Subject: J.C. Reid

• Stingaree Music Festival and Texas Crab Festival in Crystal Beach, Texas

  Photos by J.C. ReidReason to celebrateTwo of the biggest annual events at Crystal Beach on the Bolivar Peninsula east of Galveston are the Texas Crab Festival and the Stingaree Music Festival. In its 24th year, the Crab Festival traditionally has occurred on Mother's Day weekend and celebrates everything culinary and cultural about those tasty Gulf Coast critters known as blue crabs. The Stingaree Music Festival, in its third year, usually has taken place in April and is the brainchild of countr

  June 2, 2009

• Coming Soon: Juan Mon's International Sandwiches

  A whole new concept in international fast food is coming to a stretch of Taft Street in Houston's Fourth Ward. Juan Mon's International Sandwiches and Drinks plans to bring an eclectic cuisine to one of the most eclectic neighborhoods in the city. First, the neighborhood. Taft Street between West Gray and Fairview is anchored to the north by the Gregory-Lincoln Education Center, attended primarily by children of the neighborhood's Hispanic and African-American families, and to the south by est

  December 15, 2008

• Football Star Sausage Smackdown!

    I was standing in the pre-packaged sausage aisle of Disco Kroger. And right there at eye level was one of the greatest head-to-head matchups in football history. Yes, I said football. Earl Campbell's Hot Links vs. Vince Young Hot Links. The blog post wrote itself. "The taste of Vince Young's hot links was as weak as his sidearm throwing motion." "Earl Campbell's hot links pounded the tastebuds into submission." But I was getting ahead of myself. Preconceptions aside, this looked like th

  December 30, 2008

• Chocolate Chip Cookie Redux

  Few American culinary inventions have been experimented on, analyzed, tested, and dissected more than the humble chocolate chip cookie. Myriad variations in recipe, presentation and technique have been exhaustively documented. As a home cook I tend to be a traditionalist. So I call for a return to the recipe that started it all: the original Toll House Inn recipe for chocolate chip cookies.

  January 2, 2009

• Food & Foreign Policy

  The World Affairs Council of Houston is best known for holding public events featuring foreign policy heavyweights such as former Secretaries of State Colin Powell and James Baker III. However two upcoming programs will extend the Council's reach into food-related subjects.

  January 8, 2009

• "Chili When It's Chilly" Chili Cook-off

  January in Houston is when Rodeo season really starts to kick in. One of the most popular events is the "Chili When It's Chilly" Chili Cook-off sponsored by the Baytown/Highlands Subcommittee of the Houston Metro Go Texan Committee. This year's event took place January 9 and 10 at San Jacinto Mall in Baytown. The event was open to the public for a small admission fee. More than 50 teams participated to cook one or more dishes during the competition. All proceeds raised during the event on behal

  January 13, 2009

• A Foray into Locally Grown, Grass-Fed Beef

  The freight train that is the slow / local / sustainable / organic / community-supported food revolution continues to barrel ahead into the consciousness of Houston food lovers.A recent visit to several of Houston's farmer's markets found them bustling with vendors and customers alike with an outstanding selection of produce, dairy and meats.Additionally, prominent Houston chefs are starting to find their "local food" religion by offering daily or weekly menus based on locally-sourced ingredien

  January 26, 2009

• ¡Feliz Cumpleaños, Darwin!

  Photo by J.C. ReidOn second thought, maybe I want that Jackson 5 cake on the bottom... On a recent trip to the El Bolillo Bakery in Houston I snapped a random picture of birthday cakes stacked high on a rolling cart. Later that day when I downloaded the pictures to my laptop, I noticed the salutation on one of the cakes -- "Feliz cumpleaños Darwin." Darwin? You don't hear about many Hispanic Americans named Darwin. Then I remembered (thanks National Geographic!). February 12, 2009 is the 200

  February 11, 2009

• Culinary Schadenfreude Comes to Houston

  A victim of misfortune scha·den·freu·de [shahd-n-froi-duh]-nounsatisfaction or pleasure derived from the misfortune of others I'm going to get to the point of this post right now: My life as a food lover is better because the economy is in a recession. There I said it. And before you label me as some kind of foodie recession profiteer, I can assure you I'm actually trying to do the right thing. Let me explain. Across the country restaurants are struggling. New York City is especially hard

  February 20, 2009

• This Week In Deliciousness

  Robb Walsh has been vacationing in Hawaii. He had beer for breakfast and Spam musubi that actually looked really tasty. We hate him. A lot of restaurants are closing. A lot of GOOD restaurants. It sucks. Rodeo food: Give us fried or on a stick. Both would be best. That'll shut that ulcer up.

