Bryan Caswell

This Week In Food Blogs: Landry's Lawsuits and All-Day Sunday Funday in Sugar Land

Eater Houston: Congratulations are in order for Underbelly chef/owner Chris Shepherd, who was named Best New Chef yesterday by Food & Wine. Shepherd is one of 10 Best New Chefs listed by the magazine, and is joined by the likes of Michael Voltaggio, at Ink in Los Angeles and Danny Bowien of Mission ... More >>

Openings & Closings: More Americana, Headed Your Way

Intercontinental Airport must have finally gotten the memo that its dining options were sorely limited considering Houston's rich culinary offerings, because it looks like something's finally being done about it. Earlier this month, there was the news that chef Johnny Hernandez is opening The Frute ... More >>

Killen's Steakhouse Moving Into Recently-Vacated Stella Sola Space in the Heights

Almost as quickly as Bryan Caswell closed Stella Sola's doors, Chef Ronnie Killen is opening them up again as Killen's Steakhouse. Caswell and Killen battled each other as grill masters at the Walmart Choice Steak Challenge a couple weeks ago, with Killen winning the grand prize trip to New York. Mo ... More >>

Sampler Plate: This Week in Food Blogs

Houston Burgers: This burger blog has been dormant for a few months, but a brand-new post popped up in my Google Reader today -- and just in time for baseball season. This week, Darrell reviewed the new deep-fried mac 'n' cheese burger at Minute Maid Park, which contains the same deep-fried mac 'n' ... More >>

Upcoming Events: Give the Planet a Hug

This coming Sunday, April 22, is Earth Day. That means plenty of tree-hugging food events that make you want to throw off the surly bonds of cynicism for at least one day and acknowledge that maybe you really do like Earth. And Revival Market is a good place to start. On April 22, Revival Market wi ... More >>

Upcoming Events: Forks Over Knives and Farm Dinners

First things first: Don't forget that this coming Monday, April 2 is our Championship Tasting for the 2012 Burger Bracket. If you disagree with any of the Final 4 contenders, be one of the first 100 people to come out to The Distillery at 4 p.m. and judge the burgers for yourself when sampling opens ... More >>

Southern Living's Paula Disbrowe on Houston as One of the South's Tastiest Cities

Houston is the only Texas city recognized by the magazine in its top 10 list.​Southern Living's senior travel editor Paula Disbrowe knows Texas. The chef and food writer will be celebrating her 10th year of living in the Lone Star State this coming January, and was happy to report that a Texa ... More >>

Tim Love and Tequila Take Over Top Chef: Texas

Also known as the episode in which Padma goes full Pocahontas, complete with faux Indian choker I once bought during a family vacation to Tucson in 1993.​Seven episodes in, and I'm sorry to report that none of the challenges thus far have involved the contestants being forced to shoot their ow ... More >>

Upcoming Events: Eat Noodles, Help the Homeless

​Still haven't made Halloween plans? Head to RA Sushi in Highland Village or at CityCentre, where the restaurant will be hosting its annual Boo Bash this Monday, October 31, from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. Boo Bites (appetizers) and Potent Potions (booze) will be on special all night, and guests are en ... More >>

Aarón Sanchez Heats Up the House of Blues

Did you know the House of Blues serves food? If you didn't, then you should know now -- all 13 locations of the music venue are offering new dishes and revamped old favorites for their restaurants, re-branded as "Crossroads at the House of Blues," by celebrity chef Aarón Sanchez. You may know him f ... More >>

El Real Tex-Mex Cafe & Shrine: Revival of the Fittest

Photos by Troy FieldsThe marquee is best appreciated at night, neon lights in full bloom.​Earlier this week, it was reported that Trader Joe's will likely be moving into the old Alabama Theater on West Alabama at Shepherd, thereby saving the old theater from obscurity and possible demolition. ... More >>

