Tuscany

Antonio Gianola's New Italian Wine Program at Houston Wine Merchant

It's only been a few short weeks since a handsome Floridian swooped down from the sky and snatched up one of Houston's most beloved wine professionals, Marcy Jimenez. Hers is a tough act to follow: Since moving to Houston in 2005, she was a buyer and floor manager at Houston's only independently ow ... More >>

Upcoming Events: Punch Parties and Greek Eats

Can you believe it's been nearly 50 years since the first Greek Festival in Houston? Here we are on the 46th anniversary of the beloved festival, and it's bigger and better this year than ever -- but it's still only $5 at the gate, with kids getting in for free. The festival actually started yester ... More >>

Climate Change, a Hard Fact for European Winemakers

My wife, daughter, and I are on the last leg of a road trip that has taken us through ten of Italy's 20 regions, from the far northeast to Mt. Vesuvius on the western coast of the south, to the tip of the heel of the boot in Lecce (Apulia [Puglia]). Today we're in central Italy, along the Adriatic s ... More >>

Nundini: Straight from the Old Country

Italian kitchen, still lacking its sea legs, shows real promise.

Giving Head: What Wine for Head Cheese?

Of all the salacious nuggets that still thrill Babbo sycophants, the one that I regrettably can't erase from my memory is the tale of President Clinton and Mario Batali's testa, boiled pig's head. Evidently, in a celebration of the fratboy-sexist-misogynist mindset that drives the great brain (read ... More >>

Tchaikovsky’s 5th

The Worst Groupon Ad Ever?

50 percent off sandwiches with a "vise-like grip"!​"My mom sent me this today," began the email from my co-worker, which he'd simply titled "How NOT To Write a Groupon Description." "She says the place is really terrific," he continued, "but this description...I mean..." The Groupon ad, for ... More >>

Top 5 Gifts for Wine Lovers

Photo by Jeremy Parzen.Decanters by Riedel take wine service to a higher level of aesthetic pleasure. ​If you're ever invited to dine in someone's home in France, please don't bring a bottle of wine. Nothing will spur a French host to recoil in abject dishonor and displeasure than the gift of ... More >>

The Rest of the Best: Houston's Top 10 Coffeehouses

Photo by Kevin O'MaraA reminder of what our No. 3 pick used to look like.​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 ... More >>

Wine of the Week: Brunello di Montalcino

This week finds me on my annual pilgrimage to Montalcino (in the province of Siena, Tuscany), land of one of the world's most famous and highly prized wines, Brunello di Montalcino. That's the ancient and now extinct volcano Mount Amiata in the photo (taken on Saturday morning at daybreak in the vi ... More >>

Odd Pair: Pappasito's Queso and 96 Sassicaia (Yes, It's True)

​One of my new-found Texas cousins' traditions is weeknight family dinner with Pappasito's take-out. And so, the other evening, when I just happened to have a rather remarkable bottle in my wine bag (reserved for my beloved Cousin Marty, the clan's patriarch, who recently and thankfully emerge ... More >>

Chef Chat, Part 1: Renato De Pirro of Ristorante Cavour

Photo by Matthew DresdenRistorante Cavour executive chef Renato De Pirro.​Last April, Renato De Pirro took over for David Denis as executive chef at Ristorante Cavour, the jewel box of a restaurant inside Uptown Park's Hotel Granduca. Whereas the Provence-born Denis had turned out sumptuous Fr ... More >>

Where to Get Your Caffeine Fix

The Top Ten Coffeehouses in Houston

The Top 10 Coffee Houses in Houston

Photo by Gary R. WiseGreenway Coffee, one of Houston's leading coffee houses.​Last week's First Look at Black Hole Cafe prompted some interesting discussions in the comments section, namely a lively debate about the merits of weighing a just-opened coffee house against other, more established ... More >>

First Look at Black Hole Cafe

​Does Montrose need another Inversion? The folks behind Black Hole Cafe (4504 Graustark, 713-528-0653) apparently think so. And since they're also the folks behind popular establishments Poison Girl and Antidote -- the former in Montrose, the latter in the Heights -- the new Black Hole Cafe wi ... More >>

Don't Kill the Messengers

How bike couriers plan to survive the internet age.

A New Home for Java Junkies in the West Side

​Tuscany Italian Bakery and Coffee (11150 Westheimer) has only been open for about a week. The little coffee shop at the corner of Wilcrest and Westheimer hasn't even had its grand opening celebration yet. But stopping in there yesterday for a reviving midafternoon latte, it seemed as if it ha ... More >>

Brunch At Anvil

​Edited: This article has been revised as a result of misinformation received by The Houston Press. Although Anvil Bar & Refuge hasn't started serving brunch quite yet, one thing's for sure: The mimosas are going to be damn good. Starting this Sunday, May 16, Anvil will be serving a Sunday b ... More >>

Robb Walsh's 100 Favorite Houston Dishes #68: Indonesian Deviled Eggs at Rice Bowl II

​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 >>

Spotlight on Desserts

​With winter comes that extra sumpthin'-sumpthin' that keeps us warm at night. It's called the dessert layer. That's right: As the temperature drops, so does our metabolism. (Thud.) And while we fall in and out of love with desserts on a regular basis, the current State of Sweet around town is ... More >>

City of Coffee: Houston Coffee Culture

City of Coffee

Is Houston about to become America's coffee capital?

