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    hot dogs for Houston

    Favorite Chicago hot dog shop Portillo's reveals 2 more Houston outposts

    Eric Sandler
    Jun 26, 2024 | 2:00 pm
    Portillo's

    Portillo's will open four locations across Greater Houston by the end of 2024.

    Courtesy photo

    Houstonians may still be waiting for their first taste of Portillo’s, but the restaurant devoted to Chicago-style street food is making sure that it will soon reach as many people as possible.

    The company announced that it will open two more locations in Stafford and Katy as well as one in the Dallas suburb of Grapevine. They join Portillo’s previously announced plans to open locations in Richmond and Willowbrook. All five new locations are expected to open by the end of the year.

    The Stafford location will open at The Grid, where it joins a number of restaurants including Whiskey Cake and In-N-Out Burger. Described in press materials as one of Portillo’s “Restaurant of the Future” designs, the 6,200-square-foot restaurant will seat 160 and offer a double drive-thru lane for efficient to-go orders.

    Part of the Katy Grand development at the corner of the Katy Fwy and the Grand Parkway, the Katy location will utilize Portillo’s traditional, more expansive footprint. In this case, the 7,700-square-foot restaurant will seat 170 inside and 50 more on an outdoor patio. Designed with a retro, automotive garage theme, it will also offer a double drive-thru.

    Like Stafford, the Grapevine location will also be a slightly smaller “Restaurant of the Future” with indoor seating for approximately 125, a 40-seat patio, and double drive-thru lanes. Located on Highway 114 near South Main Street, it will have a “rustic Southwest garage theme,” according to press materials.

    Known for its Chicago-inspired fare, Portillo’s signature menu items include Chicago-style hot dogs, Italian beef sandwiches, and chocolate cake. The hot dog is a beef frank topped with mustard, relish, chopped onions, tomato, celery salt, kosher pickle, and sport peppers on a steamed poppy seed bun.

    Their Italian beef features thinly sliced roast beef served on French bread, with the option to have it dry or dipped in gravy, and the double-layer chocolate cake is iced with chocolate frosting. Burgers, chicken sandwiches, salads, sides, and shakes are also available.

    “With the opening of these three new restaurants in the Lone Star State, Texas will become our largest market outside our home state of Illinois,” CEO Michael Osanloo said. “Since arriving in Texas, we have been greeted with open arms and empty stomachs, so we are thrilled to be able to continue expanding our footprint in Dallas-Fort Worth and officially bring our unrivaled Chicago street food to the Houston area later this year.”

    Portillo’s fans can follow along with each location’s progress by visiting Portillos.com/TXExpansion.

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    NYT best dishes

    Houston Mediterranean restaurant makes NY Times' best desserts list

    Eric Sandler
    Dec 9, 2025 | 3:00 pm
    Sayad Mediterranean Kitchen exterior
    Sayad Mediterranean Kitchen/Facebook
    Sayad Mediterranean Kitchen is the only Houston restaurant on either list.

    The New York Times included four Texas restaurants among its favorite dishes of 2025. Divided into two lists — The 23 Best Restaurant Dishes We Ate Across the U.S. in 2025 and The 14 Best Restaurant Desserts We Ate Across the U.S. in 2025 — the dishes are:

    • Bad Honey Bunny at Mercado Sin Nombre (Austin)
    • Ketan Hitam at Yeni’s Fusion (Austin)
    • Konafa Naama at Sayad Mediterranean Kitchen (Houston)
    • Picadillo Macaroni and Cheese at 2M Smokehouse (San Antonio)

    Times food writer Priya Krishna, who authors the entries for all four Texas dishes, traveled to far west Houston to visit Sayad Mediterranean Kitchen. “The konafa, a signature here, arrives with a molten layer of cheese under a sticky-sweet layer of golden, nutty semolina. The craft is evident, the konafa gone in a few bites,” she writes.

    Sayad Mediterranean Kitchen Konafa Naama Don't skip dessert at Sayad Mediterranean Kitchen.KSayad Mediterranean Kitchen/Facebook

    In Austin, Krishna praises the rice pudding at Yeni’s Fusion. “This barely sweet version, lush with coconut milk, aromatic with pandan and as soothing as warm porridge, is the gentlest way to end a meal,” she states.

    Already hailed as one of America’s best breakfast spots by Bon Appetit, Krishna singles out a honeybun at Mercado Sin Nombre. “The coiled honey bun at this semi-clandestine cafe looks almost cartoonishly perfect, and the heady scent of cardamom and honey hits you before you even take a bite. Somehow, it tastes every bit as plush and elegant as it appears,” she writes.

    The picadillo mac and cheese at 2M Smokehouse showcases how the San Antonio restaurant incorporates Mexican flavors into traditional Texas barbecue. “Imagine Hamburger Helper, but spicier, punchier and even more luxuriously creamy. It’s not easy to one-up the singular, thickly spiced brisket here, but the picadillo mac and cheese — which runs as an occasional special — holds its own and then some,” Krishna writes.

    The New York Times regularly shines its spotlight on Texas restaurants, In September, it named four establishments — ChòpnBlọk (Houston), Isidore (San Antonio), Lao’d Bar (Austin), and P Thai’s Khao Man Gai & Noodles (Austin) — to its list of America’s 50 Best Restaurants.

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