Chris Shepherd

Helping Out Those Hurt in Brennan’s Fire

Chefs Pitch In for Brennan’s Fire Victims

Fundraiser for the Koonce Family

Bacon, Eggs and Barbera

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

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 >>

Washington Ave. Revisited

Forget what I said about Catalan – Chris Shepherd is one of the top toques in Texas.

The Belly of the Beast

Photos by Katharine Shilcutt A packed dining room at Catalan on Monday night​People swarmed the table full of pork and beans at last night's long-awaited Pork Belly Throwdown at Catalan like bees on a hive. Dishes such as Vermont maple-glazed Kurobuta pork belly shared space with whole suc ... More >>

Upcoming Events

​Although it's facing stiff competition from Southern Star lately, Saint Arnold is still our favorite hometown brewery. And this weekend's Foam Raiser at the Orange Show (Saturday, October 24, from 7 to 10 p.m.) is one of many reasons why. The ticket sales for the 2nd annual Foam Ra ... 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 >>

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 >>

Plat de Charcuterie, Chez Moi

​Chris Shepherd does his own charcuterie at Catalan. I love his salami. David Grossman does his own charcuterie at Branch Water Tavern too. Don't miss his chicken liver mousse. Marco Wiles calls it salumi at his salumeria, Poscol. I have sampled products from each and been quite impressed. Bu ... More >>

Chef Chat, Part 1: Antoine Ware of Catalan

​Antoine Ware has been the executive sous chef underneath Chris Shepherd since Catalan (5555 Washington Ave.) opened. We caught up with the New Orleans native in, well, New Orleans. Here is his take on culinary cuisine: Eating Our Words: Everyone sees your beaming smile behind the kitchen at ... More >>

An Unlikely Winner at the Mushroom Throwdown

Photo by Katharine ShilcuttThrowdown judge Gracie Cavnar prepares to sample an entry.​The big guns were brought out last night for the fourth -- and largest to date -- throwdown organized by Jenny Wang and the Houston Chowhounds: the Mushroom Throwdown at Vic & Anthony's. From the judging pane ... 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 >>

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 >>

Designer Meats

In Houston, more and more chefs are curing their own pig products

Designer Meats: Making Your Own At Home

Photos by Mike TremouletA fresh slab of Mike's home-cured bacon.​In this week's feature, "Designer Meats", we take a look at Houston chefs who are curing and hanging their own meat in-house. And while you may not have Chris Shepherd's space to hang your own Virginia ham or Justin Bayse's exper ... More >>

Robb Walsh's 100 Favorite Houston Dishes #11 Crispy Pork Belly with Steen's Cane Syrup at Catalan

​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 >>

Catalan's New Happy Hour

​Great news, food fans: Catalan has recently started an outrageously awesome happy hour. Whether you know and love the place, or have had it on your must-try list for years, the new deal provides an affordably fun way to get your fantasy fix. The happy hour menu includes six "street food" item ... More >>

Texas Monthly: Houston is Chow Town

​Here at Eating Our Words, we tend to agree. Houston is the best culinary city in Texas, and I'm not just saying that out of a sense of loyalty or native bias. Although from reading the Twitter account that Texas Monthly has set up specifically for the food section of the magazine (@TMFood), y ... 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 >>

The Houston Culinary Awards Get a Facelift

Photo courtesy of My TableThe steel awards themselves (no more glass!) weren't the only new things this year.​"You can't help but feel great when you're honored and respected by your peers and Houston diners," said Sean Beck today, after bringing home a stunning two awards at the annual My Tab ... More >>

Upcoming Events

There's still time to buy your tickets to the Great Gulf Dinner, happening tomorrow -- Saturday, October 16 -- at The Usual from 2 to 6 p.m. $15 buys you a plate filled with delicious Gaido's seafood and sides along with an afternoon of great live music and a raffle with prizes you can only find at ... 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 >>

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 >>

Chef Chat, Part 2: Seth Siegel-Gardner of Kata Robata

​EOW recently spoke with Seth Siegel-Gardner of Kata Robata. Yesterday, we learned about pop-up restaurants and what British people like to eat. Today we continue our chat. EOW: You worked in London for a year and now you're back in Houston and working at a fantastic restaurant. And afte ... More >>

MasterMinds 2011

Foodways Texas is among our three winning arts groups.