Fall Wine Tasting at Simposio Ristorante

​In 2007, Vasco Luti, owner of Simposio Ristorante, opened the restaurant's new location in an unlikely shopping center at the corner of Westheimer and Dunvale. Historically, this native Tuscan focused on Northern Italian cuisine, but last night, Simposio debuted some new wines and Southern It ... More >>

Bivalve Throwdown: Oysters With a Side of Intrigue at Stella Sola

Photos by Katharine Shilcutt​In the heat of battle last night, the oysters -- and the chefs -- kept their cool. The fourth such event organized by Jenny Wang and the Houston Chowhounds, the Bivalve Throwdown at Stella Sola on Sunday afternoon saw 11 of the city's best chefs compete to create ... More >>

Steam Punks: Baristas Throw Down at Houston's First Latte Art Competition

Photos by Katharine ShilcuttSilence Huang points out good and bad characteristics on a calibration cup of latte.​Judging a latte art competition is deceptively difficult, as we found out on Friday night. Silence Huang, one of our fellow judges and a master barista from Taiwan, drew careful diagram ... More >>

Remarkable Rendang

Don't miss this Chinese restaurant on Bellaire near Highway 6 — just don't order the Chinese food.

Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony

Photo by Robb Walsh​When I heard that Tuscany Coffee barista David Buehrer had never attended an Ethiopian coffee ceremony, I invited him to meet me at Blue Nile Ethiopian restaurant on Richmond. We were seated in backless stools at a traditional low, round table in the back of the restauran ... More >>

The Belly of the Beast

Photos by Katharine Shilcutt A packed dining room at Catalan on Monday night​People swarmed the table full of pork and beans at last night's long-awaited Pork Belly Throwdown at Catalan like bees on a hive. Dishes such as Vermont maple-glazed Kurobuta pork belly shared space with whole suc ... More >>

Rising Star Barista at the Greenway Plaza Food Court

Photos by Robb WalshDavid BuehrerThere were a couple of coffee connoisseurs sampling the espresso blends at Tuscany Coffee in the Greenway Plaza food court when I stopped by to check it out. "We come by to sample the espresso every day," they told me. And they aren't the only ones. Barista David Bue ... More >>

Upcoming Events

Big Bertha at Saint ArnoldThis weekend marks the end of the nearly week-long Wine and Food Week in The Woodlands. And since most people haven't been able to attend the events that took place during the week, it's a sure bet that the Waterway will be packed to the gills with food and wine conn ... More >>

The Meatball Debate

photo by Robb Walsh Two Meatballs in the Italian Kitchen by Pino Luongo and Mark Straussman is a cookbook written by two Italian restaurant owners in New York. Pino is a purist from Tuscany, Mark is a populist from Queens. And the two men don't see eye to eye on meatballs. For Mark's American cu ... More >>

Evacuate From Ike? Let's See, Go To A Hotel Or A Nursing Home Shut Down For Code Violations?

Hurricane Ike was a time of coming together, where folks dug deep to lend a helping hand and neighbors acted, well ... neighborly.But not everyone, according to one Galveston County woman.Estelle Reeves is suing her former employer for allegedly firing her following the storm after she says she disc ... More >>

Very Minor: Miracle at St. Anna

No matter the run time and budget, Spike Lee's WWII drama is an epic bore

5 Wines That'll Blow Your Mind

Business Alliances

Just by talking to Millennium Energy Ventures, you could become a listed client

Little Italy in Montrose

Fear Factors

Conspiracy and greed confront the wonder of childhood in I'm Not Scared

The Italian Rob

Under the Tuscan Sun indulges in Italian pleasures while insulting its source material

Doctoring Dinner

Trevísio's Alan Ashkinaze

Travail-less Travels

Putumayo and Rough Guide samplers offer up armchair adventures for jittery Americans

Fish Story

La Mora

Conditional Amore

Best as a neighborhood joint

Dish

Pacific Dim

It's a Grill!

Once again, Prego is reborn

Hot Plate

Collage Cuisine

Crostini mixes a little Italian with a little Thai and a little Texas for food all its own

Hot Stuff

The name's Italian, but that's not all that stokes Fiamma's flame

Mood Over Matter

Stealing Beauty offers more scenery than plot

More than Dough

The city's ongoing bagel explosion gives us a few things to chew on

Mix and Match

The name may be Italian, but at Tuscany Grill, the food's global