Food Pairings

Upcoming Events: Wine Dinners, Small Plates and Large Pours

Wednesday wine tastings at French Country Wines are changing up a bit, but don't worry - the popular evening event isn't going anywhere. Husband-and-wife team Phyllis Adatto and Tim Smith have changed the hours of the weekly wine tasting, which will now take place every Wednesday evening from 5 to 7 ... More >>

'Tis the Season for Spirits and Cheese: Cherry Vodka Edition

This holiday season, turn the tables on the traditional "wine and cheese" combo by pairing cheeses with your favorite hard alcohol. In this special series, I'll be investigating which fromages go best with distilled spirits as well as offering tips on how to construct a tasting without breaking the ... More >>

Putting the B Back in BYOB: Four Beers for a Night Out to Eat

Houstonians have long been comfortable bringing their own bottle of wine out to eat, but pairing a craft beer with your dinner can sometimes prove intimidating. American craft beer is now available in more than 100 different styles from literally thousands of brewers. For the average consumer, many ... More >>

Upcoming Events: 'Tis the Truffle Season

White truffle season has finally arrived after a delay in the harvest thanks to weather issues in Italy. And as a result of that weather delay, the white truffle supply is somewhat limited this year -- so the truffles that are already Italy's most expensive (costing upwards of $350 an ounce) are mor ... More >>

Raw Bar & Muscadet: If It Grows with It, It Goes with It

"If it grows with it, it goes with it." If you've been following along here at Wine Time, you've heard me chant New York legend Danny Meyer's mantra over and over again. No matter what food I'm pairing with wine, I always look to traditional pairings for inspiration. Whether it's Parmigiano Reggia ... More >>

Upcoming Events: Mix It Up Tonight and Help Clean Out Rudz's Cellar

Been waiting for the perfect Friday night to check out the new LaB 5555 series at the Houston Museum of Natural Science? Grab your soft-soled museum shoes, because tonight is that night. Tonight, four of Houston's best bartenders will be shaking things up as they compete to make the best Tanqueray ... More >>

Upcoming Events: Restaurant Weeks and Rare Real Ales

On August 15, culinarians across the country will be celebrating what would have been Julia Child's 100th birthday. Hoping to recruit at least one million people into the celebration, her original publisher - Alfred A. Knopf - has begun JC100, a celebration of Julia's legacy in the 100 days leading ... More >>

Burgers and Beer at The Counter

Mercury: Spring Concerto

What Wine Are You Pouring for Mother's Day Brunch?

Wine pairing aside, can you think of a better excuse for day-time drinking than Mother's Day brunch? And joking aside, can you think of a more challenging occasion for wine pairing than Mother's Day brunch? A classic Mother's Day meal at our house may consist of myriad flavors and aromas: Smoked f ... More >>

All-star Sweet & Savory Fundraiser Raises $19,100 for Lucky Dog Rescue

Pastry chef, Top Chef Just Desserts contestant, and hometown girl Rebecca Masson loves dogs. "If I could save them all myself, I would," she said as she thanked all those who had generously donated time and funds for the Lucky Dog Rescue charity. This past Sunday, her Sweet and Savory fundraiser a ... More >>

Wine Time: A Favorite Wine for Easter Lamb

When it comes to pairing wine with food, we live by two maxims at our house. 1. If it grows with it, it goes with it. (Motto attributed to the great New York restaurateur Danny Meyer.) Look to traditional pairings as rules-of-thumb. For example, the inhabitants of the western coast of France famo ... More >>

Brew Blog: Real Ale Cask Beer Dinner at Down House

With a flair and a flourish, and a bit of a mess, Real Ale Brew Master Erik Ogershok pounded a tap into a cask of beer. A cheer went up from the crowd as he was hit with a brief spray. He wiped his face, licked his lips, and declared it "delicious." The Real Ale/Down House Cask Beer Dinner had begun ... More >>

New Year's Eve Dining (What's Open, Deals and Hangover Fixes for the Following Day)

Yeah, yeah, we know. New Year's Eve is supposed to be a time of reflection filled with hope and promise for the coming year, a time to move forward and leave our struggles in the past. But for those of us resolving to lose weight in 2012, New Year's Eve is a lot like Fat Tuesday -- a last hurrah of ... More >>

Odd Pair: Asparagus and Wine

Today we think of asparagus as one of the standard vegetable side dishes in the contemporary canon of American gastronomy. But in another era, asparagus was considered one of the world's greatest delicacies: The insatiable King Louis XIV built greenhouses so that he could eat asparagus all year rou ... More >>

