Beatriz Isabel Umanzor, known by her fans as “Pupusa Mami,” has transformed her pandemic pivot into a full-time gig. Over the past couple of years, she’s become a dive bar favorite with her pupusa pop-up, Allwayz Hungry, through which she creates some of the tastiest pupusas in Houston. The patron saint of pupusas, as we’ve dubbed her, hosts regular pop-ups throughout the week at vibey spots like Lil’ Danny Speedos, Grand Prize Bar, and Equal Parts Brewing. We chronicle Umanzor’s journey into the pupusa business and discusses her dreams for the future.

Pappas. Mandola. Creuzot. If you’ve lived in Houston for more than one turning of the seasons, you should be able to recognize those last names. Although Houston is home to many family-run restaurants, there are a handful of local culinary clans whose influence goes back decades. These families helped lay the groundwork for the city’s transformation into the food hub that it is today. We explore the backstories of some of them and reveal how they created their generational food dynasties.

Did you know that there’s a bustling city located 20 feet below ground in downtown Houston? Houston’s underground tunnel system is the largest in North America and stretches over 95 city blocks—all navigable through a six-mile network of tunnels. In addition to being home to salons, specialty shops, medical offices, and convenience stores, the tunnel system is home to a diverse list of restaurants. Whether you’re in the mood for standout Filipino cuisine or Mexico City–caliber street food, there’s sure to be something of interest to you in this curated food guide we wrote for Houston’s underground tunnel system.

While Bellaire’s Dun Huang Plaza is home to many trendy restaurants, tea houses, and ice cream spots, few have opened with the same level of fanfare as Hui Lau Shan. When the first Texas location of the Hong Kong–hailing dessert shop opened in summer 2023, the lines were instant. Several months later, they’re still a key feature of the spot. Hui Lau Shan is a dessert temple to all things mango, and the shop goes through an astonishing 500 cases of the tropical fruit every week. In this guide, we give recommendations on when to stop by and what to order—from the chilled pomelo and mango with sago drink to the extra-gooey mango mochi and the cloudlike mango pancakes.

While there are plenty of speakeasies in Houston with novel entrances, there’s only one you enter through a cat door—or, at least, a door featuring a mural of a cowboy hat–sporting money cat. Mèo, Vietnamese for “cat,” opened earlier this year in the Heights inside a portion of Texas-Asian fusion restaurant Wokker. The pipsqueak spot, inspired by Vietnamese dockside bars, immediately won us over with its small, dim sum–centric food menu, its Vietnamese-inspired cocktails, and its low-key, divey vibe.

Few restaurant openings this year were as frenetic as the one for rapper Bun B’s first brick-and-mortar for Trill Burgers, his hit smashburger concept. On opening day, hundreds of Houstonians stood in line for hours for the chance to get their hands on what Good Morning America crowned in 2022 as the best burger in the country. We describe the frenzy as well as introduce you to some of the day’s most colorful characters.

While Houston’s food scene has a stellar reputation, we’ve never been much of a pizza city. Sure, we have plenty of pizza spots, but it’s never been what we’re known for. That’s starting to change thanks to places like Nonno’s Family Pizza Tavern, a new restaurant from the team behind Nobie’s and the Toasted Coconut that serves Chicago’s famous tavern-style pizza. The restaurant, which has quickly become a local favorite through its crispy thin-crusted pies, was recently crowned as the “Pizza Joint of the Year” by Esquire magazine. We provide a breakdown of the restaurant as well as tips on what to order.

In July 2022, Underbelly Hospitality famously split with its founder, James Beard Award–winning chef Chris Shepherd. In the time since, the hospitality group has reshuffled its restaurant lineup, closing old favorites like Hay Merchant, UB Preserv, and GJ Tavern, and launching new concepts like Comalito and Pastore. We spoke with the hospitality group’s president, Nina Quincy, so she could answer some of our lingering, post-Shepxit questions.

Has Houston’s smashburger craze reached its peak? Probably not, but in this article, we tried out some of the city’s current top spots on our hunt to crown the best smashburger in the city. Bun B’s Trill Burgers earned high marks, as did Bunslut, Burger-Chan, and Burger Bodega. While they all served us crispy-edged patties that were smashed to perfection, there was one clear winner. You’ll have to read the article to find out who it is.

When it comes to the city’s food scene, we love unexpected concepts. One of our favorite recent entries into this category is chef Christine Ha’s new sandwich concept, Stuffed Belly. Although Ha is known for her standout Vietnamese fare, the thrice James Beard Award–recognized chef and MasterChef winner surprised us this year when she opened her nostalgic American sandwich concept in Spring Branch. In this guide to the restaurant, we dish on what to expect and what to order, from the Szechuan hot chicken to the grilled cheese. We also make an argument that there should be a lot more Stuffed Bellys around town.