James Beard Foundation

Historic Cookbooks for the Modern Cook: Andrews McMeel Republishing Vintage Favorites in Print and eBook Form

The moment I opened a thick, brown envelope this week and saw its contents, my heart skipped. Two jewel-toned books slipped out of the package. With hardy, fabric-covered hardcovers and gold trim on the edges of their pages, these were no ordinary cookbooks. They reminded me vividly of the first tim ... More >>

Where the Chefs Eat: Greg Lowry, Matthew Lovelace, Dax McAnear

Inside the gorgeous dining room at Triniti, which is currently a James Beard Foundation finalist in the Outstanding Restaurant Design category, you can alway spy the chefs hard at work in the open kitchen creating food that is both delicious and beautifully plated. But it makes you wonder: If these ... More >>

Houston -- and Texas -- Well-Represented Going into 2013 James Beard Award Finals

The finalists for this year's James Beard Foundation Awards were announced in several categories today that spanned the breadth of the food world from culinary writing to cooking. And just as Houston was well-represented in the semi-finalist round, we also secured some big-name finalists in advance ... More >>

Praise the Lord and Pass the Pints

Houston's 10 best beer bars

This Week In Food Blogs: "The Most Electrifying Food Destination in America" is Houston

GQ: In the first of a few national spotlights on Houston this week (did you see the James Beard Award nominations yesterday? hot damn!), GQ's head food writer Alan Richman lists the 12 most outstanding restaurants of 2013 (early in the year though it may be.) and gives two of the spots to Houston re ... More >>

January 2013 in Openings & Closings: The Heights Heats Up

The eerily silent Shepherd Plaza near Highway 59 is now even dimmer this week after longtime tenant Le Peep closed up shop and vacated its space next to Amy's Ice Cream. Branches of the brunch spot are still open in Rice Village and the Galleria, according to a sign out front. Amy's and its other ne ... More >>

30 Essential Texas Restaurants

Eat here before you die.

The Rest of the Best: Houston's Top 10 Sushi

For the next 20 weeks, we'll be rounding up the runners-up to our 2012 Best of Houston® winners. In many categories, picking each year's winner is no easy task. We'll be spotlighting 20 of those categories, in which the winner had hefty competition from other Houston bars and restaurants. It wasn' ... More >>

Paula or Pepin? Separate Savannah from Southern France, and Win Tickets to the Metropolitan Cooking and Entertaining Show

The Metropolitan Cooking and Entertaining Show is coming to Houston this weekend, and Eating...Our Words has three pairs of tickets to see two of this year's celebrity speakers, Paula Deen and Jacques Pépin (two for Dean and one for Pépin). We would like nothing more than to give them away to you ... More >>

Eating D.C.: Dining Dispatches from the Capital

As of this writing, I am still comfortably ensconced in the Hotel Palomar in our nation's capital. There is a Negroni at my side, compliments of the hotel, which was waiting for me in the room after I returned from walking off a Shake Shack burger at lunch. That's service. Both the Shake Shack and ... More >>

This Week's Restaurant Review: Tyson Cole's Uchi

See our slideshow of Uchi's gorgeous interior. This week for her print restaurant review, Katharine Shilcutt tackled a mighty one: Uchi. You know the one, right? The Houston outpost of James Beard Award-winning Tyson Cole's Uchi and Uchiko in Austin? Of course you do. Does the Westheimer spot liv ... More >>

Upcoming Events: Sweet Charity and Celebrity Chef Tours

First and foremost, go check out today's Voice Daily Deal. It's the first time we've partnered with 100% Taquito, and today's deal gets you $20 worth of food for $10. For those (like me) who are terrible at math, that's half-off your meal. Do you know how many cups of elote you can buy for $20? A lo ... More >>

Five Questions for Chef Marcus Samuelsson

For one day this Thursday, July 19, Chef Marcus Samuelsson will be in Houston to promote his book, Yes, Chef: A Memoir. The Ethiopian-born, Swedish-raised, James Beard Award-winning chef, restauranteur, cookbook author, and TV personality will spend the early afternoon hosting a sold-out, five-cour ... 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 >>

