Austria

Sommelier Sean Beck Always Stumps Me at Backstreet Café

"Anything but Italian!" I exclaim as I find a seat at the bar at Backstreet Café, where Sean Beck curates one of the best by-the-glass wine programs in Houston. I have nothing against Italian wines. In fact, I'm a big fan of Sean's Italian selections. But because Italian wines are my main vinous ... More >>

Upcoming Events: Somm-vasion at Phil's Wine Lounge and More

The brand-new Phil's Wine Lounge downstairs at Philippe is breaking in its boots by launching a Guest Sommelier Series starting February 6. Hosted by Vanessa Trevino Boyd -- resident sommelier at Philippe and last year's Best of Houston® winner for Best Sommelier -- the series will feature intimate ... More >>

5 Essential Foods for a Lucky, Healthy, Prosperous New Year, with Recipes

All throughout the world, different cultures have their own way of celebrating and ushering in the New Year. (And, of course, not everyone celebrates the New Year on January 1.) And while most Texans are familiar with the idea of having a pot of black-eyed peas or Hoppin' John on New Year's Day, the ... More >>

Chef Chat, Part 2: Johan Schuster of Charivari, On Cooking Throughout Europe, What He Would Prepare Each Season, and Who He Would Want to Prepare His Last Meal

Johan Schuster Charivari Restaurant 2521 Bagby 713-521-7231 www.charivarirest.com This is Part 2 in a three part Chef Chat series. You can read Parts 1 here and Part 3 in this same space on Friday. EOW: When did you start cooking? JS: I've been doing this for 34 years. We were three brothers ... More >>

Fit for a King

A Pearland biergarten serves up tasty Austrian-German food and lots of fun.

Giving Head: What Wine for Head Cheese?

Of all the salacious nuggets that still thrill Babbo sycophants, the one that I regrettably can't erase from my memory is the tale of President Clinton and Mario Batali's testa, boiled pig's head. Evidently, in a celebration of the fratboy-sexist-misogynist mindset that drives the great brain (read ... More >>

Top 5 Foreign McDonald's Menu Items I Wish Were Available in the U.S.

One of the things I like best about traveling abroad is the opportunity to try new foods. McDonald's isn't the first restaurant I go to after clearing border patrol, but I confess I do always at least peek at (and sometimes sample) the weird, wonderful world of foreign fast food. Here are five McDo ... More >>

100 Creatives 2012: Viswa Subbaraman

When Viswa Subbaraman was an undergraduate at Duke University, he had no idea where he would end up. He had played trombone and violin, but music as a career to him did not seem like an option. He had come from a family of doctors and was planning on becoming one himself -- that was, until his sopho ... More >>

The Rest of the Best: Houston's Top 10 Hot Dogs

Photo by Jeff VogtYou can even get sauerkraut on your $1.50 Costco dog!​For the next 20 weeks, we'll be rounding up the runners-up to our 2011 Best of Houston® winners. In many categories, picking each year's winner is no easy task. We'll be spotlighting 20 of those categories, in which the w ... More >>

Odd Pair: Wine and Soup

Photos by Jeremy Parzen.​Whether we're making Tuscan ribollita, Mexican tortilla soup, or French soupe à l'oignon, wine is always a key ingredient at our house (where there's always a spare cup of wine in the kitchen). And while the sugar is the main component of the wine that adds flavor to ... More >>

Wine of the Week: Biodynamic Lees-Aged Grüner Veltliner

Although Nicolas Joly is widely hailed as the father of biodynamic grape-growing and winemaking in Europe today; the Nikolaihof estate in the Wachau region of Austria is generally considered to be the first biodynamic winery in the world. (The pan-agricultural biodynamic movement was founded by Aust ... More >>

Bartender Chat: Piran Esfahani of Zimm's Martini & Wine Bar

​Piran Esfahani came to Houston from Vienna, Austria to study business and graduated from St. Thomas University. Shortly thereafter, he left Houston for Roatan, Honduras (it's not ugly...) to sell beachfront real estate. Now he's back masterfully crafting martinis at Zimm's Martini & Wine Bar ... More >>

Brew Blog: Indian Wells Lobotomy Bock

What's in a name? That which we call a Bock / By any other name would taste as malty.​The other night, I attended a business dinner held at the downtown outpost of the House of Blues. The meal was mediocre, but that wasn't really the point. This was a meet-and-eat event designed to smooth ove ... More >>

More Local Music News Than Memorial Day Furniture Sales

What would your Friday be without Magnolia City Mixtape? Pretty bleak, if you're trying to keep up on all the local music here in Houston. Thankfully, we're here to make that last day of the work week just a bit better. Propain launched his music video for the Departure track, "Say I Won't." Dire ... More >>

Sublime Strauss

HGO's Ariadne, an opera about opera, is both serious and funny.

