Iron Chef

Menu of Menus 2013: Ticket Presale Begins Today

Anyone who went to Best Bites at the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo this past Sunday night can attest to how much fun these grand tasting event extravaganzas can be. Our very own tasting night is coming up on April 9 at 7 p.m., and plans to be bigger and better than ever. Last year was our 10th ann ... More >>

5 Food Network Shows That Need To Go

If you give me the remote and tell me to choose a show to watch, nine times out 10 I will turn to the Food Network. I'm addicted to the Food Network...which is probably why I'm so hungry all the time. I love watching chefs battle it out on Chopped. I love watching Bobby Flay surprise regular cooks ... More >>

Smitten and Barefoot: Our Top 5 Cookbooks for Christmas

I have a confession to make: I am a cookbook-aholic. I absolutely love reading and collecting cookbooks. Sometimes I like to sit in Barnes & Noble and read through all of the new cookbooks displayed in the food section of the store. I love the pictures, I love the author's story behind each recipe ... More >>

The Golden Noodle: A Mac N' Cheese Smackdown

I should have worn my stretchy pants. I should have known better. Yet, there I found myself, trying macaroni and cheese after macaroni and cheese with no end in sight, trying harder and harder after every bite to keep a poised, lady-like posture while simultaneously using every inkling of strength t ... More >>

100 Favorite Dishes 2012: No. 5, Machi Cure at Uchi

This year leading up to our annual Best of Houston® issue, we're counting down our 100 favorite dishes in Houston. This list comprises our favorite dishes from the last year, dishes that are essential to Houston's cultural landscape and/or dishes that any visitor (or resident) should try at least o ... More >>

Lindsay Heffron of Liberty Station on Her Upcoming National Cocktail Competition and Pet Pigeons

It doesn't take long to notice that Liberty Station is a lot like Houston itself. Like the city, the little bar housed in an old filling station is many things to many people -- and it really does have to be visited and explored to get a feel for it. Functioning as an art gallery space, a cocktail ... More >>

This Week In Food Blogs: Lunfast, Roznovsky's and Pop-Up Opium Dens

Weapons Grade: Justin Vann, sommelier at Oxheart, continues to write some of the most interesting and enlightening prose-poetry about what it means to work in the service industry. "Tell me what I'm tasting in this pourover." "Can you believe who they hired for their sous?" "Why don't you do another ... More >>

The 5 Sexiest Celebrity Male Chefs

It's getting hot in the kitchen, and not just from the flames. Check out the Top 5 Hottest Celebrity Male Chefs that make our flames broil: 5. Govind Armstrong Armstrong's dreamy locks first made our hearts flutter on shows like Bravo's Top Chef and Top Chef Masters and the Food Network's Iron C ... More >>

Vive La France: Central Market Kicks off Passport France with a Bang

You really have to appreciate it when someone throws a party and goes all out, no expense spared. That's what Central Market did for its Passport France kickoff event this past Thursday evening, which was held in a white tented affair that had the high society feel of the Kentucky Derby. Indeed, I ... More >>

Brews, Swamp Pop and Fire at Buffalo Bayou Brewing Co.'s Brewery Sneak Peek

"I have no idea why people are here, at this beat-up warehouse to drink some fucking weird beers," Rassul Zarinfar, founder and CEO of Buffalo Bayou Brewing Co., said to me sarcastically, yet straight-faced, as he regarded the large, enthusiastic crowd that showed up for the brewery's sneak peek on ... More >>

Anvil's Matt Tanner Wins the 2012 On the Rocks Bartending Contest

I love judging bartending contests. I love watching bartending contests. The showmanship and passion that is on display at these events -- Miss Speed Rack Houston, for example, or the recent Don Q Rum competition (both of which are sending female Houston bartenders to national championships in New Y ... More >>

A Mouth-Watering Good Time at the Houston Press Menu of Menus®

What do you get when you cross a food sampling event with a live Iron Chef competition, musical entertainment, and an open bar? One hell of an event, otherwise known as the Houston Press Menu of Menus®. Tuesday night, the Houston Press, in conjunction with Stella Artois and Whole Foods, put on the ... More >>

