Jim Gossen

Barbecue, Onions and Red Soda: Dispatches from the 2013 Foodways Texas Symposium

When I first heard about the theme of the 2013 Foodways Texas symposium, I was wary: two-and-a-half days of barbecue panels, meals and talks. Two-and-a-half days? Not that there isn't fertile ground to plow for topics, but the sheer amount of time devoted to discussions of smoked meat seemed excessi ... More >>

Sitting Pretty

Houston's 10 Best Patios

Crawfish Season Comes Earlier Each Year, Thanks to Massive Houston Demand

The tiny, peckish crawfish I ate over the weekend at The Hideaway on Dunvale -- my preferred spot for crawfish -- would seem to indicate that although crawfish are available in Houston, crawfish season has not yet truly arrived. This is a point of contention every year among crawfish lovers, who cl ... More >>

Upcoming Events: Menu of Menus Is Back, Bigger and Badder (in a Good Way, Of Course)

Our grand tasting event -- Menu of Menus -- is coming up on April 9 and we want you, our loyal readers, to be the first to get discounted tickets this year. We are offering a semi-private pre-sale to loyal Houston Press readers that will allow you purchase tickets before they go on sale to the publi ... More >>

Look for Gulf Appellation Oysters After the New Year

Wondering where all the Gulf appellation oysters are this year, after the big to-do over Pepper Grove and Ladies' Pass oysters in 2011? Not to worry, says Jim Gossen of Louisiana Seafood, one of the area's largest oyster suppliers. They're right around the corner. Gossen -- along with noted oyster ... More >>

Upcoming Events: Real Life Is for March

Leap Day William is coming to town next week! Valentino Vin Bar is celebrating the quadrennial Leap Day on February 29 with a $29 all-inclusive lunch. That $29 will get you three courses -- soup, pizza and dessert -- and even includes tax, tip and valet. Just remember to wear yellow and blue. (Not r ... More >>

The Rest of the Best: Houston's Top 10 Crawfish Joints

For the next 20 weeks, we'll be rounding up the runners-up to our 2011 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. Along wi ... More >>

Galveston's Red Tide Appears to Have Dissipated, Oysters Recovering

Photo by mintprofusionOysters affected by red tide are toxic to humans.​On January 27, two small portions of Texas Gulf waters were conditionally opened to shellfish harvesting after a red tide epidemic forced the indefinite closure of oyster season in October. San Antonio and Espiritu Santo ... More >>

Invasive Black Tiger Shrimp On the Rise in the Gulf of Mexico

Black tiger shrimp are monsters, the kind of creatures that make you think that maybe "jumbo shrimp" isn't such an oxymoron after all. The distinctive black-and-orange-striped shrimp can grow to more than a foot in length and over a pound in weight. And according to the Galveston Daily News, they're ... More >>

My Table's 15th Annual Houston Culinary Awards

"This is a great city to work in," said Hugo Ortega as he accepted his award for Chef of the Year at last night's My Table's Houston Culinary Awards. "And this is truly a great country," he finished to loud cheers and applause. It was well-deserved recognition for the man who fought his way out of o ... More >>

5 Food Trends Houston Should Export

Photo by Sunday WilliamsWhataburger: What a burger, indeed.​It seems that Eater's post on 10 dead food trends has everyone talking, including the New York Times's Frank Bruni, who disagrees with the vital statistics of many items on the DOA list. Instead, he says, there is one trend above all ... More >>

Professor Fish Heads Wants to Give You an Education

Photo by Robb WalshP.J. Stoops at his old booth in the Bayou City Farmers Market.​P.J. Stoops, also known by his blogging name as "Professor Fish Heads," wants to educate you about fish. And not just the same old salmon, tuna and tilapia you see at the store, either. Stoops once had an indepe ... More >>

An Oyster by Any Other Name

Pepper Grove oyster on the half shell at Branch Water Tavern.​At this past weekend's inaugural Foodways Texas symposium, one of the most eagerly anticipated seminars wasn't held in a conference room, and it didn't come with a PowerPoint presentation. Attendees instead slurped down all manner o ... More >>

Vintage Houston Restaurant Postcards: The Days of Wine and Roses

Brennan's has long been the cock of the walk in Houston.​Although a good handful of Houston restaurants have been around at least as long as my grandparents, the general rule of thumb in this city is that restaurants live fast and die young. And although you rarely find postcards of current r ... More >>

MasterMinds 2011

Foodways Texas is among our three winning arts groups.

Invasivorism Hits Texas: Eating the Snails That Eat Our Oysters

A man in Lyon, France, eats a snail raw out of its shell. Even raw, the natural presentation of the snails is beautiful. The tiny snails don't look like much, their spiraling shells in varying shades of chocolate and taupe hiding a sluggish little creature inside. But these snails -- called tingles ... 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. Robb Walsh: If you're still stumped for a Christmas gift, Robb Walsh would like ... More >>

Reporting from the Southern Foodways Alliance Symposium: The Gulf and the Spill

Robb WalshJim Gossen and oysterman Tracy Woody checking oyster leases in Galveston Bay.​At the Southern Foodways Alliance annual symposium this week, Brett Anderson of the New Orleans Times-Picayune moderated a panel discussion on "The Gulf and the Spill." Panelists were former Houston Press ... 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. Devour Houston: If you haven't yet had your fill of discussing this past Sunday ... 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. Fork and Cork: Today is the last day to grab a meal at Magnolia Bar & Grill, th ... More >>

