U.S. Department of Agriculture

UTMB Pays Fine in Animal Welfare Act Allegations

Three University of Texas Medical Branch-Galveston employees have been fired, and the university has agreed to pay $9,143 relating to allegations of Animal Welfare Act violations. Under the settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the university did not admit or deny any wrong ... More >>

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

With this week's news that meat magnates Ronnie Killen of Killen's Steakhouse and Ricky Craig of Hubcap Grill are teaming up to create a mega-steakhouse, Wonder Twins-style, it seems as good a time as any to examine the steakhouse scene here in Houston. (It should also serve as succor for those carn ... More >>

Retired Lab Chimps Pressed Back Into Service

A San Antonio lab says primate research is necessary for curing diseases like AIDS and hepatitis. But what progress has really been made.

USDA's Meatless Monday "A Slap in the Face!" Texas Ag Comish Says

In a blog post today, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples says the U.S. Department of Agriculture's call for Meatless Mondays as part of a green environmental effort is a gross betrayal of everything the federal government should stand for. He calls for the firing of whomever came up with ... More >>

The Circus is in Town, Can PETA Be Far Behind? (No)

At high noon today, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) protesters will rally outside Reliant Stadium to speak out against what it says is bad treatment of elephants by Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus. "Houston residents would run screaming from the big top if they knew how ... More >>

Where Are We Eating?

It's not the $95 stuffed truffled Kobe filet, but the piece of beef you see below from this famous Houston restaurant is no slouch either: It's a cut of USDA Prime steak, which is tender enough to cut with a fork, with sides of braised romaine lettuce and Brussels sprouts leaves. Think you know whe ... More >>

The Rest of the Best: Houston's Top 10 Expense-Account Restaurants

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 hefty competition from other Houston bars and restaurants. 10. The ... More >>

Fast Times: Burger King BK Chef's Choice Burger

When it comes to the Burger King BK Chef's Choice Burger ($5) there's good news, and there's bad news. The good news is that it's exactly what the advertised description promises: 5.5 ounces of burger patty (USDA-certified ground chuck!) seasoned with salt and pepper, American cheese, naturally-smok ... More >>

Why Texas Should Reopen Its Horse Slaughterhouses

It's been five years since the nation's last horse slaughterhouse was shut down. The Cavel horse slaughterhouse in DeKalb, Illinois, closed after Congress banned USDA inspections of horse meat -- effectively ceasing operations at the few abattoirs in the United States that dealt in horses. If the me ... More >>

Ingredient of the Week: Butter

Ah, Thanksgiving. Hands down the best holiday of the year. Four days off, football, usually the beginning of cooler weather, no gift-giving frenzy -- just good, old-fashioned gluttony. And what ingredient better to be gluttonous about than butter? Earlier this week, we showed you how to make bu ... More >>

When to Refrigerate Fruits and Vegetables

Carol Moshier​There has been a war raging in my apartment between my refrigerator and me for quite some time. Every week, I arrive home from the grocery store with bags brimming with brightly colored, yummy-looking produce and put it in the fridge. Yet when I pluck my treasures from their chil ... More >>

An Egg a Day Is Now Okay

modomatic​I love eggs. I would eat them in a box, with a fox, in a house, with a mouse, here, there, and everywhere - if they weren't loaded with cholesterol. But earlier this week the USDA released surprising findings from a recent nutritional re-evaluation, reporting that modern-day eggs a ... More >>

Facebook v. Leaky Boob

Houston mom in a FB face-off.

