Sean Beck

Five Wines That'll Blow Your Mind

A Chat with Linda Salinas of VOICE

Photo by Sarah Rufka​Ask Linda Salinas how she became such a wine guru (or wine nerd, to use her expression), and her answer is, "Actually, a few years ago I fell in love with a piece of mold." Um.... Then she explains: "I used to work for Backstreet Café just as a waiter, and Sean Beck, the ... More >>

Bobby Heugel's Weekly Cocktail: The Champagne Cocktail

​The champagne cocktail is among the simplest and most enjoyable cocktails around. Those who have never had a champagne cocktail might scoff at the thought of ruining precious champagne with bitters and sugar, but this drink, which has existed for more than 200 years, has plenty to offer. The ... More >>

Garden to Glass at Backstreet Cafe

​Garden-fresh doesn't always have to refer to the food you're eating. In some cases, as with Backstreet Cafe's Garden to Glass event, it can refer to the beverages you're sipping as well. The restaurant is holding what it hopes will be the first of a series of Garden to Glass events on Wednes ... More >>

Upcoming Events

Yes, they even have GF chocolate chip cookies.​No big surprise here, but a welcome announcement nonetheless: Houston Restaurant Week has officially been extended until Labor Day, making it -- in effect -- Houston Restaurant Month. HRW was expected to end on August 21, tomorrow, but will now ru ... 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 >>

Upcoming Events

Photo by Troy Fields​Have you ever wanted to play chef for a day in the vast kitchen at Brennan's? Your chance to man the stoves (seen above) is coming up, as Alex Brennan Martin has now revived the Creole restaurant's beloved "Chef For A Day" program. Available only to one person per day (and ... More >>

Houston's Top 11 Margaritas for National Margarita Day

Photo by Eric HesterThe winter spiced margarita at Ninfa's on Navigation.​Tomorrow is National Margarita Day. (Yes, much like International Hot & Spicy Food Day, it's a thing.) And although it'll be cloudy most of the day tomorrow, the sun should come out right around happy hour time, and wit ... 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 >>

Wine of the Week: Truchard 2007 Carneros Pinot Noir

At $11 by the glass, the Truchard 2007 Carneros Pinot Noir is a great value from one of California's most famous winemakers.

Take It Outside

Our picks for the best patios in Houston.

Odd Pair: Zucchini Blossoms and Austrian Riesling

​Today, we typically associate zucchini and zucchini blossoms with Italy and Southern France. I've just returned from Italy, where summer months find fiori di zucca (literally, squash flowers) at the height of their glory. We often forget that zucchini and zucchini blossoms, despite their Ital ... More >>

Houston Restaurant Week's Best Bangs for Your Bucks

​There have been a few significant changes to this year's Houston Restaurant Week, the annual fundraising-through-dining event that benefits the Houston Food Bank. Most noticeably, the event will run throughout the entire month of August (making it "Houston Restaurant Month," technically, but ... More >>

Wine of the Week: Texas Blanc du Bois

​Above: Blanc du Bois grapes from the 2010 harvest at the Cruz de Comal Winery in the Texas Hill Country. To tell the story of winemaking in Texas today, we need to start with what happened in California back in the 1970s and the way wine has been marketed historically in the U.S. When I was ... More >>

Wine of the Week: A Rosé from the Texas Hill Country

​The more I read about Texas Hill Country winemaker and San Antonio endocrinologist Richard Becker, the more I am intrigued. Any doctor-cum-vintner who quotes readily from one of my favorite 20th-century American poets, Wallace Stevens, sounds like someone who puts more thought into the art an ... More >>

The Rest of the Best: Houston's Top 5 Hidden Treasures

Photo by Troy FieldsScallops and grits at our No. 1 pick.​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 heft ... More >>

Return to Backstreet Café

Chuck Cook Photography​A few years ago, I tried being vegan. Then, I swapped to a vegetarian diet, and finally, pescetarian. I found it extremely educational. (For example, I learned that I don't want to live the rest of my life without cheeseburgers.) It also sent me on a quest to find restau ... More >>

Sampler Plate: This Week in Food Blogs

Wine Enthusiast: The talented Sean Beck, beverage director at Backstreet Cafe, Trevisio and Hugo's (and our own Best of Houston® winner this year for Best Sommelier), has been recognized for more than just his wine skills by Wine Enthusiast. The magazine paid tribute to his notable bartending chops ... More >>

To Recork Or Not To Recork an Old Port?

Photo by Jeremy ParzenThe affable Robert Bower of the historic Taylor-Fladgate-Yeatman Porto estate recently visited Houston.​A few weeks ago, in the wake of a controversial post and a contentious comment thread on cork, reader Jay posed the following conundrum: We have some very old Port[o] ... More >>