Daily Review Cafe, Houston

Chefs inside the Daily Review Cafe's kitchen artfully mold American cuisine into elegant, contemporary renditions of traditional comfort food. The low-carb and standard dinner menus flaunt that culinary marriage in a spread that includes southern fried chicken as well as filet mignon. At brunch on Saturday and Sunday, the chefs give diners sweet and savory options for starting the day by stuffing french toast with cream cheese and nestling crab cakes beside eggs. Chefs pass off the entrées to servers who ferry them to the spacious dining room or to the porch, which overlooks a brick patio surrounded by colorful garden foliage. The patio holds 20 to 100 guests and hosts events including private parties, where Daily Review's food shines alongside expertly mixed drinks from the bar.