When i lived in Houston they had some amazing Italian joints.
That's really the only good thing about Houston, it has amazing food from all over the world due to diversity. It's a cesspool mostly, but due to the Energy market it has drawn a lot of people south over the years for work.
Best Italian i've ever had was in Germany, there are some small family places that only sit 10-15 people that have the most authentic Italian around, except for Italy of course.