The foods of New Orleans and southern Louisiana are certainly popular here with the proximity. Here are the best places to find those.
The Best
Brennan’s – This sibling of the famed Commander’s Palace in New Orleans has been a fine-dining fixture in Midtown since 1967, it’s long part of Houston. Its locally attuned Creole cooking, some Mexican flavors and preparations that might be a little less baroque, seems to be better than in any time since Danny Trace departed as executive chef in 2017. The emphasis is on the bounty of the Gulf cooked in butter, and turtle soup and any fish preparation usually makes for winning meal. A bountiful wine list, famous desserts, indulgent brunches and 25-cent martinis during weekday lunches are some other draws. Midtown
Eunice – Serving Creole or maybe more accurately Creole-inspired fare, Eunice is named after the southern Louisiana hometown of its executive chef, Drake Leonards. Set in the base of an office tower, it is a gorgeous space, clean-lined and modern, yet quite inviting, comfortable and with plenty of natural light. The menu includes roasted oysters with bits of shrimp, blue crab, and then brown butter breadcrumbs, that are excellent, with the toppings working well with the moist, milky Gulf oysters. Maybe even more pleasurable is the chicken liver mousse served with a fig jam and thin slices of quality toasted bread. Mild yet flavorful. The crispy Cajun Duck Poppers with “double smoked bacon, jalapenos, cream cheese” and Dan Dan Shrimp – named after a friend and former co-worker of the chef, not the Szechuan noodles – are also both worth ordering to sart. The first-rate entrées include steak frites for lunch and a ribeye for dinner, slices of duck breast, a sautéed Gulf black drum with some crab and brown butter, or a grouper filet in any guise when it makes an appearance, like sometimes in the Friday lunch special Court-Bouillon Grand Mere. Greenway Plaza
The Best of the Rest
Ragin’ Cajun – Though down to a single location, its original one, multi-ethnic crowds still happily wait in line at peak times to order at the counter for the robustly flavored fare of southern Louisiana at this relaxed, casual eatery that’s been serving Houstonians for almost fifty years now. Buckets and baskets quickly litter most tables, as the often ample customers enjoy feasts of raw oysters, boiled crawfish in season, gumbo, fried seafood platters and held-held fare that’s great for take away. The shrimp po boy is especially well done. It is made with properly battered and deep-fried, medium-sized shrimp inside a good-quality, properly crusty French roll with lettuce, tomato and tartar-like sauce. In addition to fried shrimp, there are a number of other possible fillings such as fried crawfish, fried oyster, fried catfish, fried soft shell crab in season, boiled shrimp, grilled catfish, seafood, roast beef with gravy, ham, boudin, chicken, smoked sausage, ham and cheese. In addition to those po boys, there are other sandwiches, including the New Orleans classic and a nod to the proprietors’ Sicilian roots, the muffaletta; served warm, it might be the best version in town. Greenway Plaza
Lagniappe – It’s better time than ever for discriminating diners living in the Heights. This very useful and adept casual south Louisiana-themed spot is more evidence and yet another tempting option right in the neighborhood. Layne Cruz, a Louisiana native, ran Revival Market, its previous tenant, before transforming the concept into something maybe more approachable, certainly more personal and more consistently satisfying. This is casual Creole fare like sandwiches – especially a po boy and one of the best muffulettas in town – red beans and rice, chicken and sausage gumbo, jambalaya that are done more artfully and playfully than typically found. The morning fare is a focus and includes grillades and grits and a coffee bread pudding French toast among the nearly ten options; a multi-part breakfast plate with especially good eggs and a quiche are also served through the afternoon for the late-risers. The admirable po boy features spicy blackened shrimp, medium-sized, with fried oysters tucked into toasted po boy loaf with green tomatoes, pickled onions and a flavorful remoulade sauce. There is just a wine and beer license, so it’s more sober here than the city that provides its inspiration. Opened daily for breakfast and lunch. Heights
