Two neat Italian finds over the last few weeks to share:
Craiganale’s, in midtown
Alison Cook has been recommending this newish place on her blog. We got in on the last weekend of BYOB (apparently they’ve now acquired their liquor license, and will be offering a limited wine selection that is inferior to anything I would bring to the place *sigh*). Ah well, the marinara sauce is good and so is the calamari. It’s an intimate, relatively inexpensive place that doesn’t take things too seriously. Definitely nice to have in the neighborhood.
Buon Appetito, near the Med Center
Many Italian joints in Houston are totally lacking in character. Not this place (or Craiganale’s)! It’s a quirky two-story home converted to a restaurant — meaning multiple closed-off, intimate rooms. Throw in the old guy roaming with a guitar singing romantic tunes, relatively cheap red wine, and great marinara, and you’ve got a pretty good combination. The lasagna on my last visit didn’t do much for me, but the restaurant serves up the best marinara (and calamari) I’ve had in Houston. I’m thinking the linguine pescatore for next time…
What are your recommendations for Italian in Houston (please don’t say Carrabbas, or I will mock you)?
6 comments On Italian in Houston?
Big portions at Carrabbas!
I liked Da Marco (sort of upscale Sardinian) and his other place, La Dolce Vita (terrible name, good pizza).
I’m a kid at heart…always trying a restaurant’s spaghetti and meat sauce first to see if it’s any good. It’s my litmus test. The best place in town for spaghetti and meat sauce is Nick’s Pasta Place.
For lasagna, I head to Galveston and Mario’s on the Seawall.
But…you knew all that. 🙂
Buon Appetito really was a cool surprise. Especially the strolling guitarist.
D’Amico’s in the Village is usually quite good, and it is BYOB, too.
I do not like Antica Osteria. It wants to be much better than it is, IMO.
Out on the west side (Dairy Ashford, S of Briar Forest), there’s a little place called George’s Pastaria. Used to be a Dairy Queen. Not really anything special, but good solid Italian food. Good mostaccioli.
Antica Osteria (Bissonnet @ Greenbriar) is excellent. Nice patio, great food, strong cocktails. Pricier than I thought it’d be, but worth it.
Ditto TP on D’Amico’s. But don’t go to the liquor store next door for your bottle, like I did. It’s overpriced. Plan ahead and hit up Spec’s. 🙂
Cavatore (Ella @ 21st) is a nice little neighborhood joint. Good lasagna, reasonable prices, excellent service. Looks like an old barn.
For Italian, Da Marco, with its broadly northern Italian cooking is the best Italian restaurant in the state, and certainly the most acclaimed. Dolce Vita, the upscale pizzeria sibling of Da Marco, is also excellent. Arcodoro is very good and fairly authentic with both upscale Sardinian and classic Italian dishes. Service and, unfortunately, food quality is more variable than it should be with its prices. Simposio has lost a lot since Alberto Baffoni left. Though not strictly Italian, the Italian items I had at a fairly recent visit to Tony’s, the Roman-style Jewish artichokes and a veal scallop with fresh black truffles were better than any similar dishes I’ve had in several trips to Italy. Tony’s probably serves the best Italian food after Da Marco.
For Italian-American, Carmelo’s, Nino’s, Patranella’s, Piatto, Carrabba’s and Damian’s are usually all good choices, though Damian’s might have faltered in recent years. Amici in Sugar Land, with the Vallone heritage is supposed to be quite good.
I have to state that I’ve never had a very good meal at Craigenale’s, Buon Appetito, or George’s Pastaria on a couple of trips to each.
Also, if you like calamari, you need to try it at Tony Mandola’s Gulf Coast Kitchen. It’s very good quality squid, perfectly fried and spiced up with pepperoncini.
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