Click here for updates on this story
July 27, 2026 (Houston Style Magazine) — On National Lasagna Day, Houston does not have to choose between an Italian classic and Southern comfort. Mikki’s Soul Food Cafe has already settled that delicious debate with its scratch-made ‘Houston Style’ beef lasagna—a generous, cheese-pulled, sauce-rich favorite served every Tuesday and Thursday.
National Lasagna Day arrives Wednesday, July 29, giving Houstonians a timely excuse to loosen a belt notch and celebrate one of America’s most beloved layered dishes. At Mikki’s, however, lasagna is more than a calendar-day craving. It is a family inheritance, a weekly ritual and another flavorful chapter in a Houston business built by the late Jeanette Williams and now carried forward by her children, Jeanelle Williams and Craig Joseph Jr.
photo
Fueled by her entrepreneurial spirit, Jeanette set out on a journey to establish Mikki’s Cafe Soul Food & Catering at 10500 W.Bellfort St
About 26 years ago, Jeanette transformed a home-catering venture into Mikki’s Soul Food Restaurant and Catering on West Bellfort Strret. Her cooking, entrepreneurial courage and welcoming spirit helped establish the restaurant as a southwest Houston landmark. Today, the company describes Craig Jr. and Jeanelle as its “new legacy owners”—a fitting title for siblings charged with protecting treasured recipes while preparing the brand for another generation.
photo
Mikki’s legacy owners Craig Jr. and Jeanelle proudly carry forward their mother Jeanette Williams vision
That balance is the secret ingredient in Mikki’s continued appeal. The menu does not chase every passing food trend. It knows what it is: soulful, hearty, familiar and proudly Houston.
The restaurant’s lasagna layers seasoned ground beef, rich tomato sauce and melted cheeses into a Southern-style interpretation of the classic. It is listed among Mikki’s Tuesday-and-Thursday specialties and is served with a side—because in Houston, even lasagna should not have to dine alone.
Call it Italian architecture with a Texas foundation. The pasta provides the structure, the meat sauce brings the muscle, and the cheese holds the family meeting together.
Yet what makes the dish ‘Houston Style’ is not simply an extra scoop or a heavier hand. It is the cultural confidence to take a familiar recipe and serve it through the lens of a city where culinary traditions constantly meet, mingle and make something new.
Mikki’s broader menu follows the same philosophy. Oxtails, smothered chicken, turkey wings, fried catfish, collard greens, candied yams, baked macaroni and cheese, cornbread dressing and the signature Soul Food Bowl keep the serving line looking like Sunday dinner decided to open seven days a week.
Recent coverage of the Third Ward location described lunchtime crowds stretching toward the door—a strong reminder that nostalgia still has plenty of purchasing power when the food delivers.
The next-generation story is also unfolding geographically. In addition to its longtime southwest Houston restaurant and Pearland location, Mikki’s now serves the historic Third Ward at 2712 Blodgett Street.
The family expanded into that storied soul-food address after This Is It Soul Food ended its run there in 2025, keeping a meaningful Houston dining space connected to Black family enterprise, hospitality and culinary tradition.
Three locations now give diners several ways to join the family table: 10500 W. Bellfort Avenue, Suite 100, in southwest Houston; 2712 Blodgett Street in Third Ward; and 9603 Broadway Street, Suite 108, in Pearland. Current posted hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Sunday, although holiday diners should confirm before visiting.
Still, legacy at Mikki’s is measured by more than locations or full dining rooms. According to the family, community care remains part of the business recipe, with Mikki’s supporting families, children and senior citizens in need throughout the year.
That service reflects an old-school understanding of neighborhood leadership: a successful restaurant should not merely feed customers; it should help nourish the community that keeps its doors open.
Mikki’s motto is “Where You Can Taste the Love!” It may sound like a warm slogan, but after decades of scratch-made cooking, family succession and community service, it also reads like a business plan. Love shows up in consistency. Love remembers who taught the recipe. Love welcomes the next generation without erasing the first.
So, on July 29—or the nearest Tuesday or Thursday—Houston diners can celebrate National Lasagna Day with a plate that carries more than noodles, meat and cheese. Mikki’s ‘Houston Style’ lasagna carries Jeanette Williams’ vision, her children’s stewardship and the unmistakable flavor of a city that knows how to honor history while serving the future hot.
That is not simply lasagna.
That is legacy by the layer.
photo
Visit Mikki’s Soul Food Cafe
Southwest Houston
10500 W. Bellfort Avenue, Suite 100
Houston, Texas 77031
281-568-5115
Third Ward
2712 Blodgett Street
Houston, Texas 77004
713-485-4850
Pearland
9603 Broadway Street, Suite 108
Pearland, Texas 77584
281-919-1506
Visit the Mikki’s Website for more information at: mikkiscafe.com
Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
Kierra LeeKIELEESTYLE@GMAIL.COM4096658446