Perry's Italian Kitchen - great traditional Italian dishes and some new one's worth trying. Dessert....Nutty D'Angelo is a must!. Located in Clear Lake

Sorrento's - interesting story on this place. The owner used to manage Michelangelos. He has gone down the street and created an elegant, romantic setting a couple of blocks away. I love this place. Food is great and the service, well...my favorite waiter in Houston works there. Ask for Ricardo! he won't let you down.

Michelangelo's - Located on Westheimer near downtown (Elgin becomes Westheimer just a block or two east. Romantic setting with wonderful food and extensive wine selection. They have, hands down, one of the best pesto in the world! This is not just a few herbs and some olive oil. This is a robust olive oil and herb explosion. I promise you it will be good. Wonderful meeting room upstairs for parties, weddings, special events. One of my favorites.

There are other good Italian restaurants in the Houston area including:

Grotto's - I visited the Westheimer location the other day for lunch. I had the Pollo Estate with their house salad and enjoyed the dinner tremendously.

Their breads and pesto were excellent. I was disappointed only with the noise level, which was deafening. My business clients and I had to shout to be heard over the din. I will be back at dinner to see if it is a bit quieter.

Westheimer @ 610 - South East corner

Vincent's - 2701 W Dallas Montrose

Nino's - 2817 W Dallas St Montrose

Il Ritorno Ristorante - 1672 FM 1960

La Strada - 322 Westheimer

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