Hot Houston restaurants include State of Grace, Oporto, Pappas Bros.

Oporto Fooding House & Wine

Courtesy of Oporto

Built out to expand on the idea of the Oporto Wine Café, this bigger, more expansive update takes the original Portuguese-heritage inspiration and offers up more in the way of both food and drink reflecting Portugal’s colonial past, courtesy of husband-and-wife team Rick and Shiva Divirgilio.

Website: oportomidtown.us
Number of seats: 150
Average per-person check: $30
Popular dishes: Polvo Com Batatas: wood grilled octopus with mustard seed sofrito, coriander and shaak potatoes (an Indian-Portuguese style of fried potato); Xacuti de Galinha: Portuguese chicken curry stew with neem leaves, coconut, dried red chiles, root vegetables, Goan masala spices, naan and basmati rice; Almondegas Marroquino: lamb meatballs with mint, preserved lemon, pine nuts and Moroccan chermoula.
What people come for: Eclectic wine list, cocktail program
Address: 125 West Gray St.
Phone number: 713-528-0115

Courtesy of Oporto

An array of dishes at Oporto

Pappas Bros. Steakhouse

Courtesy of Pappas Bros. Steakhouse

The prolific Pappas Restaurants group (Pappadeux, Pappasito, etc.) opened the third location of its hearty, Prime steakhouse concept downtown. This location joins another in the Houston Galleria shopping center nearby, and one more in Dallas.

Website: pappasbros.com
Number of seats: 300
Average per-person check: $50
Popular dishes: Bone-in prime New York strip for two (32 oz.), carved tableside; Lobster Deviled Eggs: deviled eggs with shucked & steamed Maine lobster and honey pepper bacon; Prime beef carpaccio
What people come for: Awarded wine list, extensive collection of single-malt scotch, beef dry-aged in-house
Address: 1200 McKinney St.
Phone number: 713-658-1995

Courtesy of Pappas Bros. Steakhouse

Lobster deviled eggs served at Pappas Bros.

Julie Soefer

Lobster hush puppies are served at State of Grace.

State of Grace

Julie Soefer

Prolific Atlanta restaurateur Ford Fry expanded west to Texas, which was a homecoming to his place of origin, for this pointedly eclectic home to flavors from Mexico, Asia, and Texas itself.

Website: stateofgracetx.com
Number of seats: 160
Average per-person check: $55
Popular dishes: Lobster hushpuppies with cane syrup butter; queso “Oaxaca” with hen of the woods mushrooms and warm bacon fat tortillas; roast duck “carnitas” for two with mole, cilantro, radish and tortillas.
What people come for: Oyster bar, extensive wine list and cocktail program.
Address: 3258 Westheimer Rd.
Phone number: 832-942-5080

Southern Goods

Courtesy of Southern Goods

The name tells the story of this Heights-area depot for barbecue and hearty dishes from all over the South.

Website: southerngoodshouston.com
Number of seats: 120
Average per-person check: $30
Popular dishes: Beef belly burnt ends with cheese grits, braised greens and cane syrup; SG Burger with double meat, double cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle, salt & pepper bun, potato salad and comeback sauce; fried green tomatoes with hand-pulled mozzarella, aged cane vinegar, Texas olive oil and herbs.
What people come for: Live music in back yard, changing craft beer tap wall
Address: 632 W 19th St.
Phone number: 346-980-8152

Courtesy of Southern Goods

A variety of dishes served at Southern Goods

Houston’s position as a giant melting pot and city of the South is reflected in this spring’s popular restaurants, which feature Indo-Portuguese dishes and fare from southern Mexico, but also steak and barbecue and cheese grits.

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