This story is part of our “Reasons to Love Houston” package, published in the Spring 2025 issue.

Houston’s food scene is second to none—sorry, not sorry to literally every other city in the country. You could easily play bingo (and then some) with all the countries whose cuisines are accessible right here in Houston. So, why not play bingo? Grab some friends, print this grid out, and get down to eatin’.

Glossary of terms

Boat noodles: Sao Lao uses 40 ingredients in this stew, including rice noodles, beef broth, pig’s blood, rib eye, and pork meatballs.

Chicken adobo: A Filipino dish of chicken marinated in vinegar, soy sauce, and garlic.

Chiles en nogada: Served on Mexican Independence Day (and year-round at Picos), poblano peppers are stuffed with picadillo and topped with a creamy walnut sauce and pomegranate seeds.

Dim sum: The Cantonese culinary tradition of eating steamed or fried dumplings and other bite-size foods, especially on weekends.

Egusi soup: Melon seeds are dried, ground, and mixed with variations of meat, seafood, mushrooms, and leafy greens in this nutty Nigerian dish, which is more like a stew.

English breakfast: A medley of eggs, bacon, baked beans (ideally Heinz), sausages (ideally Cumberland), black pudding, buttered toast, and sometimes tomatoes and mushrooms.

Goat chops: You can’t go to beloved Sugar Land institution Aga’s without seeing heaping plates of these whizzing by every few minutes.

Jerk chicken: A Jamaican dish whose seasoning features allspice with scotch bonnet, among other spices and herbs.

Koshary: The Egyptian national dish consists of pasta, lentils, rice, chickpeas, and fried shallots.

Lort cha: These Cambodian rice “pin” noodles are stir-fried with Chinese sausage, bean sprouts, garlic, and herbs.

Manakish: This Lebanese flatbread comes with toppings like Akkawi cheese and za’atar.

Mohinga: A Burmese soup of noodles and fish, often catfish.

Momos: The Nepali steamed dumplings come stuffed with water buffalo, chicken, or vegetables.

Nasi lemak: The national dish of Malaysia consists of coconut rice, chicken curry, ikan bilis (fried anchovies), peanuts, egg, cucumber, and sambal.

Pad thai: Street to Kitchen’s take on the classic dish is made with Gulf shrimp only and served inside a thin omelet.

Pastel en hoja: These Dominican tamales are made with plantains and root vegetables instead of corn masa, and are wrapped in a banana leaf.

Pupusas: Salvadoran corn cakes stuffed with cheese and various meats, and served with curtido, a type of slaw.

Qabuli palau: Traditional to Afghanistan, this pilaf rice dish is topped with lamb, shredded carrots, and raisins.

Quanta fir fir: An Ethiopian dried beef stew with tomatoes and berbere spice, served with injera, a flexible flatbread made with teff.

Ropa vieja: Translating to “old clothes,” the Cuban national dish adds tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, and spices to shredded beef.

Sakavci: Bosnian meatballs served over spaghetti.

Salatim: Hebrew for “salads,” this term refers to cold appetizers and dips served before a meal, such as baba ghanoush, muhamara, labneh, and matbucha.

Spanakopita: A Greek phyllo pastry parcel filled with spinach and feta.

Tái chín pho: This variation of the Vietnamese stew is made with slices of rare steak that lightly cook as they’re added to the broth.