Burger King Whopper is a good imitation of a real Houston ChuckWagon Wheelburger circa 1957. Just delete the mayonaisse and ketchup and add mustard. Lettuce, onion, pickle, tomato, seeds on the bun, all the good stuff. Every time I get within 200 miles of Texas I get a Whataburger, which since 1960 has been the icon of Texas burgers. Nearest Whataburger is in Little Rock I believe, although I ate at one in Broken Arrow OK coming back from Hovenweep Nat Monument 2 years ago. Whataburger has a great chicken cobb salad now also.
The one thing that makes a White Castle slider bearable is the onion flavor. I have one 6 blocks from my city house. I ate there at 3 AM 20 years ago when I was working 3rd shift, was off on Sunday morning (rare), and nothing else was open but Denny's. I find the holes punched in the slider beef patty hilarious.
I like Tex-Mex food, growing up on a Dallas chain so long deceased I can't remember the name. I loved the beef enchilada+tortilla+taco combo plate. I last ate at one in Jackson TN 25 years ago. Rice without the jasmine. Best imitation now is San Pedro in Charlestown half way to my summer camp. Rice has peas, lima beans, corn, no jasmine. Tony's in Houston on Ella Blvd has a good lunch fajita+cheese enchilada combo. Taco Bell is I believe LA food. They had a low fat taco I could bear 20 years ago but they cancelled it in 6 months. Wife makes me take her there occasionally. If I eat more than 2 Bell tacos I belch for hours. No sour cream picante or guacamole on the taco, like I can get at San Pedro.
I had some great seafood in Houston last November on my brother's dime. Guido's off the beach had a great redfish with asparagus. Nico's next door had good toasted oysters, although I found the bed of salt crystals weird. At age 73 I don't need all that salt. I had some decent redfish at Angleton Tx 10 years ago but you had to have it fried in garlic butter. I had a great seafood lunch at Pascagoula MS 14 years ago. 8 different police agency cars were in the parking lot, a sign of good food. Near the creek that runs through town. There is no fish worth crossing the street for in Indiana. People in Louisville swear by Mike Lennox fried fish, which tastes just like the stinky stuff you get at a Friday church fish fry here. You can smell the ancient oil from 2 blocks away. Not even cod or pollock.