Chef/Owner
Ruggles Grill
When my friends and family from out of town visit, I always tell them to visit the museums, The Galleria, catch a Rockets game, eat Mexican food and visit Goode Company Barbecue. I always recommend a visit to historic Galveston and a show at the theater or the symphony. The more that I think about it, I am in the restaurant business and being a chef I think that we have the best restaurants of any type in the country for price and value. So to add on to those, I recommend that they visit the wonderful restaurants in Houston, Texas!
What surprises me about Houston? The cultural diversity, the incredible restaurants and the friendly smiles. The fact that there are people from all over the world makes it a pretty interesting place to live.
When I moved to Houston in 1982, I had just graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. I moved here chasing my dreams and at the time, Houston was the city to live in because there were lots of opportunities. Houston was the only city that I could own my own restaurant by the age of 26. Houston has been very good to me, and I must admit that when I moved here, I was very happy about how friendly and cosmopolitan the city was. My friends from New York and Washington, DC would say,"Do you ride horses with 6 shooters and are there cactus' everywhere?" Little did they know that Houston turned out to be the fourth largest city with the number one medical center in the world, some of the best restaurants in the United States, and great shopping where you can find smiling faces and good hospitality. And if the weather gets too hot for you in the summer time, we have a great international airport that can take you anywhere in the world in less then 24 hours.
People are most likely to find me at my restaurant, Ruggles Grill, on Montrose, Ruggles Grill 5115 at Saks, or at the Houston City Club playing tennis. I also go to the Houstonian to play competitive matches against my friends Fred and Allen. You can find me in my neighborhood running with my four daughters and my two labs Sammy and Rex and join me for my daily swim at the West U Rec Center. I can be spotted at the farmers market and at Whole Foods Market on any given day where I shop for the freshest organic fruits and vegetables, or find me out in Freeport Bay where my friend Durwood and I will catch the fish that I will serve at the restaurant that night. I am a busy man!
A perfect day in Houston for me would be to start off by visiting one of our local Katz Coffee shops and then heading to the pool for a nice morning swim. I would then head to Ruggles for lunch to take care of my customers and then after head off to my other store Grill 5115 inside Saks Fifth Avenue where I may do a little shopping before I head into the restaurant. Spending time with my daughters while we run and catching one of their soccer, tennis, lacrosse, or swim meets and then having dinner with them are all what fits in to my meaning of a perfect day in Houston. After dropping them off at home, I will then check on my restaurants again, and to end the perfect day in Houston I head to my beautiful home in Southhampton where my family is waiting for me!
For me to dine out in Houston is quite difficult and yet simple because there are so many wonderful restaurants to choose from. For example, I like to dine out at Houston's anytime—you are always going to get good quality food, yet simple. I love to eat at Goode Company, Mark's and although I don't make it there as much as I'd like to, Cafe Annie is wonderful. All three of these restaurants are real trademarks here in Houston since they have either been around for 20 plus years or simply because they are owned by dedicated chefs like Jim Goode, Mark Cox and Robert Del Grande who are cooking daily in the kitchen. If you want to eat delicious food and just kick back and eat in your workout clothes, go to Goode Company BBQ. But if you want to dine on fabulous food that is a masterpiece with every dish, go to Cafe Annie, Mark's and, of course, Ruggles!
Shopping for me is easy. I simply shop at one store and that is Saks Fifth Avenue where you can find everything you need!
Houston's best kept secret is the variety of amazing restaurants, historical Galveston, our medical expertise and there is a real special magicthat keeps visitors coming back for more! Houston is a city with a BIG HEART, and it is exploding in every aspect possible!
