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Houston Mexican restaurant makes list of America's 38 most essential eateries

Three Texas establishments appear on Eater restaurant editor Bill Addison's list of America's 38 most essential restaurants, but he's mixed things up for 2016. Only one, Austin's Franklin Barbecue, returns from previous years; Houston Mexican restaurant Hugo's and San Antonio Tex-Mex institution Garcia's Mexican Restaurant appear for the first time.

Off the list are Houston's Oxheart restaurant, which announced last week that it will close in March, and Tei-An, the Dallas soba noodle palace from renowned chef Teiichi Sakurai. Both restaurants appeared on both the 2015 and 2016 versions of the list. Overall, 20 restaurants returned from last year.

"Each of these restaurants also leads the dining conversation in their communities — and by extension, the nation. Together, they form a mosaic illustrating how we eat in this country, and how we build culture around food," Addison writes. Later, he adds "Both inclusion and exclusion ultimately always come down to the question of which restaurants feel most relevant right now — even if their relevance comes in the form of a certain timelessness."

Franklin Barbecue's inclusion on all three incarnations of Addison's list grants it a place in Eater's "Hall of Fame," along with 12 other establishments that offer some of the country's most outstanding dining experiences. "Like seeing the Grand Canyon or the Statue of Liberty, everyone should experience the long waits and ample rewards of Franklin Barbecue at least once," Addison writes.

Hugo's, the restaurant where five times James Beard Award finalist Hugo Ortega explores the diversity of regional Mexican cuisine, makes it debut on the list after also appearing in Addison's self-described "love letter" to Houston that he wrote back in April. "(Ortega's) mastery of chiles and meats and maize (truly, don’t miss the lechón with habanero salsa and tortillas) stands out even in a city rife with excellent Mexican restaurants," the critic opines.

Ortega's wife and business partner Tracy Vaught tells CultureMap that they are "humbled and thrilled" to appear on the list. "Speaking for our team . . . I know each of us will work just a little bit harder in the coming year to be worthy."

Garcia's Mexican Restaurant made an adjacent list of "standout singularities" in 2016, but makes the jump to the master list for 2017. Addison acknowledges that picking one Tex-Mex restaurant to represent the entire cuisine constitutes "fighting words," but the former Dallas Morning News critic is ready for the argument. "Let’s squabble at Garcia's, while we scarf down a Deluxe Mexican Dinner plate (it includes two cheese enchiladas, a pork tamale, and the essential web of yellow cheese, for starters) and two of the restaurant's unorthodox, awesome tacos: one with brisket, and one folded around a bone-in pork chop," he proposes.

Hugo's appears on Eater's list for the first time.

Photo by Julie Soefer/Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau

Hugo's appears on Eater's list for the first time.

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Houston's 'Chinese takeout bar from the future' touches down in Webster

Courtesy of The Rice Box

A rendering previews The Rice Box's new location in Webster.

Houston’s Chinese takeout bar from the future is coming to the Bay Area. The sixth location of The Rice Box will open in Webster later this summer.

Located at 114 El Dorado Blvd, the new location will be called Rice Box Space Center after NASA’s headquarters at the nearby Johnson Space Center. Founder John Peterson tells CultureMap that it’s a bit of a homecoming for him and his wife/business partner, Jenny Vo, as they grew up in the area. As with every new location, the restaurant created a movie-style poster to announce its opening.

Rice Box Webster movie poster The Rice Box Space Center is expected to open later this summer.Courtesy of The Rice Box

For its first truly suburban location, Peterson plans to offer a more efficient pickup system for to-go orders. Dubbed The Rice Box Pickup Reactors, the system applies Rice Box’s sci-fi aesthetic to curbside ordering. As seen in the rendering above, the building will have six slots that drivers will pull into to get their orders.

“The goal is to have guests in and out with food in hand in around 90 seconds,” Peterson writes in an email. “It’s still pickup, but we’re trying to make that moment feel more intentional and more connected to the digital side of Rice Box instead of treating it like an afterthought. We’re looking at this opening as both a new store and a prototype for how Rice Box can work in more suburban markets without losing the part of the brand that makes it feel like us.”

Bay Area-area diners can expect the same menu as the Rice Box’s other locations. That includes staples such as General Tso’s chicken, sesame chicken, beef with broccoli, and orange peel beef. The restaurant also serves traditional Chinese-inspired fare such as Chongqing chicken, cumin beef, mapo tofu, and chow fun noodles.

Recently, Peterson rolled out a new version of Rice Box’s dumplings. Available in chicken, pork, or vegetable, each style of dumpling comes with a different wrapper that enhances the filling’s flavor. They’re also available either steamed or fried.

The Rice Box started as a food truck in the early 2010s. After moving to a permanent location in the Greenway Plaza food court, it has opened brick-and-mortar locations in the Heights, River Oaks, Rice Village, and Memorial.

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