  March 6, 2009

• You've Got Crabs! Of the Soft-Shell Variety

  Photos by J.C. Reid Take me to your eater For true seafood lovers, one of Mother Nature's greatest inventions is undoubtedly the soft-shell crab. "Softies" are one of those rare creatures that seem engineered specifically for human consumption. For the uninitiated, a soft-shell crab is a crab that has just molted (shed) its hard shell due to the growing process. Immediately after molting, and for up to 48 hours thereafter, the "shell" of the crab is soft and skin-like. During this time the

  March 27, 2009

• This Week In Deliciousness

  Photo by Robb WalshUnnnf. Forgive us. We may need to excuse ourselves. Okay, so maybe this week didn't start out so hot. First of all, Robb Walsh made the mistake of ordering a hamburger at BB's Cajun Café, a place renowned for its excellent poor boys, not so much its burgers. So not only did his week start out with a dry-ass hamburger, poor Robb was then plagiarized by Heather Lee of Florida's Ocala Magazine. The Houston Press has always considered itself above petty squabbles, however, and th

  March 27, 2009

• This Week In Deliciousness

  Photo by J.C. ReidThe pecans are held together with a sickeningly sweet cream made from sugar and nightmares.Welcome back to Eating Our Words' weekly round-up, where we try to put the week in some kind of perspective for you, before you go out on the weekend and obliterate it all. Monday was Memorial Day, also known as National Cookout Day. Robb Walsh paid tribute with his study of the grilling of Cajun stuffed peppers, which offset our normal aversion to vegetables by looking like little meat

  May 29, 2009

• The Thing About Frito Pies

  Photos by J.C. ReidHaute cuisine? For people who did not grow up in Texas, and for the occasional Texan who did not spend time in public school lunch rooms or patronize the concession stands at Friday night high school football games, a Frito pie is a dish containing three ingredients: Fritos corn chips, chili, and cheese. I make this rather simplistic statement because since its invention by Daisy Dean Doolin of San Antonio many years ago, the recipe for Frito pie has been tweaked, tested, mo

  April 17, 2009

• How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love Menudo

  Photos by J.C. ReidBig steamin' bowl of cow stomachIf you've ever driven north on Airline Drive on a Saturday morning to the produce markets at Canino's, you may have noticed a procession of colorful, handwritten signs along the side of the road. Those signs usually contain one word and an arrow pointing to a hastily constructed food stand or a van with its back doors propped open. The word on those colorful signs is MENUDO. There is, of course, something vaguely exotic and mysterious about th

  May 1, 2009

• This Week In Deliciousness

  Photo by Jay FrancisJapanese peppers: God's own napalmWelcome back to our weekly food blog round-up. This has been an unusually delicious week for all of you, because, like the universe, it begins and ends with me. Yes, Monday kicked off with my in-depth investigation into the roll-slowing prowess of various extreme relaxation beverages, with the conclusions that a) none are quite as effective as alcohol, and b) I should probably start seeking help. After a quick dahi poori Snackshot, Robb Wals

  May 22, 2009

• Oaxaca Meat Market in Dickinson

  Photos by J.C. ReidOaxaca Meat MarketFM 517 in Dickinson, Texas is an unremarkable stretch of country road that's the main gateway to San Leon, Texas, and the legendary Gilhooley's Oyster Bar. Oysters lovers from around the world have made the pilgrimage down FM 517 to the little oyster shack on Galveston Bay. But nearby, other culinary delights await. Lining the route are barbecue and seafood joints, along with small restaurants that reflect the changing demographics of the area. Evidence of t