New Restaurant Guides Show Off Houston's Greatest Grub

New for 2011 and handy as ever.​Fearless Critic and My Table's Ultimate Food Lover's Guide to Houston are both roaring back onto the scene this year, updated and ready to guide Houstonians in their quest for the city's best. The last edition of The Ultimate Food Lover's Guide to Houston was r ... More >>

Chef Chat, Part 2: Tommy Birdwell of TQLA

Photo by Matthew DresdenChef Tommy Birdwell in the kitchen at TQLA​In part one of our conversation with Chef Tommy Birdwell of TQLA, we covered his early career and his vision for TQLA. Today, we'll discuss Chef Birdwell's work on the Pappasito's menu, writing a cookbook with Stephan Pyles, an ... More >>

Chingo Bling Gets New York Times Love - Food Love

Marco TorresChingo Bling, sans tamales in L.A.​Hey, guess what? A Houston musician finally got some love from The New York Times - not the semi-weekly Texas Tribune spread printed special for the paper's Lone Star press run, but the actual Gray Lady herself. Guess what else? It's in the food ... More >>

Sampler Plate: This Week in Food Blogs, the James Beard Awards Edition

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. 29-95: Yes, it's true: There was a tie this year at the James Beard Foundation ... More >>

Upcoming Events

VIP tickets will be on sale this Monday.​Bought your tickets yet for the upcoming Haute Wheels food truck festival? No? Good. Because you'll have an opportunity to purchase heavily discounted VIP tickets for the event, which takes place on May 14 and 15 at the campus of HCC Southwest. The Hous ... More >>

Stellar Stella

This spectacular restaurant is already a Heights institution.

Houston Culinary Tours Gain National Recognition

Chris Shepherd and Bryan Caswell on the inaugural Houston Culinary Tour.​You have to admit, the Houston Culinary Tours are a clever idea to promote Houston: pairing high-profile chefs with a handful of passionate food lovers, and allowing those chefs to take those food lovers to some of the ci ... More >>

Katharine Shilcutt Nominated for a National James Beard Award

Houston Press food critic Katharine Shilcutt has been nominated for a James Beard Award in the Multimedia Food Feature category for "Designer Meats" and the accompanying video "Butchering 101 with Chris Shepherd." The story describes how Houston chefs are curing and preserving their own meats, allo ... 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. Dallas Observer: The big Texas dining news last week came out of Dallas (I know ... More >>

Restaurants We're Excited About for 2011

​For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction, right? Well, for all the new restaurants that disappointed us in 2010, there are many more coming in 2011 that we're awaiting with baited breath. Whether they be old favorites revived or entirely new restaurants, whether they be from ... More >>

5 Desserts That Are Actually Better Than Sex

​Many claim the hyperbolic title - cakes, pies, layer desserts and the like - but few truly live up to the name. Here's a list we put together (from a solicitation of all the EOW bloggers) that could claim the description truthfully. 5. Paula Deen's "Is it really better than sex?" Cake While ... More >>

Recap: Final Episode of The Next Iron Chef

​We enter the final chapter of this season of The Next Iron Chef, and I am torn. On one hand the finalists, Marco Canora and Marc Forgione, are the two that should be here. They have consistently been the best from start to finish and won a majority of the challenges. They deserve to be called ... More >>

Recap: Episode 7 of The Next Iron Chef

​I gotta admit, I'm still stewing over the results of The Next Iron Chef. At the beginning of the episode, we were promised that two would be banished, but instead they just kicked off Bryan Caswell and then wimped out of picking another to boot. There are rules, people. In America, we follow ... More >>

Bryan Caswell Defends Houston on Eatocracy, But Can We Defend Ourselves?

