Charles Clark

Todo con Queso

Houston's 10 best Tex-Mex restaurants.

Openings & Closings: New Concepts from Beloved Chefs, Opening Soon

Let's pull the Band-aid off and list the bad news first: Jeannine's Bistro officially closed this past week after a temporary closure became permanent. On its Facebook page, the Belgian restaurant posted the following farewell: We've sadly decided to close, and wanted to thank all our friends & pat ... More >>

Chef Chat, Part 1: Travis Lenig of Liberty Kitchen, On Leaving Fine Dining for Comfort Food, and Eating Foods with Lots of Heat

This is the first part of a three-part chef chat series. Come back to read parts two and three in this same space Thursday and Friday. Every single time I've been to Liberty Kitchen in the Heights, it's packed. There's something about the space -- the decor, the layout, the smooth sleek lines of th ... More >>

The 10 Best New Houston Restaurants of 2012

If I had to pick one word to describe the mad, exciting rush of restaurant activity that's defined 2012, it would be this: exhilarating. Followed closely by: exhausting. Trying to keep up with every single new restaurant that's flung open its doors exuberance -- welcoming the city's burgeoning food ... More >>

Are We There Yet? Restaurants We're Excited About for 2013

Last year -- at the tail-end of 2011 -- it seemed as if half the restaurants we were excited about in 2010 for the upcoming year still hadn't opened yet: Uchi, Triniti, Underbelly and The Hay Merchant were all a very long time in the making, but finally opened this past year to great acclaim all aro ... More >>

Top 10 Restaurants in Midtown

Although Midtown may be more well-known for its bars and late-night clubs, there isn't a shortage of good food to be found -- even if the neighborhood is steadily losing many of the Vietnamese restaurants that once saturated the area. In keeping with Midtown's current incarnation as the drinking-ou ... More >>

The Best Beer Labels

The most iconic and creative on Texas shelves.

Chef Amanda McGraw Wows with New Specials at Brasserie 19

A perfectly poached 63-degree egg -- one of only two things that Chef Amanda McGraw cooks in her sous vide machine at Brasserie 19, the other being a giant pork chop -- is spilling its saffron-colored yolk across the crispy top of a parmesan custard inside a shallow, white ramekin. Off to one side, ... More >>

Top 10 Octopus Dishes in Houston

Octopus. Regardless of how it's prepared, I generally love eating the squirmy, tentacled creatures. A great, low-fat seafood option, octopus has this wonderfully distinctive texture. It's also light and fun to eat -- the perfect summertime dish. Our city's chefs must feel the same way I do, because ... More >>

This Week In Food Blogs: Wasted Water and the Battlesong of Christie Rafanan

Houston Chronicle: If you're wondering whether or not the Eatsie Boys will have beer from their own 8th Wonder Brewery when their Montrose cafe opens later this year, wonder no more: The answer is a firm no, thanks to bizarre and outdated TABC laws. Ronnie Crocker tackles the messy task of explainin ... More >>

Underbelly's Underpriced Wine List Gives Us More Reasons to Love It

Because there is so very much to discuss when it comes to Underbelly, the subject of this week's cafe review, I found myself having to trim back significantly in certain areas of the review in order to get a broader point across (which, TL;DR, is that Underbelly is where it's all happening and you s ... More >>

Casual Coppa

This restaurant impresses with simple, harmonious flavors — and its refusal to over-impress.

The Key to the Kitchen: Coppa's Female Executive Chef, Brandi Key, Is No Novelty Act

November 3 was National Men Make Dinner Day, one of an increasingly nonsensical line of national holidays that are being trotted out in larger numbers every year. This particular holiday was especially perplexing to those in the food industry, where men make dinner every night. A man probably will m ... More >>

That's Rich

Brasserie 19 is the place to see and be seen in River Oaks.