  May 26, 2009

• Stuckey's: The Travel Center That Time Forgot

  Photos by J.C. ReidYes, those are toy alligators in pink boas playing accordionsSummer travel season is here, and soon Mom, Dad and the kids will all pile into the family truckster and head out on the open roads for two weeks of familial bliss. Unlike yesteryear, when kids had nothing more than a game of "I Spy" to keep them occupied, kids today have DVD players and video games. But some things about the summer family vacation never change. For instance, there is always the obligatory "rest st

  May 28, 2009

• Goat Brains Masala at Indika

  Photo by J.C. ReidIndika, the high-end Indian restaurant on Lower Westheimer, serves tandoori chicken, slow-cooked baby goat, grilled paneer and mulligatawny soup, along with kicked-up versions of crabmeat samosas, seared foie gras with onion masala and tandoori quail. But the dish almost every write-up of Indika mentions is the "goat brains masala." I've noticed, though, that a very few actually offered a first-person description of eating it. The American diner's traditional aversion to orga

  June 10, 2009

• The Acadian Bakers in Montrose

  Photos by J.C. ReidMontrose has seen some exciting new restaurants open lately: Poscol, Little Big's and Feast. It's fun to discover something new. But there's also the opportunity to "discover something old" in the Montrose. For the last 15 years I've lived a block away from the intersection of West Alabama and Audubon Place. At the northwest corner of the intersection is an unassuming shopping center. Since moving to the neighborhood, I've driven, biked, walked, and jogged past it literally hu

  June 17, 2009

• Tintos Stakes a Claim to Inner Loop Tapas

  Photos by J.C. ReidVieiras al Albariño: Seared sea scallopsThe debate about which Houston restaurant serves the most authentic Spanish tapas rages on. Among Houston food lovers, the general consensus is that Rioja is at the top of the list for authentic tapas and great paella. But to a large population of Houston diners, Rioja has one major flaw -- it's located outside the loop. Inner-loopers have made do with the perfectly serviceable tapas at El Meson, Mi Luna and Oporto Cafe. But starting

  June 18, 2009

• Boudin Balls with a Gooey Surprise

  Photo by J.C. ReidOn a recent trip to the Bolivar Peninsula with a carload of friends, I stopped in the small town of Winnie, Texas for a quick pit stop at the local Texaco gas station that had a hot food counter serving mostly pizzas and fried foods. These counters, combined with a few picnic tables outside the gas station, are becoming more prevalent in small-town Texas. As mom-and-pop restaurants and big chains close in these small towns, this concept is taking their place.

  June 23, 2009

• The Foie Gras Problem

  Photo by J.C. ReidI love foie gras. Is that bad? Foie gras is the fattened liver of a goose or duck. The fattening is brought about through the technique of gavage, or force-feeding the animal, in this case with corn. The resulting food product is a true delicacy which has a rich, meaty/salty flavor and the consistency of butter. Some people say the production of foie gras is unethical and immoral. PETA and the Humane Society of United States, among others, contend that the production of foie

  June 25, 2009

• This Week In Deliciousness

  Whataburger stickers, coming soon to a hipster near you.Welcome back to Eating Our Words' weekly round-up, the only place in town still selling Mrs. Lovett's Meat Pies out of the back of our station wagon. Speaking of suspicious meat, this week started off with a rather angry rebuking of inner-skirt and low-quality outer-skirt steak. Please write your congressperson. After that, Sarah Rufka took in a late-night meal at Max's Wine Dive that seemed to consist entirely of bread and cheese (in other

  June 26, 2009

• Room At The Inn

  Photo by Katharine Shilcutt Canapes with house-made chevre and garden herbsAs the fourth course of the meal was set in front of me, I marveled at its elegant construction but was more struck by a far subtler thing: Every ingredient in the dish had been plucked fresh from the organic garden outside, no more than a few hundred yards from where I sat, that morning. The first course of tomato salad with house-made chevre and the second course of risotto with sweet basil puree and homemade re

