Xochi
Xochi is a Oaxacan restaurant located in downtown Houston in the shadow of the convention center on the ground floor of the Marriott Marquis. The decor is sleek and modern. Likewise is the food, though leaning on traditional Oaxacan flavors. A goat taco compresses meat into a rectangular prism, and wood-grilled octopus is served with purple potatoes and green chorizo. The main courses are more traditional with a beautiful pork shank covered in salsa verde or the Australian lamb chops served with tamarind mole. The desserts are playful but I’d recommend the Pavlova de Mango y Coco: coconut-lime Pavlova, mango compote, passion fruit gel, mango sorbet. And of course I had some gin, the Origen cocktail, a g&t with prickly pear and Mexican gin.
Xochi
1777 Walker Street
Houston, TX
State of Grace
State of Grace is a beautiful restaurant housed in the Lamar-River Oaks Shopping Center, an outstanding art deco building built in the late 30s. The menu is French but leans towards New Orleans with dishes like Gumbo and Gulf Crab Beignets. At brunch, sweets are plentiful. The enormous cinnamon roll is slathered in fresh cream cheese icing and the rich chocolate soufflé gets the addition of creme anglais tableside. They even have a bananas foster station and if that isn’t enough, they offer ginger sandwich cookies on the way out the door. I would have bought a dozen of them to go if I had known how good they were going to be.
If you want something more savory, the crawfish benedict étouffée is incredible. It starts with a very good english muffin. That is topped with a fried green tomato, a poached egg, and hollandaise. But the magic comes between the tomato and the egg where they ladle on scoops of heavenly crawfish étouffée. While you are indulging, get a side of bacon as well. And of course brunch wouldn’t be complete without a cocktail. Get the light and refreshing Zamora Spritz with elderflower, grapefruit, mint, and cava.
State of Grace
3258 Westheimer Road
Houston, TX
Taste of Texas
Since it opened its doors in 1977, Taste of Texas is not just a restaurant it is a museum of Texas history. The walls are covered with artifacts of all kinds, including the Alamo chapel doors. But the real reason to come to Taste of Texas is beef. They even let you go back into the edge of the kitchen and pick your specific steak from the steak fridge. But if you are indecisive, don’t know how to spot a good steak, or just don’t want to leave your cocktail behind, get the prime rib. It’s the best I have had in as long as I can remember. You can add on quail skewers which is a must. Just leave behind the jalapeno poppers that come with the quail. Save the room and get the pecan pie with cinnamon ice cream. It’s as big, rich, and wonderful as a pecan pie can be. You won’t leave Taste of Texas hungry.
Taste of Texas
10505 Katy Freeway
Houston, TX
The Pit Room
My last meal in Texas was BBQ at The Pit Room. The good thing is we didn’t have to show up early and wait in line for almost two hours like we did at Corkscrew. The bad news is the food isn’t as good as Corkscrew. The highlight is the brisket which is absolutely delicious. There really isn’t a need to try anything else except maybe the cocktails at their full bar. Grab a plate of brisket with picked onions, white bread, and some mustard potato salad. That’s a good meal.
The Pit Room
1201 Richmond Avenue
Houston, TX
Concord Culinary Lyceum 
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