In honor of the newly-extended two-week Houston Restaurant Week (what? you hadn't heard?), Houstonist celebrated the end of a long week and the beginning of another at Le Mistral, one of the many restaurants that participated in the first week of this year's Houston Restaurant Week, which benefits the End Hunger Network. As fate would have it, however, we didn't end up ordering from the Houston Restaurant Week menu at Le Mistral at all. We......

While driving through the Galleria area over the weekend, Houstonist stumbled across a new Tex-Mex restaurant dubbed “Maggie Rita’s.” Never one to turn down the opportunity to guzzle a new margarita or two or twenty, we decided to make a night of it at the newest bistro to grace the strip mall at the intersection of Sage and West Alabama and skip out on our traditional Saturday night dinner at Chuy’s. Bad choice. To......

After a brief hiatus to undergo a lengthy bout of detox due to excessive margarita consumption, we’re back and better than ever! The next stop on the road to unearth Houston’s best margarita was Canyon Café, positioned in a strip mall near the corner of Post Oak Lane and Westheimer. Restaurant Ambiance Judging solely by its exterior, Canyon Café possesses an inordinate amount of flair and gusto. From the lengthy outdoor staircase that patrons......

For those of you who missed the introduction, we're in the midst of a search for Houston's best margarita. Now before we dive into the first 'rita review, we must say we were overwhelmed by the positive response and the numerous dining options that readers ranted about. We'll do our best to visit as many spots as our livers will let us, but if you'd like to assist in our margarita march through Houston by......

We don't know about you, but when we have out-of-state guests crash on our couch, two primary questions are always posed to us. Those being: "Where do you store the extra toilet paper?" and "Where can I get the best margarita in Houston?" Apparently folks visiting the Lone Star State not only associate our humble home with cowboys, oil fields, ranches, and the Bush family, but they also expect to get the best tasting margaritas......

Though Open City has only been open a few months, we've been hearing nothing but rave reviews and felt the need to check it out ourselves. Best decision we've made in 2008 (well, besides deciding to ignore our New Year's diet resolution). We've heard that coming to Open City is like coming home for Thanksgiving. Upon arrival, we were immediately greeted by the owner, Nadine. We even felt like hugging her which is saying a......

Houstonist has a special place in our hearts for The Last Concert Cafe on Nance - it was the fabled "knock or you won't get in" mystery Mexican Restaurant of our mispent youth. The location of many nights of live music, cold beer and hot food. Now, we're asking Houston to help the fine folks there raise money in loving memory of their granddaughter Aubrie Kristine Acosta who succumbed to SIDS on January 12th at......

Pack your bags, grab your passport, check your visa. We're taking you outside the loop for a taste of Japan, folks. Houstonist, on the wise recommendation of the Fearless Critic, recently made the trek out to Westheimer and Fondren to dine at Sasaki. The restaurant is incognito in a dumpy strip center, nestled right next to your typical shady cell phone store, an insurance office and a hair salon (with 100% real human hair extensions!).......

Yes, that is some fried chicken you see. Yes, as the name would have you believe - this is a Mexican Restaurant review. Befuddled? Then you are too new. Or, perhaps, you don't know your fried chicken quite as well as you would like to think you do (just saying, or we need to be corrected by you, our reader). Houstonist loves a challenge, so we gave ourself one - get skinny(er) and keep giving......

Seeing as how it's now officially 2008 — which, by the way, is both the International Year of the Potato and the International Year of Sanitation (thanks, U.N.!) — we figured it was a good time to pay a visit to the Houstonist Favorites page and see what your favorite Houstonist posts of 2007 were. >> Most commented: "R.I.P.: Houston-born Anna Nicole Smith" February was sort of a high-water mark when it came to, um,......

French restaurants have been very kind to Houstonist. They reside in quaint little locales, offer crusty bread and real butter, and cook up delectable and delicate fares. We were delighted to learn that a new french restaurant opened on Colquitt just two weeks ago. The owners and chefs of Au Petit Paris, Eric Legros & Dominique Bocquier, have created a 'casual' neighborhood restaurant with a distinct Parisian feel. Though the restaurant lacks the pretentiousness of......

Here are a few books Houstonist thinks your friends and family won't use for doorstops (that's the fruitcake, right?). Everyone likes a good read, or at least a smart-looking book to sit on the nightstand. Give these a try. And shop at your local independent bookstore -- they can give you even more recommendations, and probably a good cup of coffee as well. Fun, mostly fiction books for people who are... Houstonians and/or architecture......

What would be the obvious career path for someone who went to Harvard for undergrad and Yale for law school? Well, write and publish restaurant guides, of course. Duh. Houstonist had the opportunity to sit with author/entrepreneur/foodie/publisher/world-traveller Robin Goldstein and his managing editor/foodie/marketer/public-relations-exec/S.O. Alexis Herschkowitsch. Robin has just released his Houston restaurant guide – Fearless Critic, Houston Restaurant Guide (one of the very first complete printed guides in Houston - and no, Zagat doesn't count).......

Here you go Houston, more food and wine events for you to peruse. We are going to work to get you more than one Culinary Events posting per week, as the holidays can increase the number of events, dinners, fund-raising food and beverage activities and festivals. Also, we strive to give you some advance notice - as you can't always get your reservations or tickets, which ever the case may be, on the day......

From local Houston headlines, we bring you these weekend news bits... • DNA evidence confirms the identity of "Baby Grace" as Riley Ann Sawyers. • Camioni’s Restaurant in north Houston falls victim to false rumors, online hoax. • A southwest Houston bicyclist is dead after being struck by a vehicle. • The birdwatcher who went on trial for killing a cat has been shot at and claims he feels like "a walking abortion clinic."......

