Subject: Bryan Caswell

• Jukebox Hero: Little Big's In Montrose

  Little Bigs, the slider joint at the corner of Westheimer and Montrose, is spinning some of Houston's best and brightest bands and it's all because of owner/chef Bryan Caswell's dream of having his own jukebox. Life-long Houston resident Caswell opened up the slider hut just a few months back. He bought a jukebox from the owner of an icehouse off 290 that was closing down. The jukebox came with the requisite beerhall fodder: Seger, Skynyrd, Journey and the like. You know, the kind of stuff you

  June 4, 2009

• This Week in Cafe: Reef

  September 4, 2007

• This Week in Cafe: Reef

  September 4, 2007

• A Review of a Preview of the Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Festival

  January 29, 2008

• Chefs Pitch In for Brennan’s Fire Victims

  October 16, 2008

• Little Big's Big Debut

  After much anticipation, Little Big's opened to a crowd hungry for sliders and shakes this past Wednesday night.  The restaurant, which took the place of the popular Ming's at the corner of Westheimer and Montrose, is the latest concept from REEF's Bryan Caswell: a casual burger joint that will stay open late but which focuses on trendy, creative food.To whit, one of Caswell's most popular creations thus far is a White Russian milkshake called "The Dude," which is made from Katz's coffee

  January 21, 2009

• Houston's Own Artisanal Gelato

  Marcelo Kreindel, owner of Trentino Gelato The dulce de leche gelato was masterful: velvety smooth with that familiar thick sweetness, but not overwhelmingly so.  Some dulce de leche treats take on an overpowering, sickly sweet caramel flavor, but not this gelato.  The shards of dark chocolate scattered throughout added a welcomed bite to the texture and the creamy taste. Dulce de leche is the most popular flavor at home," the gelato's creator explained to me. "Th

  January 30, 2009

• Follow Friday for Foodies

  The group collective on Twitter, the increasingly popular micro-blogging and social networking platform, has developed a recent tradition called Follow Friday.  Follow Friday is part circle jerk, part honest and helpful advice from your Twitter friends on who to follow if you're new or simply looking to expand your circle of friends and acquaintances.  Every Friday, those who participate in the weekly routine send out a Tweet or two with suggestions of influential, interestin

  February 13, 2009

• Trainsmash Burger at Out of Africa

  Trainsmash is a South African tomato and onion sauce--a trainsmash burger comes slathered in the stuff. This one also had lettuce, fresh tomato and mayonnaise. I liked the condiments alright, it was the burger patty that was the problem. Out of Africa, the South African restaurant at Sugar Creek and Highway 59 in Sugar Land, is using high quality ground beef for the burgers--I think it's Black Angus. The problem is, the ground beef is just too lean. The burger patty comes out hard and dense an

  February 23, 2009

• Bryan Caswell: Houston's Best New Chef

  How do i begin; excited, elated, humbled, floored, it doesnt even scratch the surface! Me? Houston? Really? (my 1st 3 words to Dana Cowin) Photo courtesy of Wholefish Bryan Caswell in his trademark Astros ballcapBryan Caswell, who was just named one of Food & Wine's Best New Chefs of 2009, took to Twitter immediately after the official announcement to share his joy with the world.  Past recipients of the Best New Chef award, which recognizes rising culinary stars acr

  April 3, 2009

• This Week In Deliciousness

  Photo by Robb WalshWow. I'm actually intimidated... by a hamburger. What's the first thing you'd like to hear about on a Monday? Personally, a great Monday morning, to me, is when you find out there's a new bar in town serving carefully crafted cocktails. Katharine Shilcutt interviewed the proprietors, and we all got thirsty just thinking about it. Next, Ms. Shilcutt let us know about the MDA Crawfish Boil and Music Festival going on this Saturday (hey, that's tomorrow!), which will benefit the

  April 3, 2009

• REEF'S THYME AFTER LIME

  August 14, 2008

• Little Bitty Burger Barn

  "It's okay to be little bitty in the big city" is an apt slogan for this new burger joint, where sliders rule

  February 21, 2008

• Reef

  Chef Bryan Caswell is putting a new spin on Gulf red snapper and serving up some fish you've never heard of

  September 6, 2007

• Sushi Pudding

  You can bank on the salmon and chili tapioca at the Hotel Icon's Bank Jean-Georges

  August 19, 2004

• All the Way to the Bank

  What does it take to get a celebrity chef to put his name on a Houston restaurant?

