Restaurants in Missouri City

When Travis Dickey opened the first Dickey's Barbecue Pit in 1941, he served only two meats: beef brisket and pit ham. His sons eventually took over the reins of the restaurant and expanded its selection in 1967, and since then, the menu has hardly changed, except that it needs a pair of bifocals to read itself. The cooks at Dickey’s Barbecue Pit slow-smoke and season their signature meats onsite, including the Texas-style chopped beef brisket, southern-style pulled pork, Virginia-style ham, and spicy cheddar sausage. Diners can devour meats by the pound, or in a sandwich served with onions, pickles, and the requisite sauce.

From half-pound Angus burgers to fish tacos, every item on H-Town Bar & Grill’s menu is made to-order. Regionally influenced grub sits atop tables like an edible map of North America, charting a course from the Aloha burger’s grilled ham and pineapple to the El Diablo burger’s roasted jalapeños and chipotle mayo. Flat-screen TVs line the spacious eatery, where barkeeps man a full-service bar, doling out domestic and imported brews and house wines to help wash down barbecue chicken sandwiches and steak caesar salads. Guests can also reserve the casual space for private events or sneak into someone else’s party dressed as a philly cheesesteak to blend in with the surrounding environs.

Patrons duck through an enormous beer barrel in order to enter Taps House of Beer. The entryway hints at the ranks of 90 tap handles and condensation-dappled bottles that wait inside, populating the massive beer list. Customers find a seat at wooden tables or a brown-leather couch in the exposed-brick room, sipping on Delirium Tremens, Chimay, Maui Brewing Company’s Coconut Porter, or Racer 5, an oak-hued IPA infused with the West-Coast sunniness of Cascade hops. From the kitchen emerge pulled-pork sliders and nachos, which are easy to split among friends, unlike the last pizza in a life raft. Flat-screen televisions fill the air with news of football games, the sound punctuated by the chatter of a beer club and the performances of karaoke singers.

A large, old-fashioned porch surrounds Phil & Derek's creole-style cottage filled with food, wine, and sounds from the Big Easy. The BYOB restaurant's wine bar washes down catfish and prime rib with potables culled from wineries in Bordeaux, Spain, and Argentina. Every night, live jazz, zydeco, and blues complement the fresh Cajun dishes and the restaurant's antique accents, such as french doors that once acted as translators. On Sunday mornings, diners can devour a variety of ever-rotating brunch fare during what Citysearch called the Best Morning-After Brunch.

As he passed another lazy afternoon at Purdue University’s student union, Paul Miller had a flash of sudden, delicious inspiration. He wanted to capture the feeling of camaraderie he shared with his fellow students, to create a place where people could gather for good company and good food long after graduation ended. He kept that dream with him through years in the restaurant industry, finally giving his vision form as The Union Kitchen, a joint venture in contemporary global cuisine with chef Juan Arellano.

Even though the restaurant mirrors Paul’s collegiate experience, the food within is a far cry from the typical dorm cafeteria fare–in fact, H-Texas magazine added The Union Kitchen to its "Culinary Stars" list in the Best Burger category. The menu features flavors and techniques borrowed from France, Italy, Mexico, and beyond, which take shape in dishes ranging from paremesan-crusted chicken and chophouse steaks to small plates filled with baked brie, prosciutto-wrapped asparagus, or PEI mussels. To stay on top of the calendar, Paul and Juan hit local farmers’ markets bi-weekly to suss out the freshest seasonal ingredients for use in their cuisine. They also borrow spare pitchforks, the best utensil with which to tackle their famed Union Burger. The monstrous tower of meat, bun, and onion rings slips other flavors in between its layers, from pecan-smoked bacon to barbecue-smoked aioli. This dauntingly delicious combination is part of what earned it rave reviews from local reporters and bloggers alike.

Nominated twice by the James Beard Foundation for Best New Restaurant and Best Chef Southwest, Feast populates its rotating menu of European fare with local and seasonal ingredients from nearby farms, including freshly picked vegetables and quality cuts of meat culled using humane practices. Feast's founding trio of tastesmiths catalogs a wealth of past culinary incarnations, including as a chef at St. John Restaurant in central London, named one of the top restaurants in the world by Restaurant Magazine. Well-seasoned dishes emerge into the restaurant's European farmhouse ambiance, accented by wooden floors, exposed beams, and walls bedecked in paintings and vintage portraits.