Food trends come and go. So how can you tell which tastes are trending today?
We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp to discover which local businesses have been getting outsized notice this month.
To find out who made the list, we looked at Houston businesses on Yelp by category and counted how many reviews each received. Rather than compare them based on number of reviews alone, we calculated a percentage increase in reviews over the past month, and tracked businesses that consistently increased their volume of reviews to identify statistically significant outliers compared to past performance.
Read on to see which spots are extra cool, right now.
Veegos
Open since November, this vegan, vegetarian and Mexican spot is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Mexican" on Yelp.
Citywide, Mexican spots saw a median 2.5% increase in new reviews over the past month, but Veegos saw a significant 164.3% increase, with a slight upward trend from a four-star rating a month ago to 4.5 stars today. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis Veegos's review count increased by more than 1,150% .
Located at 10932 Westheimer Road, A in Briarforest Area, Veegos offers a vegan twist on Mexican favorites like tacos, quesadillas and nachos. On the menu, look for the "al pastor" taco plate, as well as the jackfruit nachos with a side of the loaded fries (french fries topped with chili beans and house cashew cheese).
Check out the full menu here.
Kubo’s Sushi & Washoku
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Washington Avenue Coalition / Memorial Park's Kubo’s Sushi & Washoku, the sushi bar and Japanese spot is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Japanese" on Yelp saw a median 1.6% increase in new reviews over the past month, Kubo’s Sushi & Washoku bagged a 61.1% increase in new reviews within that timeframe, maintaining a strong 4.5-star rating. It significantly outperformed the previous month by gaining 2.2 times more reviews than expected based on its past performance.
On the menu, look for soup, sushi, steak and salad. Yelpers recommend ordering the wagyu ishiyaki (4 ounces of Texas Wagyu beef with seasonal veggies served with homemade sauce), the Washington roll (spicy tuna, avocado, eel sauce, spicy mayo, green onion masago, soy paper) and the brie cheese tempura.
Mico’s Hot Chicken
Greater Uptown's Mico’s Hot Chicken is also making waves. Open since June at 2829 Chimney Rock Road, the chicken shop, food truck and Southern spot has seen a remarkable 386.7% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 3.5% for all businesses tagged "Southern" on Yelp.
Mico’s Hot Chicken offers Nashville hot chicken meals. The menu has just three items: The Sammich (fresh brioche bun, chicken, house-made slaw, pickles, Mico's sauce) tenders (two tenders, white bead, pickles, Mico's sauce) and Animal Fries (waffle fries topped with melted cheese, Mico's sauce, chicken and chives). Over the past month, it's seen its Yelp rating tick down from five stars to 4.5 stars.
Flower & Cream
Braeswood Place's Flower & Cream is the city's buzziest dessert spot by the numbers.
The spot to score ice cream and frozen yogurt, macarons and desserts, which opened at 2617 W. Holcombe Blvd., Suite B on June, increased its new review count by an impressive 341.7% over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 6.9% for the Yelp category "Desserts."
Flower & Cream offers a rotating selection of ice cream flavors made fresh in house in small batches. There are 13 rotating flavors available at the moment, including Unicorn Tracks (cotton candy base with lucky charm marshmallows), Baileys & Blondies (Bailey’s Irish Cream with bits of house-made blondies) and the Nutella banana (ripe bananas folded into our sweet cream and Nutella base). Check out all the flavors here.
B.B. Italia
Memorial's B.B. Italia is currently on the upswing in the Italian category on Yelp.
While businesses categorized as "Italian" on Yelp saw a median 2.7% increase in new reviews over the past month, this Italian spot increased its new reviews by 50% — and kept its rating consistent at 3.5 stars. Review counts increased by more than 150% on a month-to-month basis.
Open for business at 14795 Memorial Drive since May, the business offers Italian staples like pasta, meatballs, pizza, chicken and fish dishes. Menu standouts include the chicken parmigiana (thinly pounded chicken breast, mozzarella, tomato with rigatoni), as well as the veal scallopini (marsala, piccata, saltimbocca.)
Here's the full menu.
This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
