Mai's Restaurant   

Mai's Vietnamese restaurant sets the standard for cheap eats. It has become one of Houston's most popular restaurants, for lunch, dinner and especially the late-night crowd. The menu offers a staggering assortment of vermicelli and rice dishes with different preparations of chicken, pork, egg, tofu, beef, vegetables and shrimp. For an appetizer, try Mai's Vietnamese shrimp and pork spring rolls, which are wrapped in rice paper, or the Vietnamese fried egg rolls, which are served with cool, fresh lettuce and cilantro. Mai's serves several soups, such as rice noodle soup with meatballs or duck stew, and offers family dinners as well as a la carte specials like pork flavored beef. Try a Vietnamese iced coffee after dinner, which is cold-brewed at the table in sweetened condensed milk. -- Chase Hamblin