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On Friday, Eater readers supplied their favorite guilty pleasures. You'll find the results below. They range from local comfort food institutions to the largest restaurant chain in the world. None of them are places to get a healthy meal, which is sort of the point. Frankly, given some of the choices, some of you should be ashamed of yourselves. Oh well, we're not here to judge, much.
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Your 12 Favorite Guilty Pleasures, Mapped
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Casa Ole
For many Texans, classic Tex-Mex is as much a comfort food as meatloaf or hamburgers. When people crave something familiar, a restaurant like Casa Ole that refuses to change with the times fits the bill perfectly.
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Frenchy's
Fried chicken may not be great for one's health, so, if someone is going to satisfy a craving, it might as well be with the best Creole-style fried chicken in Houston, where the long lines ensure that every piece of chicken is hot and fresh.
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Ponzo's Italian Food
There is a sad lack of Italian-American pizza and sub shops in Houston, but Ponzo's fills the role admirably. A meatball sub and an order of pepperoni rolls are the perfect companions to a night on the couch.
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Waffle House
It's late, and everybody needs to get a little food to soak up the night's poor decisions. A waffle and hash browns, smothered and covered of course, will help ease tomorrow's regrets.
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Calliope's Po-Boys
Unlike some of other places on this list, the food here is excellent. This restaurant is a guilty pleasure because of the inflated calorie counts from the excellent fried seafood and carb-heavy dishes.
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House Of Fries
An Eater commenter praises this restaurant for a mushroom Swiss burger, hand cut fries and homemade ranch dressing. Yup, those are all ingredients for a guilty pleasure.
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Lopez Mexican Restaurant
A southwest Houston institution that delivers excellent Tex-Mex, potent margaritas and reasonable prices. In other words, the perfect spot to satisfy an enchilada craving.
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Super H Mart
The H-Mart food court solid bulgogi from Bibijo Express and excellent fried chicken from Toreore, but good luck convincing a skeptical significant other to have dinner in a supermarket's food court. Oh well, eating alone can sometimes be refreshing.
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Blue Water Seafood
An emailer explains: "It’s a dump, the people are loud, and my wife refuses to go there. Get a cold beer, a dozen grilled oysters and five pounds of crawfish, get the spices all the way up to your elbows while you sit outside and sweat. You’ve never had so much fun."
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McDonald's
Really? Yes, the french fries are excellent, and one must satisfy that craving, but everything else here is pretty gross. At least promise never to eat the McNuggets, ok?
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Romano's Pizza
Houston may be seeing a rise in elevated pizza, but Romano's remains a delightful throwback. Oversized New York style slices with questionable ingredients (canned mushrooms, anyone?) satisfying an elemental needs for certain Bayou City transplants.
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Red Lobster
Because Cheddar Bay Biscuits make life better.
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