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    Restaurant Bargains

    Hot new happy hour deals: 10 Houston restaurant bargains you must try

    Eric Sandler
    Jun 21, 2014 | 12:41 pm

    There's an admittedly seafood-heavy list of new happy hour options, but maybe that's appropriate. After all, these specials typically from late afternoon to early evening, and no one wants to eat something heavy when it's hot outside.

    Unwind with any of the specials listed below. Just know that a cold beer or refreshing cocktail makes them taste even better.

    Pico's

    The recently-relocated Mex-Mex restaurant has become Upper Kirby's newest hotspot. Check out what the fuss is all about during happy hour, when the restaurant's signature dishes and drinks are all available at a discount. Empanadas, taquitos and gorditas are all available for $5, with ceviche campechana, nachos and sauteed shrimp all coming in at $6.

    The list of $6 cocktails includes the house margarita (rocks or frozen), daiquiris and an intriguing twist on milk punch built around house-made horchata and Fireball.

    Happy hour is served Mondays through Fridays from 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

    Bradley's Fine Diner

    The upscale comfort food restaurant near the Heights just rolled out six new happy hour dishes. Choices include popcorn shrimp in chili-lime aioli ($7), fish sticks ($6) and a sloppy Joe biscuit slider ($6) that takes full advantage of the restaurant's in-house bread baking. Match them with any of the restaurant's cocktails or a craft beer.

    Happy hour is available Mondays through Fridays from 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

    Liberty Kitchen & Oysterette

    The River Oaks hotspot has new happy hour offerings that will be available until the end of the summer. Choose from six dishes that include grilled oysters, grilled shrimp and blackened tuna salad. Prices run between $4 and $8 on the food, and each item has a corresponding wine pairing that's also under $10.

    Happy hour is available at the bar Mondays through Fridays from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

    Sandy Witch

    The underrated sandwich shop inside of Grand Prize recently rolled out a menu of substantial bar bites that only cost $5. Choose from a generous serving of beer mac and cheese, pulled pork tacos or a chicken quesadilla. Vegetarians will enjoy the black bean, avocado and rice-topped nachos. That's right, rice-topped nachos.

    The underrated sandwich shop inside of Grand Prize recently rolled out a menu of substantial bar bites that only cost $5.

    Pair with any of Grand Prize's discounted drinks, like $2 PBRs, $3 well drinks and $5 frozen cocktails. It'll start the night off right.

    Happy hour is available everyday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

    Kuu

    This high-profile sushi spot in Gateway Memorial City has a variety of cooked options, sushi and drinks available. Choose from rolls like spider, California or snow crab for $6 each along with the house cured bacon appetizer for $7.

    Cocktails run between $6 and $8 with hot sake going for $6, wine for $5 and Japanese beers for $4.

    Happy hour is served Mondays through Fridays from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

    Nara

    Recently renamed Nara Sushi & Korean Kitchen to emphasize its diverse menu, Nara's social hour features $7 bites that include Korean-style chicken wings and bao buns (two per order). Take the edge off a day at the office with half-price specialty cocktails, $5 well drinks, $4 import beers and $5 for select glasses of wine.

    Happy hour is served Mondays through Fridays from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

    Kiran's

    The Highland Village-area Indian restaurant has been a happy hour destination for years, but it recently rolled out a new menu for folks who may have forgotten how enjoyable chef/owner Kiran Verma's food is. The Veranda menu features a variety of snacks priced from $4 to $6 including stuffed naans and sliders.

    The patio also features discounts on a limited cocktail menu, $6 glasses of wine and $3 beers. Downing Street refugees take note: Kiran's welcomes cigar smokers.

    Happy hour is served Mondays through Fridays from 4 p.m to 7 p.m.

    Palm

    The fancy-pants steakhouse gets casual at happy hour, when bar bites are 50 percent off (i.e., $6). Choices include lobster tempura, steak burger sliders and a basket of cottage fries available in three different flavors.

    Feeling slightly more peckish? Jumbo shrimp cocktail, a full-size burger and shrimp corn dogs are available for about $20 each.

    The fancy-pants steakhouse gets casual at happy hour, when bar bites are 50 percent off.

    The bar bite discount runs Sundays through Fridays from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

    El Big Bad

    The downtown Gastrocantina keeps it simple at happy hour. Take $3 off all specialty cocktails and $1 off beer and wine. The discounts are also available during all World Cup matches.