Haute Cuisine, Texas Style

Hugo Ortega: Street Food of Mexico

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 >>

Dynamo Food Update

BBVA Stadium, the shiny new home of your very own Houston Dynamo (and TSU) has announced its primary vendor, and it's not Aramark. Levy Restaurants, the same company that currently does the Rockets' food offerings, will be handling the food concessions at the new stadium. If you've never had any o ... More >>

Hugo Ortega Named a 2012 James Beard Award Finalist

After racking up an impressive amount of semifinalist nods for the 2012 James Beard Foundation Awards, Houston had only one finalist for the annual "Oscars of food," announced today in Las Vegas. One of the most interesting things about the six semifinalists was how accurately they represent the cu ... More >>

Odd Pair: Extreme House-Cured Charcuterie

Ever since the late 1990s and the advent of Molto Mario and his in-house salumeria at Babbo in Manhattan, extreme house-cured charcuterie has been embraced by chefs across the nation with seemingly unrivaled zeal. (Ever wonder why so many of them make "duck prosciutto"? It's because hanging ducks ta ... More >>

Robb Walsh: Texas Eats

Honor Thy Salt: Why I Own More Than 30 Varieties But Not Kosher Salt, And Why I No Longer Shop at Penzey's

"Three things are good in little measure and evil in large: yeast, salt and hesitation." - The Talmud Salt is the single most important ingredient in cooking and the single most powerful tool for improving the flavor of food. For most of human existence, salt has been tricky to transport, scant ... 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

​Welcome back to the weekly roundup here at Eating Our Words, where opinions are like nipples: everybody has four or five weird ones. We started the week off right by not at all clearing up the confusion regarding the difference between fish sauce and nuoc mam. The conclusion: Vietnamese restauran ... More >>

Houston Racks Up Six Semi-Finalist Nods for 2012 James Beard Awards

Photo by FabioManabu Horiuchi, one of this year's semi-finalists.​We're moving up in the culinary world, Houston. Last year, five semi-finalists from Houston were in the running for the 2011 James Beard Foundation Awards. This year, we're up to six. And what a six they are. Mirroring our own ... More >>

The Texas State Fair: Specializing in Fried Crap, 125 Years and Counting

This year marks the 125th anniversary of the Texas State Fair, held every fall in Dallas at the wonderfully art deco Fair Park. I honestly had no idea until I went to the fair late last week, however. You'd think there'd be some more momentous foodstuffs to mark the occasion. Alas, the biggest news ... More >>

Garden & Gun Recognizes Houston In Its Latest [and Largest] Issue

When I attended the James Beard awards ceremony earlier this year in New York City, I found myself sandwiched between Maggie Kennedy and Robb Walsh at the dinner table. Kennedy is the photography director for Garden & Gun, while Walsh has been known to contribute articles to the Southern lifestyle ... More >>

Chef Chat Part 3, Cunninghame West of Valentino Restaurant Is No Food Snob

Photos by Mai PhamZucchini stuffed with cauliflower and shrimp over a three-tomato sauce​The last two days, Chef Cunninghame West has been entertaining us with stories about moving around the country looking for new jobs, hiding things in cane fields and sleeping outside by the ocean; see our ... More >>

Chef Chat Part 2, Cunninghame West of Valentino Restaurant

Chef Cunninghame West in the kitchen​Yesterday, Chef Cunninghame West told us about some of his adventures in Maui and Santa Barbara after he graduated high school. You can read about it here. Today, we talk about how he came to be at Valentino. EOW: After Santa Barbara, I understand you sp ... 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 >>

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. 2995: Good news for 'cue lovers: Burns BBQ has not only reopened, it's already ... More >>

A Not So Happy Hour at El Real Tex-Mex

Prickly pear margarita at El-Real Tex-Mex​I admit, my expectations were high for El Real Tex-Mex. And well they should be. Since it's a joint venture between James Beard nominee Bryan Caswell, and James Beard Award-winning writer and former Houston Press Food Critic Robb Walsh, I expected to ... 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. Zester: Houstonians excited about Trader Joe's coming to town might be consider ... More >>

Openings & Closings

​It's been a week of good news, which is a rare and precious thing around here. No real closings to report, only a few openings and some chef shuffles, which makes for a happy Friday around these parts. News that San Antonio's Freetail Brewing Co. is planning a three-story brewpub in downtown ... More >>

