Napa Valley

Here's the Lowdown: The Boz Scaggs Interview, Part 1

From his earliest records and concerts to his most recent discs and tours with buddies Michael McDonald and Donald Fagen as the Dukes of September, Boz Scaggs has always shown a reverence for music history. That's especially true for the old blues and R&B tunes he'd hear wafting over the airwaves fr ... More >>

Chef Chat, Part 2: Bobby Matos of Ciao Bello, On Learning on the Fly in the Kitchen

Bobby Matos Ciao Bello 5161 San Felipe 713-960-0333 ciaobellohouston.com This is the second part of a three-part chef chat series. Read Part 1 here and look for Part 3 in this same space Friday. Yesterday, we chatted with Chef Bobby Matos about why he became a chef, and why he chose culinary sch ... More >>

Texas Wines: Behind the Cellar Door

Not all the Texas wine you buy is made from grapes grown in our state. In fact, most of it isn’t.

A Little Pork Fat and A Little Red Wine - Just What the Heart Needs

Sunday night, 20 miles south of Houston, two culinary heavy hitters knocked it out of the park at the Revana Wine Dinner at Killen's Steakhouse. Chef Ronnie Killen and Chef Randy Rucker began preparing weeks in advance, tasting wines and developing recipes to pair perfectly with Revana wines. It w ... More >>

Tasting Notes: This Week in Wine Blogs

Wine Thoughts: There's so much groovy stuff happening this week in the Texas enoblogosphere. But we just have to open today's post with a nod to one of our favorite and most balanced wine bloggers here in our state, Sandra Crittenden, author of Wine Thoughts, who writes about one of our pet peeves: ... More >>

Yao Ming: Basketball Player, Shark Saver, Wine Maker

The last time we wrote about Yao Ming, it was to cover the former Houston Rockets center's fight against shark fin soup consumption in his home country, China, where the soup is considered a luxury and a necessity at large banquets and parties. Now, the retired basketball player is making news for ... More >>

10 Thanksgiving Wines (That We Actually Drink)

Photos by Jeremy Parzen.Dolcetto can deliver character without overwhelming the palate or breaking the bank.​Yes, folks, it's that predictable time of year when everyone posts their Thanksgiving wine recommendations. Among the literally hundreds of blogs and feeds that I follow, one of my favo ... More >>

Odd Pair: Top 5 Wines to Take to Burger Guys

Photos by Jeremy ParzenDuck fat fries at the Burger Guys.​A few weeks ago, in the first part of this series, we quoted one of the top chefs in the U.S. today, Eric Ripert of Le Bernardin in New York, on the virtues of the fast food burger in our country. "There is something about these ingred ... More >>

Chef Chat, Part 1: Grant Gordon of Tony's

Mai PhamExecutive Chef Grant Gordon of Tony's​There's been a lot of buzz lately about young Executive Chef Grant Gordon of Tony's. Last month, he collaborated on a hugely successful Les Sauvages pop-up dinner with Chefs Justin Basye and Peter Jahnke. Gordon was also among the youngest of the ... More >>

Zelko Bistro Puts Female Winemakers and Craft Beer Front and Center

Photo by Tam VoChef Jamie Zelko.​Zelko Bistro, although it's only been open for less than two years, has already garnered a reputation for its wine list: Aggressively priced, the list offers an excellent selection of wines between $28 and $46 a bottle. Chef and owner Jamie Zelko wanted it that ... More >>

Get Your Passport Stamped Along the Texas Wine Trails

​While the trail riders rode into town last Friday, you could be riding out one weekend soon to hit one of Texas's 11 wine trails just as the bluebonnets are beginning to bloom this spring. The fifth most productive wine-producing state in the nation, Texas features more than 200 vineyards wi ... More >>

Bartender Chat: Mike Kurth of Cork Soakers

​Six weeks ago, the owners of Lucky's Pub on St. Emanual opened Cork Soakers wine bar across the street from Lucky's. A wine bar opened by sports bar owners? Yeah, we were curious, too. "The owners wanted to open a laid-back, unpretentious wine bar where people could come in wearing jeans and ... More >>

Chef Chat: Dax McAnear, a Fond Farewell

​ Formerly of Textile, and now interim cook at Yelapa Mexicana, Dax McAnear will be leaving Houston at the end of March. We sat down with him to talk about his future, his past cooking experiences, and Houston. Eating Our Words: Where have you cooked before Textile and Yelapa? Dax McAnear: W ... More >>

A Useful Idiot

Photo courtesy of deep_schismic. Maynard James Keenan performing with Tool. Quality wine doesn't usually come from a vineyard named after a pubic wig (Merkin Vineyards) or a man called "Maynard" who happens to front one of the most popular metal bands in the world and who once carried busines ... More >>

Monsterville on Washington

Welcome to Houston’s culinary cutting edge

Cranked

Meth users are really proDuctive, sExy, hAppy anD slim

Cowboy Cookin'

After Grady Spears's departure, The Burning Pear still smolders

White Nights

Pale wines grow up, and Houstonians take notice

Getting Stomped

Texas boasts the soil, the climate and the grapes for a strong wine industry. So what stands in its way? Bad taste and politicians.

A Beat Ahead

OrchestraX's quick success has been its blessing, and its curse

Bang-up Bento Boxes

Don Chang pushes the envelopeat Nara Japanese

Culture Clash

Deputy constables raid the Menil, confiscate the works of famed artist Robert Rauschenberg and get set for a big old auction that has the local art scene gasping

Heavenly Stroll

Crisis on Cullen Boulevard

Funding is down. Faculty is fleeing. And 50 professors are in semi-open revolt. Is the University of Houston on an irrovocable slide toward mediocrity?

Aggie Alchemy

John Bockris was known around Texas A&M as a chemist interested in "weird science." Joe Champion gave him all he could handle.