Houston is actually known for some pretty good restaurants. For those of you in NY or LA, don't knock it until you've tried it. :) I've eaten in various cities, and I have to say, I think we have a good thing going here.
But for all of the good eats, you have to ask yourself, how healthy is this stuff?? Well, I have some favorites that I go to for healthy eating. They are not the famous 5-star places you may have read about, but they are some of the best tasting places I have found.
Those of you living in Houston might find this useful. For those of you who visit Houston, you might find this useful. Lastly, if you don't live in Houston, but you have a similar style restaurant close to your home, perhaps you will find the dishes useful. I go to each of these places at least once every couple weeks or month. Some I go to multiple times a week if I get the chance. I put links to their websites. Enjoy!
I give you my top 5 favorite places to eat, and the healthy dishes I order, in Houston, TX:
5. Barnaby's [or Baby Barnaby's] / Annie's Burrito: I go for breakfast or lunch, almost always on weekends. The Annie's low-fat high-protein burrito is fantastic made with 6 egg whites, chicken, black beans and a whole wheat tortilla. It is served with slices of tomato.
Barnaby's
4. Le Peep / Health Nut: The health nut is made with six egg whites scrambled, turkey, and mixed veggies. Delicious with salsa. It comes with a side of fruit. If offered, I get a wheat English muffin, dry. I usually have with a couple cups of coffee to wash down a great lunch.
Le Peep
3. Ruggle's Green / Buffalo Burger: At 98% lean, this is a high protein meal packed with flavor. I order it cooked with no butter/oil/grease, no cheese, and get the side of fruit. I love their chipotle ketchup and often only eat one half of the bun [the bread almost detracts from the flavor of the buffalo]. I love the flavor of buffalo. The restaurant is certified "green" as well. Simply fantastic.
Ruggle's Green
2. Chicken Kitchen / Cuban Chop-Chop: This chain is truly the closest thing to healthy fast food you can get. The chicken is cooked rotisserie and grilled, and they remove the skin [though I usually ask to make sure]. The Cuban Chop-Chop is a bowl of rice [I order brown rice for 50cents extra], black beans, chicken, lettuce and tomato. They give you a pita too, if you want it. I use a very small amount of mustard curry sauce on mine, and can sometimes make two meals out of a regular size bowl. You can order a large or get extra chicken for a couple bucks more. Absolutely simple. Absolutely delicious.
Chicken Kitchen
1. Ziggy's Healthy Grill / Chicken Enchiladas: This is my number 1 right now, but all these places are great and could be number 1. Ziggy's recently took the chicken enchilada's off the menu, but you can still get them if you're really nice to the servers. Also probably helps that I order the same thing every time I'm there, and I've gotten to know the crew. The dish is three medium sized enchiladas with corn tortillas, chicken [try the lean buffalo another time too], their enchilada sauce, low fat cheese [I usually ask for "light on the cheese" too]. They give some salsa [which I use] and low fat sour cream [which I usually don't use - they are full of flavor stand alone]. Side is brown rice and black beans. I usually divide the whole dish in half, and take half home for a delicious second meal reheated. Ziggy's has lots of good menu items for healthy eating, and they make a great effort to make low cal, low fat foods that taste good. Their pecan coffee is delicious too.
Ziggy's Healthy Grill
So the next time you want to eat out in Houston, but don't want to be at the mercy of unhealthy cooking on the part of local restaurants, try one of the places and dishes above. Enjoy!
-cb
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