Dining in Houston is almost always treat, especially once you discover a tasty contradiction like benjy’s. While “light” and “healthy” are not normally modifiers for “comfort food,” benjy’s, a self-described restaurant for just that, aces this uncommon, slightly paradoxical concept with astonishing confidence.
The food and ambience at benjy’s is rife with all the delightful opposites of its descriptors: it’s been called “upscale-casual” and a place for “classic comfort food” with a “global influence” and “creative American cuisine.”
The price tag runs the gamut from pretty inexpensive to quite a nice meal, though the value is exquisite. However, the portion sizes are generous enough to keep you full and every meal is lovingly crafted by one of their well-seasoned chefs (pun intended, sorry I’m not sorry). The menu at benjy’s changes seasonally, so if you can’t find anything this month, rest-assured you will within the next 3—though an encounter where you can’t find anything, if not unheard of, is extremely unlikely.
In fact, if you go across town to the second benjy’s location in the same day, you’ll find many menu options differ as each of their two locations has its own unique menu items and features. Thankfully, some favorites have become benjy’s staples and remain on both menus for all four seasons. Like the specials, the amenities are different in each spot: the newer Washington location is much bigger than the original benjy’s, though the original has an intimate loft-like second level that’s got some of the “best people watching” in town.
The concept for benjy’s began almost 19 years ago in 1995 when Benjy Levit opened the Rice Village location according to Houston Culture Map. Prior to that, Levit attended the “Natural Gourmet Cooking School” and interned at New York City’s Josie’s restaurant that presented a modified approach to vegan dining. It seems benjy’s had a foundation of healthy and light and a commitment to farm-to-table dining before it occurred to the mainstream to consider their sources.
They also have brunch specials, for those of you who brunch. I think I may be the sovereign queen of brunch, but I haven’t checked it out at that time of day yet—though lunches and dinners there are so impressive I have made a solemn commitment to try it!
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