HOUSTON HAS LONG BEEN a city that commanded respect before affection; a megalopolis built on oil money and rocket fuel (NASA's Johnson Space Center, aka Mission Control, is outside downtown).

With the NBA All Star weekend upon us, and the three-week-long Livestock Show and Rodeo following right behind, it's time to check in on their host city. The food scene, from mind-bendingly good Vietnamese holes-in-the-wall to reserve-a-month-ahead tasting-menu restaurants, is a growing source of local pride—and calories (according to...