Neon beer signs light up the room in Mai's Restaurant Vietnamese Cuisine that was once a billiard parlor. Die-hard Vietnamese fans do not seem to pay attention to the decor, but focus instead on the earthy, home-style food that keeps them coming back for more. The establishment has a reputation for serving some of the spiciest and most authentic Vietnamese food in Houston. If you are a little less adventurous, try the cold spring rolls that are overstuffed with vermicelli noodles, shrimp, pork, sprouts and lemon grass.
Katz's Deli & Bar, hailing from New York City, is famous for its huge sandwiches and kosher hot dogs. The huge two-story restaurant is decorated with New York memorabilia, and there's plenty of room to accommodate larger groups. While everything on the menu is tasty and made fresh daily, you would do yourself a disservice by passing up the famous fried pickles, homemade matzo ball and chicken noodle soup, hot pastrami or medium-rare roast beef sandwiches, or the ever popular kosher all-beef hot dogs with sauerkraut. Furthermore, almost everything on the menu comes with your choice of a side, and the potato pancakes and creamed spinach are particularly good. - Lydia Schrandt
BB's has your New Orleans fix. Go to the happening White Oak Drive for a tremendous value in dinner. Just like their downtown and Montrose locations, this Louisiana eatery (with a healthy dash of Texas) overflows with coolness as they serve up delicious bayou treats, like Gumbo, Grillades & Grits, and Red Beans and Rice. In the mood for a sandwich for lunch? BBs' overstuffed New Orleans style Po'Boys will leave you slightly confused as to how you attack. Try the Bedtime In The Bayou, the ever-popular fried gulf shrimp sandwich fully dressed. You can blissfully tell where the crunch from the batter stops and the crunch from the shrimp begins, it's fantastic. -Adam Rosen
Onion Creek is the ultimate neighborhood hangout with a little something for everyone, regardless of the time of day. Need some homemade waffles with fresh fruit and coffee to start your day right? Maybe an O.C. Poboy to get you through the afternoon? Or the Frito Pie, a cold beer on tap, and the game on the tube for dinner to make everything right with the world? Don't worry if you think you missed Happy Hour—it goes until 11p on Monday nights.
A Houston mainstay since the early 1970s, people of all types seem to be irresistibly drawn to the House of Pies. The round-the-clock service even keeps the staff hopping in the middle of the night. The dinner menu is dominated by diner-style, short-order items but there is no denying that slices of pie are what put them on the map. Chocolate fans will adore a monstrous slice of bayou goo, but there are plenty of other heavenly-sweet slices to choose from if chocolate is not your flavor.