'That's Not Even Good, That's Great' — Guy Fieri Raved About This Texas Comfort Food Spot

After a restaurant is visited by the King of Flavortown, Guy Fieri, for his long-running show, "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives," a small-town eatery can be quickly thrust into the spotlight. Before Fieri and his spiked, iced tips walk through the door, many of the show's featured restaurants have already achieved a certain level of local fame, which then graduates to national attention. This is true for Niko Niko's, a family-run Greek and American cafe that has served comfort food in Houston, Texas, since 1977.

Everything you might imagine ordering in an American Greek cafe is on the menu – falafel, hummus, lamb kebab, spanokopita, Greek salad, and plenty more. The restaurant was founded by Greek immigrant Eleni Fetokakis, who brought over recipes from her father's restaurant near Athens. Her son Dimitri is running the business today. Fieri has surely had plenty of authentic Greek and Mediterranean food in his 54 seasons of "DDD," but one item had him raving at Niko Niko's: loukoumades.

Also called Greek honeyballs, loukoumades are fried balls of dough, similar in shape and size to a donut hole. When Fieri stuffed one in his mouth during Niko Niko's "DDD" episode, his reaction was, "That's not even good, that's great," and he pointed out how delicious the lemon honey glaze was. He also said, "I've never seen these in my life," which is somewhat surprising considering how much cuisine he has sampled from coast to coast.

If you happen to be in Houston, getting a plate of loukoumades at Niko Niko's is a no-brainer (order a strong Greek coffee to go with it). As a Google customer review reports, "Loukoumades ... small but addicting." Although the restaurant has been voted the best Greek food in Houston several times over, the densely packed two-page menu can be overwhelming. According to Yelp, popular dishes include the Greek salad, the gyro plate, and the gyro sandwich, which packs sliced meat and vegetables onto flatbread. All three classics are dishes you should always consider ordering at a Greek restaurant.

After Guy Fieri first visited Niko Niko's in 2009, there has been much hype and high expectations surrounding the restaurant, and it does fall short of a perfect 5-star rating. On Yelp, Niko Niko's gets a straight 4 out of 5 stars. One issue could be the crowds. Even a 5-star review on Yelp reported, "Every time I usually go to either Niko Niko's locations in Houston, they are so full and so packed that they keep working non-stop." Reddit users second that lunchtime chaos is loud and unpleasant, with some feeling like the food is overpriced compared to other Greek restaurants in the area. Google Maps has Niko Niko's highest overall rating of 4.6, based on over 6,000 reviews, many of which cite friendly staff, huge portions, and fresh food.