Dish It Up

H-E-B goes home for the holidays with celebration at Houston-area stores

On November 16, H-E-B is inviting all Houstonians to get a jump on "season's eatings" with a special celebration. All Houston-area stores will be hosting their version of H-E-B Home for the Holidays from 10 am-4 pm.

What all does that entail? In addition to special offers such as a free turkey (up to 14 pounds) with purchase of a spiral ham, you can expect delicious samples, festive recipes, great gift and decorating ideas, and much more.

While you're in the store, be sure to pick up such Thanksgiving necessities as H-E-B natural turkey, Boar's Head sweet slice ham, 10-inch pies that are baked in-store daily, and H-E-B chef-prepared tamales – a Texas favorite!

You can also pre-order your holiday meals and sides here by November 25, then pick up the feast at the deli counter. Pop it in the oven when you get home, and voila! All that's left to do is enjoy.

Get some delicious holiday inspiration.

H-E-B reindeer cake

Photo courtesy of H-E-B

Get some delicious holiday inspiration.

shopping promoted holidays

HIGH STEAKS COMPETITION

2 Houston-born steakhouses named among top fine dining restaurants in U.S.

Brenner's on the River Walk

Brenner's on the River Walk/Facebook

Brenner's on the River Walk is the only Texas restaurant to win a Traveler's Choice Award.

For all of the diversity in Houston’s dining scene, the city’s steakhouses remain one of its culinary strengths. So much so that two concepts that are Bayou City born rank among the country’s best fine dining restaurants, according to the 2026 Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice Awards.

Notably, the awards don’t recognize the original, Houston locations of either restaurant. Instead, diners selected the San Antonio location of Brenner’s (No. 8) and the Lake Charles (No. 9) and Las Vegas (No. 19) locations of Vic & Anthony’s Steakhouse. No other Texas restaurant made it to any of the top 10s on the site’s other ranked lists that cover everything from viral sensations to culinary tours.

The awards are calculated based on both the quality and quantity of reviews and ratings collected by Tripadvisor over over 12 months, July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026. The review platform also says a mysterious “additional editorial process” contributes to the final rankings. Whether that affects review bombing or not is left unsaid.

"Food is at the heart of how we experience a destination, and these awards recognize the restaurant and culinary experiences travelers consider among the very best," offered Laurel Greatrix, Chief Communications Officer, Tripadvisor Group, in a release.

Brenner’s is a relative newcomer to the River Walk, opening in summer 2023, joining its two Houston locations in the Energy Corridor and along Buffalo Bayou near Memorial Park. Like Vic & Anthony’s, it’s part of Landry’s, the hospitality conglomerate owned by Houston billionaire Tilman Fertitta.

Named for Tilman Fertitta’s father and uncle, Vic & Anthony opened in downtown Houston in 2003. It expanded to Las Vegas in 2006 and Lake Charles in 2014 — both inside Golden Nugget casinos.

Although Tripadvisor did not provide context in the award announcement, over 350 of the site’s users have rated Brenner’s as “excellent.” Similarly, Vic & Anthony’s in Lake Charles has more than 700 “excellent” reviews, with the bustling Las Vegas location earning more than 1,900 “excellent” reviews.

All three restaurants enjoy enviable ratings of 4.6 or higher, although Brenner’s dipped slightly from its No. 6 ranking in 2025. Somewhat surprisingly, on a list dominated by steakhouses, the top fine dining restaurant was long-running Italian staple Ristorante Paoletti in Highlands, North Carolina.

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Eric Sandler contributed to this article.

awards steaks rankings

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