Bryan Caswell

Line & Lariat Goes from Surf to Turf

Line & Lariat offers an exceptional menu showcasing some of the best foods in this state's culinary history. Now it just needs some customers.

Where the Chefs Eat: Bryan Caswell, Randy Evans, Danny Trace

In Houston, the restaurant community is so tight that everyone has worked together in some shape or form over the years. For this week's Where the Chefs Eat, we check in with chefs Bryan Caswell, Randy Evans, and Danny Trace. Evans is affiliated with a bunch of local chefs thanks to his time at B ... More >>

Stella Sola Closed Its Doors on Sunday

Bryan Caswell announced today that Stella Sola, his Texan-Tuscan restaurant in the Heights along with partner Bill Floyd, closed its doors on Sunday. The announcement followed months of rumors that Stella Sola would soon be closing, a result of the building in which it was housed going up for sale. ... More >>

Who Grills the Best Steak? Killen and Caswell Duke it Out in the Walmart Choice Steak Challenge

What better way to spend a sunny spring afternoon than to participate in a pop-up celebrity chef challenge at your local Walmart parking lot, where the main ingredient is steak? Last Tuesday, shoppers at the Walmart Supercenter # 1409 (10750 Westview Drive) had a lucky surprise when they pulled in ... More >>

The Real World

With expectations sky-high, El Real Tex-Mex Cafe struggles for glory.

Upcoming Events: Foraging and Fires

Photo by GroovehouseYes, you can eat those beautyberries you've seen at the Arboretum. Merriwether will show you how.​If Nicholas Hall's post on foraging, "Indigenous Bounties," piqued your interest about scouring your own back yard (or front yard) for tasty treats, pay attention. Meriwether's ... More >>

Reef's Smoked Pork Chop

Photo by Stacy ZanePork chops taste goooood.​Recently, I ordered the smoked pork chop at Reef, an upscale seafood restaurant headed by famed Houston chef Bryan Caswell. Back in May, this pork chop was featured on The Food Network's program "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" and was recommended by c ... More >>

A Not So Happy Hour at El Real Tex-Mex

Prickly pear margarita at El-Real Tex-Mex​I admit, my expectations were high for El Real Tex-Mex. And well they should be. Since it's a joint venture between James Beard nominee Bryan Caswell, and James Beard Award-winning writer and former Houston Press Food Critic Robb Walsh, I expected to ... More >>

Chef de Cuisine Justin Basye Departing Stella Sola

Photo by FabioBasye is leaving Stella Sola to further sharpen his skills.​It's a day for kitchen shakeups across Houston. First came the news from the Houston Chronicle that Michael Kramer is ending his partnership with The Tasting Room. And now, Justin Basye has also announced that he's leav ... More >>

Three Sliders, You're Out at Minute Maid Park

Photos by Katharine ShilcuttThe bowl also makes a cute and handy cat helmet when cleaned. Your cat may feel otherwise, however.​I don't personally understand the appeal of going to the ballpark and getting anything other than a hot dog or a plate of nachos piled high with "cheese" and pickled ... More >>

Bryan Caswell Comes to the Food Network Along with Several New Shows

Caswell during competition on the Next Iron Chef.​By now, the news that Houston's own Bryan Caswell will have his own four-episode show on the Food Network has worked its buzzy way through Twitter, Facebook and the rest of the Internet. Starting in May, the busy chef will be hosting a run of ... More >>

First Look at El Real Tex-Mex Cafe

Photos by Katharine Shilcutt​"We had 1,000 covers on Friday night, then 1,200 covers last night," an exhausted but happy-looking Bill Floyd told me when he stopped by our table at El Real Tex-Mex Cafe on Sunday evening. It was a little past 5 p.m., the doors to the place had just opened, and a ... More >>

Openings & Closings

The rendering is now real.​Two long-awaited Houston restaurants are finally ready for their close-ups. El Real Tex-Mex Cafe, which will open for dinner service tonight, and Mai's, which will open next month after a 14-month closure due to a devastating fire. All week long, the parking lot has ... More >>

MasterMinds 2011

Foodways Texas is among our three winning arts groups.

Houston Culinary Tours Ramping Up Again

The inaugural barbecue tour with Robb Walsh; see if you can spot the man himself.​There's now one more way to get your Robb Walsh fix besides rereading that copy of Sex, Death and Oysters for the fifth time: The Houston Press's former food critic is teaming up with Catalan executive chef Chris ... More >>

Texas Foodies and Chefs Secede from Dixie: The Texas Food Alliance Fundraiser at Armadillo Palace

Photos by Jeff Balke​While the mighty ice sculpture with the Foodways Texas logo slowly melted amid it all, rivers of St. Arnold's and Dripping Springs vodka / Rio Grande Valley ruby red grapefruit juice cocktails flowed. The Catalan corned beef sliders, Goode Company baked oysters, shrimp cor ... More >>

Recap: Episode 6 of The Next Iron Chef

​On the previous episode of The Next Iron Chef, Maneet Chauhan was finally put out of her misery. Nice lady, interesting choices, but just not consistent enough to get the job done. We also learned that in this episode that two of the final five would be getting the ax. If I have to guess rig ... More >>

Recap: Episode 5 of The Next Iron Chef

​Last time out, Duskie Estes and Maneet Chauhan were both on the bottom, and that is a position that, as Chauhan said, "sucked big time." It sucked more for Estes, as she was booted from The Next Iron Chef. Forget about whom the Next Iron Chef will be -- I gotta see what kind of retro garb A ... More >>