Bayou City Seafood & Pasta – For over three decades this comfy spot just inside the Loop has been dishing up crowd-pleasing Cajun and Gulf seafood preparations along with hearty, zesty pasta dishes that have nothing at all do with Italy other than the name of the noodle – the heftier fettuccine is always a better choice than the angel hair, by the way. The lengthy menu has étouffée, bisques with either crab or crawfish, courtbouillons, and a couple gumbos along with Cajun toppings for fish that have been popular here at least since the days of Don’s Seafood including Pontchartrain and a half-dozen others, often with crab and shrimp. There should be something for just about everyone here with a kitchen that is user-friendly; like the seafood and chicken, even the frog legs can be had broiled, blackened or fried. Galleria Area
The Boot – A laid-back, largely open-air spot amidst the bars along 20th Street, this specializes in boiled crawfish during the season and New Orleans-style po boys throughout the year. Using the New Orleans favorite Leidenheimer French bread for the po boys makes a difference, even from par-baked form. Po boys with fried shrimp, catfish, oysters, and crawfish tails might be the most tempting, but you can also get the first two in healthier if still tasty form, grilled or blackened. All these and the others are properly fully dressed with mayonnaise, iceberg lettuce, tomato and pickle slices that make it all better. That and some Louisiana Hot Sauce. Heights
Gumbo Jeaux’s – A casual spot serving up Texiana fare, a Houston and East Texas version of south Louisiana cooking, it claimed, the quite tasty gumbo has more than just chicken and andouille sausage and features a “thick and dark, Texas style roux,” and the menu includes tacos and burritos that can include Creole shrimp or blackened fish. This is fun food that seems to hit the right notes for many locals, even if it is down to just one address now. There are plenty of sandwiches like a delicious Shrimp and Cake one that’s flavored with cilantro, chipotle mayo and a sweet relish, others on torta bread, burgers, along with fried shrimp, catfish and chicken platters, also. Blackened fish filets are specialty, so you can eat somewhat healthier here, too, if you must. IAH
Zydeco – The somewhat dumpy interior of a low-slung building has provided a hospitable setting for southern Louisiana home cooking, served cafeteria-style for weekday lunch since 1988. It is a steam table operation for most of the entrées here, which is actually the best way to serve these inherently stew-like preparations. Entrées change daily, and some, like the crawfish dishes, are just served seasonally. The featured steam table items are from a southern Louisiana culinary hit parade: Crawfish Étouffée, Shrimp and Crab Étouffée, Chicken and Sausage Creole, Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya, Snapper Creole, Fried Catfish Shrimp and Crab Sauce Piquanté, Stuffed Pork Chops with Jambalaya, Chicken Fricassee, Seafood Courtbouillon, and Baked Chicken. Downtown
1929 Po-Boy Kitchen – Among the sliver of spaces that is the food hall at ground level at the Lyric Center across from the Wortham, this counter-service newcomer serves up creditable and hefty po boys and more. The fryer gets a workout here, both for the po boys, a starter and all of the entrées. To be fair, a few of the po boys can also be filled with grilled and blackened proteins, instead. Though if just coming fully dressed – remoulade, lettuce, tomato, and pickles here – isn’t enough, the po boys can also be topped with crawfish étouffée, roast beef debris, or some fried avocado. There’s also red beans and rice, New Orleans BBQ shrimp, and gumbo in a few guises, chicken and andouille sausage, that with shellfish, and the vegetarian gumbo z’herbes that you don’t find here too often. Downtown
Abe’s Cajun Market & Café – As the name indicates, this two decade-old spot not only serves meals, but also sells Cajun-oriented products, attractively prepared and packaged foods for heating and eating at home such as stuffed chickens and turduckens, dips, sausages, and much more. But, most folks visit for the foods to be eaten at the inviting low-key restaurant, and Abe’s does a bristling lunchtime business. The best things to order, and probably the best values, too, are the plate specials that change each day. These can be very good versions of jambalaya, shrimp Creole and the like. Each are served with steamed white rice, good cornbread and a likely listless side vegetable. You don’t visit Cajun eateries for vegetables anyway. Clear Lake
The muffaletta at Lagniappe.
