Oaxaca

Chef Chat, Part 1: Ruben Ortega of Hugo's and Backstreet Cafe and The Story of How He Came to Houston

This is the first part of a three-part Chef Chat series. Come back to read parts two and three in this same space on Thursday and Friday. In the Houston food world, everyone knows Hugo Ortega. The chef who started out as a dishwasher before falling in love with his restauranteur wife eventually ope ... More >>

What Does "Wey" Mean?

And should the U.S. bring back the guest-worker program for Mexicans?

Philly Poutine

A first look at the new Pappa Geno's in Bellaire.

The Golden Noodle: A Mac N' Cheese Smackdown

I should have worn my stretchy pants. I should have known better. Yet, there I found myself, trying macaroni and cheese after macaroni and cheese with no end in sight, trying harder and harder after every bite to keep a poised, lady-like posture while simultaneously using every inkling of strength t ... More >>

Special Best Of Edition: Why Do Mexicans Put Stickers Honoring the Dead on Their Car Windows?

And why do Chicano Studies professors always wear guayaberas?

Houston's 10 Best Specialty Cocktails for the Summer

With the cocktail movement booming in Houston, it seems as though you can hardly go to a bar or restaurant these days without encountering a list of cocktails. And on that list of cocktails, expect to find a list of the house specialty drinks -- concoctions created by (or for) that bar or restaurant ... More >>

New Tortas at Ninfa's Hardly Torturous

...except, I guess, if you ate all three at once. Then, you might be hurting. First, let's get something straight. I don't, or didn't, go to The Original Ninfa's for burgers. If I venture out to Navigation, it's for fajitas, tacos al pastor, or maybe the seafood enchiladas. But these times, they ... More >>

Gas Station Sushi: 8 Fine Foods in Funky Places

Gas station sushi from Natto: better than you expected, huh?​I read yesterday's Bon Appetit article on "Undercover Grub: Great Food in Surprising Places" with interest, hoping to catch a glimpse of a Houston restaurant in amongst the soda fountains and airport terminals. I was disappointed to ... More >>

SPECIAL COMIDA EDITION: Who Harvested Maize First — the Aztecs, or the Mayans?

And what are the three milks of Pastel de Tres Leches?

First Look at Heights Ashbury

Photos by Katharine ShilcuttSoup and salad: Exceeding expectations.​"I know they tried to name this place after San Francisco," my friend Hala said as we walked into Heights Ashbury last Friday afternoon. "But there's no way you could accidentally mistake this for San Francisco." She looked ar ... More >>

Houston's Best Patios: The 10 Best to Pretend You're On Vacation

Photo by Taylor LaShaeEl Pueblito, home of Houston's best cabanas.​With patio weather season in full swing, Houstonians are absolutely spoiled for places to enjoy the day outside. And sometimes all you know is that you're in the mood for a patio, but can't figure out where to go. So how do you ... More >>

A Desert of Trash

Sunday Brunch at Yelapa: Texan Twists on Old Favorites

Frito Pie Migas for breakfast, because you need corn chips at 11 a.m. on a Sunday.​Last Sunday morning, a table of friends and I attacked our plates with a vengeance on the sunny back patio at Yelapa Playa Mexicana (2303 Richmond, 281-501-0391). Although it's been open for nearly a year, I'm s ... More >>

Mexicans, Mormonism and the "Texans" of Mexico

Robb Walsh's 100 Favorite Houston Dishes: #39 Mole Poblano at Hugo's

​Over the course of the next few months, I'm counting down 100 of my favorite Houston dishes. I chose some because they are such quintessential Houston creations, others for their cultural or historical significance, and others because they are just so damn tasty. Share your own nominations in ... More >>

Dressing Right and Standing Tall?

Top 10 Restaurants In Clear Lake

Photo by Jared Cherup​There's more to Clear Lake than just NASA, the sadly rotting Jim West mansion and that hotel where a woman mowed down her husband in the parking lot. And there's also more to the area than overly-fancy eateries like Cullen's or old mainstays like Villa Capri and the Seabr ... More >>

Amnesty and "Native" Americans

My Mole Smuggling Days are Over

​The mole pastes found in Oaxacan mercados are so good, I used to bring them back in my suitcase. And so did a lot of other people, judging by this post from Jay Francis last year. In the comments section of that post, Jay talked about a new bottled mole available at Spec's Warehouse store dow ... More >>

