Houston VegLove Special

My partner's family lives in Houston, so I typically spend a good deal of time there during breaks from school. One of the things I look forward to the most about visiting Houston is revisiting some of its awesome restaurants and discovering new favorites. During this visit, I did a little of both.

Here's the rundown:

1. Dry Creek
I insisted my partner take me here on my first night in Houston for one reason: The Shroom, Dry Creek's portabello sandwich. A grilled portabello cap topped with goat cheese, roasted red pepper and arugula housed in delicious foccacia spread with basil mayonnaise. Although the portabello is ostensibly the Shroom's main feature, the goat cheese elevates it to an out of this world taste. I typically substitute onion rings for the fries, you know, for health reasons. I can't think of many meals more delicious. If you are a stickler for excellent service, Dry Creek may disappoint. The waitstaff is friendly but not exactly timely. However, if you are willing to wait for it, Dry Creek will whip you up a damn good meal.

2. Madras Pavillion
Madras Pavillion is actually a chain with locations in both Austin and San Antonio, neither of which I have been able to find. So whenever I'm in Houston, I hit up this South Indian restaurant. For lunch, they serve a buffet that differs somewhat from the typical Indian buffet fare (which generally features North Indian food), but also includes familiar dishes such as saag paneer. They also bring out dosas with the buffet - large crepes filled with vegetables, their specialty. You can also get a wide variety of dosas for dinner, along with some North and South Indian favorites. Madras Pavillion is also all-vegetarian, making it all the more appealing.

3. Brasil
Brasil is both a coffee shop and a cafe, lending it a chill atmosphere. In spite of its name, their menu is not Brazilian, although some dishes are perhaps Brazilian-inspired. I usually order the heart of palm sandwich on ciabatta. - hearts of palm and swiss cheese smothered in a tangy sauce. I have always been a fan of heart of palm, but rarely find it in restaurants. On my last visit, I tried the seasoned goat cheese in olive oil as an appetizer. The olive oil was still sizzling when we were served, which was an exciting addition to a delicious dish.

4. Fadi's
Fadi's is a family favorite of my partner, and we enjoyed a great meal with his parents during my visit. It is a Middle Eastern/Mediterranean cafeteria style restaurant that offers both a vegetarian sampler, in which they pile your plate high with a variety of veggies, and vegetarian side dish plates that allow you to choose your sides. I had the latter and chose baba ganouj, eggplant, mixed sauteed vegetables, and falafel. Each dish was amazingly flavorful in its own right, and they combined very well. Be prepared to get a lot of food when you visit Fadi's - I had to relinquish part of mine to my partner and his brother because it was too much for me.

5. Mission Burrito
Although I like Freebird's, I have long believed that Chipotle was the single best burrito chain. I recently discovered a rival to Chipotle's claim - Mission Burrito. Mission Burrito only has two locations, both in Houston, so it's not exactly a chain, but it's set up in the same style as Freebird's and Chipotle - offering customized burritos. Not only are their burritos as delicious as Chipotle's, Mission Burrito offers a wider variety of toppings than does Chipotle. For example, I filled my burrito with mushrooms, spinach, fresh corn, and cilantro ranch sauce in addition to the usual rice, black beans, cheese, and pico de gallo. My biggest complaint about Mission Burrito is that they do not have locations in Austin or San Antonio, so I will have to wait awhile before I can go again.

6. Rita's Cafe
Rita's Cafe is a hole-in-the-wall Lebanese restaurant that we visited based on its distinction of being voted as the Best Middle Eastern Restaurant in Houston by the Houston Press. They definitely lived up to their reputation. Particular standout dishes included their olive hummus and tahini tabouli.