We citizens of the Best Coast know certain things are our birthright—things like glittering, golden tilefish and slate-blue crabs just hauled up from the Gulf, translucent shrimp that turn a feisty, furious coral shade as they plump up on the grill, and sweet oysters recently pulled from their beds, tasting of the ocean itself. It is our luck not only to live on the Gulf of Mexico but to have its bounty at our fingertips.

It’s also our luck to live here at a time when our food culture is stronger than ever. While Houstonia’s old-school seafood palaces continue to serve the great dishes of our coastal culinary heritage—campechanas de mariscos, fried shrimp, gumbo, redfish on the half shell—a new roster of restaurants has arrived eager to turn our understanding of Gulf seafood on its ear, proudly serving what was once considered “trash fish,” local appellation oysters, and fascinating dishes like amberjack ceviche and roasted oysters with pork belly.

For our guide to Gulf seafood, we’ve trawled Houstonia to bring you the best of these traditions, along with the best of our coastal culture—and what we must do to protect it. Because when it comes to seafood, we like to take a page out of the Goode family book and give some serious thought to thanking our lucky stars we’re in Texas…