This Week in Deliciousness

That's the tidiest enchilada combo I've ever seen! When did the military start serving Tex-Mex?​Welcome back to the weekly roundup here at Eating Our Words, where our Tears For Fears-themed food truck Sowing the Seeds of Lunch isn't taking off nearly as well as we'd hoped. If we can't think up ... More >>

Sampler Plate: This Week in Food Blogs, the James Beard Awards Edition

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. 29-95: Yes, it's true: There was a tie this year at the James Beard Foundation ... More >>

On Beards and Becco: Coming Down from New York City

Photos by Katharine ShilcuttCrispy-skinned salmon atop cauliflower and ramps at Becco.​I first visited New York City 17 years ago, for one day. I saw Times Square, the United Nations building, stayed in a ratty hotel, ate at a TGI Friday's and had my pocket cut, my wallet and camera stolen fro ... More >>

Beth Schapiro responds to "Weird Science"

This Week in Deliciousness

"Because I'm afraid of WORMS, Roxanne, WORMS!"​Welcome back to the weekly roundup here at Eating Our Words, where we're starting to think that Aspartame is a pretty cool name for a baby. True story: A girl with whom we once shared an office with whose name was Cyndi used to go by Cyn, and when ... 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. Jack Tyler Dines: CultureMap writer Ruthie Johnson alerted me to this food blog ... More >>

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 >>

Real Housewife Bethenny Frankel More Influential as a "Chef" Than Tom Colicchio, Michael Symon

Suck my wig, serious female chefs everywhere!​Michael Symon is a chef, a restaurant owner and a contributor to magazines like Gourmet and Saveur; in 2009, he won a James Beard award. Michael Ruhlman once credited Symon with saving the entire Cleveland restaurant scene. Giada De Laurentiis, wh ... More >>

Another Day, Another National "Best of" List That Mostly Ignores Houston

Photo by Troy FieldsCrispy-skinned snapper at Reef.​According to The Daily Meal, Texas is still primarily home to barbecue and Tex-Mex. Oh, and, okay, maybe a little bit of seafood. The national food website released its list of The 101 Best Restaurants in America this morning, and, as expect ... More >>

James Beard Foundation Recognizes Houston Chefs; Food & Wine Does Too, In Its Own Way

Should Randy Rucker (seen here working on one of his "tenacity" supper club dinners) have been recognized by Food & Wine?​It's been a week of ups and downs for Houston chefs on the national radar. StarChefs.com made a long overdue trip to Houston to recognize a hefty handful of "Rising Stars" ... More >>

Mexican Truffles: Classing Up Corn Smut

Granted, it looks like pure death. But it's tasty!​Poring over the short menu at the recently reopened Spindletop (1200 Louisiana, 713-654-1234) last week, something odd caught my eye. There, listed next to the cumin-rubbed rack of lamb, was a phrase I hadn't seen used in quite a long time: Me ... More >>

What's So Damn Controversial About Cleaner, Safer Food?

​The plant was filthy and infested with vermin, with holes as large as 2 ½ feet in the ceilings leaking water and runoff from the air conditioner units onto the finished product stored below. Records posted on the web by attorney Bill Marler show that executives at Peanut Corporation of Ameri ... More >>

Openings & Closings: November 2010

Zelko Bistro and Katz's have some new fried pickle competition in the new Natachee's.​It's been a while since we've done a monthly roundup of openings and closings, but we're getting that train back on track now, and what a month to pick for that re-railment. November was busy, both in terms o ... More >>

Chef Chat, Part 1: Mark Schmidt of the Rainbow Lodge

​This weekend I sat down with insightful veteran chef Mark Schmidt of the historic Rainbow Lodge. We talked about seasonal cooking, his childhood summers spent in England, and his experience as a guest chef at the James Beard House. Eating Our Words: Can you start by telling us about your bac ... More >>

Silent Auction To Benefit Gulf Fishermen: Foodie Goodies For Sale

​Even if you aren't attending the upcoming Ceviche Throwdown, you can still help with the Houston Chowhounds' goal of raising $15,000 to support local Gulf fishermen in the wake of the BP oil spill and ensuing environmental disaster. An online silent auction, organized by head 'Hound Jenny Wan ... More >>

Island Grinds

Two new Hawaiian fast-food joints are bringing down-home Asian fusion to Houston.