Houstonist doesn't get it. What's with all the hype surrounding Arcodoro? Why is this place getting such rave reviews from foodies we usually respect? Are we missing something here? Perhaps Houstonist readers can shed some light on our very dark Arcodoro experience. Houston's recent annual Restaurant Week was a great opportunity to sample a three course dinner from a variety of notable restaurants. After careful scrutiny, we chose Arcodoro, a restaurant we've heard a lot......

Last week the AIA hosted their annual home tour, and tomorrow the Downtown Houston Alliance is giving folks a chance to see residences in some of Houston's most historic and moneyed buildings. The Live Downtown Home Tour is from 10am to 5pm on Saturday, November 3rd. Stops on the tour include Commerce Towers, The Beaconsfield (not the Savoy across the street!), the Four Seasons, Hogg Palace (no, not this place), and several other loft properties.......

Dammit, Houston *is* a literary town! Here's a slew of readings happening this week, from the hilarious David Sedaris to the wry Nick Hornby and the unbalanced Lisa Belkin. Her word choice, not ours. We love books. Wednesday, October 24th at 7:30PM William Henry Lewis and Justin Cronin at DiverseWorks 1117 East Freeway, *FREE* Two heavy-hitting writers with a bucket of awards apiece. Lewis is the author of In the Arms of Our Elders......

Today Houstonist brings you an imagined interview with Derek J. Mortimer, the owner, founder, and visionary behind Hotel Derek. We recently sat down with Mr. Mortimer in the lobby of his flagship hotel to speak with him about his career. Thanks for agreeing to this interview, Mr. Mortimer. Or do you prefer-- --You may address Derek as Derek. Okay, Derek. Could you talk a bit about what inspired you to go into the hotel business?......

Today’s Photo of the Day comes from flickr user and Houstonist photo contributor The Fuzzball. A definitive downtown destination for lunch, Irma's has been around long before downtown's recent revitalization. Serving only weekday breakfast and lunch, you must give this funky little establishment a shot next time you have an opportunity to eat lunch downtown. Be sure to try the lemonade. It's more than lemonade, kind of like a nectar of the gods. Here......

Feel like it's time to give back? Someone did someone nice for you and you haven't paid it forward? You screwed someone over and now you've gotta get your good karma back? We've got the answer - treat yourself to a gourmet 3-course dinner! It's not often that eating out can be considered charity work. This week in Houston, your dining escapades can actually do some good for the world. Houston's annual Restaurant Week......

Most people we know either love okra or hate it. As okra season is in full effect, we thought a little ode to the okra will convince the haters to give it a second chance. The okra, a relative to the hibiscus and cotton plant, is a little tubular vegetable with fuzzy, tender casing and round, edible white seeds. Okra also has a sticky core that causes the up-turned noses and looks of disgust among......

Next time you are in the mood for an extraordinary lunch that does not involve valet parking you should hop on over to Yo Mama's Soul Food Restaurant on Antoine between 43rd and Tidwell. Yo Mama's (tee hee) has been slanging the groceries for 13 years now will not be closing any time soon judging by the lunch crowd. Folks from neighborhoods near (Oak Forest) and far (Sugarland) were waiting patiently in line to pick......

No, it's not a new adult film premiering at Aurora, its White Linen Night in the Heights, and it's back for it's 2nd coming. "Small town cool, in the center of the big city." This Saturday, Heights residents, and curious visitors from all across the city, descend upon one of Houston's fastest-growing art scenes for a celebration of culture and community. The annual event, now in its second year, focuses on art, galleries, retail, outdoor......

Today’s Photo of the Day comes from flickr user and Houstonist photo contributor MasTaPiannis. We'll let the flurry of activity in this black and white photo take us into the weekend. Let's hope we don't get too much rain this weekend and that we will be able to sit outside somewhere and enjoy a meal or a tasty beverage. If you have a passion for Houston and photography, consider joining over 335 of Houston's......

We're not sure whether it was something in the air or what, but something seems to have made Houstonians decide to crash into each other (and, in a couple of cases, walls) on area roads last night. First there was the guy who backed through a wall of the Houston House parking garage — we already talked about that — and then, around 8 p.m., a driver crashed into an Indian restaurant at Dairy Ashford......

Weekend Festivities Kick-off World Premiere of Houston-inspired film A few months ago, Houstonist ran across a unique website that encourged Houstonians to leave comments and mark favorites places on a map of the city. We later learned, the site (www.hottowncoolcity.org) was one part of a treasure map of Houston’s hidden gems presented in two parts, website and film, as described and suggested by Houstonians. This weekend, the film portion of the project is being premiered......

Houstonist makes the “long” pilgrimage to the outer-outer loop on Bellaire for our Vietnamese fix, so a hot spot in Montrose would rock our world. At first glance, Hollywood Restaurant (2409 Montrose Blvd) may seem like a video store by the same name, but keep reading the sign and you’ll see that it’s a Vietnamese restaurant…and a Chinese restaurant…oh, and as an afterthought, it’s also a French restaurant. The florescent, multicolored neon sign gave the......

And Now for Something Totally Different So it's Wednesday Houston, and you're probably not sitting around wondering where you can go to hear some killer Polish music tonight... but we are going to telll you anyway. Houston is diverse, we don't just eat and drink (although this even can involve both if you choose to let it.) Get out tonight and celebrate all that is Space City, and head over to Rudi Lechner's Restaurant and......

Starting now and through the next few years, expect to see a few Sizzlers popping up on the horizon. The restaurant chain left Houston in the late 1980s, but after a major reorganization and facelift, the new ownership must feel confident about the Houston market. With the current offerings of high-priced beef (think Vic and Anthony's, Smith and Wollensky, Morton's), and the possibility of the Houston Pavilions bringing in Lawry's, maybe we are ready for......