The Chicago Dog at Sonic: A Passable Imitation

Photos by Katharine Shilcutt​Understanding that the mere headline alone may cause cringes and howls among Chicago dog connoisseurs, I'm going to come swiftly to the point on this one: The Chicago-style hot dog that Sonic is currently serving for $1.99 is not even in the same league as a true V ... More >>

Wild Moccasins Ready For Whataburger-Free Euro Tour

Molly Joon​Saturday night, newly minted New West signees Wild Moccasins play their last show in the States until April, as they prepare to embark on their first European tour. Sharing the Fitzgerald's bill are Young Mammals and Wicked Poseur. The Moccasins' maiden Old World trek is an extensi ... More >>

Brew Blog: Victoria Beer Comes to Houston

Shira GoldingIs the king holding an ice cream cone? ​Last week a buddy of ours who lived in Mexico for a while (and did a fair amount of drinking there) excitedly spotted a billboard for Victoria beer, which he demanded we immediately try to find.

German Shepherd

Johnny Falstaff is a honky-tonk translator.

Last Night: The Black Angels And Black Mountain At Warehouse Live

Photos by Marc BrubakerSee more photos from Wednesday's fever dream in our slideshow.​The Black Angels, Black Mountain Warehouse Live November 17, 2010 Some music is so evocative and overwhelming it can cause you to flash back to before you were even born. Not all of it - when a Mozart sympho ... More >>

Carlos

Wine of the Week: Austrian Pepper Grüner Veltliner

Sébastien Barillot ​Austria is known for imports. Take, for example, ex-bodybuilder-now-governor-of-California Arnold Schwarzenegger, and now, trendy-up-and-comer (or perhaps used-to-be-trendy-but-now-standard) Grüner Veltliner. This white wine is Austria's much tastier answer to the Pinot G ... More >>

A Cooler Coke: Almdudler

​Each Tuesday and Thursday for the next few weeks, we'll be taking a look at alternatives to cokes for the sticky Houston summer that lays ahead. Through the course of drinking various soft drinks and reporting back to you on them, I'll occasionally discover beverages like Vimto: something I ... More >>

Houston Symphony: Forces of Nature

Listen to Mozart's and Beethoven's versions of the natural world

For San Jacinto Day: Five Victories More Lopsided Than The Texas Army's

​I probably didn't need to remind you that today is the 174th anniversary of the Battle of San Jacinto, where Sam Houston led the Texas Army to victory over the forces of General Antonio López de Santa Anna. The battle brought an end to the bloody Texas Revolution, and made siestas unfashiona ... More >>

Block Party

Block 7 Wine Company serves simple food with fresh, local ingredients.

70 Years After A Nazi Invasion, Poland Gets Respect: The Five Best Movie Poles

On September 1, 1939, German forces invaded Poland. Soviet troops joined the attack (in adherence to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact) on September 16, and by the first of October, the country was entirely in enemy hands, and World War II was well underway.Poland and its people have had enough problems, ... More >>

Obscure Wine Grapes: Piculit Neri

Photo by Robb WalshPiculit Neri is an ancient grape varietal from Italy that was popular in Roman times but went out of favor. Progressive winemakers have recently revived the almost-forgotten grape, along with several others that were once popular in the Friuli Venezia-Giulia region, an area in the ... More >>

Mozart in Vienna

Da Camera trots out the Mr. M masters for their opening night concert

The Edge of Heaven Can Wait

Storylines and cultures crash in this German/Turkish import — and isn't it arty?

Asian/Pacific American Heritage Festival

Sufi rocker Junoon brings his Santana-meets-Led Zeppelin sound to Miller Outdoor Theatre

Antica Osteria

Rice Spaghetti

The Police

The Police perform Friday, June 29, at the Toyota Center, 1510 Polk St., 713-627-9622. Fiction Plane also performs.

Five Wines That'll Blow Your Mind

The Vintage Mirrors the Year

The Vintage Mirrors the Year

The Vintage Mirrors the Year

The House Is Alive...

Vienna Calling

Mo's Art

Capsule Reviews

Our critics weigh in on local theater

Best Pastry Shop

Epicure Cafe

The Most Extreme Sport of All

Bike messengers converge in Houston for some extreme competition

For the Love of Sauerkraut

Somehow a restaurant from the Black Forest finds its way to Midtown

Take a Number

Does the health department's grading system ensure safe restaurants? Or is it just fuzzy math?

The Sound of a Washed-up Career

Everything Old Is New Again

Darby's flashes back to a gentler time

Inheritors with a Will

Cat Stats

Roll Out the Barrel

Hackemack's is a barrel of fun

Sound Check