Houston TX

[saskuoch]

(That's Houston for all of you unfamiliar with Texas).

I think most Houstonians know about these places, but for those of you who are out-of-towners, if you end up in Houston, and you're hungry, these should help:

My favorite restaurant is Hobbit Cafe (used to be Hobbit Hole). Tons of great vegetarian food (I'm a Slim Shire fan, myself).

For middle of the night Mexican, Taqueria La Tapatia on Richmond is open late (possibly 24 hours? I can't quite remember). It's cheap, comfy, and serves brain sandwiches (among other more options more suited to US taste).

Of course, there's always Mai's for Vietnamese. It's open 'til 4am. The service sucks, so you can't go when you're in a rush, and there are things on the menu that the waitstaff simply will not allow non-Vietnamese people to order, but their salt-toasted tofu is super-tasty. They serve good Vietnamese iced coffee which I like to call "liquid crack."

And a Houston tradition: House of Pies/Guys (the one on Kirby). Go after two am. Eat cottage fries and pie. The food's not stellar, but the waitresses are the quitessential diner food servers, and the crowd is, shall we say, "eccentric." Diet Coke comes in giant size only.