Beyond Tex-Mex: the rest of the world in Baytown

The plants brought people from everywhere, and some of them opened restaurants. This is the list for the night you don't want tacos.

Vietnamese. Noodle Master for pho and the vermicelli bowls; the broth is the test and it passes, and the spring rolls are the order for the table. Black Bayou is the Viet-Cajun hybrid the Gulf Coast invented and Baytown adopted — crawfish in garlic butter, and a menu that's Vietnamese underneath. A banh mi counter turns up on Garth every couple of years; the directory has the current one if there is one.

Chinese. 888 Chinese is the town's standby — open from 10:30, the lunch specials, the family plates, the kind of place that's been feeding the same tables for years and has a website that actually lists the hours. Dumpling Time on 146 is the newer one: handmade dumplings, a short menu, the reason to drive to the 146 side on a weeknight.

Middle Eastern. Shawarma In Town — the shawarma plate, the falafel, hummus that's made there, the garlic sauce you'll want more of. Closing time is disputed between eight and nine; go at seven and it doesn't matter.

Cuban. The Cuban Cafe, 4232 Decker, which you've read about on every other list. The pressed sandwich, the café con leche, the plantains, four in the morning on weekdays.

Salvadoran. El Rey Pupusas Tacos y Mas, 5622 Garth. Pupusas revueltas, curtido, the red sauce, and the tacos the name promises. Two pupusas is a meal; three is a nap.

Latin, broadly. Mambo for the Caribbean and South American side of the menu; the plantains are the tell, and the Sunday plate is the reason.

Thai and Indian. Thin, and we say so. There's usually one of each on Garth and it usually changes hands; the directory has the current names. If you open one that lasts, this section is yours and we'll write it.

Cajun. Beyond Black Bayou: the boils and the church fundraisers in crawfish season, the gumbo at the VFW when they make it, and the boudin at the gas stations on 146 that Louisiana people will drive for.

Japanese and sushi. The chain corridor on Garth has the hibachi-and-sushi option every town has; it's fine, and it's the same as yours. A real sushi bar is another gap on the list.

The rule. Weekday lunch specials, everywhere on this list, are the best value in town. And every place here is a family; ask what they'd eat and order that.

En español. Más allá del Tex-Mex en Baytown: Noodle Master (vietnamita — pho), 888 Chinese y Dumpling Time (china), Shawarma In Town (medio oriente), el Cuban Cafe en Decker (cubano, desde las 4 a.m.), El Rey Pupusas en Garth (salvadoreño), Mambo (caribeño y sudamericano). Tailandés e indio: poco, y lo decimos. Los especiales de almuerzo entre semana son el mejor valor.