What's going on in Houston

Like most restaurants in Little India — the section of town that straddles Hillcroft where it meets Highway 59 — Shri Balaji Bhavan is a hole in the wall, and it's enticingly inexpensive. But what sets Shri Balaji Bhavan apart from all its neighbo...

This is the most expensive macaroni and cheese on the list at $8 (which is why it didn't place higher up), but at least it's worth it. BRC has one of the few baked mac and cheese dishes that's not overcooked, nor does it reveal a layer of grease a...

Don't let the name fool you: The Petrol Station serves much more than just coffee. And although you can get a fine cuppa here, the beer selection is what makes the Petrol Station special. You won't find Bud Light, but you will find a limited yet r...

The best thing about Yale Street Grill isn't its excellent chicken fried steak nor its strong diner coffee nor the smiling waitresses who have been serving both for decades. It's how -- despite the rest of the Heights changing around it, and despi...

Depending on which side of the house you sit in, City Cafe is either a throwback to the late '80s or the mid '50s. It's the latter that we prefer, and not just because you can smoke (!) on that side of the building (although the anachronistic sigh...

Fat and fluffy, the chickpea patties at Niko Niko's are equally tasty on their own, but we prefer them tucked into one of the restaurant's signature breakfast pitas with scrambled eggs, sautéed onions and tomatoes. They're alluringly crispy outsid...

We've all been to West Alabama Icehouse and Jimmie's, and fine icehouses they are. But here we're suggesting one that harks back to the days of the fatally hard-drinking Eagle Pennell's cult 1983 movie Last Night at the Alamo. Sheffield's Ice Hous...

Huynh is an easy spot to love — this family-owned-and-operated restaurant serves up fresh, authentic Vietnamese in a casual dining room in east Downtown. Favorites like char-grilled pork noodle bowls and spicy bun bo hue are lined up alongside som...

Movie Nights at Domy Books are a varied affair. Films are screened as many as five nights a week and include classics (The Third Man), anime (Akira), horror (Let Sleeping Corpses Lie) and even industrial shorts (The Steel Reef). There are even for...

There is a fitness oasis smack in the middle of downtown. The YMCA is well equipped enough, with benches, squat racks and treadmills aplenty, yet somehow devoid of that bane of the typical gym experience: other people. Those who just want to work ...

Although it bills itself as Cajun food from southern Louisiana, there's quite a bit of soul to this downtown institution. Since 1986, Zydeco has served up classic steam-table fare and Cajun favorites to a wide variety of downtown denizens: Cops, l...

The allure here is simple: Old-fashioned Italian food in a charming little cottage with a romantic atmosphere. For an intimate evening, reserve a table in the tiny bar, or ask for a table on the patio if the weather is right for dining al fresco a...