  June 10, 2004

• Micro Management

  Van Weldon ekes out a living by farming tiny plants

  May 13, 2004

• A Delicious Recipe for Success

  Photos by Katharine ShilcuttGracie Cavnar and Monica PopeIt was a gorgeous summer night in the gardens of a stately West University mansion, and Monica Pope was serving a most unlikely dish to the well-to-do types at the table: scrapple. A dozen enraptured guests had their first taste of the dish - a luscious but decidedly down-home mishmash of a hush puppy, grease and pork trimmings - which is nearly impossible to find unless you make it yourself at home. With the scrapple happily consumed, the

  May 20, 2009

• Jukebox Hero: Little Big's in Montrose

  Little Bigs, the slider joint at the corner of Westheimer and Montrose, is spinning some of Houston's best and brightest bands and it's all because of owner/chef Bryan Caswell's dream of having his own jukebox. Life-long Houston resident Caswell opened up the slider hut just a few months back. He bought a jukebox from the owner of an icehouse off 290 that was closing down. The jukebox came with the requisite beerhall fodder: Seger, Skynyrd, Journey and the like. You know, the kind of stuff

  June 5, 2009

• The Battle Rages On: Fried Chicken Throwdown at Beaver's

  Photos by Katharine ShilcuttRonnie Killen's skillet fried chickenSome had come for the spectacle of it all: 17 different fried chicken dishes, 9 enormous casseroles filled with various macaroni and cheeses, salads and side dishes and desserts enough to feed Alexander's own army. Some had come to observe the madness. And some came, bloodthirsty and ravenous to win, for the pure competition. The Fried Chicken Throwdown at Beaver's Ice House Monday night satisfied all parties: People shoved enough

  June 10, 2009

• Follow Friday for Houston Food Hounds

  Photo courtesy of @bakerella In the world of Twitter -- the love-it-or-hate-it microblogging service -- Fridays are known as "Follow Friday," a day devoted to suggesting new or interesting users for your friends to follow. Depending on who you follow, your Twitter stream will be inundated on Friday mornings with gigantic circle-jerks of "She's awesome, she's cute and she churns her own butter! It's @buttermama! #FollowFriday" or the far more straightforward "@pinktaco @julienned @hotpotato @fat

  June 26, 2009

• HPMA Aftermath: Born Liars, Ryan Scroggins and the Trenchtown Texans, B L A C K I E, Metavenge and Buxton

  Photos by Craig Hlavaty​This member of Rocks Off has never felt so proud of his city, especially after last night's Houston Press Music Awards showcase. He was wont to call it "his" city just a few years back, commuting back and forth into the Inner-Loop breach to review show after show from the suburbs down Highway 288. He had always felt that he perhaps wasn't quite getting what was going on, or that he just wasn't built for it. But Sunday, as we walked down the streets of downtown and saw r

  July 27, 2009

• Washington Ave. Revisited

  July 30, 2009

• Openings and Closings

  ​The big news this week is once again related to Bedford, the restaurant in the Heights that was up until very recently the home of heralded chef Robert Gadsby. A little birdie told us a few weeks back that Reef's executive chef and co-owner Bryan Caswell had big plans for the space, and they weren't wrong. Greg Morago at the Houston Chronicle reported this afternoon that Caswell and company have purchased the restaurant and will soon be installing a new chef and an entirely new menu and aest

  September 11, 2009

• Ain't No Feud Like A Food Feud. Or Maybe There's No Feud At All

  ​Cleverley Stone is a Houston food institution. Of sorts.For some, she's a lively, well-informed foodie who offers great discounts and tips on her blog, on a weekly radio show on CNN 650 AM (Proposed Station Motto: You've Probably Never Heard Of Us), on local TV morning shows and on her Twitter.For others, she's a bit of a joke, someone who is pompous and gets too cozy with the restaurants that support her.The Houston Chronicle's Alison Cook, for instance, decided last Saturday to listen to St

  September 16, 2009

• Ain't No Feud Like A Food Feud. Or Maybe There's No Feud At All

  ​Cleverley Stone is a Houston food institution. Of sorts.For some, she's a lively, well-informed foodie who offers great discounts and tips on her blog, on a weekly radio show on CNN 650 AM (Proposed Station Motto: You've Probably Never Heard Of Us), on local TV morning shows and on her Twitter.For others, she's a bit of a joke, someone who is pompous and gets too cozy with the restaurants that support her.The Houston Chronicle's Alison Cook, for instance, decided last Saturday to listen to St

  September 16, 2009

• Food Fight and Common Decency

  September 24, 2009

• Burgers and Hash

  October 22, 2009

• Hop On Board: Houston Culinary Tours Embarking Soon

  Photos by Katharine Shilcutt​Have you ever wanted to cruise around with one of your favorite chefs, picking their brains as you hit his favorite hole-in-the-wall restaurants in the city? Your chance to do just that is coming soon. Whole Foods Market and the Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau have put together an intimate series of Houston Culinary Tours, featuring some of the city's best -- and perhaps least well-known -- restaurants. And guiding these tours? Monica Pope of t'afi

  October 30, 2009

• Bivalve Throwdown: Oysters With a Side of Intrigue at Stella Sola

  Photos by Katharine Shilcutt​In the heat of battle last night, the oysters -- and the chefs -- kept their cool. The fourth such event organized by Jenny Wang and the Houston Chowhounds, the Bivalve Throwdown at Stella Sola on Sunday afternoon saw 11 of the city's best chefs compete to create the best oyster dishes for a panel of distinguished judges. But that's where the "distinguished" part of the event ended: The afternoon was a celebration of the first Gulf oysters of the season that

  November 9, 2009