Upcoming Events

​If you've always wanted to attend a Houston Chowhounds throwdown but haven't been in the past, the upcoming Ceviche Throwdown is a can't-miss occasion and for one spectacular reason: The Chowhounds are trying to rasie $5,000 to help struggling Gulf fishermen in the wake of the Deepwater Horiz ... 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. Fork and Cork: Greg Morago reports on the rumors swirling around Textile lately ... More >>

Pappas Files Lawsuit Against BP and Halliburton

The Deepwater Horizon drilling platform, engulfed in flames.Photo courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard​It was only a matter of time before the Gulf fishing industry -- whose entire livelihood has been threatened by the Gulf oil leak -- struck back at the organizations responsible for causing the m ... 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. Robb Walsh: Our former food critic's latest book hit store shelves (and Amazon) ... More >>

The Gulf Oil Spill and the Seafood Industry

scmtngirl​With the Gulf oil spill now a full-on environmental disaster, seafood lovers are worried. Commercial and recreational fishing has been restricted in certain areas of the Gulf, and seafood supplier Louisiana Foods's Jim Gossen says he's already seen some increase in prices for Gulf oy ... More >>

The Gulf Oil Spill and the Seafood Industry

scmtngirl​With the Gulf oil spill now a full-on environmental disaster, seafood lovers are worried. Commercial and recreational fishing has been restricted in certain areas of the Gulf, and seafood supplier Louisiana Foods's Jim Gossen says he's already seen some increase in prices for Gulf oyster ... More >>

Chef Chat, Part 2: Carlos Rodriguez of Vic & Anthony's

​Yesterday we chatted with Carlos Rodriguez about building Vic & Anthony's during the past eight years. Today we get personal...and find out about the restaurant's Vegas location. Eating Our Words: When not at work, where do you take the family? Carlos Rodriguez: I cook a whole lot at home. ... More >>

Crawfish Season? Yes and No

​Several people have asked me if crawfish season has started. There are signs popping up all over town advertising crawfish, so I guess the answer is "yes." At Baja, the new oyster bar and seafood restaurant on Westheimer where Tommy's Steakhouse used to be, crawfish were recently selling for ... More >>

Culinary Antiques: Oyster Plates

Photo by Robb Walsh​My first oyster plate was a birthday present. I got it while I was working on my book Sex, Death & Oysters. Then I got another oyster plate for Christmas. I had never paid much attention to antique china up until that point. But I started asking around and I found out that ... More >>

Menu Flashback: Don's Seafood 1972

Photo by J.C. ReidBack in 1972, the Landry brothers were on a roll. They'd opened four of their Cajun-inspired seafood restaurants in Louisiana and had just begun a push into Texas with a restaurant in Beaumont. One of their employees, Jim Gossen, ordered a new menu design for their flagship restaur ... More >>

Follow Friday for Houston Food Hounds

Photo courtesy of @bakerella In the world of Twitter -- the love-it-or-hate-it microblogging service -- Fridays are known as "Follow Friday," a day devoted to suggesting new or interesting users for your friends to follow. Depending on who you follow, your Twitter stream will be inundated on Friday ... More >>

Copper River Sockeye and King

Photo by Robb WalshHudson & Hubbell had some "Wild Alaskan Copper River Salmon" on display in the fish case yesterday. It was selling for $30 a pound. "There is no such thing as Copper River salmon," Jon Rowley wrote back when I asked him how the season was going in Alaska. Instead, there is Copper ... 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 >>

Crawfish Season's Tail End

The bugs get bigger and the prices lower as the season comes to a close.

Dining with Jim Gossen at the Boiling Crab

Photo by Robb WalshIn this week's Cafe review, we explore end-of-the-season deals on crawfish in the Little Saigon area of town with seafood dealer Jim Gossen. It's hard to believe, but when Gossen and the Landry boys introduced boiled crawfish to Houston at Don's Seafood restaurant in the 1980s, Ho ... More >>

From Sea to Shining Seafood Platter

Photos by J.C. Reid Coming to a seafood platter near youChances are that if you eat seafood in Houston on a regular basis then Jim Gossen provides at least some of it. Gossen is the founder and CEO of Louisiana Foods, one of Houston's largest seafood distributors. The history of Louisiana Fo ... More >>

No Bacon or Shellfish?

Oyster Lovers Unite

This Valentine's weekend may be your best chance to eat oysters for years to come

Crawfish Cravings at Swampy's Cajun Shack

Cheap mudbugs and cold beer are the main attractions at this laid-back Katy Cajun restaurant

Sex, Death & Oysters: Texas Oysters at $46 a Dozen

Shrimp Wars: Texans, A Perverse Subset of Humanity

This week in Café: T-Bone Tom's in Kemah

This week in Café: T-Bone Tom's in Kemah

I Am the Walrus, Part 2

Oysters on the half shell aren't the only attraction at the old Magnolia

Fertitta's Dynasty of Dining

Love him or hate him, Tilman has turned the region into the land of Landry's

Fish Fraud

Passing off cheap fish for expensive red snapper is against the law. But no one enforces the regulations. So Texas restaurants are free to rip you off.

Food Fight

The Landrys came to Houston with good food and good ideas. But a good family squabble let Tilman Fertitta step in and carve himself an empire.

Louisiana Lunch