Dead Bread

​At El Bolillo on Airline you can buy the traditional skull-shaped loaves of pan de muertos along with cool loaves that look like little bodies. (I assume from the crossed arms across the chest, they are meant to be dead bodies.) Pan de muertos is the traditional bread of Dia de los Muertos, t ... More >>

"Día de los Muertos: Contemporary and Traditional"

Madeleine Crozat-Williams's Day of the Dead art show

The Reconquista and Mexican States

The 10 Most Underrated Restaurants in Houston (According to You)

​Last week, we asked you to share your comments with us about Houston's most underrated restaurant. In the second of a two-part question about overrated and underrated restaurants thorughout the city, you weren't any shyer with your comments than you were when we asked about overrated restaur ... More >>

This Week In Deliciousness

Photo by J.C. ReidThe pecans are held together with a sickeningly sweet cream made from sugar and nightmares.Welcome back to Eating Our Words' weekly round-up, where we try to put the week in some kind of perspective for you, before you go out on the weekend and obliterate it all. Monday was Memori ... More >>

Oaxaca Meat Market in Dickinson

Photos by J.C. ReidOaxaca Meat MarketFM 517 in Dickinson, Texas is an unremarkable stretch of country road that's the main gateway to San Leon, Texas, and the legendary Gilhooley's Oyster Bar. Oysters lovers from around the world have made the pilgrimage down FM 517 to the little oyster shack on Gal ... More >>

This Cinco de Mayo, Take a Break From the Margarita

Photo by Jay Francis Viva rompope! Theodore Roosevelt once remarked that the American grizzly should have been our national symbol instead of the American eagle, which he described as "just a dandified vulture." For me, the margarita is just a dandified tequila sour. My Cinco de Mayo drink of ... More >>

Be Thankful for Mole

  The photo here is of a tortilla enmolada at Otilia's, one of several restaurants in town that make mole from scratch. The mole of Mexico is a rich gravy, made of combining chile puree (reconstituted dried chiles), fruits, toasted bread, nuts, herbs and, in some cases, chocolate. The gravy is ... More >>

Capsule Art Reviews: "Defending Democracy," "Neo HooDoo: Art for a Forgotten Faith," "(Re)Vision: A Preservation of Houston's Inner Loop"

Capsule Art Reviews: "Defending Democracy," "Drapetomania: A Disease Called Freedom," "Heroes Alter Egos," "Neo HooDoo: Art for a Forgotten Faith," "(Re)Vision: A Preservation of Houston's Inner Loop"

Capsule Art Reviews: "Defending Democracy," "Drapetomania: A Disease Called Freedom," Dust

Capsule Art Reviews: "Defending Democracy," "Drapetomania: A Disease Called Freedom," "Dust," "The Joannaversary: Parachutists Are the Loneliest People"

Capsule Art Reviews: "Comic Books: A Visual Journey," "Dave Darraugh & Hana Hillerova," "Defending Democracy," "Drapetomania: A Disease Called Freedom," "The Joannaversary: Parachutists Are the Loneliest People," "Sterne and Steinberg"

Capsule Art Reviews: "2008 Houston Area Exhibition," "Dave Darraugh & Hana Hillerova," "Defending Democracy", "Designed by Architects: Metalwork from the Margo Grant Walsh Collection," "Sterne and Steinberg: Critics Within"

The Station Showcases Work "Defending Democracy"

Making Change

“Defending Democracy”

The Station Museum of Contemporary Art looks at the struggle for freedom in the U.S. and Mexico

This Plate is Hoppin' at Hugo's

Sole of Houston: Richmond Avenue, Houston’s Street of Dreamz

Music Deaths

The Greil Marcus Rock Death Meter returns

Mexican White Cheese, American Yellow Cheese and Brown Lawyers

Poor Boys, Ethiopian Tacos and Dynamo Fans

Killing the Messenger: the Numbers

Who Killed Brad Will?

Wabs and Gabachos on Leprecanos

New-World Diva

Mexican-American singer Lila Downs learns to stop asking questions and start living

Dancers and Daredevils

The Authenticity Myth

The Mex-Mex issue

From Brussels with Love

A charming new cafe sprouts in Montrose

Child's Plays

Cures for the summertime blues

Recuerda (And Celebrate Life) Muerte

Macario Ramirez is reconnecting Mexican-Americans to a forgotten cultural tradition and their own pasts. It's a tradition that Anglos are embracing, too.

Picture Perfect

Digital technology blurs the real, the imagined and the meaning of photos as art