Houston's Silk Road Cuisine

While Indika focuses on North Indian cuisine, with flatbreads and meats, South Indian food, with a greater emphasis on rice and vegetarian dishes, gets star billing at two excellent restaurants between Greenway Plaza and Harwin's wholesale district. At Udupi, the mushroom curry is a standout. At Madras Pavilion, rice takes center stage: lemon rice, coconut rice, tamarind rice — each one laced with a different blend of spices, nuts and vegetables. Both make fine masala dosa, those paper-thin stuffed crepes, but Suprabhath, a casual takeout place in Hillcroft's Little India neighborhood, is even better.

The sudden rise in quality and variety of Asian restaurants in Houston might surprise some visitors, but at least one chef finds the city a logical fit. As Indika's Jaisinghani points out, "I don't think I could keep it this spicy in any other part of the country." The jury's still out on the chicken feet.