Recap: Episode 4 of The Next Iron Chef

​Welcome to another exciting episode of The Next Iron Chef, where the Houston food community gathers, hoping for a win for an Iron Chef who has a real passion for this sometimes underdog Texas city. And where Ming Tsai acts like a tool. By the way, did you hear when "Ming" called into 1560 The ... More >>

Sampler Plate: This Week in Food Blogs

Each week, we put together a sampler plate of the most interesting links from both local and national food blogs. Know a blog we should be paying particular attention to? Leave the address in the comments section below. Robb Walsh: Walsh has been documenting a variety of very interesting, very time ... More >>

Recap: Episode Three of The Next Iron Chef

​On the last episode of The Next Iron Chef, Mario Pagan was booted and Ming Tsai declared he would never be in the bottom two of a challenge again. We'll see, Ming. We'll see. Challenge one for the night is based on the theme of resourcefulness, and the secret ingredient is pickles. Pickled c ... More >>

Recap: Episode Two of The Next Iron Chef

​Here's my chronological running diary of the random thoughts I had while watching episode two of The Next Iron Chef. We are reminded that in the first installment, Andrew Kirschner was sent packing. He has a soul patch. For the first challenge, the contestants are asked to put two breakfast ... More >>

Bryan Caswell: No Pity

​Last night, half of Houston tuned in to watch Chef Bryan Caswell of REEF and Little Big's represent the Bayou City on the Food Network's newest show: Next Iron Chef. I didn't watch it. I was catcalling people from the back of a banquet room at the Hilton during the otherwise classy My Table ... More >>

Openings & Closings

No more ceviche at the Midtown outpost of Lemon Tree.​A reader alerted us via Twitter to the fact that the Lemon Tree (207 West Gray) had closed its doors sometime in the past week. We went by to check it out and it is, indeed, closed. A call to Lemon Tree's original location on Whittington re ... More >>

Sampler Plate: This Week In Food Blogs

Each week, we put together a sampler plate of the most interesting links from both local and national food blogs. Know a blog we should be paying particular attention to? Leave the address in the comments section below. Aghastronome: That's right, Houston's own Bryan Caswell will be competing on th ... More >>

Last Night: B L A C K I E, Summer Blondes, The Tontons And Somosuno At Mango's

Photos by Marc BrubakerSomosuno​B L A C K I E, Summer Blondes, The Tontons, Somosuno Mango's July 29, 2010 Aftermath had an inkling that we'd wind up at Mango's on Thursday as soon as we heard about the so-called "surprise show." For one, our love of music perpetually drags us out of our home ... More >>

Houston's Hottest Chefs: Bryan Caswell

​Whether you think he is actually hot or not, there are few chefs (heck, people!) who elicit a passionate response like Bryan Caswell. Love him or hate him, the Reef, Little Big's and Stella Sola boss was a Food & Wine Magazine's "Best New Chef" and has even walked a red carpet with food papar ... More >>

Robb Walsh Bryan Caswell Bill Floyd = Reef Gone Tex-Mex?

Photo by rutlo​By now, most people have heard the news that our own former food critic, Robb Walsh, is partnering with Bryan Caswell and Bill Floyd -- the team behind Reef, Stella Sola and Little Big's -- to open a Tex-Mex joint in Montrose. But not just anywhere in Montrose: in the old but newly ... More >>

Robb Walsh: The Hunter Will Become The Hunted

The Tower gets a makeover....will it get any more parking?​Max Bialystock, as portrayed in the show-biz documentary The Producers, had only two rules for doing his job:1. Never put your own money in the show.And 2: NEVER PUT YOUR OWN MONEY IN THE SHOW!!!Robb Walsh, the cuddly, lovable former Houst ... More >>

A Day in the Life of a Food Blogger

Daily dose of sliders from Little Bigs.​While no one out there confuses food blogging with glamour (at least we hope not), there are those of you out there with colossal misconceptions of what we do here at Eating Our Words. Most of us are not full-time bloggers; rather we have actual jobs and ... More >>

Chef Chat: James Beard Nominee Justin Basye

Fabio​Stella Stola's opening four months ago in some rough waters. Fast management changes and skeptical critics rocked the grand opening, but then things started to change. Justin Basye came on board as chef de cuisine under Bryan Caswell and brought a positive outlook and solid crew with him ... More >>

Freeze Frenzy: Save the Sorrel!

​With a hard freeze coming tonight, Houstonians are rushing to harvest their winter gardens. "I am cutting all the citrus off the trees in my yard tonight," chef Bryan Caswell told me. Gardeners are bringing as many of the greens and lettuces as possible to avoid losing them. Look for a bounty ... More >>

Top 11 Houston Restaurant Openings of the Decade

Since I started my job as restaurant critic of the Houston Press in May of 2000, I've had a chance to observe the Houston restaurant scene for just about the entire decade. Our fine dining scene has evolved in the last ten years, and so have our ethnic cuisines. Houston became the birthplace of some ... More >>

Mushroom Burger Protest

Photo by Robyn Lee ​It started with a simple Tweet. Aimee Woodall, owner of Black Sheep marketing/publicity firm, was a fan of the mushroom burger at Little Bigs, a slider stop in the Montrose area (2703 Montrose, 713-521-2447). She was disappointed when she stopped in at the eatery one day only t ... More >>

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 ... More >>

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 Visitor ... More >>

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 wer ... More >>

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 obs ... More >>

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. ... More >>

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 ... More >>

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 ... More >>

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 proprieto ... More >>

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 a ... More >>

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 wi ... More >>

REEF'S THYME AFTER LIME

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

Reef

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

This Week in Cafe: Reef

This Week in Cafe: Reef