Houston's Restaurant

It's a little ironic, but Houston's restaurant is not really from Houston. It's owned by a Los Angeles chain called Hillstone Restaurant Group. Like everyone else, I prefer local restaurants, but am willing to applaud good chain restaurants. PF Chang's comes to mind.

And applaud I will.

Houston's serves good food at relatively reasonable prices. At the Kirby location, there seems to always be a wait for the good service and good food. I tend to think of Houston's as a upscale Bennigans, but that really doesn't do this place justice. The food here goes beyond stopping your stomach from growling. It's genuine comfort food.

Today, we had the Fork and Knife Ribs. They tend to change the menu every now and then, but the ribs seem to be a standard. We also had the house salad, which came with bacon. Both were excellent, and of sufficient quantity to share. In fact, most things they make here are large enough to share. Just ignore the $3 split plate charge.

The ribs fell easily off of the bone and the very wet sauce had a nice balance between tanginess and spiciness. It's a cross between the Chili's ribs and the very excellent Tony Roma South Carolina honeys with a tendency towards the Chili's side. The thin crispy fries fit the dish well, as did the $3 Iron Skillet beans--though I wish the beans had a little bit less acidity.