Houston restaurants that define the city Our suggestions for where to take a visitor for a taste of the city

Original Ninfa’s on Navigation Late founder “Mama” Ninfa Laurenzo is a Houston culinary icon, widely credited with introducing fajitas to the world. Though no longer owned by the Laurenzo family – which happens to own El Tiempo across the street, another worthy city-defining restaurant – this temple of Tex-Mex continues to carry on her legacy.

Must orders: Beef fajitas, tacos al carbon, frozen margarita

2704 Navigation, 713-228-1175,

Photo: beef fajitas

Read more about how Mama Ninfa created a Tex-Mex empire on houstonchronicle.com. Beef fajitas, tacos al carbon, frozen margarita2704 Navigation, 713-228-1175, ninfas.com Photo: beef fajitas less Original Ninfa’s on Navigation Late founder “Mama” Ninfa Laurenzo is a Houston culinary icon, widely credited with introducing fajitas to the world. Though no longer owned by the Laurenzo family – ... more Photo: Johnny Hanson, Staff Photo: Johnny Hanson, Staff Image 1 of / 29 Caption Close Houston restaurants that define the city 1 / 29 Back to Gallery

In a city with thousands of restaurants, one could hardly be blamed for having trouble deciding where to eat. For visitors, it's an even more difficult proposition.

And there could be even more visitors this year, at least if Houston's latest hot streak in major national media outlets is any indication.

To wit: The New York Times named Houston among its "places to go" around the world in 2019, as did Conde Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure, Afar, Bloomberg and Out magazine. We came in at No. 2 on Food & Wine's list of the best food destinations and cities in America for 2019, too.

Which got us thinking: Where would we take someone visiting Houston for the first time, to give them a taste of our city and its food scene? What restaurants define Houston?

On HoustonChronicle.com: Alison Cook's Top 100 Restaurants

What we came up with is by no means a definitive list; restaurants, and food, are subjective beings after all — not to mention, of course, Houston's identity looks different to each of us.

The restaurants featured in our slideshow may be prized for having a distinct sense of place, or historical importance in our civic dining landscape. They also might simply be one shining example of a restaurant serving one of the many types of cuisine beloved by Houstonians.

Click through to see some of our selections, and feel free to comment with your own suggestions.