  June 29, 2009

• Iranian Cuisine at Darband Shish Kabob

  Photo by J.C. ReidOne of the oldest and most well-known Iranian restaurants in Houston is Darband Shish Kabob on Hillcroft between Westpark and Harwin. Darband is a counter-service restaurant that serves inexpensive Iranian fast-food dishes. It's located in a neighborhood teeming with ethnic restaurants and shops that mainly cater to Houston's Middle Eastern and South Asian community. On a recent weekday lunch visit, Darband's spartan dining room was filled with diners of Persian and Middle East

  June 30, 2009

• Do-It-Yourself Taco Burgers

  Photo by J.C. ReidTwo of Houston's best culinary traditions are taco trucks and burger joints. Houston food lovers like myself are often racked with indecision when choosing between the two for a quick lunch or dinner -- tacos or burgers? Which taco truck? Which burger joint? On a recent lunch outing I came up with the perfect solution -- go to my favorite taco truck, pick up some tacos, then go to a burger joint and eat tacos and a burger together. Great idea. But then it hit me. Why eat them

  July 2, 2009

• Community Bar Food

  Photos by J.C. ReidJust above the bar at newish Midtown watering hole called Community Bar is a chalkboard with various drink specials, as well as the words "Food served." I was intrigued yet doubtful. Bar food in Houston is definitely a hit-or-miss affair (mainly misses in the form of Velveeta nachos or frozen pizza). But I had heard good things about this place, so I asked the bartender for a menu. "That may be a problem," he replied. I expected to hear one of the usual excuses -- city had tu

  July 6, 2009

• Dessert Gallery's New Digs

  Photos by J.C. ReidYou're damned if you do and you're damned if you don't. That's the conundrum faced by owners of successful and long-running restaurants when deciding if they should "update" their establishment. If you change too much, you face a possible mutiny by loyal customers. If you don't change at all, you're seen as hopelessly old-fashioned. That must have been a consideration when Sara Brook, owner of three Houston Dessert Gallery locations, decided to move her flagship store from i

  July 8, 2009

• New Burgers at Hubcap Grill

  Photos by J.C. ReidRicky CraigIn a previous post about taco burgers, I mentioned I had struck up a conversation with Ricky Craig, owner of Hubcap Grill, and offered my services as a taste-tester for any new burgers he might be working on. This week I got the call. Craig invited me and several other Houston food adventurers to join him for a complimentary sampling of his newest burger creations. If you are not familiar with Hubcap Grill, it's a hole-in-the-wall burger joint right in the middle o

  July 14, 2009

• This Week In Deliciousness

  Photo by J.C. ReidBAM! Goddamn peanut butter and bacon burger IN YOUR FACE. We're through the looking glass here, people!Welcome back to the weekly round-up of our food blog, Eating Our Words, where the beef isn't jerky but a couple of the maitre-d's are. Robb Walsh started us off this week with a very informative post regarding those herbs you sometimes see growing behind Mexican food stalls; skipping the obvious "herb" jokes, the plant is called chepil and is used in a Mexican squash soup form

  July 17, 2009

• Forno a Legna Pizza in Italy

  Photos by J.C. Reid Pizzerias in Rome are like Tex-Mex joints in Houston -- they're ubiquitous, they have basically the same menu, and, on average, they serve a pretty tasty meal. In Rome, there are basically two types of pizza -- pizza rustica, which is a chewy/crunchy crust with a myriad of possible toppings. It's baked in giant rectangular slabs that are cut into square pieces, sold by the gram, wrapped in wax paper, and served to-go for easy munching while you take part in the evening p

  July 27, 2009

• This Week in Deliciousness

  The veggie sandwich at Bowl, which is disappointingly served on a Plate.​Welcome back to the weekly round-up here at Eating Our Words, where we're such food dorks, every time one of us gets sunburned the rest of us giggle about the Maillard reaction.To start the week off, J.C. Reid handed out a lovely comprehensive guide to Roman pizza and its nearest Houston approximation, the pizza at Dolce Vita. It's a very informative article, and calls to mind the old saying "When in Rome, brag abo

  July 31, 2009

• A Return to Falafel Frenzy...err...Factory

  Photos by J.C. Reid​Last fall, Robb Walsh took note of a funky new falafel joint called Falafel Frenzy located at 914 Prairie in downtown Houston, pointing out the donut shape of the falafels and the unique coating of sesame seeds. These mentions came close on the heels of an epic falafel discussion in the comments area of Robb's review of another Houston falafel joint, Zabak's Mediterranean Café. This burst of falafel discussion seemed to portend a renewed interest in this delicious, hea

