Best New Restaurants

Best New Restaurants <p class="p1">There's never been a better time to eat out in the Bayou City, and we’ve got everything you need to know, from the most exciting dining trends to the hottest chefs to the the 38 very best places that opened this year. Plus: our annual Fall Arts Guide, a trip Arkansas, Houston's burgeoning wine scene, and more. </p>

In this issue:

Arts & Culture

Jazz

Chick Corea Goes It Alone

Having played with the likes of Stan Getz, Dizzie Gillespie, and his own ensembles, the legendary jazz pianist will now perform solo at the Wortham Center.

09/30/2014 By Justin Mitchell

History

At the Menil, a Visual History of Nonviolent Protest

From Gandhi to Tiananmen Square, a new exhibition traces traditions of civil disobedience through photographs and artifacts.

09/30/2014 By Zachary Sachs

Fall Arts 2014

6 Young Artists Who Are Reshaping Houston’s Art Scene

This year we salute the new wave behind this season’s thrilling slate of cultural events—a lineup as fresh and new as the artists behind them.

09/30/2014 By Michael Hardy, Peter Holley, and Adam Casteñeda Photography by Arthur Garcia

Best of Houstonia

Our 2014 Fall Arts Guide

Our top picks in theater, visual art, dance, classical music, and more.

09/30/2014 By Michael Hardy

Best of Houstonia

The Best New Restaurants of 2014

Everything you need to know: the very best places that opened this year, the hottest chefs, and what’s soon to come.

10/01/2014 By Robb Walsh and Katharine Shilcutt

Eat & Drink

Cover Story

Houston’s Best New Restaurants

Still looking for reasons to believe Houston is the country’s most dynamic food city? How about 38 of them?

10/01/2014 By Robb Walsh and Katharine Shilcutt

Best Restaurants 2014

The 5 Very Best New Restaurants of 2014

Of all the amazing restaurants that opened this year, it was tough to pick our five absolute favorites—but somehow, we managed.

10/01/2014 By Robb Walsh and Katharine Shilcutt

Restaurant Reviews

The Return of the Dreaded “F” Word

Does Lilo and Ella’s success mean “fusion” might be allowed back into the food writing lexicon?

09/30/2014 By Robb Walsh

Wine

The Golden Age of Houston’s Wine Scene

Houston has quietly become one of the world’s great wine cities—thanks to our deep pockets, surprisingly sophisticated palates, and a new generation of sommeliers.

09/30/2014 By Jeremy Parzen

Best Restaurants 2014

The Five Hottest Chefs of 2014

The heat is on in the city's best restaurants, and these five pros are responsible for turning it up.

09/30/2014 By Katharine Shilcutt Illustrations by Sebastian Gomez de la Torre

Best Restaurants 2014

Best New Restaurants: 5 Restaurants to Watch

Get excited: these five soon-to-open restaurants will be worth the wait.

09/30/2014 By Katharine Shilcutt

Best Restaurants 2014

Best New Restaurants: Common Fare

Elevating everyday food beyond the, well, every day, is no mean feat, except in the hands of this handful of places.

09/30/2014 By Robb Walsh and Katharine Shilcutt

Best Restaurants 2014

Best New Restaurants: Desserts

Our much-loved mingling of cuisines and flavors isn’t just having its way with our main dishes. Desserts are now fair game too.

09/30/2014 By Katharine Shilcutt

Best Restaurants 2014

Best New Restaurants: Dives

Finding high-quality food in low-key settings is a local tradition, one happily embraced by a new generation of establishments both uptown and down home.

09/30/2014 By Katharine Shilcutt

Best Restaurants 2014

Best New Restaurants: Burgers

What becomes a legendary burger most? Perfecting the patty and gussying it up with gusto.

09/30/2014 By Katharine Shilcutt

Best Restaurants 2014

Best New Restaurants: Ramen

Sure, noodle shops are everywhere, but a few places have turned a simple pleasure—burying one’s face in a bowl of noodles and pork broth—into a special one indeed.

