Michael Cordua

Getting Reacquainted with Amazon Grill

When there was still an Amazon Grill on Gessner near Westheimer, I ate lunch there -- on average -- once a week. It was an easy choice to please a pack of picky co-workers, as it offered everything from fun South American food to "diet" food (gross, guys) and hamburgers. It had fried plantains just ... More >>

Street Foods of India at Kiran's: The Perfect Launch for the Houston Metro Cooking Show and the Curry Digest Video Series

If you're like most Houstonians, you haven't, in the past week, been swept off your feet and transported to India and back in a matter of hours, experiencing the joy of Indian street foods, upbeat music, age-old traditions, and exotic beverages in between. But to my own and a diverse group of food w ... More >>

Grand Incubator

Southern-fried dim sum from Yaki Snack Attack and Bernie’s Burger Bus.

August 2012 Openings & Closings: Lucille's Lands in the Museum District and Dunkin Donuts Hits Houston Hard

Lucille's (5512 La Branch) had its soft opening earlier this week, and plans to host its grand opening on Monday, September 10. The restaurant is the latest addition to the food-starved Museum District, which recently saw the well-received Jade Stone Café open inside the Asia Society. Unlike the pa ... More >>

Flaming Young

Ten food-related words you need to stop misspelling

The Texas Chefs Hall of Fame: 1981 and Now

Assistant music editor Craig Hlavaty recently purchased a 1981 edition of The Genuine Texas Handbook, a guide to all things Texan. It's an often-tongue-in-cheek look at the people, places, outfits, songs, foods and more that made someone Texan 31 years ago. Incidentally, the book and I are the same ... More >>

2012 Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show

Chef Chat, Part 1: David Cordua of Americas, On His First Love and Le Cordon Bleu

Photo by Mai PhamDavid Cordua, Executive Chef of the Cordua Restaurant Group ​David Cordua, at 29, is currently Executive Chef at Americas River Oaks, and all of the restaurants in the Cordua Restaurant Group. Contrary to what some might assume, despite growing up as the son of a restaurante ... More >>

Upcoming Events: Foraging and Fires

Photo by GroovehouseYes, you can eat those beautyberries you've seen at the Arboretum. Merriwether will show you how.​If Nicholas Hall's post on foraging, "Indigenous Bounties," piqued your interest about scouring your own back yard (or front yard) for tasty treats, pay attention. Meriwether's ... More >>

Upcoming Events

Americas: So long, and thanks for all the dish.​It's been a long time coming, but Americas on Post Oak Boulevard is finally closing after 20 years. And while it will indeed be sad to lose its iconic dining room -- which I've always fondly thought of as "Dr. Seuss on acid" -- the restaurant is ... More >>

Grilled Lemongrass Beef Vermicelli at Com Tam Kieu Giang

Grilled lemongrass beef vermicelli at Com Tam Kieu Giang​When people who have never tried Vietnamese food ask me what they should try, I usually recommend the grilled pork and rice vermicelli, or bun thit nuong, and a pineapple milkshake, or sinh to thom. As with any other ethnic food, reco ... 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 >>

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 >>

Recipe: Michael Cordua's Alfajor Recipe

​The alfajor -- a kind of cookie sandwich -- is an entirely different cookie depending on where you find it. In Spain, it could be a Christmas cookie of honey, almonds and spices. In South America, it's filled with dulce de leche or jam and covered in chocolate, powdered sugar or, in the case ... More >>

Magical Realism and Tres Leches

Best New Restaurant

Artista

Bun Fun

Artista

Food Art

Get sauced at the Hobby Center's Artista. It's divine.

Show Time!

While your mouth hangs open in awe at Zula's decorations, you might as well stuff Zula's fine food in it

Stirred and Shaken

Américas' Caipirinha

Asian In-fusion

East meets West

Best New Restaurant

Amazon Grill

Dish

Hotel Haute

John Sheely's Riviera Grill shows that even a chain hotel can host first-class food

The Boys from Rio

The Rosas brothers honor Churrasco's -- and themselves -- with a little honest imitation

One Man's Meat

At Lynn's Steakhouse, it's still the age of the carnivore

Hot Plate

Hot Plate