Being such a popular, highly regarded, and well-respected blogger, I am constantly bombarded with questions - "Liz, as the number one authority on all things Houston, please tell me the best place for coffee/lunch/happy hour/chocolate chip cookies/a birthday dinner! Your opinion is the only one that matters!"

Okay literally none of that is true but I wanted to share with you some of my favorite non-coffee-related places in Houston.

Favorite Lunch Spot - Local Foods

I eat at the downtown location of Local Foods almost every week. I introduced my coworkers to this magical pretentious sandwich shop and now they all love it too (either that or they're too nice to say no when I suggest it). There are now five glorious locations (the newest of which is in the Heights, less than a mile from my apartment, which is particularly dangerous for me), conveniently scattered around Houston to serve all of your Crunchy Chicken and kale needs. Because that's what you should be ordering - either the Crunchy Chicken or Truffled Egg Salad sandwich, and at least one of your sides should be kale. On second thought, order anything that comes on pretzel bread.

Favorite Mexican Food - El Tiempo

Go with a group to any one of the many locations (yes, technically it's a chain, but it's a local chain) and get fajitas and margaritas for everyone. It will be a little expensive (although sharing helps), but the fajitas are the best in Houston (only Ninfa's on Navigation even comes remotely close). They're also the only thing I've ever ordered from this establishment, so I couldn't even tell you if the other food is good. It probably is. But uh...pace yourself on the margaritas. I am not adding a picture here because the only one I can find involves me wearing a sombrero on my birthday in 2016, and it's not cute.

Favorite Dessert Spot - Tout Suite

I've written at length about the merits of this coffee shop/restaurant/bakery in multiple previous posts, so I'll keep this brief. Speaking strictly about dessert, Tout Suite is one of the best in terms of variety and quality. The great coffee and atmosphere are added bonuses. My personal favorite dessert choices here are the chocolate cupcakes, chocolate chip cookies, and macarons (they often make themed ones for various holidays - check their Instagram). There's also an entire case of fancy desserts that are almost too pretty to eat. I'm sure they're great too, but I usually just keep it simple here.

Favorite Ice Cream Place - Fat Cat

I don't even know what to say about this place except that the ice cream is just really good. According to the wall, it's the "finest local small batch creamy goodness." I don't disagree. There are five year-round flavors and usually a seasonal flavor. Some of them have alcohol in them. They're all delicious.

Favorite Brewery - 8th Wonder

Several things: (a) Dome Fauxm is basically the only 8th Wonder beer I actually drink (b) I still don't know if I actually love it or if I just love the name (c) the coffee porter (Rocket Fuel) is also fantastic but it is HEAVY (d) for $15 you get a pint glass that's always Houston sports-themed and 3 tokens; it's by far the best deal (e) it's a great Astros pregame spot and technically within walking distance, but I would only recommend doing that in the daytime (f) the food truck that permanently resides on the patio is excellent (g) the inside features alllll the Astrodome memorabilia and (h) the outside is huge, has lawn games, and is the new home of both the giant weird Beatles statues and the iconic We Heart Houston sign...and finally, most importantly (i) it has come to my attention that many people are unaware of what the name "8th Wonder" is referring to. This deeply saddens me. Please look it up. This is very important.

Favorite Bar - Cottonwood

Huge beer selection, great patio, live music (but not so loud that you can't talk to people), excellent food. Basically a perfect bar. Refer to this post for a more thorough review.

Favorite Happy Hour - Heights Bier Garten

Before 6 every day, cocktails are half off and select beers are $3. It's one of the best (if not THE best) happy hour deals in town, and this bar has one of the best patios. There are approximately 2394832 cocktails on the menu, and most of them are fancy and include ingredients I've never heard of, but the bartenders are very helpful and have even successfully helped me, the world's most indecisive human, make a selection I was happy with. The beer selection is also pretty extensive. If you get there early enough, you might even be able to snag one of the fun swings!

Favorite BBQ - Killen's

lol is this even a question? Refer to this post.

Favorite Late-Night Food - Velvet Taco (specifically the tater tots)

I don't want to get involved in the whole Torchy's/Velvet Taco/every other taco place debate; people get irrationally defensive about this issue and I'm pretty sure my personal opinion on the matter is an unpopular one. I wouldn't want to offend any of my millions of readers. Velvet Taco is my favorite late-night option because (a) it's open really late (b) there is an item on the menu entitled 'crisp tots & local egg.' It's tater tots with goat cheese and fried egg on it, and it's the only thing I order. I usually don't even get any tacos. Oh, and if you come here on a weekend late at night/early in the morning, be prepared to wait a little bit with 100 of your closest friends, in various states of intoxication. It's worth it for the aforementioned tots.

Since I have so much wisdom, or possibly just strong opinions, regarding the best establishments in Houston for a myriad of situations, I'll undoubtedly be doing a similar post soon. Maybe I'll even go rogue and just start telling you about all of my favorite things, whether they pertain to Houston or not. I think I have pretty good taste and want to share it with the world, what can I say? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

<3 liz