LOCAL Houston | The City Guide May 2016 | Page 29

FOOD | ARTS | COMMUNITY | STYLE+LEISURE KOT DAE JI – FLOWER PIGGY KOREAN BBQ $$ Korean, Barbeque | 1411 Gessner Rd. | 832.699.4792 www.flowerpiggy.com Love, love, LOVE THIS KOREAN BBQ PLACE! Heard about this place from several friends and saw so many postings on Facebook raving about how awesome this place is. Naturally I had to try this place out for myself. Brought non-Asians and they enjoyed it just as much as I did. Some of them never even venture outside of their steak’n’potatoes meals but they still loved it also. This place is really spacious and is a great place for large parties. They cook and serve the bbq for you and use real charcoal. The seafood pancake was honestly the best I’ve ever had, and I love Korean food so I’ve had many. –Ly N., Yelp GRAZIA ITALIAN KITCHEN $$ Italian, Wine Bars | 9415 Broadway, Pearland | 832.230.8873 www.graziaitaliankitchen.com This is my second time visiting this establishment and I have to say both times the customer service and food has blown my expectations out of the water. Our server Elizabeth was very friendly and made some great recommendations, and the Executive Chef Steve Haug came out to make sure our food surpassed our standards. To put the icing on the cake, the owners came to check on us on both visits so they’re very involved which is unheard of these days. I will be visiting this place again and hopefully they’ll open up a place in The Woodlands area because we are lacking an establishment of this caliber. FYI: The short ribs are a MUST! –Dez P., Yelp GUMBO JEAUX’S $ Cajun/Creole | 2155 Durham Dr. Ste. 105 | 832.203.7270 www.gumbojeauxs.com There’s nothing fancy about the ambiance here: 10 tables, a counter, open kitchen, order at the cash. But the food! OMFG! First off, the quality is outstanding. The flavors are impeccable. Servings are generous. Prices well within reasonable. Lunch for 2 runs about $25. BYOB (if that floats your boat), and settle in for a happy, enthusiastic, energetic experience. You’ll be embarrassed at how your culinary skills fail in comparison to the cooking here. –Eric I., Yelp GUSTO GOURMET $$ Venezuelan, Mediterranean, Syrian | 3306 S. Shepherd Dr. 713.344.0892 | www.gustogourmettogo.com This place is amazing. I’ve only eaten from the Venezuelan menu but if the Mediterranean dishes are anything like the Venezuelan ones, they are amazing.Today we had empanadas – cazon and one chicken. Both equally delicious. We also had the Antojo maracucho with chicken and that was amazing. We had La cachapa and La arepa catira for the