Openings & Closings: Losing Our Voice

Photo courtesy of Coppa Ristorante ItalianoCoppa: Now open for business.​The worst news of the week came from My Table early yesterday morning, when the magazine reported that downtown restaurant Voice has lost its executive chef, the very underrated Greg Lowry, and is in talks to "reconcept" ... More >>

Openings & Closings

​Pearland is really moving up in the world, home to greats like Killen's Steakhouse and hole-in-the-wall gems like Thanh Phunog that serve wild boar pho. In addition to its own recently opened version of House of Pies, a new biergarten/carwash called King's Biergarten has opened on Broadway. A ... More >>

Openings & Closings: The Chock Full o'Nuts Edition

Yeah, I don't understand this either.​Remember last week, when we blithely reported that it had been such a wonderful week of good news? Prepare yourself for a mixed bag this week -- and it's a big bag -- starting with the ugly stuff. After Caffe Bello's abrupt closure, there were rumors that ... More >>

First Look at Brasserie 19

Photos by Katharine ShilcuttEnglish pea soup, lightly chilled, with lump Gulf crab meat: It's not available every day, but it should be.​On a drizzly Thursday night, the warmly glowing interior of Brasserie 19 beckoned the crowds inside its crisp white interior and onto its broad patio. The r ... More >>

Openings & Closings: April 2011

Photo by lc_dbKing Biscuit was one of the many restaurants to close over the past week.​After a quiet few weeks, a rash of openings, delays and unexpected closings tore through the city this past week, starting with the news that Austin's "sexy Tex-Mex" import Vivo is not coming to San Felipe ... More >>

Openings & Closings

Pure Luck ravioli with warm tiny beets, brown butter and hazelnut puree.​With an opening date seemingly in sight, the latest food buzz is centered around Chef Michael Gaspard's Brasserie 19. Gaspard's partners in the new venture, Charles Clark and Grant Cooper, are already old hands at shaping ... More >>

Chef Chat, Part 3: Charles Clark of Ibiza

​After talking with Charles Clark of Ibiza for the past couple of days, today we continue, discussing how his signature dishes are based in his roots and how Ibiza patrons can make special requests. EOW: So what should a first-time Ibiza patron order? Clark: To truly showcase my roots, they ... More >>

Chef Chat, Part 2: Charles Clark of Ibiza

​Today we continue our chat with Charles Clark of Ibiza about his time meandering through the Mediterranean. EOW: You spent some time traveling through Europe learning the Mediterranean cuisine. So help me connect the dots of how you went from riverside fryers and Chinese restaurants in Louis ... More >>

Chef Chat, Part 1: Charles Clark of Ibiza

​We visited with Chef Charles Clark of Ibiza to learn about his humble beginnings with food and the path that led to his Midtown Mediterranean menu. EOW: You got started in the culinary field at a very early age. How did you realize that food was the career path for you? Clark: Growing up in ... More >>

Movies Houstonians Love (Meals on Reels): Babette's Feast

Charles Clark's favorite movie just might be the granddaddy of the "food film" genre

Tasty Tentacles

Octopus a la Plancha at Ibiza

Showdown at the IPA Corral

Jeff Balke The Good, the Bad and the Curry at Saint Arnold's One Pot ShowdownHouston's favorite brewery, Saint Arnold, held their sold-out Second Annual One Pot Showdown yesterday afternoon on the kind of overcast, slightly chilly day that was perfect chili (and gumbo and stew ... More >>

Bacon, Eggs and Barbera

Treat yourself to Mediterranean-inflected breakfast foods and some of the most amazing wine deals in town at Catalan

Three Days Too Many

First, a botched robbery case. Now, a botched punishment for the HPD cop involved.

Letters

Truth and Consequences

Sometimes in the game of cops and robbers, telling your story is no defense

Patriotic Excess

Luxurious Vallone’s most interesting new menu items arean early casualty of the war

Stirred and Shaken

Charles Clark's Ibizaritas

No Cash Back

Some Tasca investors are nervous about the money. So was the state of Texas.

A Matter of Grape Concern

Ibiza makes for a pleasant escape

Best Latin Grill

Elvia's Latin Grill and Bar

Cheaper By The Bottle

Former Tasca chef uncorks a food and wine bar for those on a budget

Miami Spice

Southern Exposure

Hogg Leftovers

Tsk, Tsk, Tasca

Tasca Kitchen and Wine Bar

Letters

Dish

Setting a New Standard

Tasca, serious about its food and service, delivers excellence