We're used to being insulted on a national level. Right, Zagat?​In 2002, Houston officially became a Zagat guide-less city. Teresa Byrne-Dodge, editor and publisher of My Table Magazine, told the Houston Press at that time how the folks at Zagat -- based in New York City -- had not only snubb ... More >>

Upcoming Events

Please try not to end up like this jack-o-lantern this weekend.​Halloween activities abound this weekend and we have the best parties all picked out for you in our annual Halloween guide. But if parties aren't your bag of treats, don't fret: There's still plenty else coming up to keep you busy ... More >>

Royally Food at the Queen Vic Pub

If you like rum and falernum, you'll like the Jewel in the Crown.​Let's get a few things straight first. The Queen Vic Pub (2712 Richmond), which opened on September 3, is nothing like The Red Lion. Yes, they're both pubs. Yes, they both serve a mixture of British and Indian food on their menu ... 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. The Mija Chronicles: While absolutely no one I know was able to attend the Inte ... More >>

Robb Walsh's 100 Favorite Houston Dishes: #10 Crispy Skin Snapper at Reef

​Over the course of the next few months, I'm counting down 100 of my favorite Houston dishes. I chose some because they are such quintessential Houston creations, others for their cultural or historical significance, and others because they are just so damn tasty. Share your own nominations in ... More >>

Openings and Closings

It's been an exciting past week for diners and restaurateurs alike, with a rash of new and planned openings to please pretty much any palate. The biggest news, of course, was that our own Robb Walsh is working with Bryan Caswell and Bill Floyd -- the team behind restaurants like Little Big's and Re ... More >>

Robb Walsh's 100 Favorite Houston Dishes: #28 Couchon de Lait at Stella Sola

​Over the course of the next few months, I'm counting down 100 of my favorite Houston dishes. I chose some because they are such quintessential Houston creations, others for their cultural or historical significance, and others because they are just so damn tasty. Share your own nominations in ... More >>

Houston's Hottest Chef: Voting Is Now Open

Thankfully, none of our nominees look like this.​We've carefully combed through the 100 plus comments from last week's post and compiled the top five male and top five female chefs you nominated as Houston's hottest chef. We combed through our own photo archives and -- occasionally -- the che ... More >>

Bartender Chat: Lindsay Heffron of Stella Solla

The San Remo. ​We've read a lot about Bryan Caswell and his new venture, Stella Sola. But, what you may not know is that in addition to the Texas-Tuscan food, Stella Sola has a sleek, modern bar with a unique cocktail menu. Mixologist Bobby Heugel of Anvil Bar & Refuge designed the eclectic me ... More >>

Raising the Bar at the Bourbon Throwdown

Photos by GroovehouseAdam Bryan finishes up his No Bogey Fizz cocktails.​Last night's Bourbon Throwdown at Branchwater Tavern was the fifth throwdown -- a casual, Iron Chef-style competition between local chefs -- that the Houston Chowhounds have thrown since June 2009. But far from being a re ... More >>

Robb Walsh Named a James Beard Award Finalist (With Disturbing Video!)

Watch the above video, and you'll never forget it (trust us). It's called "Robb Walsh Takes Beef 101" -- and he shot it at Texas A&M for a feature story he was writing for the Houston Press, "Not So Clear Cut." Walsh was just named a finalist in the James Beard Awards for the feature story, alon ... More >>

Chef Chat: Justin Basye Part 2

Fabio​Yesterday Justin explained the nomination process for the James Beard Awards. Today we discuss changes he has implemented and what he does on his days off from work. Eating Our Words: So four months later, what has changed? Justin Basye: Haha, my responsibilities! Moving from sous to c ... 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. Foodie Houston: We can't disagree with Jodie's statement that "Chris Shepherd R ... More >>

Duck Fat: the New Butter

Is the theme of the awesome Branch Water Tavern "fatty foods for lean times"?

Tune In and Turn On

​If you missed Robb Walsh's two-part apperance on The Michael Berry Show back in October, you have another chance to catch our newly un-anonymous food critic this weekend as he appears on Southbound Food on 1560 AM. The radio show -- which is anchored by Sports Animal hosts Lance Zierlein, Da ... More >>

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.Fo ... More >>

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.Fo ... More >>

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 s ... More >>

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 - ... More >>

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.  Th ... More >>

Chefs Pitch In for Brennan’s Fire Victims

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

Sushi Pudding

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

All the Way to the Bank

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