09/30/2014 By Robb Walsh and Katharine Shilcutt

Best Restaurants 2014

Best New Restaurants: Café Society

Exceptional coffee shops where coffee is far from the only exceptional thing on the menu

09/30/2014 By Katharine Shilcutt

Best Restaurants 2014

Best New Restaurants: Asian Fusion

The cuisines of Vietnam, Korea, Japan, and East Asia—everywhere in East Asia—are once more at the forefront of the city’s culinary scene.

09/30/2014 By Katharine Shilcutt

Best Restaurants 2014

Best New Restaurants: Americana

Comfort food is back, as classics are classed up and chefs draw inspiration from our collective nostalgia.

09/30/2014 By Robb Walsh and Katharine Shilcutt

Best Restaurants 2014

Best New Restaurants: Seafood

Now more than ever, chefs are fishing the rivers and oceans of the world—not to mention the waterways of our own backyard.

09/30/2014 By Robb Walsh and Katharine Shilcutt

Best Restaurants 2014

Best New Restaurants: Upping the Steaks

What could possibly be new and interesting about that old Texas mainstay the steakhouse? Oh ye cutting-edge carnivores of little faith!

09/30/2014 By Robb Walsh and Katharine Shilcutt

Editor’s Note

What the Ell Now?

Thanks to threatened legal action, we’re losing letters left and right.

09/30/2014 By Scott Vogel

News & City Life

H-Town Diary

When Driver’s Ed Lessons Go Wrong

You’ll never learn to fly if you can’t forget how to drive.

09/30/2014 By Andrew Husband

Politics

Is It Time to Reform Tort Reform?

Tort reform made sense to lots of people at the time, Stephen DiLeo included—that is, until a doctor removed his son’s brain tumor.

09/30/2014 By John Lomax

Bayougraphy

Meet Houston’s Man of Steel

Blaine Herring, Bodybuilder

09/30/2014 By Stephanie Joplin

Vampires

For Houston’s Vampire Community, Reality Bites

Seeking equal rights—and sometimes blood.

09/30/2014 By Peter Holley

History

Dredging Up Civil War History in Galveston Bay

Texas A&M researchers are uncovering the fascinating remains of a Union battleship sunk during the Battle of Galveston.

09/30/2014 By Peter Holley

Hair Crimes

Making the Classics Relevant: Alexander Pope

Rethinking The Rape of the Lock in light of a string of recent crimes

09/30/2014

Domestic Violence

For South Asian Women, Ancient Norms Meet Modern Realities

Bringing domestic violence awareness to one of Houston’s most underrepresented populations requires a bridging of cultures.

09/30/2014 With Peter Holley

Ice House Interview

Interview: Friends with (Potential) Benefits for Mankind

These Rice University researchers are going viral—but not in the way you think.

09/30/2014 By Catherine Matusow

The Show Must Go Juan

The Montrose Rollerblader Prepares for Act Two

His star turn having grown too big for America’s Got Talent, what’s next for Juan Carlos? We’ve got some ideas.

09/30/2014

Ice House

October’s Perfect Party

(Costume Not Optional)

09/30/2014 By Catherine Matusow

Marijuana

A New Front in the War on the War on Drugs

Ann Lee, an 85-year-old Meyerland Republican, may not be the advocate legalization supporters expected—but she may be the advocate they need.

09/30/2014 By John Lomax

Style & Shopping

Elements of Style

Always Judge a Dude by His Duds

Just leave it to Weaver.

09/30/2014 Photography by Sarah Gabbart

Clutch City

Three Gowns for Gala Season

Every fall a lady’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of evening gowns.

09/30/2014 By Peter Holley

Travel & Outdoors

Open Road

Uncovering Arkansas

From an ambitious new art museum to cutting-edge restaurants, our neighbor to the northeast has plenty of surprises in store.

09/30/2014 By Michael Hardy