  August 11, 2009

• Lunch at Tiny Boxwood's Cafe

  Photos by J.C. Reid​Eating lunch at Tiny Boxwood's Cafe can be a paradoxical experience. On the one hand there is a crisp attention to detail in both the decor and the food. On the other hand, the menu, scribbled on a wall-high chalkboard just as you walk in, frustratingly omits any reference to prices. And although the atmosphere is unmistakably River Oaks-y (i.e. fancy and upscale), the counter service is actually friendly and casual. Similarly, the homey space with comfortable chair

  August 12, 2009

• This Week In Deliciousness

  In the mythical land of Awesomevania, burritos are used as currency, and having two or more stents in your heart is a sign of great personal wealth.​Welcome back to Eating Our Words' weekly roundup, where we use meat loaf as the bread in our sandwiches. Hey, if we're not supposed to do that, they never should have started calling it a "loaf". This week got off to an irritable start with J.C. Reid posing the question: how often does your restaurant bill get inflated? If you're in It

  August 14, 2009

• Nutella® vs. Gianduia vs. Kroger Hazelnut Spread

  Photo by J.C. Reid​Nutella, for those who've never tasted it, is the "original creamy, chocolaty hazelnut spread." Popular in Europe (it's made in Italy), Nutella is mainly eaten at breakfast or for dessert by smearing it on bread or a croissant, or folding into a crepe. "Nutella" is a brand name, but like "Kleenex" or "Xerox," it has been "genericized" to refer to any spread made with hazelnuts and cocoa. Nutella inspires fierce passion in its diehard fans. Brand-name Nutella is indeed c

  August 18, 2009

• 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 suckling pig heads, their cheeks decimated and tongues greedily cut out by diners eager to devour the most tender parts of the flesh. Casserole dishes full of baked beans, various cole slaws and Hatch ch

  August 18, 2009

• This Week in Deliciousness

  Pork bellies galore. They plump when you cook and/or tickle them.​Welcome back to Eating Our Words' weekly roundup, where we've already picked all those wonderful little brown rye chips out of the Gardetto's. This week started off with a story from another dimension: Conservatives are applauding Whole Foods, while liberals are boycotting it. WHAAAA?!!?! At first we thought we were in some kind of alternate universe where George W. Bush converted all the cars to run on water and Toby Keith

  August 21, 2009

• Texas BBQ Day Tripping

  Photos by J.C. ReidBBQ sampling at Louie Mueller in Taylor, Texas​The proposition is simple. Eat at every one of Texas Monthly's top five Texas barbecue joints -- all in one day. Easier said than done, right? A typical visit to one barbecue joint usually results in a stuffed belly and a food coma. Is it possible -- even practical -- to visit the five holy shrines of Texas barbecue in one 12-hour period? Yes, it is. I know because I recently completed a "Texas Barbecue Day Trip" with a gro

  August 27, 2009

• Cafe Zol Gets a Makeover

  Photo by J.C. Reid​When Cafe Zol opened in early 2008 in the old Crostini location on Shepherd near Westheimer, the menu was billed as "Scandinavian tapas." Houston food cognoscenti responded with head scratching and mixed reviews, wondering if there really needed to be a challenger to the local IKEA superstore's apparent monopoly on such cuisine. But owner Liz Knox made a right go of it, even bringing in a chef from Denmark. A year and a half later, Cafe Zol has reinvented itself. Gone a

  August 28, 2009

• New Chef at The Tasting Room at Uptown Park

  Photos by J.C. ReidChef Matthew Lynn​In a city overflowing with wine bars, The Tasting Room at Uptown Park has distinguished itself with an elegant and comfortable interior design, a large and diverse selection of wine, and a friendly staff to help you find the perfect glass or bottle of wine. But what most distinguishes it from other wine bars -- as well as its two sister locations in Midtown and River Oaks -- is the Uptown Park location's full kitchen and food menu. In addition to wine

