Houston, TX
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Four Houston kitchens the Houston Chronicle names for a bowl of chili, from the city's oldest Tex-Mex dining room to a venison bowl on Kirby Drive, a Pearland smokehouse and a Washington Avenue family restaurant. Texas red is built on beef and reconstituted chile pods with the beans left out, and the notes say which of these follow that line.
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Press picks, until locals rank their own Top 5s. Sourced from the local food press. As seen in Houston Chronicle. Updated September 2026.
Molina's Cantina · Westheimer
The Houston Chronicle calls this the oldest still-operating Tex-Mex restaurant in the city and reports that the chili con carne has been on the menu since the doors opened in 1941. Ricardo Molina, grandson of founder Raul Molina Sr., told the paper the recipe is remarkably uncomplicated: coarse chili-grind beef married to a paste of reconstituted ancho pods, then salt, pepper, cumin, garlic, water and a cracker meal thickener, with no tomatoes and no beans. Order it by the bowl, with crackers, grated cheese and chopped onion.
Goode Company Armadillo Palace · Upper Kirby
The Houston Chronicle reports that Goode Co. overhauled its chili recipe with venison when this Kirby Drive room opened in 2004. Axis deer from Broken Arrow Ranch in Ingram is hand cut and combined with some pork, a paste of reconstituted chile pods, and cumin seeds and peppercorns toasted then freshly ground, with homemade stock enriching the pot and masa flour thickening it. Levi Goode told the paper they do it old style, and the Chronicle reports there are no beans or tomatoes in the recipe. Order the venison chili, or take it as a Frito pie.
Killen's Barbecue · Pearland
The Houston Chronicle reports that owner Ronnie Killen builds this chili from brisket and short rib trimmings, ground and cooked with reconstituted, ground chile pods, which he told the paper give the bowl its depth, richness and color. Diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and paste, cumin, onion and garlic round out the recipe, and chopped smoked brisket goes in on top of that. Black beans come and go depending on the day. Order the brisket chili at the Pearland smokehouse.
Laurenzo's Prime Rib · Washington Avenue
The Houston Chronicle reports that Blanca Laurenzo wrote this Texas red chili con carne for the Washington Avenue restaurant her family opened, and that it became one of the most popular things on the menu. Her son Domenic told the paper the hand-cubed chuck makes a texture in your mouth that is hearty, alongside reconstituted dried chile pods, chile powder, cumin, and flour and Maseca to thicken. The recipe travels to the family's other restaurants, but only here does it come by the bowl. Order the large, with beans, onions, cheese and crackers.