    Be sure to direct the savings towards any of recently-hired chef Jonathan Jones' new additions to the menu, including a new campechana and the signature Jalisco wings that haven't been seen since the El XX days.

    Happy hour is available everyday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

    Cook & Collins

    The Midtown newcomer keeps things simple at happy hour. Take $2 off mixed drinks and wines by the glass. Selected appetizers and flatbreads are a generous half-off, meaning a person could have a couple drinks and a small dinner for under $20.

    The special even runs on Saturdays, which makes it a nice start to a night of Midtown bar hopping.

    Happy hour prices are available Mondays through Saturdays from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

    House-cured bacon and jalapeno is one of the dishes on the happy hour menu at Kuu.

    Kuu Restaurant bacon and jalapeno
      
    Photo by Kimberly Park
    House-cured bacon and jalapeno is one of the dishes on the happy hour menu at Kuu.
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    What's Eric Eating Episodes 471 and 472

    Texas Monthly's BBQ Snob dishes on the magazine's new top 50 list

    CultureMap Staff
    Jun 6, 2025 | 5:41 pm
    Texas Monthly's BBQ Snob dishes on the magazine's new top 50 list
    Texas Monthly's BBQ Snob dishes on the magazine's new top 50 list
    Texas Monthly's BBQ Snob dishes on the magazine's new top 50 list

    On this week’s episode of “What’s Eric Eating,” Texas Monthly barbecue editor Daniel Vaughn joins CultureMap editor Eric Sandler to discuss the magazine’s new list of the 50 best barbecue joints in Texas. Seven Houston-area restaurants made the list, led by Truth BBQ at No. 9.



    What may surprise Houstonians is which barbecue joints made Texas Monthly’s list. Familiar names like Feges BBQ, Blood Bros. BBQ, and Killen’s Barbecue have been relegated from the top 50 to an honorable mentions list. In their place are newer restaurants such as Bar-A BBQ in Montgomery, Rosemeyer Bar-B-Q in Spring, and Brisket & Rice in Cypress.

    The two writers discuss what stood about the new Houston restaurants on the list, as well as the honorable mentions. Vaughn shares that Roegels Barbecue Co. in Briargrove almost made the top 50 based on a strong meal he had there. Sandler asks Vaughn whether the magazine felt compelled to choose between Blood Bros. and Brisket & Rice, since they’re both serving an Asian-influenced take on Texas barbecue.

    “It wasn’t about two different places serving similar cuisines. With Blood Bros., the things I love about them are really not their straight up sliced brisket, pork ribs, and sausage,” Vaughn says. “In comparing those items with others in the area, it didn’t seem fair to our readers to send them there saying it’s one of the 50 best barbecue restaurants. All things considered, it’s one of the 50 restaurants I’d want to go to eat barbecue, but maybe some of the specials — the banh mi, the boudain, the pho-strami, that sandwich was an absolute revelation. Comparing the barbecue with a place like Brisket & Rice, the brisket, ribs, and sausage were just a little better than Blood Bros.”

    After a thorough discussion of the Houston newcomers, Sandler turns to a few statewide questions. Tune in to hear Vaughn’s explanation for why Snow’s BBQ in Lexington and Franklin Barbecue in Austin — arguably the two most famous Texas barbecue joints in the world — moved out of the ranked top 10 and into the alphabetized top 50. They also discuss the restaurants that made the top three: Burnt Bean Co. in Seguin, LeRoy & Lewis Barbecue in Austin, and Goldee’s Barbecue in Fort Worth.

    The conversation concludes with a look ahead to the magazine’s best new list that will be published in 2027 as well as Vaughn’s thoughts on the Houston barbecue pop-up that would have a strong shot at the top 50 if it ever begins serving food at least once per week.

    In this week’s other episode, Sandler and co-host Michael Fulmer discuss the news of the week. Since Fulmer is a co-founder of the Houston BBQ Festival, he has his own thoughts on the Texas Monthly list. He and Sandler also discuss the reopening of Cecil’s Pub.



    In the restaurants of the week segment, Fulmer and Sandler share first impressions of Silk Road, the dim sum restaurant in a West U. hotel that’s generating a lot of buzz. They conclude by talking about Doko, the new sushi restaurant in Autry Park from the chefs behind Handies Douzo and Aiko.

    -----

    Subscribe to "What's Eric Eating" on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Hear it Sunday at 9 am on ESPN 97.5.

    Daniel Vaughn Texas Monthly
      

    Courtesy of Texas Monthly

    Daniel Vaughn is this week's guest.

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