What are the best restaurants in Houston? I'm willing to spend the money if the food and atmosphere are worth it. Any thoughts?

Ruggles is one of my favorite resturants in Houston. The service is always great, and the food can not be beat. It is not too expensive for what you get. Some other favorites are The Rainbow Lodge, Mark's, Benjy's, and Wasabli (sushi).

I second Rainbow Lodge, and I hear Cafe Annie is great, too.

My favorite - Perry's Grille & Steakhouse. The original is in Clear Lake but there are a few others around the area now.

I also like Ruggles, but I think the best steak house in Houston is Ruth's Chris.

Remember to bring the respirator along, TL. Houston has the most polluted air in the U.S.

www.ghasp.org

Mark's is great. What type of food do you like. Cafe Annie also. We have tons of great restaurants!

For something unique I would recommend Americas.

Thanks for all the great suggestions. I really like any kind of food- American, Chinese, Italian, sushi, etc. I think I will probably try The Rainbow Lodge or Cafe Annie's. I've been to Ruggles before and thought it was great.

If you want good food and plenty of it go to Maggianos. They also have a great piano bar. The wait staff is friendly, they don't take reservations so go early or sit at the bar to wait.They will take reservations for large parties. If the weather is nice sit outside, they have heaters for chilly nites.

Try Chez Nous (French) in Humble. It is just a little north of the Bush airport. It is normally rated as the #1 French restaurant in the Houston area. Everything there is superb!

I like the Taste of Texas for steaks. The Melting Pot is also a favorite for romantic dinners.

Also, I really like the Aquarium restaurant in Kemah. If you are headed to NASA, you will be close to Kemah.

Be sure to check out citysearch.com for the results of a recent poll.

Hope this helps.

Is Tony's still in business? When I lived in Houston, years ago, that was THE place.

I have also been to Cafe` Annie's and that was excellent!

Happy Trails,
Paul

Cafe Annie is consistently rated as the best in town, gets national attention, too. Tony's is the local perennial - consistently good food and service, a bit on the stodgy side. Maggiano's is OK, part of a chain owned by Norman Brinker of Chili's and Macaonni Grill fame (infamy?). One of my favorites is Fogo de Chao (?sp) on Westheimer - upscale Argentinian "steak house" with some of the best meat you will ever find, anywhere. One of the few places that lures inner city foodies outside the loop. A similar concept is Rodizio, also on Westheimer - OK, but not nearly as good as Fogo de Chao.

New interesting places are Mockingbird Bistro and Wine Bar (Southwestern), Laurier Cafe (French) and Quattro (French). You might also try Mark's American Cuisine (New American), Chez Georges (French), Pesce (Seafood) and Masraff's (Continental). For casual Italian, my wife and I like divino and Piatto's. I had an otstanding meal at Rainbow Lodge earlier this year.

I went to Cafe Annie last month and was very disappointed. It is not a top 50 restaurant. I have stopped going to Ruggles since reservations don't seem to mean anything. Taste of Texas is overpriced for the quality.

..thanks G. Ourmand

I really like Sierra on Montrose, Mark's on Westheimer, benjy's in University Village, and for Thai food, Nit Noi, also in University Village. For a real Houston experience try Goode Company - I like the Mexican restaurant on Kirby better than the BBQ place, which is right across the street. I also second on Fogo de Chao's - great South American food.

I haven't tried it yet myself, but I understand that the new restaurant Zula has been getting rave reviews. It's supposed to be the new, hip Tony's. Check out its website at www.zulahouston.com

Yes, Betty, leaving your rudeness aside for a minute, I lived and worked in Houston for a number of years.

It's not clear to me why you think that the quality of Houston's air, water, and land is a matter of opinion. It's not. It's bad.

Try Carrabba's italian Grill on Kirby or Lupi Tortilla's Mexican Restaurant on Kirby and Highway 59(the Southwest Freeway. Must go early to both restaurants though 5:30 or you will have a long wait

Paul:

Passing aside Betty's ad hominem comments, those of us who live here are bothered by this one person who dominates the board with sniping anonymous comments about Houston's air quality. This troll does not provide anything constructive to answer the poster's questions. Every time there is a post about Houston, the ghasp troll posts something whether it's "you need a respirator" or "leave your kids home or they'll die from the pollution". What I really want to know is how often does the troll check the board, or do they have an alarm that let's them know someone has posted a question or comment about Houston.

Alarming, misguided, hallftrue political posts do not contribute to the travel board. We end up wasting time debunking the troll's falsehoods, and not answering the question. (Back on topic for a minute, many of the restaurants suggested here are very good). Our frustration is with that person, not you; you happened to step into the fray and became a target. After a while, the sniping wears on us, and we pop off.

Yes, Houston's air is not the best in the country. Harris County ranks fifth according to the American Lung Association's survey of the most polluted counties in the United States (http://www.lungusa.org/air2001/rank4.html). Southern California is worse according to the American Lung Association. I don’t know where the ghasp troll finds its source, although it appears to be focused on only one element of the measure of pollution, ozone. Even then, the EPA agrees that Houston's air is not as bad as Los Angeles. Why doesn't the ghasp troll post comments about Southern California.

One of the problems with the air quality survey is it is based on a sample taken in Deer Park, which is in the middle of the petrochemical industry on the southeast side of the county. This is not a part of Harris County travelers often visit. At over 1,788 square miles in size, Harris County is larger than Rhode Island (1,214 square miles) and almost as large as Delaware (1,955 square miles). Taking a sample in the middle of a remote area that generates the pollution being measured does not properly measure the air quality in other parts of the county.

Yes, our air needs to be cleaned up, but polluting this board with lies and half-truths does nothing for the troll's cause and does not help the original poster. The solution for the air quality issue here is complicated. Most of the solutions proposed are based on false or misguided science (lowering the speed limit on highways has a marginal, if any, effect on emissions) or would cause massive economic disruptions. Air quality here is getting better, and programs are being implemented to improve it.