Houston has over the past decade grown into a top-notch food town, and stats back it up: its citizens eat out more than any other city (and, ehm, it also unfortunately lands in the "fattest cities" ranking). It has fortunately began to shed its image as a chain restaurant town and has embraced not only its own top-tier restaurants but its wealth of ethnic places as well.

Notable places that have "Tony" written all over them (I am not affiliated with these or any Houston restaurant or any Houston travel or tourist industry)

Mai’s
http://www.maisrestauranttx.com/
3403 Milam St
Houston, TX 77002-9531
(713) 520-7684
Why: Tony’s been there before; there’s a pic of him on the wall, so he knows Houston has a good Vietnamese community. Good place to ease him back in.

Feast
http://feasthouston.googlepages.com/home
219 Westheimer Road, Houston, TX 77006
Why: It’s a Nasty Bits nod to British food that was profiled in the NY Times as being “ . . . a full-on, extended ode to offal that has no real peer in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and other major cities that pride themselves on their epicurean adventurousness . . . It’s one of the country’s outstanding newcomers.” The owner/chef worked under Fergus Henderson at St. John’s in London.

Anvil Bar & Refuge
http://www.anvilhouston.com/
1424 Westheimer Rd | Houston, TX 77006
Why: Old, Old School cocktails (i.e., pre-Prohibition) prepared by a bunch of 20something cocktail geeks. So hardcore they don’t regularly stock vodka. They serve Absinthe, fercrissakes!

Spec’s Liquor Warehouse:
http://www.specsonline.com/
2410 Smith St
Houston, TX 77006
(713) 526-8787
Why: Six little words: Biggest. Liquor. Store. In. The. Country. Fun, funky little deli and sandwich shop in the back, too.

Phoenicia Specialty Foods:
phoeniciafoods.com‎
12141 Westheimer Rd
Houston, TX 77077-6607
Why: Enormous Middle Eastern grocer, with a solid deli across the street.


Café Pita:
10890 Westheimer Rd
Houston, TX 77042
Why:
OK, Guy Fieri’s already been here, but do you want to be the last to find out Tony? it’s worth getting bumped twice. Bosnian food.

Chinatown
Why: It’s another world entirely. Like the new Chinatowns Tony saw in the Outer Boroughs episode.

Galveston
Why: Devastated and deserted post-Hurricane Ike and still recovering.

Hugo’s
hugosrestaurant.net
1600 Westheimer Rd
Houston, TX 77006-3728
Why: It’s a classic story of success that Tony is so passionate about: Mexican immigrant who worked in some of Houston’s finest bistros in the ‘80s and ‘90s launches his own, True Mexican (Oaxacan) restaurant. It doesn’t even offer chips and salsa at the start of the meal! That’s just. Not. Done. Here. And yet it succeeds.

Himalaya:
Why: A Pakistani/Afghan buffet that draws raves.

Reef/Little Big’s
www.reefhouston.com
2600 Travis St
Houston, TX 77006
Why: Check out these credentials from their homepage:
• Chef Bryan Caswell Named Top 10 Best New Chef by Food & Wine Magazine
• REEF Named one of 50 Best New U.S. Restaurants by Travel & Leisure Magazine
• REEF Named The #1 Seafood Restaurant in the U.S. by Bon Appetit Magazine
Their slider appetizer is so popular that they made a spinoff burger shack, Little Big’s.