The Best
Brennan’s – This sibling of the famed Commander’s Palace in New Orleans has been a fine-dining fixture in Midtown since 1967, it’s long part of Houston. Its locally attuned Creole cooking, some Mexican flavors and preparations that might be a little less baroque, seems to be better than in any time since Danny Trace departed as executive chef in 2017. The emphasis is on the bounty of the Gulf cooked in butter, and turtle soup and any fish preparation usually makes for winning meal. A bountiful wine list, famous desserts, indulgent brunches and 25-cent martinis during weekday lunches are some other draws. Midtown
Eunice – Serving Creole or maybe more accurately Creole-inspired fare, Eunice is named after the southern Louisiana hometown of its executive chef, Drake Leonards. Set in the base of an office tower, it is a gorgeous space, clean-lined and modern, yet quite inviting, comfortable and with plenty of natural light. The menu includes roasted oysters with bits of shrimp, blue crab, and then brown butter breadcrumbs, that are excellent, with the toppings working well with the moist, milky Gulf oysters. Maybe even more pleasurable is the chicken liver mousse served with a fig jam and thin slices of quality toasted bread. Mild yet flavorful. The crispy Cajun Duck Poppers with “double smoked bacon, jalapenos, cream cheese” and Dan Dan Shrimp – named after a friend and former co-worker of the chef, not the Szechuan noodles – are also both worth ordering to sart. The first-rate entrées include steak frites for lunch and a ribeye for dinner, slices of duck breast, a sautéed Gulf black drum with some crab and brown butter, or a grouper filet in any guise when it makes an appearance, like sometimes in the Friday lunch special Court-Bouillon Grand Mere. Greenway Plaza
The Best of the Rest
Ragin’ Cajun – Though down to a single location, its original one, multi-ethnic crowds still happily wait in line at peak times to order at the counter for the robustly flavored fare of southern Louisiana at this relaxed, casual eatery that’s been serving Houstonians for almost fifty years now. Buckets and baskets quickly litter most tables, as the often ample customers enjoy feasts of raw oysters, boiled crawfish in season, gumbo, fried seafood platters and held-held fare that’s great for take away. The shrimp po boy is especially well done. It is made with properly battered and deep-fried, medium-sized shrimp inside a good-quality, properly crusty French roll with lettuce, tomato and tartar-like sauce. In addition to fried shrimp, there are a number of other possible fillings such as fried crawfish, fried oyster, fried catfish, fried soft shell crab in season, boiled shrimp, grilled catfish, seafood, roast beef with gravy, ham, boudin, chicken, smoked sausage, ham and cheese. In addition to those po boys, there are other sandwiches, including the New Orleans classic and a nod to the proprietors’ Sicilian roots, the muffaletta; served warm, it might be the best version in town. Greenway Plaza
Lagniappe – It’s better time than ever for discriminating diners living in the Heights. This very useful and adept casual south Louisiana-themed spot is more evidence and yet another tempting option right in the neighborhood. Layne Cruz, a Louisiana native, ran Revival Market, its previous tenant, before transforming the concept into something maybe more approachable, certainly more personal and more consistently satisfying. This is casual Creole fare like sandwiches – especially a po boy and one of the best muffulettas in town – red beans and rice, chicken and sausage gumbo, jambalaya that are done more artfully and playfully than typically found. The morning fare is a focus and includes grillades and grits and a coffee bread pudding French toast among the nearly ten options; a multi-part breakfast plate with especially good eggs and a quiche are also served through the afternoon for the late-risers. The admirable po boy features spicy blackened shrimp, medium-sized, with fried oysters tucked into toasted po boy loaf with green tomatoes, pickled onions and a flavorful remoulade sauce. There is just a wine and beer license, so it’s more sober here than the city that provides its inspiration. Opened daily for breakfast and lunch. Heights