Houston Beer Week Beer Dinner and Brewer Q&A

Breaking Dawn Feast

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 >>

Houston Beer Week 2011: Bigger, Better, Beer-ier

Read on for a full -- and we do mean FULL -- schedule of HBW events.​The second annual Houston Beer Week kicks off this year on an auspicious date: 11/11/11. That's when the big craft beer festival will celebrate its sophomore year with a kick-off happy hour at Ziggy's Downtown, from 5 to 7 p. ... More >>

Upcoming Events: Hairy Bikers Heat Up Houston

Hairy Bikers hosts Bill Allen and Paul Patranella will be in town tonight at District Lounge.​The History Channel came to Houston recently, and the bloggers behind spicy food blog Eat More Heat were tapped to help the show Hairy Bikers with the Ultra-Hot Chile Burger Challenge that will be fea ... More >>

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

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've been looking for: TQLA is hosting a tequila dinner with Don Julio on Wednesday, October 19, starting at 6:30 ... More >>

Upcoming Events: A Taste of Triniti and Brews on the Bayou

Photo by Paul KnightBrews (and booze, if you go inside and order it) will be served on the bayou at Brenner's upcoming Beer Fest.​This weekend, if you aren't headed to our own BestFest, check out the 3rd annual Wine Festival on the Kemah Boardwalk on Saturday, September 24, from 2 to 5 p.m. Mo ... More >>

Upcoming Events: Foodie Floats and a Month of Martinis

Only $1 at Samba Grille.​Tonight, the Houston Museum of Natural Science continues with its summer Mixers & Elixers series, the last year that the museum will be sponsoring these Friday night mixers -- so enjoy them while you can. Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin will be playing in the Planetarium, ... More >>

Odd Pair: Fish and Red Wine

​Whenever I am faced with a conundrum like the age-old question of whether or not it is imperative to pair white wine exclusively with fish, I look to antiquity. Indeed, in more cases than not, the ancients were much wiser and more well informed than we are. And as I pore over (excuse the p ... More >>

Upcoming Events

​A reminder that if you love craft beer and want to see its sale and distribution made easier across the State of Texas, show up to Moon Tower Inn this Saturday at 4 p.m. for the launch party of Open the Taps. The founders will be there to address questions as well as to start fundraising effo ... More >>

Upcoming Events

Collaborative dinners take center stage. (Note: There are women involved, too.)​Justin Basye, Peter Jahnke and their bunch of wild young hearts chefs were the talk of the week, as their new pop-up dinner series was announced this past Monday. Les Sauvages (translation: the savages, or the wild ... 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. Weapons Grade: I inadvertently started a Twitter "war" (side note: really?) Mon ... More >>

Brew Blog: Texas Beer Fest

​Despite having some really terrible beer laws, Texas has some really great beer. While efforts are currently underway to change the law, we don't have to wait to get our hands on some wonderful brews. Not only are there many bars around town serving up Lone Star libations, we now have the Tex ... More >>

Upcoming Events

Photo by Katharine ShilcuttYou don't want to miss a Vic & Anthony's beer dinner.​Vic & Anthony's is continuing its popular series of beer dinners by partnering with Texas' own Real Ale for its next evening, which takes place on Friday, April 8 starting at 7 p.m. For $85 a person (tax and tip n ... More >>

New Year's Eve at Laurier Cafe

New Year's Eve at Ristorante Cavour

A Christmas Story Party and Feast with Peter Billingsley

A Taste of Peru at Spec's and Charivari

pierre pouliquinAlpaca sez, "Try Peruvian wine!"​Perhaps it's because we've never been there, but images of alpacas, Pisco and Machu Picchu account for much of our knowledge of Peru. We're hoping that changes this month with a grand showing of Peruvian products and samplings at Spec's Smith St ... More >>

We're Buzzed About Houston Beer Week

foshydog​From October 11 to 17, local taprooms, eateries, breweries and beer aficionados will join forces to pay homage to all the creative combinations of hops, malt, yeast and water - better known as beer. The first ever Houston Beer Week will be eight days of beer magic taking place in Hous ... More >>

Odd Pair: Fried Green Tomatoes and Cuvee

​Last Thursday, Katharine Shilcutt got us desperately scrambling to find some good fried green tomatoes before the summer ends (soft weeping). We found ourselves at the bar at Max's Wine Dive (4720 Washington Avenue) begging the chef to make us a plate of our favorite hot-weather food and then ... More >>

1st Annual Brewmasters International Beer Festival

Everybody needs a hobby, right? Why not make yours beer?

Jen Lancaster: My Fair Lazy: One Reality Television Addict's Attempt to Discover If Not Being a Dumb Ass Is the New Black, or, A Culture-Up Manifesto

Actually, the term lowbrow doesn't refer to your eyebrows

Celebration of Beer Dinner

Chef Igor Rosi proves Italians know beer as well as wine