Goode Co. restaurants have been a culinary touchpoint for me for my entire life, serving as a family dining spot as a kid then a respite with friends through high school. Now it's more of a treat, a return to something deeply familiar and comfortable. I wrote a college essay on watching Pappy Selph saw his fiddle on a frosty night outside of Goode Co. bbq and it did not prevent me from admission at least a few schools.
"There was something thrilling to me as a Houstonian to find that here I could adorn my mesquite-grilled all-American hamburger with plenty of pico de gallo if I felt like it." -- Allison Cook
Beyond the cultural implications for Houston food, which Cook nails in her appreciation, Jim Goode and his restaurants set the bar (which remains today) for consistency, quality and customer experience that outfits like
Treadsack are carrying forward in their own way. Goode's has been essential, I feel, for Houston to become a great restaurant city. You could probably point to one fellow for that.
