Justin Yu on Where to Eat & Drink in Houston
With an astounding blend of cultures and cuisine, Houston has long been one of America’s great food cities. But it’s only been until recently—with chefs like Chris Shepherd, Hugo Ortega and Justin Yu leading the pack—that anyone’s paid attention to the robust dining scene. Well the secret’s out, and one of the best restaurants in this port city is Justin Yu’s Oxheart. In just a few short years, the native Houstonian’s creative, vegetable-heavy tasting menus have garnered praise from the James Beard Foundation (he was a 2014 and 2015 nominee for Best Chef: Southwest), Food & Wine magazine (he was a 2014 Best New Chef) and Bon Appetit (Oxheart made 2012’s list of Best New Restaurants). Although it’s not the press, but the food at this 30-seat restaurant that makes it one of Houston’s hardest reservations—slow roasted sunchokes with honey, jasmine tea and salted cream, a sofrito of shellfish with gulf crawfish and radishes, and blueberries with wild sorrel and preserved lemon creme anglaise. Below, Yu shares his top picks for Houston, from the best egg custard tarts, sushi and fried chicken to a museum you can’t miss.
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Coltivare Pizza & Garden
A casual, energetic restaurant that does all the little things well. I like to saddle up to the bar and order a classic cacio e pepe and one of their seasonal salads (I love the kohlrabi salad), or a half chicken roasted in their Josper charcoal oven. They have fantastic cocktails also that focuses on simplicity. coltivarehouston.com
Kata Robata
Just sit at the sushi counter and ask Chef Hori to put together 8-10 pieces of nigiri and enjoy the really fantastic, well thought out wine list. Don’t miss the saba shra-ita, ike with umeboshi and shiso, and the hamachi with quail egg. katarobata.com
Barbecue Inn
An old throwback restaurant that feels like a steak and ale (in a good way). It makes you wanna drink some Bud Lights, throw back some shrimp cocktail, eat an iceberg salad with too much ranch dressing, and feast over a plate of Houston’s best fried chicken and catfish. thebarbecueinn.com
Eastside Market
Houston’s premiere farmers market has a great selection of local vegetables, and some of the best local meats. In season, there’s fantastic brown shrimp from Shrimp Boat Projects, great chickens from Tejas Heritage Farm, and a really nice selection of meats from Texas Wagyu to bison. urbanharvest.org
Hong Kong Market
Credit: Greater Houston CVB (photographer: Julie Soefer)
One of the biggest selection of Asian goods you’ll find in Texas. You can get anything from a pig’s head, fresh beltfish and live catfish, to banana blossoms and a huge selection of different ramens. facebook.com/HongKongFoodMarket
ECK Bakery
A chinatown gem which serves some fine renditions of Chinese swiss rolls, and mango or red bean stuffed mochi, but as the name kind of suggests (ECK stands for Egg Custard King) you go for the fresh egg custard tarts or dan tat in Cantonese, which come out every hour, on the hour. It’s worth the wait for some of the best egg custard tarts this side of Hong Kong. 281.933.6808
Common Bond
You’ll see some of the most technically-proficient baking in the U.S. at Common Bond, which excels in a fantastic variety of entremets cakes, small pastries, fantastic viennoiserie, and delicious, meticulously-crafted bread. wearecommonbond.com
Warren’s Inn
Credit: Greater Houston CVB (photographer: Julie Soefer)
Houston’s dive of dive bars with women who’ve been tending that bar for decades with great banter, heavy pours, and old Westerns on the TV. warrensinn.biz
Captain Foxheart’s Bad News Bar & Spirit Lodge
Credit: Greater Houston CVB (photographer: Julie Soefer)
One of Houston’s best cocktail bars with a one-of-a-kind patio that looks out into downtown. The bartenders are extremely proficient at the classics, with great Manhattans, Old Fashioneds, and Vieux Carre, but don’t miss out on the really nice house made cocktails as well. facebook.com/BadNewsBar
Hay Merchant
Credit: Julie Soefer Photography
A fantastically curated selection of beers both on draft and in the bottle, but a huge plus is really great food with a consistently great burger (thin patties, none of those unnecessarily huge patties) on the menu. haymerchant.com
Hotel Icon
Credit: Greater Houston CVB (photographer: Deb Smail)
A beautiful, historic space with great service. However, the main draw is that it’s centrally located in downtown to the convention center, and can easy be a main base for going to any of the stadiums. Plus, it’s walking distance to some of Houston’s best bars for nightlife. hotelicon.com
The Best Way to Spend a Saturday Afternoon
Wandering around the Menil Collection for some of the most thought provoking pieces of art in the country, before heading down to the Montrose area to enjoy one of their many bars.
One Attraction You Shouldn’t Miss
The Gerald D. Hines Waterwall in the Galleria area. If for nothing else but to re-enact the motivational workout scenes from The Karate Kid movie. uptown-houston.com
About Justin Yu
Justin has worked some of the country’s most notable restaurants such as *17 in Houston, Texas, Green Zebra and Spring Restaurants in Chicago, Illinios and Ubuntu in Napa, California. After staging abroad at In de Wulf in Dranouter, Belgium and AOC and Geranium Restaurants in Copenhagen, Denmark, Justin has come home to open Oxheart to convey a progressive perspective on regional product. In his free time, Justin enjoys hamburgers, traveling, money cats and making side bets on fantasy football leagues.