BBQ list really would be too long to comprehend. You will need a car/cab/uber though. 

Chinatown:
Uyghur Bistro - Not your typical Chinese fare. Lots of cumin and chilies. Noodles are thrown by hand in-house.

Banana Leaf - Malaysian food is an awesome melting pot - Chinese, Thai, Indonesian, Indian, etc. influences that come together for outstanding grub

Ocean Palace - Dim sum. The kind with the carts that roam around a big hall type of setting. Fung's Kitchen is also good if you want to stay closer to the loop.

Mala Sichuan - Sichuan pepper (kind of tingly, numbing taste) is the star of many (most?) of their dishes. They used to have a cold rabbit appetizer that was quite tasty. 

Peking Cuisine - Not in Chinatown, but Peking duck is their specialty. Call ahead to make sure they have one for you. Put on your eating pants, because they don't skimp on portions. This is the place where we ordered several items (usual MO), and  had so much left over, that they packed it all up in a moving box for us. True story. 

Also check out Pepper Twins, which is north of Montrose. Used to be Cooking Girl which was highly recommended to us. Reviews seem excellent. 

Others:
Caracol - coastal Mexican, in the loop. Weekend brunch is great. Happy hours have grilled oysters and other stuff.

Hugo's - Mexican, same guy as Hugo's (i.e. Hugo Ortega). Weekend brunch is highly recommended, but also good for other days. 

Lucy - Ethiopian. Nice restaurant, good food. I think they have a bar too. 

Sheger - Ethiopian, not as nice a venue as Lucy, kinda hole-in-the-wall, but we thought their food was the best.

Blue Nile - Ethiopian. If you're not that familiar with Ethiopian food, I would probably recommend you go here. Good eats, service, venue, etc. 

Balaji Bhavan - South Indian (not entirely though), vegetarian. On Hillcroft. 

Bombay Sweets - North Indian, known for their vegetarian lunch buffet. No frills, but tasty. A la carte items include the best chaat in town. And more kinds of  Indian sweets than you can shake a stick at. 

Maharaja Bhog - Indian, vegetarian. Probably the nicest of the Indian restos mentioned. Different concept - sit down, and servers parade a slew of very traditional (western Indian) items for you to stuff your face with. 

Yaal Tiffin - Sri Lankan. Similar concept as Maharaja Bhog, but nonvegetarian. Sort of like South Indian food, but with MEAT. 

Darband Kabob - Persian. Also on Hillcroft. Kababs are grilled to order, after you pick from a selection of marinated meats on skewers.

Afghan Express - Afghan. On Hillcroft. Flavors are not as in-your-face as Indian or Pakistani food, but somehwere in between Persian and Indian. Makes sense given where Afghanistan is on the map. Afghan Village (on Hillcroft, other side of  59) is somewhat hole-in-the-wall, but some items are better than Afghan Express. 

Thai Gourmet - west and a bit south of the Galleria. Our favorite Thai place in Houston. 

Uchi - Japanese. Near the Montrose area. Spendy. But holy fvck its worth it. 

Istanbul Grill - Turkish . In Rice Village. Stellar .And right next to The Ginger Man which has an selection of beers from everywhere.

Space_City_Egger

@caliking is far more adventurous than I. The only "disagreement" with the above....if I had only a few meals in Houston I would pass on Caracol. For seafood I just like a lot of places better. Otherwise a great list. Goode company seafood for example is gulf seafood done well and a great taste of "Texas". Ask for snapper San Antonio. Off menu and an occasional special, but they always make if requested.  Goode bbq on the other hand. Meh. 

billt01

"Killens is a drive 30 minutes south."

WORTH THE DRIVE!!!

Spring Hen

Corkscrew BBQ in Old Town Spring is fantastic. It's about a 30 minute drive from town but worth it. They are only open until the food runs out...Sometime around 2pm. Check them out....www.corkscrew

Spring Hen

Oops...Sorry.double post and won't delete

DoubleEgger

Wow. Thanks @caliking