Houston on the Horizon: Rising Stars Named by StarChefs.com

Chef Manabu Horiuchi of Kata Robata, one of this year's Rising Stars.​I vacillate back and forth between craving attention for our city's culinary efforts and then finding myself annoyed with the attention we do get. Call it the heartburn that comes with having your cake and eating it, too. T ... More >>

The Top 10 Coffee Houses in Houston

Photo by Gary R. WiseGreenway Coffee, one of Houston's leading coffee houses.​Last week's First Look at Black Hole Cafe prompted some interesting discussions in the comments section, namely a lively debate about the merits of weighing a just-opened coffee house against other, more established ... More >>

Where to Get Your Caffeine Fix

The Top Ten Coffeehouses in Houston

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 >>

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 >>

Bycatch Ceviche at Anvil Bar & Refuge

Photos by Katharine Shilcutt​Anvil Bar & Refuge has some terribly interesting things going on right now that have nothing at all to do with its summer selection of "Southern"-inspired cocktails. Those are great, too, don't get me wrong. But the best things are coming out of chef Chris Shepherd ... More >>

Vietnamese Venison

Thanh Phuong in Pearland is turning out some of the most exciting food, anywhere.

Openings & Closings

When a bull statue has fire coming from its metal nostrils, you know the food is going to be good. Right?​No time to waste this week! Too much news to share! Straight to it! Newly hired chef Michael dei Maggi left Dragon Bowl late last week, as reported by Eater Houston. This marks too many m ... More >>

My Bologna Has a First Name: It's F-O-R-G-O-T-T-E-N

To be fair, I would only buy this stuff because I think clowns are delicious.​Scores of Americans were once on a first-name basis with bologna. A generation was raised on the sausage's popular commercials and on the meat itself, usually sandwiched simply between two pieces of white bread and a ... More >>

Blacksmith Opening This Spring: Mary's Goes Mocha

Photo by Robb Walsh​Coffeesmiths David Buehrer and Ecky Prabanto are moving on up -- literally and figuratively -- from their current digs at Greenway Coffee & Tea, located in the subterranean Greenway Plaza food court, into a new space in Montrose. Blacksmith, the pair's new coffee shop, is s ... More >>

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 >>

Houston's Food Community Steps Up to Help Wildfire Victims

Photo by Chris ShepherdHouston's food trucks headed north to feed the victims of and responders to the Texas wildfires.​Although the wildfires in Bastrop have been getting the lion's share of media attention, fires are burning all over Texas right now -- including in our own backyard. And Hou ... More >>

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 >>

Upcoming Events: Tequila at TQLA and Multi-Course Mystery Dinners

Photo by Troy FieldsWhen a place has an agave plant at its entrance, you know what to expect at the bar.​If you've been looking for the right opportunity to try TQLA -- which just won our rather specific, yet no less applicable, award for Best Revival of a Genre -- here's the opportunity you'v ... More >>

Upcoming Events: A Week Full of Beer

Read on for our picks of the best beer dinners next week.​In case you hadn't heard, it's Houston Beer Week, y'all. The week-long celebration of craft beer and local breweries kicks off tonight with a kick-off happy hour at Ziggy's Downtown, from 5 to 7 p.m. The restaurant will be offering $2 ... More >>

Casual Coppa

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

Sampler Plate: This Week in Food Blogs

J.C. Reid, Texas: Chris has made his international food writing debut in a big way: with a spread in Qatar Airways's in-flight magazine, Oryx. The restaurant he profiled? Philippe, which has been getting plenty of well-deserved magazine love lately. A hearty congratulations to both Chris and Philipp ... 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 >>

The Biggest Disappointments of 2011

The upside of Byrd's Market closing: Georgia's Farm to Market coming downtown.​I think that 2012 is shaping up to be Houston's year, after a long 2011 featuring false starts, delayed openings, unexpected closings and failures to launch. That's not to say that 2011 didn't have its perks: Look ... More >>

Money Cat Brunch Raises Money for OKRA

Photos by Mai PhamSkirt steak with fish sauce aoili, fried garlic, chili-shrimp sauce, and peppers, lots of peppers​It's Sunday morning, just 15 minutes shy of 10 a.m., and already, a small line had formed as I entered Paulie's on Westheimer for an encore of Chef Justin Yu's popular Money Cat ... More >>

Foodies, Your Photo Show Is Here

Chuck Cook PhotographyA photographer and his show​Alex Gregg is not only an award-winning bartender at Anvil; he is also a professional photographer, and he recently put his skills to work last October at the very popular Les Sauvages Supper Club dinners. The fruits of his labor are now on dis ... More >>

Openings & Closings: Nothing Bundt News

Photo courtesy of FacebookSay "bienvenue" to Artisans.​The opening of Uchi Houston last week was just the prelude to a rash of exciting, greatly anticipated openings across the city. Get ready, folks: It's a great time to be a diner in Houston. Artisans, the new restaurant from Le Mistral bro ... More >>