Here's a List of All the Restaurants You'll Get to Taste at Menu of Menus 2012

In my years of covering and attending our yearly Menu of Menus event, I've never been quite as excited for the grand tasting as I am this year. Why? In addition to the first annual Iron Fork competition -- which pits two of Houston's best young chefs against each other, Iron Chef-style, while chef ... More >>

Menu of Menus Extravaganza

Chefs Chosen for 2012 Iron Fork Competition: Let the Games Begin

You may have been to our annual Menu of Menus grand tasting in the past, but this year's event will be upping its game thanks to our first ever Iron Fork competition. Curated and emceed by Houston's own celebrity chef Monica Pope, the chef throwdown will take place Iron Chef-style in front of a live ... More >>

Win Free Tickets to the 2012 Menu of Menus and Iron Fork Competition

This year's Menu of Menus will take place on April 17 at Silver Street Studios. In addition to featuring 50 of the city's best restaurants in one place, Menu of Menus will offer an exciting new component this year: the Iron Fork competition, our own little take on Iron Chef. The Iron Fork competiti ... More >>

This Week in Deliciousness

Eight shopping days left 'til Christmas. Drink up.​Welcome back to the weekly roundup here at Eating Our Words, where we're honoring the spiritual and religious roots of the holiday season by keeping the "Saturn" in "Saturnalia!" We hope you'll join us in serving the traditional Christmas goos ... More >>

Top 5 Champagnes Under $60 for the Holidays

Photos by Jeremy Parzen.Remember: Champagne doesn't have to be white. Rosé Champagne is often considered the more "muscular" expression of the appellation. Look for Bollinger Rosé, Ruinart Rosé, and our favorite, Billecart Salmon Rosé.​Okay, folks. There's good news and there's bad news. ... More >>

5 Gifts for the Coffee Snob

Chuck Cook Photography​As a coffee snob myself, I am here to advocate for my people. Please, don't break our hearts. You know how much we love coffee, but since you're not a coffee snob yourself, you might think we'd appreciate one of those machines that make coffee by squirting hot water into ... More >>

6 Great Gifts For An Iron Chef Wannabe

As seen in ScienceSlashFoodThe wonders of sous vide cooking​Are you the next Iron Chef? Are you bedding a Master Chef wannabe? Do you or someone you know take cooking very seriously? Here are a few must-haves sure to tickle the fancy of the Iron Chef in, or near, you. 6. Sous vide circulators ... More >>

5 Intriguing Cocktails I Saw on TV

www.cookingchanneltv.comBeer in a Ball. ​The Food Network and Cooking Channel have turned me into a couch potato. I wouldn't get up at 4 a.m. to watch the royal wedding, but I'll burn the midnight oil watching episode after episode of Iron Chef America and Unique Eats. Imagine my delight when ... More >>

Upcoming Events: Welcome Back, Brownstone Cafe and An Historic Pub Crawl

Photo by Alex GreggChris Frankel will be shaking things up once again at Giacomo's.​Ghost hunters and professional drinkers, you'll want to sign up for tonight's Historic Pub Crawl starting at the Lancaster Hotel. The tour will take you through five area pubs (with half-off happy hour fare at ... More >>

Do the Food Truck Crawl

Photo by John SuhFood Truck Friday at the Boneyard​It sounds like the name of a new dance craze. And while you can certainly show off your skills to the music spinning from the live DJ booth, the Food Truck Crawl is much more than that. Hillary Hayden founded the event after watching a show ... More >>

Chef Chat, Part 2: Domenica Catelli of Catelli's

Photo by Matthew DresdenDomenica Catelli, outside her family restaurant in Geyserville, CA.​Yesterday on part one of our chat with Domenica Catelli, we discussed how she left Houston to reopen her family restaurant in Geyserville, California. Today, we discuss her work as a Food Network person ... More >>

