I was about to post something on this very topic.

Houston is an abomination when it comes to eating out. The restaurants rated highly in Zagats are only middling to average when compared to similarly scored restaurants in my beloved Austin. If you want to eat well in Houston, prepare to pay BIG BUX.

There were a few exceptions though, only gleaned by trial and error. Peking Restaurant truly DID deserve its high rating, all the Chinese dishes were awesome, and I seek out the top rated places in NY and SF and LA, so I know of where I speak when it comes to Chinese cuisine. I do not remember the name of the place, but there was a Salvadoran restaurant I tried one day on a whim, never having had Salvadoran, and it was some of the most incredible food I have ever eaten. Local family owned, delicious super quality cuisine, and CHEAP too.

The most dependable gauge of the quality of food in a place is my belly. Years now I have eaten good quantities of organic fruits, veggies, nuts, whole grain cereals. I have gotten so in tune with how my body works that I use my belly as a judge of the quality of the food in a place.

If I feel tired, anxious, jumpy, bloated, irritable, or have a belly ache, I know the place serves Sysco style garbage and I NEVER go back.

Mind you, if you eat good quality food, food made with organic ingredients, non processed, non microwaved, and not loaded up with fake oils, EVEN if you eat entirely TOO MUCH to be healthy for you, you will NOT, I repeat NOT feel bloated or tired. You might feel 'full' or you might want to sit for a few minutes, but you will not feel like taking a nap.

Does it matter in the end? Don't we all die one day? Maybe even it is not so bad to be bedridden and on 15 medications every day when you are in your sixties? I mean, insurance covers it all, huh?

To me it is a quality of life issue, a control issue, an autonomy issue. I like to feel alive and active. I like to know that when I get old, I will still have an active life. I deeply deeply fear any and all medications, seeing how they make people into zombies, or worse, break their bodies down with fresh side effects. I have a better libido when I eat well. I do not have anxieties or depressions or any of the other problems I used to have before I became aware of how profoundly what you eat affects you.

and YES, I evangelize loudly and obnoxiously about it, because I naively maybe believe that it is contingent upon everyone to stick together and to try to put others on the right path. Because how we all feel affects everyone else. If America is a sick society on the wrong path, do not deny that what we eat is contributing to this sickness.

CT's weird about Italian food in general, though. It's hard to get good pizza. You can get great pizza in New Haven, but in my (somewhat) limited experience, that's about it. East of Hartford, they pretty much pour ketchup on white bread and call it pizza. It's disgusting. Even in Stamford, which is closer to NY, it's not great. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say the best place for pizza is NY, and maybe NJ. (ducks)

the Hartford area has GREAT pizza...

Vitos, Harry's, First and Last, Michelangelos, Elm Hill (my old favorite), Pepe's is now in Manchester as well, Luna's, Tommy's in Newington is good,

YES, none of these are Sally's or Pepe's, but then neither are the 100 thousand other pizza places in the US