James Beard

Get Lit: Hamburger America: A State-By-State Guide to 100 Great Burger Joints, by George Motz

Stuffed Tenderloin Cheeseburgers

photos by Robb WalshHomemade Cheeseburgers Ready to Grill On the subject of cheeseburgers, James Beard wrote in American Cookery, "this means a piece of processed cheese atop a cooked hamburger patty and broiled just long enough to melt. It is not very good." Instead he offered his own recipe fo ... More >>

Movie Pirates

Scene Stealers

Letter to the Editor

Scene Stealers

Teachings of the Pope

Learning to love Boulevard Bistrot

Chicken-Fried Honor

George's civic slur

Cooking Up a Storm: Shrimp and Corn Chowder

​ When I fell in love with the shrimp soup at Mama's Cajun Cuisine, I knew just where to go to get a recipe. Cooking up a Storm: Recipes Lost and Found from The Times-Picayune of New Orleans is one of the most well-thumbed cookbooks on my bookshelf. This instant classic, written by Times-Pica ... 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 >>

The Top 10 Restaurants in the Heights

Sous vide pork at Textile.​Creating a top ten list for the Heights is an intimidating process. At a basic level, it's difficult to even define the Heights. And with so many great restaurants to choose from, we've had to leave out popular spots Teotihuacan, Vietnam Restaurant, and Onion Creek f ... More >>

Anthony Bourdain: "There Has Never Been a Better Time to Eat in America"

Anthony Bourdain is a man who requires little introduction. The author of Kitchen Confidential -- the book published almost exactly 10 years ago, which catapulted him to fame -- and host of popular TV shows like A Cook's Tour and No Reservations, Bourdain is the prototypical bad-boy chef, Marco Pier ... More >>

Anthony Bourdain

The bad boy of food likes life medium raw

Immortal Milk at Central Market

​"Cheese - milk's leap toward immortality."-Clifton Paul Fadiman, author, editor, radio host (1904-1999) Clark Wolf loves cheese -- and cheesy wit. As I adjusted my camera to capture the gorgeous array of artisanal cheese and fruit displayed at the front of the room during his Cheese Tasting ... More >>

Openings & Closings

Jellies out for tasting at the new Kraftsmen Cafe in the Heights.​The biggest news of the week seems to be the revolving doors at some of Houston's more popular restaurants: BRC Gastropub, Caffe Bello and the Inn at Dos Brisas (which, okay, is up the road in Independence, but we still claim it ... 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 >>

Chef Chat, Part 2: Joe Apa of Rudz

​Take an awesome chef and put him in a pub, and you get a creative environment with a bar full of good beers. It's like giving the Eagles Mariachi instruments -- you know it's going to rock but in another environment. We had a blast chatting with him this week at Rudyard's. At several high pr ... More >>

Houston Gets a Brewpub; Tyson Cole Talks Uchi

I tried and failed to think of a clever tie-in with the Waugh Drive bat colony. Oh well. Beer!​Normally, we reserve restaurant opening and closings news for our weekly Friday roundups. But some news is too good to sit on, like the announcement from Scott Metzger -- owner of Freetail Brewing Co ... More >>

A Page Outa: The Beginning

WonderlaneDuck, Duck, Goose. . .confit?​After I posted the last Shiftwork Bites piece, the same question kept popping up from friends and well wishers - "What's next?" I pondered that for a while, trying to find a new avenue for creativity, exploration, and challenge. Cooking from The French L ... 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 >>

TexSom Has Som-thing for Everyone

​Last year, when I traveled to Friuli, Italy with a group of top U.S. sommeliers, I overheard their fearless and übercool leader, Master Sommelier Bobby Stuckey, tell his colleagues, "Every state should have a TexSom." He was referring to the Texas Sommelier Conference, the annual Texas win ... More >>

Despite Blue Laws, Texas Sommelier Conference Opens on Schedule

​"You'll note that there are pastries in the foyer," said Master Sommelier James Tidwell, as he and Houston's own Master Sommelier, Drew Hendricks, opened the Texas Sommelier Conference promptly at 9 a.m. yesterday morning at the Four Seasons Las Colinas Resort in Irving, Texas. The two co-fou ... More >>