Jen Cooper is a native Houstonian and Rice alumna. She is known around Houston for her graphic design skills and soccer prowess (she is the keeper of the soccer community newsletter "Keeper Notes").

Cooper has worked with MyTable magazine for 14 years, so it's no surprise that her favorite thing about Houston is edible. It might be a bit of a shock, however, that it's less than gourmet.

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I sat at the counter with my date after prom in 1986. I visited countless times during my years at Rice. I remember playing Ms. Pac-Man after a late meal and breaking my personal record. That Ms. Pac-Man/Centipede game is still there 20 years later … and so am I.

I've been a customer at the Kirby location of House of Pies since the early '80s -- sorry, Westheimer-outside-the-Loop location, you just don't do it for me. At my House of Pies, it seems that all the staff know my name. The old-school hospitality and comfy booths offer me a small sanctuary amid the ever-changing landscape of Upper Kirby. Even the prices haven't changed in a really long time.

My older sister introduced me to House of Pies while she was at Rice. Back then, in the days before politically correct speech, we called it "House of Guys" -- which shouldn't really need any explanation for true Houstonians.

The opening of the second dining area several years ago meant Pies finally had a real separation between smoking and non-smoking. Despite my anti-smoking stance, I always requested the smoking section -- that's the true House of Pies, not the stepchild that is the front dining area. Of course now there's no smoking section at all.

When my sister visits Houston these days, invariably we end up at House of Pies. She was shocked last year when I told her the famous cottage fries had been taken off the menu; thankfully they returned to their rightful place after longtime diners made their feelings known.

House of Pies has plenty of loyal customers, and for good reason. I don't think there's a single member of the staff, including my favorite manager, Tarek, who doesn't know my “usual.”

"Regency club with Swiss cheese, cottage fries and iced tea, right?"

Right.