By Christina Autry You know that you’ve arrived at what is hailed by many as the “best Desi restaurant in Houston” when you see the famous, unmarked orange and red restaurant at the corner of Bissonnet and Kirkwood. Reminiscent of a repurposed Waffle House, Bundu Khan’s popularity stems much more from its word-of-mouth reputation than [...]
Now that the International District’s three largest and oldest high schools have produced a generation or two of alumni, it’s fun to examine which famous athletes, musicians, performers, artists, business leaders and scientists came from each of these schools. Looking back now on the past 47 years since Hastings opened (followed soon by Elsik and [...]
With such a staggering multitude of restaurants to choose from, dining out in the International District is a daunting task even in the best of times, and now that COVID-19 has set the whole planet askew, it can seem at first even more bewildering. Much of what we once took for granted about dining out [...]
The International District’s small restaurants are one of the most striking expressions of our city’s diversity and creativity. These community gathering places offer an easy and rewarding opportunity for cultural exchange that ends with full stomachs and an increased respect for our neighbors and their cultural backgrounds. Annie Hu of Tea Cup Café is one [...]
Thanks to a fierce pride of place and assiduous record-keeping, the early history of Alief is well-known, from the Reynolds Reynolds land grant through the town’s short existence under the much less-evocative name Dairy, Texas and up through the rains of 1899 and the Great Storm of 1900. The change brought about by those cataclysms [...]
By Christina Autry “Pets can’t tell us when they’re sick. We feel that it’s our responsibility to do the talking for them,” says Dr. Waqar Hassan, owner of Beechcrest Animal Clinic. Hassan, the sole veterinarian at the small practice on Beechnut, has been caring for Beechcrest animals for the past six years. Hassan took the [...]
By Christina Autry Almost always, the best possible version of a specific type of food is found first in the homes of the families who have been creating it for generations. Outside of the home, the places serving food that makes you think of grandma’s cooking are oftentimes in the smallest, most humble of restaurants, [...]
By Nathan Hoang, Texas Monthly A reflection on family and home, on the heels of my parents retiring from their longtime business. Almost 45 years ago, the shores of Vũng Tàu were lined with dinghies. In them were people just trying to get to international waters, in hopes that other nations’ ships could bring them [...]
Ismael Leon grew up in the family restaurant business in Houston. “My parents put a crib in the Taquerias El Charro office for me when I was a baby,” he laughs. Now, as co-owner of two Taquerias El Charro locations with his mother, Maria Victoria Leon, Ismael plans to remain firmly rooted in what his [...]
By Christina Autry On a sunny, 65° day, spectators meandered around (and into) the blue shipping container, better known as Alief Art House, sitting on the field beside the Alief Spark Park. A wall on the inside of the container was papered with portraits and quotes by local residents, who all responded to the question [...]
