The first Landry’s opened in Houston—okay, technically Katy—in 1980. In the mid-’80s, Tilman Fertitta bought it (and all of the other Landry’s and Willie G’s locations in the Houston area), and an empire was born. Today he employs over 60,000 people across 35 states. These days, the can't-miss dishes come right from our own watery backyard: Oyster Bar Trash made with Gulf-caught shrimp and blue crab with beurre blanc and steamed rice, or the signature blue crab cake and barbecue shrimp with andouille-pepper-jack grits.