One Fifth Houston deserved a solo post, after all, it was a 3-hour meal, truly living up to its First Class Tour tasting menu name. Beyond One Fifth, I wanted to share a “bests list” of either truly delicious or uniquely fun places we ate and drank at in Montrose, Houston.
Best Instagram Fodder: Candy Shack
Neon sign, check. Giant Uno, check. Giant Connect Four, check. You get the idea. Every trip requires an activity that skews tourist, and we made that stop Candy Shack on this trip. It’s a grown-up 7-Eleven with a line of Slurpee machines that you can then add a test tube of vodka into, along with a selection of gummy candies. It’s a fun spot and the staff is super friendly. Go for a small size if you suffer from sweet alcohol like I do.
Best Whiskey Cocktails: Anvil
Specializing in quality whiskey, Anvil felt like more of a locals spot. It’s relatively small with a tiny smoker’s patio. Of the entire weekend, I had the best cocktails here. I had a Bourbon Sour: bonded bourbon, lemon, egg whites, and Angostura bitters. My absolute favorite though was the Blood and Sand cocktail, which was a mix of blended scotch, orange, sweet vermouth, and cherry liqueur. SO good.
Best Line Waiting Experience for BBQ: Truth BBQ
There’s a vendor at the line for Truth BBQ who has a cooler of beers, sparkling wines and rose that you can purchase while you wait in line for meat. It’s genius. It makes the wait feel much shorter, and by the time you’re up at the counter, you’re happily buzzed and ready for your BBQ. I’m not a super huge fan of dry BBQ, but Truth is solid and their sides are 100. I loved the corn pudding and Mac n Cheese. Nap needed after.
Best-located Brewery: Anomaly
This brewery was started by a couple dudes from NASA, so you’ll notice the subtle nods to space inside the taproom. There’s a big outdoor patio and ample indoor space, great for large group get-togethers and parties. The location is amazing because you’re across the street from really good eats, like Vinny’s pizza, which you can then bring over to eat while you drink. There’s also a Ferris wheel nearby, and a ton of other restaurants to walk to after. Most importantly, let’s talk about beer. They have a really wide selection and are not the type of place that largely serves IPAs. My favorites were the Moon Bow (Foeder-aged American Wild Ale) and Oliver Wilder_ (Foeder-aged Rye Saison). The Truffula was also delicious, a Berliner Weisse made with blackberry and blueberry.
Best local humongous venue with live music: The Rustic
For an outdoor space like Rustic that features live music, you typically need to go outside of town. The Rustic was walking distance from Anomaly. They have large picnic tables and wooden lawn chairs where you can chill, have a frozen cocktail and listen to the live band on stage. A band called Amasa Hines was performing, and we loved them. They were kind of a mix of Block Party and Blood Orange, which us LA kids were super into. The crowd at The Rustic, perhaps not so much. For drinks, the frozen Moscow mule is the way to go.
Best spot for brunch: Common Bond
You’re going to need to exercise self-control not to buy everything behind the glass case when you get there. If you’re going to try a pastry, you must get a croissant. They are huge, perfectly crisp beauties with a soft buttery inside containing a delicious filling. We got the orange, but they also had pistachio. I’m sure they change up fillings from time to time. The husband got shrimp and grits and I went for the tamale benedict. The pork in the tamale was a little dry, but the hollandaise kind of made up for it. Plus, when you see “tamale benedict” listed on the menu, how can you resist? Also, no lie, we flew home with a croissant in our backpack, it’s that good.
JULIENNE CARROTS 