Robert Del Grande

Go West, Young Man

The top 10 restaurants in Westchase.

30 Essential Texas Restaurants

Eat here before you die.

The Eating...Our Words 100: Sam Ray of Republic National

Eating...Our Words has embarked on a project to profile 100 Houston culinarians of all fields, practices, careers and backgrounds. This isn't a Best of Houston list, it's not a 100 Favorites list and it's not in any particular order. Instead, the Eating...Our Words 100 is a way to introduce our read ... 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 >>

Lone Star Chefs: It's Not Always about Being Bigger, They're Just Better

Our Texas chefs not only come from Texas but from all over the world and bring their culinary homes with them -- fortunately for us. Lone Star Chefs by John DeMers and Julie Soefer highlights 13 outstanding and diverse Texas masters. This book is part biography, part cookbook and part restaurant gu ... More >>

Chef Philippe Schmit Receives Prestigious Maîtres Cuisiniers de France Title

Photo by Nancy Kerschen​When he first moved to the United States from his home country of France in 1990, Philippe Schmit worked as a sous chef under famous chef Eric Ripert -- a fellow Frenchman -- in the New York kitchens of Le Bernadin, eventually moving on to become executive chef at La Go ... More >>

The Top 10 Cookbooks of 2011: Texas Edition

​This is neither a list of the all-time best cookbooks of the year, nor is it a list of the best Texan cookbooks of the year. It's a combination of both. Because odds are that if you're giving a cookbook as a gift this year, it's either going to be to a fellow Texan or because you're a Texan l ... More >>

Texas Stars Shine Bright at Last Night's Rising Star Gala

Photos by GroovehouseChef Maurizio Ferrarese of Quattro plates his lamb ravioli.​"We didn't know what we were going to find in Houston," said Antoinette Bruno last night at the Four Seasons Hotel. Bruno, the CEO and editor-in-chief of Star Chefs admitted to being "really ignorant of the Housto ... 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

Photo courtesy of AvaInside Ava Kitchen & Whiskey Bar​First things first, for anyone who might be heading out to Skewers (3991 Richmond, 713-599-1444) for its grand reopening: Don't. At least, not yet. The restaurant's PR team emailed us an explanation for the delay this week: Skewers is not ... More >>

Lamar's eLibrary

Goodbye paper books, hello Facebook.

What Are Houston Chefs Cooking This Thanksgiving?

Photo by Carbon NYC​Thanksgiving: A day to gather with your loved ones and give thanks? Or a day to display your culinary prowess to friends and family? Increasingly, the emphasis has been on the latter in the past few years, as people try to dress up the traditional Thanksgiving spread and im ... More >>

First Look at TQLA

More photos from TQLA are in our slideshow.​If there are two things that serve to immediately dissuade me from trying a restaurant these days, the phrases "167 tequila offerings" and "Washington Avenue" would be those two. I have nothing personally against either tequila or Washington Avenue, ... More >>

Chef Chat, Part 2: John Sheely of Mockingbird Bistro

Tam Vo​Today we continue our discussion with John Sheely to learn about how skiing ties into cooking, his memorable food discoveries and how he's been coping with the down economy. EOW: I understand you love to ski. Do any skiing concepts translate into what you do in the kitchen? Sheely: S ... More >>

The Houston Culinary Awards Get a Facelift

Photo courtesy of My TableThe steel awards themselves (no more glass!) weren't the only new things this year.​"You can't help but feel great when you're honored and respected by your peers and Houston diners," said Sean Beck today, after bringing home a stunning two awards at the annual My Tab ... More >>

Textile Takes a Summer Vacation

Photo by Troy FieldsTextile's outstanding bacon tart with a poached quail egg on top was a favorite.​With the news that popular pastry chef Plinio Sandalio plans to move to Austin to work with David Bull, it didn't come as a huge surprise when I found out via text message late last night that ... More >>

An Unlikely Winner at the Mushroom Throwdown

Photo by Katharine ShilcuttThrowdown judge Gracie Cavnar prepares to sample an entry.​The big guns were brought out last night for the fourth -- and largest to date -- throwdown organized by Jenny Wang and the Houston Chowhounds: the Mushroom Throwdown at Vic & Anthony's. From the judging pane ... More >>

Sustainable Salmon: Pink Turns Green

​Sustainability has become a vital part of the vernacular in the Yukon River Valley, whose Yup'ik Eskimo residents rely on salmon not only as a means of income, but also as their majority source of food. Strapping Alaskans smile as they detail their favorite ways to eat the fish: raw, poached, ... More >>

What a Difference a Decade Makes: Zagat's Top 5 Restaurants in 1999 and 2009

Ten years ago, Houston was a different city. Enron hadn't yet experienced its downfall. Downtown was just beginning its slow renaissance. There were no silly "town square" concepts littered around town. People were just learning the word "McMansion." Montrose wasn't gentrified. Neither were any of t ... More >>

Upcoming Events

​Although it's facing stiff competition from Southern Star lately, Saint Arnold is still our favorite hometown brewery. And this weekend's Foam Raiser at the Orange Show (Saturday, October 24, from 7 to 10 p.m.) is one of many reasons why. The ticket sales for the 2nd annual Foam Ra ... More >>

Community Bar Food

Photos by J.C. ReidJust above the bar at newish Midtown watering hole called Community Bar is a chalkboard with various drink specials, as well as the words "Food served." I was intrigued yet doubtful. Bar food in Houston is definitely a hit-or-miss affair (mainly misses in the form of Velveeta nach ... More >>

I Love CFS: 25 Lovable Chicken-Fried Steaks

Who invented the CFS? There are a lot of competing theories. Whose do you love? Better try them all to be sure.

It's Le Bombe

A new restaurant has Republican bigwigs dancing on the grave of the French boycott

Mystery Meat

Maverick's motto may be "Supper + Whiskey," but the restaurant doesn't always deliver on both counts

New World Order

Tony Vallone is searching for his lost shaker of salt at the new Los Tonyos

Discomfort Food

Robert Del Grande

A Matter of Fat

The U.S. beef industry's lower standards have led to an increase in chop houses

Salad Daze

A chef and a produce grower get into a pissing match over ten pounds of greens

Still Your Father's Tony's

When Tony's gets rid of its outdated attitudes, we'll have some reason to go back

Brave Nuevo World

Last in a six-part series

Cheaper By The Bottle

Former Tasca chef uncorks a food and wine bar for those on a budget

East Meets Best

Scott Chen opened Houston's top Chinese restaurant. Now he wants to run Houston's top restaurant. Period.

Dish

The Art of Cooking?

At the Restaurant at the Art Institute, professional cookingis taught -- sort of

Press Picks

Press Picks

Diner's Notebook

At Home and Abroad

Taste of Texas

Rancho Tejas does guy food a gal could learn to love

Burger Heaven, Burger Hell

A quest for all that's good and greasy in an American icon

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.