Haute Houston: from its founding days, Houston has had an affinity for doing business with Latin America. For visiting Latin Americans, it remains Texas' most sophisticated metropolis

Latin CEO: Executive Strategies for the Americas, March, 2000 by Ray Viator

1300 Lamar Street, 713-650-1300

DeVille restaurant, located in the Four Seasons Hotel in downtown Houston, is one of the benchmarks of high-style cuisine in Houston. The innovative and exotic menu, created by Chef Tim Keating, features "modern French" cuisine, offering diners an extraordinary culinary experience, The award-winning DeVille boasts a first-class menu, extensive wine list and superb service. DeVille also offers a prix-fixe, pre-theater dinner menu with complimentary transportation to and from Houston's Theater District.

MASRAFF'S ON POST OAK LANE

1025 S. Post Oak Lane, 713-355-1975

Owned and operated by two father-and-son teams that bridge the continents -- Russell Masraff and his father Tony from Houston and Chef Georges Masraff and his son Maxime from Paris -- Masraff's on Post Oak Lane is a casually elegant upscale restaurant featuring Euro-American cuisine. The restaurant's unique blend of American tastes with a touch of Southern Europe is a reflection of Chef Georges Masraff, a two-time recipient of France's coveted Michelin Star and the former Executive Chef of two of New York's most prestigious restaurants, Tavern on the Green and Windows on the World.

PAPPAS STEAK HOUSE

5839 Westheimer Road, 713-917-0090

Demonstrating that there is room for more than one restaurant dynasty in Houston, the Pappas family continues to expand its influence on the city As Sidewalk.com accurately describes it, "this handsome, neotraditional steakhouse takes 'upscale' to stratospheric heights. The quality is uncompromising and the vaguely deco-ish decor is impressive."

SCOTT CHEN'S

6540 San Felipe, 713-789-4484

Less than a year old, Scott Chen's is quickly attracting a following. In proclaiming Scott Chen's the best new restaurant in Houston in six years, Esquire restaurant critic John Mariani noted in December 1999, "Scott Chen's is one of those restaurants that seem to blow out of nowhere into overnight prominence." Executive Chef and owner Scott Chen has an uncanny ability to create daring combinations of Eastern and Western cuisine. For the adventurous, few can match the restuarant's White Glove Menu, a seven-course dinner based on the "whim of the chef," and served by tuxedoed waitstaff. Backed by a 15,000-bottle collection, the restaurant wine list has garnered accolades from some of the country's most prestigious reviewers.

TONY'S RESTAURANT

1801 Post Oak Boulevard, 713-622-6778

For years, Tony's has defined the pinnacle of fine, upscale dining in Houston. This is where Houstonians come to celebrate and entertain in style, and where the business elite comes to close its deals. And Tony's never disappoints its clientele. From its exquisite service to its unique, exceptional menu - continental with an Italian accent - Tony's is the place to see and be seen.

TONY RUPPE'S FINE AMERICAN FOOD AND WINE

3939 Montrose Boulevard, 713-852-0852

With one of Houston's four-star chefs at the helm, the only detail this restaurant is missing is the word "new" in its name. New American cuisine, after all, is its focus and forte and deserves the recognition, Another argument in favor of the additional word in the name: it was recently voted "Best New Restaurant" by the Houston press.