Restaurants

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The Rice Village is located west of campus between University and Sunset boulevards. In the Village Arcarde (corner of University and Kirby Drive), you'll come across Jason's Deli , specializing in sandwiches. Their baked potato prowess is unsurpassed. La Madeleine (provincial French cuisine) is a little pricey, but on a first-time visit you can ask for a free sample of their delicious freshly-baked bread.

Located just past campus on Rice Boulevard, the Hungry International Cafe offers a wide array of sandwiches and traditional entrees, with a particular interest in Greek cuisine. Nearly half of all the entrees are designed for the health-conscious, and Hungry's also boasts all the traditional coffee drinks plus a selection of over 125 beers. Entree prices range from $4 to $10.

Across the street from Hungry's awaits the Houston Bread and Bagel Cafe (formerly the Houston Bread Company). The cafe recently changed its name to reflect its change of menu. In addition to their reasonably-priced and filling sandwiches, the cafe now also offers a wide selection of bagels and flavored coffees.

Patu , on Rice Boulevard, is a Thai restaurant that Rice students have traditionally ignored. But since good things often come in unopened packages, we suggest a break with tradition. Take advantage of the delicious and diverse $6.95 all-you-can-eat lunch buffet on Saturdays.

Disarmingly cheerful, El Meson (2425 University) launches an aesthetic coup against conventional Cuban restaurant interiors. Their dishes, however, remain true-to-form and include exotic paella and ropa vieja as well as traditional Hispanic foods. Desserts include tres leches (a sweet cake) and flan, while a bar serves over 50 beers on tap as well as ales, porters, grapa and margaritas, of course.

Italian and extravagantly decorated, Baci offers a wide selection of pasta dishes and even Italian steaks as well. Don't get too excited though. Every silver lining has its cloud, and this place can get expensive if you're not careful. Also, at Baci you should beware of waiters that are less-than-enthusiastic about serving college students. It's located at University and Kelvin Drive.

Dolce and Freddo , on Kirby, is about as yuppie as you can get in Houston. Capuccino and the most important Italian contribution to western civilization, gelato, can make your date or study break an enjoyable one at this hub-o-pretention. Check it out.

On Kirby just off Bissonnet is Tortuga Cantina . It has good Mexican food with an environmental conscience. But don't go there on your birthday or you'll be severely embarassed. They even serve dollar margaritas during happy hour. It's a shorter wait than Chuy's and has a good atmosphere.

For better or worse, there is no place more Rice than House of Pies on Kirby at Alabama. While the menu might resemble something stolen out of the Thelma and Louise props storage, you simply cannot top this place for fast, efficient and colorful service. Go for the hearty breakfasts ($4.50 to $7) served 24 hours a day. Go for the full size dinners ($7 to $9) if you're feeling particularly saucy. At some point in your Rice career, you will be visiting this place, so just relax and kick back with your friends and a cup of coffee and enjoy the scenery. You'll see what we mean.

With great fajitas at reasonable prices, Pico's Mexican Restaurant offers a fiesta-style atmosphere and some great margaritas. Be forewarned, however; this is not the venue to have one of those college-level philosophical discussions. The place can get quite noisy, and hearing the person in front of you might become a challenge. Then again, this just might be the venue to have one of those college-level philosophical discussions. It's located on Kirby at Highway 59.

At the corner of Kirby and Westheimer is Houston's Hard Rock Cafe . Sure it's mostly for tourists, but a Hard Rock Cafe experience every once in a while is good for everyone. The food is just a little more expensive than other places with similar menus, but two people can easily eat dinner for $15-$20. Of course, you'll have to stop by the gift alcove and pick up some Hard Rock Cafe merchandise before you leave.

If you're feeling a little carnivorous, you should be seeing a Beck's Prime in your future (on Kirby). The hamburgers are hearty (ever been to Fuddrucker's?), and their French fries are quite tasty too. You can try your luck at sipping their incredibly thick chocolate milk-shakes, but our advice is to take a spoon to the job. After all, you can't spend all day in there; you've got homework, remember?

A step above your regular pizza joint, Pizzeria Uno offers delicious, filling deep-pan pizzas, chrome and neon decor, free refills on soft drinks and even sidewalk tables. Expect to pay around $7 for a pizza. Oh, and try to be nice to the waiters, will ya? It's on Kirby at Richmond.

Ziggy's Healthy Grill , located off Kirby at 2320 W. Alabama, is positively the find in our little corner of the Houston area. Shay and his friends stumbled across this place last year after they'd had our fill of the same-old, same-old. And let us tell you, Ziggy's is anything but that. This little grill specializes in tasty (yes, go tell it on the mountain) health food. Try one of their low-fat pizza or sandwich meals. You'll begin to wonder why you've been settling for McDonald's for so long.