Bayou City Seafood & Pasta – For over three decades this comfy spot just inside the Loop has been dishing up crowd-pleasing Cajun and Gulf seafood preparations along with hearty, zesty pasta dishes that have nothing at all do with Italy other than the name of the noodle – the heftier fettuccine is always a better choice than the angel hair, by the way. The lengthy menu has étouffée, bisques with either crab or crawfish, courtbouillons, and a couple gumbos along with Cajun toppings for fish that have been popular here at least since the days of Don’s Seafood including Pontchartrain and a half-dozen others, often with crab and shrimp. There should be something for just about everyone here with a kitchen that is user-friendly; like the seafood and chicken, even the frog legs can be had broiled, blackened or fried. Galleria Area
The Boot – A laid-back, largely open-air spot amidst the bars along 20th Street, this specializes in boiled crawfish during the season and New Orleans-style po boys throughout the year. Using the New Orleans favorite Leidenheimer French bread for the po boys makes a difference, even from par-baked form. Po boys with fried shrimp, catfish, oysters, and crawfish tails might be the most tempting, but you can also get the first two in healthier if still tasty form, grilled or blackened. All these and the others are properly fully dressed with mayonnaise, iceberg lettuce, tomato and pickle slices that make it all better. That and some Louisiana Hot Sauce. Heights
Gumbo Jeaux’s – A casual spot serving up Texiana fare, a Houston and East Texas version of south Louisiana cooking, it claimed, the quite tasty gumbo has more than just chicken and andouille sausage and features a “thick and dark, Texas style roux,” and the menu includes tacos and burritos that can include Creole shrimp or blackened fish. This is fun food that seems to hit the right notes for many locals, even if it is down to just one address now. There are plenty of sandwiches like a delicious Shrimp and Cake one that’s flavored with cilantro, chipotle mayo and a sweet relish, others on torta bread, burgers, along with fried shrimp, catfish and chicken platters, also. Blackened fish filets are specialty, so you can eat somewhat healthier here, too, if you must. IAH
Zydeco – The somewhat dumpy interior of a low-slung building has provided a hospitable setting for southern Louisiana home cooking, served cafeteria-style for weekday lunch since 1988. It is a steam table operation for most of the entrées here, which is actually the best way to serve these inherently stew-like preparations. Entrées change daily, and some, like the crawfish dishes, are just served seasonally. The featured steam table items are from a southern Louisiana culinary hit parade: Crawfish Étouffée, Shrimp and Crab Étouffée, Chicken and Sausage Creole, Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya, Snapper Creole, Fried Catfish Shrimp and Crab Sauce Piquanté, Stuffed Pork Chops with Jambalaya, Chicken Fricassee, Seafood Courtbouillon, and Baked Chicken. Downtown
1929 Po-Boy Kitchen – Among the sliver of spaces that is the food hall at ground level at the Lyric Center across from the Wortham, this counter-service newcomer serves up creditable and hefty po boys and more. The fryer gets a workout here, both for the po boys, a starter and all of the entrées. To be fair, a few of the po boys can also be filled with grilled and blackened proteins, instead. Though if just coming fully dressed – remoulade, lettuce, tomato, and pickles here – isn’t enough, the po boys can also be topped with crawfish étouffée, roast beef debris, or some fried avocado. There’s also red beans and rice, New Orleans BBQ shrimp, and gumbo in a few guises, chicken and andouille sausage, that with shellfish, and the vegetarian gumbo z’herbes that you don’t find here too often. Downtown
Abe’s Cajun Market & Café – As the name indicates, this two decade-old spot not only serves meals, but also sells Cajun-oriented products, attractively prepared and packaged foods for heating and eating at home such as stuffed chickens and turduckens, dips, sausages, and much more. But, most folks visit for the foods to be eaten at the inviting low-key restaurant, and Abe’s does a bristling lunchtime business. The best things to order, and probably the best values, too, are the plate specials that change each day. These can be very good versions of jambalaya, shrimp Creole and the like. Each are served with steamed white rice, good cornbread and a likely listless side vegetable. You don’t visit Cajun eateries for vegetables anyway. Clear Lake
The muffaletta at Lagniappe.
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