Guess Those Hands: The Real Food Network Challenge

These look more like real chefs' hands, but that's a topic of discussion for another day.​It's Memorial Day. You've eaten too much today and gotten too much sun, so you've retreated back indoors to the cold comfort of your computer screen. We understand. Believe me, we understand. And to that ... 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 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 >>

Top 5 Food-Related Arcade Games

You might have heard that October is Truck Month. You're right, of course - as if you could forget with those Chevy ads on heavy rotation -- but as a designation it's irrelevant. Everyone knows that in Houston, every month is truck month. You might also have heard that October is Texas Wine Month. ... 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 >>

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 >>

This Week in Deliciousness

Some restaurants helpfully split up their menus into Good and Evil dishes.​Welcome back to the weekly roundup here at Eating Our Words, where we've almost finished constructing our 1700-layer cake in MineCraft. We started this week off right with some fried chicken coated in a buttery Cap'N Cr ... More >>

Chef Kent Rathbun's Amazing Bell Pepper Trick

Pan Roasted Striped Bass with Texas Peach Barbeque Sauce and Blonde Beer Braised Cream Corn​ Eating Our Words had the opportunity to attend Central Market's "From Pint to Plate with Kent Rathbun" class on Monday, just one of many events surrounding Central Market's "Discover Brewtopia" celebra ... 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 >>

Food Network's The Great Food Truck Race

​, Food Network, as we all know, has edged away from actual cooking shows and toward entertaining shows having something to do with food--Iron Chef America, Cupcake Wars, Chopped and, now, The Great Food Truck Race. GFTRwhich premiered Sunday night, seems promisingly unique in two ways: It bui ... More >>

Battle Celebrity Chef: Cat Cora v. Rachael Ray

​One is a bona fide chef, while the other is a self-described cook. One has made headlines because of her unique method of getting pregnant; the other appears on the pages of the supermarket rags because she is apparently about to get a divorce once a week. One is friends with that creepy "cha ... 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 >>

This Week in Deliciousness

Sadly, that cooler is filled with Listerine, and not Exxxtreme Blue Thunder Capri Sun.​ Welcome back to the weekly roundup here at Eating Our Words, where we've borrowed six or seven fondue pots but have yet to return a single one. We started off the week with an adventure into the world of ne ... More >>

Teen Iron Chef: The Secret Ingredient Is Shrimp

​The Teen Iron Chef Competition came to Houston this week at Sharpstown High School. Enterprising adolescents who had been training for seven weeks had their final showdown on Wednesday to see which team had made the most advancement in the kitchen. With Chef Monica Pope of T'afia serving as g ... More >>

Human Breast Milk - Not Just For Babies Anymore?

​To all of you who think you're up for eating anything, we have one question for you: Would you dare eat breast-milk cheese? Austrian-born chef Daniel Angerer runs the Klee Brasserie in Manhattan. He was already considered a somewhat daring culinary talent who was best known for defeating Bob ... More >>

The Basics: Cookbooks

​We recently read an article in the Wall Street Journal on Alton Brown's top five favorite cookbooks. You remember Brown. He's the quirky chemistry geek on Good Eats and one of the commentators on Iron Chef. If you're one of the few non-Food Network junkies, you might recognize him from Welch' ... 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 >>

Michelle Obama on Iron Chef

​Michelle Obama appeared on Iron Chef America last Sunday to promote healthy eating. Ever since she planted that organic garden last year, she has become a spokesperson for eating your vegetables and therefore a lightning rod for controversy. The White House communications office reached out t ... More >>

Dancing With the Stars: Gridiron or Iron Chef, Your Times Have Come

Last night was the seventh elimination round of this season's Dancing With the Stars, and the second one to see two people go home. I guess at this point in the season the gimmick is starting to wear off? In which case, why not just have fewer contestants to start? Then again, when 16.4 million pe ... 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 >>

Food Fight

The Benihana-themed Cookin' is a real whack job

Size Matters

Fan Factory's "Squeeze Plays" are short in length and long on laughs

Playbill

Pigeon with a Fine Pinot

Chris Olbekson