  September 2, 2009

• Lunch at Le Mistral

  Photos by J.C. Reid​Houstonians have a peculiar relationship with French restaurants. Many Houstonians (and many Texans and Americans) cast a suspicious glance toward anything French. During the 2004 Presidential election, an anonymous source in the George W. Bush campaign remarked that opponent Senator John Kerry "looked French." The characterization, vaguely weak and effeminate in nature, stuck. And the rest, as they say, is history. The campaign aside, W. never really proclaimed an aff

  September 10, 2009

• Chocolat du Monde in Rice Village

  Photo by J.C. Reid​When it comes to chocolate, there's the good stuff, and then there's the really good stuff. Once you get past mass-market chocolate like Hershey's, the next step up is Godiva and Ghirardelli, which are both certainly good-quality and widely available in Houston. But the really good chocolate traditionally comes from Europe. Parisian chocolatiers such as La Maison du Chocolat and Chocolat Michel Cluizel, and Belgian makers such as Neuhaus and Leonidas, are just a few of

  September 15, 2009

• Juan Mon's International Sandwiches

  Photos by J.C. Reid​Juan Montero is an international man of sandwiches. Adorning the walls of his newly opened sandwich shop are pictures of him eating sandwiches in just about every world city -- Rome, Berlin, Barcelona, Buenos Aires and many others. And as it turns out, these gastronomic travels are the inspiration for Juan Mon's International Sandwiches (1901 Taft St.). There's a lot to like about Juan Mon's. The whole enterprise is stamped with Montero's exuberant personality. The din

  September 17, 2009

• Roasted Pig Snout

  Photo by J.C. Reid​When the chefs at Feast, Richard Knight and James Silk, opened their nose-to-tail dining establishment on Westheimer in mid-2008, the response from many Houston diners was "What's nose-to-tail?" The technique of using every part of the animal in dishes, often involving "offal" or entrails, has since been thoroughly documented by Houston food writers, and Feast has gone on to obtain national acclaim. Still, some visit Feast but avoid the more esoteric offerings -- which

  October 5, 2009

• Chef Rick Bayless: Reluctant Rock Star

  Photo by J.C. Reid​A visitor to Macy's at Memorial City Mall last Wednesday would have been surprised at the more than 100 people -- many of them young women -- lined up in the Kitchen and Home area. Were the Jonas Brothers endorsing a line of tableware? No, but it was a rock star of sorts -- Chef Rick Bayless, hot off his recent win in the Top Chef Masters television series. For those not familiar with Bayless, he's the chef/owner of Frontera Grill, Topolobampo, and XOCO in Chicago and s

  October 7, 2009

• The Tavern Declares War on Limp Dick (Pizza)

  You may have seen the TV commercials. Two comely young lasses sit at a bar and bemoan their frustration with limp dicks. Limp-dick pizza, that is. As in, pizza that is soggy and floppy and generally unappealing. They even sing a little ditty about their dissatisfaction with dicks or pizza or whatever the hell it is they're babbling about, only to be rescued by a strapping fellow with a pizza from the Tavern that's "firm and tasty." This is the Tavern on West Gray, of course, that bastion of g

  October 12, 2009

• Landowner's Challenge at West Alabama Ice House

  Photos by J.C. Reid​The West Alabama Ice House recently hosted the final round of the "Win Texas Land" promotion sponsored by Lone Star Beer. The premise is simple: Pass various tests which prove your true Texan-ness and win some Texas land. Three finalists participated: Corey Lossing of Ingleside, Laurence Dodd III of Leander and Paul Ortiz of San Antonio. The competition included the following activities: a washers toss (similar to horseshoes), a cooler-filling contest (a race to pack a

  October 19, 2009

• This Week In Deliciousness

  Liven up your Halloween parties this year with some carne asada con silly string.​ Welcome back to the weekly roundup here at Eating Our Words, where we defiantly eat summer sausage in the winter and we don't care who knows it. We kicked off this week at a sort of cookout triathlon with a plot of Texas land on the line. J.C. Reid likes his steaks like he likes his women: rare, aggressively seasoned, and shared with a drooling audience. E. Ting chatted up Remington Restaurant's executive

  October 23, 2009