For some reason, the parent company has decided to rename the restaurant Hillstone. Go figure. Hillstone/Houston's menu might be described as minimalistic. There are no appetizers to speak of, except for a couple of items under a category labeled this and that, which also includes side items. I did try the Chicago style spinach and artichoke dip, your basic dip served with tortilla chips. Although it is not listed on the menu, an appetizer portion of the barbecued ribs entree is also available. This included a half-slab of tender ribs with a slightly sweet barbecue sauce served on top of a mound of fries.

Most entrees include a salad, and the salads were huge. The basic salad featured a large plate of fresh, crisp greens topped with chopped eggs, grated cheese and big bits of crumbled bacon. The mustard honey house dressing was wonderful.

I also sampled a salad of seared tuna and field greens, which could easily serve as an entree. The sushi-grade tuna was seared on the outside and raw inside. The bite-size cubes were placed alongside a pile of exotic greens, which also included fresh avocado, drizzled with a cilantro-ginger vinaigrette.

The b... Read more

Its the House of Blues, a boisterous boite that celebrates the diversity and brotherhood of world culture and promotes racial and spiritual harmony through love, peace, truth, righteousness and non-violence. But despite a mission statement that makes it sound like the lunchroom at the United Nations, this is actually a themed restaurant that serves up rhythm, blues and soul and not so incidentally surprisingly good food, most of it rooted in a New Orleans style.

What's surprising about it is that everything is of good quality, prepared and presented with the sort of gourmet flair you'd expect from a fine dining establishment, not a place that is made to look like a juke joint.

Menu highlights include a smoked double-cut pork chop, etouffe and Cajun meat loaf. For appetizers, the Mississippi catfish bites are pretty tasty.

The bread pudding is a must. The Sunday gospel brunch, which features an all-you-can-eat buffet,  is an inspirational treat.