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Houston

on 2022.01.13

8 Places

"Bourdain explores the diverse communities in Houston, which—contrary to stereotypes about Texas—has become a welcoming home for many immigrants and refugees. Making stops at a quinceañera, a high school ESL class, an urban farm for refugees, and a local cricket match, Bourdain discovers a side of the city that most outsiders wouldn’t guess existed. The stories of his guests, many of whom immigrated to the United States, reveal Houston to be one place where strangers are still welcome."

explorepartsunknown.com/destination/houston/

Wisdom High School

High school · Briar Meadow

Tony visited this high school when it was called Robert E. Lee Senior High School. It is the most ethnically diverse school in Houston, with 80% of students speaking a language other than English as their first language. Bourdain ate: chicken sandwich, fries, fruit salad, and milk Lunch dates: Jonathan Nguyen Trinh, the school’s principal, and a group of students

Pearland

Tony went to Principal Jonathan Nguyen Trinh's home to have lunch. They had tamales de gallina; fresh pupusas on the grill; a jellyfish, shrimp, and pork dish tossed with mint, peanuts, carrots, red onion, and dressed with fish sauce; mi quang: a Vietnamese noodle dish made with pork ribs, shrimp, and chilies; and “Viet-bayou style” crawdads steamed with sriracha, orange juice, and beer

Himalaya Restaurant

Pakistani restaurant · Sharpstown

Bourdain ate: goat biryani, “Texas-Desi style” green curry chicken, steak tikka, and hunter’s beef (an “Indian-inflected pastrami” unique to Houston) Lunch date: local radio host Sunil Thakkar

Burns Original BBQ

Barbecue restaurant · Hidden Valley

Tony had not been back in 15 years. He ordered "the torpedo-sized baked potato filled with cheddar cheese and chopped barbecue beef, homemade link sausage, slow cooked pork ribs, big ass beef ribs, and brisket." Lunch dates: local rapper Slim Thug and his friends David Stunts and Roderick Dearborne (aka “Red Bone”)

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The Point

Bait shop · Palacios

The Vietnamese owners fulfill a niche of the community, serving Vietnamese and Mexican food. Pho (brisket, eye round, meatball, tripe, and tendon); shrimp ceviche; tacos with eggs, jalapenos, tomatoes.

La Guadalupana

Mexican restaurant · Montrose

A traditional Mexican and Tex-Mex restaurant. Tony ate Machaca Nortena ("marinated beef that's been pounded, rubbed with spices, then dried and shredded") and Migas (eggs mixed with fried and chopped corn tortillas).

Plant It Forward Warehouse

Warehouse · Willow Meadows

Plant It Forward farmers Gertrude and Albert Lombo and Gimoule and Constant Ngouala hosted a meal with Tony and other friends. They had "slow-cooked stew of sausage, shrimp, dried mackerel, and Malabar spinach over fufu; then Texas beef brochettes marinated in chilies and cilantro and Maggi bouillon with a ratatouille made from produce grown right here."

Sardar Patel Stadium

Permanently Closed

Bourdain ate: tandoori chicken, curried goat, and potato masala dosas Dinner dates: Kuldeep Patel, league president of the Houston Indian Cricket Club, and other local cricket players

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