A little pricier than Pico's, Chuy's Comida Deluxe has a much cooler decor (including an Elvis shrine) and food that's just as good if not better, including authentic green chile from Española, N.M. While it is a great place to take large groups of Tex-Mex-craving college students, we are not the only ones who have figured this out. Be prepared to wait for a seat. There are locations at both 2706 Westheimer (one block west of Kirby) and 6328 Richmond Ave.

Star Pizza has two locations in Houston; the one on Shepherd Drive is more accessible to Rice students. Take it from Marty, "This pizza kicks Domino's ass!" While the pizza (and, more relevantly, the pizza prices) can border on the gourmet, there is always the large-group co-op pizza option, i.e. bring your friends and bring their money. The decor is kitschy, but you'll grow to like that kind of stuff.

On Shepherd just north of Highway 59 stands a monument to all that is goofy, eccentric and ice cream. Amy's Ice Cream offers the most delectable ice cream you'll be tasting north of the Southwest Freeway. And don't let your "health conscious" amigos wiggle out of tagging along for a trip here; Amy's also offers a wide selection of low-fat frozen stuff as well as smoothies. The staff is generally pretty cool, and they can mix your poison anyway you please.

Passing Amy's and going on further down Shepherd, you'll run into the Hobbit Hole Cafe , a place owned and operated by those guys who in high school played Dungeons &Dragons all the time. True to Austin form, they serve a variety of vegetarian and vegan meals ($5.95 to $8.95). The candlelit patio in the back is nice, especially on a breezy night.

Marble Slab , on Montrose Boulevard, is another ice cream place (and Christof's favorite) which specializes in fresh ice cream mixed with your choice of fruits, chunks of chocolate and many other items. It's open late -- study break friendly. There's another location in the Galleria on Post Oak Road, and one on the Riverwalk in San Antonio.

The 9100-9300 blocks of Bellaire Boulevard constitute what is now considered to be the emergence of Houston's Chinatown. Restaurants here are not for the palate used to Americanized and fried Chinese-wannabe entrees (shame on you, General Joe!).

If you're looking for a cheap, no-frills dining experience, then the Chinese Cafe (9252-C Bellaire) is definitely for you. An important caveat: Go in a group; you'll have more fun, and you can practice that time-honored Chinese tradition of each ordering a single plate of something (their portions are huge) and then sharing the smorgasbord.

Big Ten Cafeteria , 9306 Bellaire, may appear to be a dump, but we wish you good luck on finding another venue where pocket change will buy you an entire meal. BTC offers a variety of Chinese specialties like Won Ton Soup ($2), Big Ten Noodles ($3), and Papaya Milkshake ($1.35). Assorted lunch plates ($3.50, steamed rice included) are sort of a pot-luck deal and typically large-portioned. If the mismatched formica and semblances of grime turn you off, there's always the takeout option.

The more sit-down (and therefore date-friendly and pricier) Imperial Palace , 9164 Bellaire, offers a truly delicious array of dim sum lunches or a la carte Cantonese cuisine. On weekends, count on a pretty long wait to partake of the dim sum. Don't forget to try assorted siu my (steamed dumplings $1.65), char siu bao (steamed BBQ pork bun, $1.65) and dan tart, an egg custard ($1.65). For healthier fare, turn to the menu. Peking duck goes for $28 and is hardly actual Peking duck, but still quite delectable. Need an Esperanza idea? Their pre-arranged group dinners, both in quantity and quality, are a steal compared to those of similar restaurants elsewhere.

Mai's , off Milam, rocked Nina's world. This venue is for those with hefty-hunger and empty pockets. Mai's offers a wide variety of inexpensive Vietnamese food, including plenty of vegetarian dishes. Plus, the owner, Mai, keeps a steady stream of sports events flowing out of the boob tube.

Can't get enough of that Vietnamese flavor? Then check out Vietnam Restaurant . Go in a group, share entrees and stuff yourselves with spicy food for $6 each. Be sure to get several imperial rolls, and if artificial alertness is your cup of tea, drink the decadent Vietnamese iced coffee with sweetened condensed milk. You'll find this place at 3215 Main Street.

-- Ann Abel, Marty Beard, Maisie Chou, Shay Gilmore, Chet Kapoor, Nina Olien, Vikki Otero, Heather Smith, Christof Spieler, Joanna Winters

This item appeared in the Features section of the August 30, 1996 issue.

Copyright © 1996 The Rice Thresher. All Rights Reserved.
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