PETA's New Target: UT-Medical Branch in Galveston

UTMB gets hit by PETA complaints about experiments​PETA, fresh off claiming a victory over NASA about monkey experiments, has a new target in its sights: The University of Texas medical branch in Galveston. PETA has filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture alleging "abuse and ... More >>

Sweet Potatoes Versus Yams: The Real Story

Now that's a yam. ​Sweet potato season is upon us. And though most Southerners, such as ourselves, correctly refer to the orange root vegetable by its rightful name "sweet potato," some people (i.e. Yankees) insist on calling them yams. Intrigued by the various appellations, I set out to dis ... More >>

Stir-Fried Ong Choy with Garlic

​When I was growing up, one of the few ways my mom got me to eat my veggies was by stir-frying them. Looking back, I'm glad it was this and not a broccoli milkshake. Ong choy is a green, leafy vegetable native to East and Southeast Asia. However, because it has grown like a weed since its in ... More >>

Meat and Potatoes

Frank's Chop House stands firmly in the middle of the road.

Immigration Costs and Deadly Showers

Haggis and Single Malt Nacht

​Today is Robbie Burns Day, the birthday of the Scottish poet who was born on this date in 1759. "Burns Nacht," as it's known, is celebrated with Burns Suppers, where revelers consume haggis and Scotch whisky while wearing the family plaid and listening to the dulcet tones of bagpipers. If you ... More >>

Looking for a Bull Market

Killen's Steakhouse in suburban Pearland is probably best during boom times.

The Elephant Man Of Texas Is Not An Animal, He Just (Allegedly) Abuses Them

​The U.S. Department of Agriculture has filed charges against the East Texas handler of three -- er, actually it's now just one -- elephants, for allegedly violating the Animal Welfare Act. For those who haven't been following this sad/absurd story out of Leggett, about 80 miles northeast of ... More >>

Wangsday Wings

​Jason Clark, the manager of The Social, recently told me that he isn't making any money on chicken wings, but for the time being he is planning on continuing the "Wangsday" 25¢ wing special at the Washington Avenue Bar. I asked him about it because there was a story about the high price of c ... More >>

Not So Clear Cut

What are you really eating when you order fajitas in a Tex-Mex restaurant?

Dry-Aged Black Angus

Photo by Robb WalshWhile we were debating the word salumeria, a commenter by the name of SpandTexPants complained that Houston didn't have a butcher shop that sold dry-aged beef. Well, now we do. Hubbell & Hudson Market in the Woodlands has a dry-aging case in its meat department. When I stopped by ... More >>

The Valentine's Day Minefield at Central Market

National Cancer Organization Wants Hot Dogs Out of HISD Schools

National Cancer Organization Wants Hot Dogs Out of HISD Schools

Steak Night: Under the Volcano

Monkey Business

Primates -- destined for laboratory research -- are being brought into a compound in Houston so carefully and quietly that no one knows they're here

A Cut Above

The future of the best beef in America may depend on a herd in East Texas

Burnt Offerings from the USDA

When will the federal agency tell us it's safe to eat medium-rare burgers again?

Eighteen Greater Houston Hamburgers You Need to Try Right Now

A "must try" list of Houston-area burgers

Burnt Offerings from the USDA

When will the federal agency tell us it's safe to eat medium-rare burgers again?

Eighteen Hamburgers You Need to Try Right Now

A "must try" list of Houston-area burgers

Texas Burger Binge

Our food critic reports on the state of the Texas burger -- and recommends 18 you need to try immediately

Past Its Prime

Taste of Texas Steakhouse takes you on a nostalgia trip to the salad bar.

Dry-Aged Discrimination

What grade of beef are the steaks at The Capital Grille?

Jekyll & Hydesky

Two trips to steak house Smith & Wollensky yield wildly different results

Bring On the Bovine

Beef-mad Houstonians keep eating steaks

Make Mine Moo

Fleming's Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar

Best Steak House

Brenner's Steakhouse

Dinner and Darts

The Rivendell Bar & Grille

Mystery Meat

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

The Big Deal

Vending machines are leaving Texas school cafeterias. But the mother lode of "minimal nutritional value" has hardly gone away.

American Kobe

Lynn's Steakhouse proves a few restaurants still serve up USDA Prime

Aging with Grace (and Science)

American steaks: second of a three-part series

A Matter of Fat

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

Lines & Shadows

A former farmworker wanted only a utility system for her Fort Bend colonia. Seven years later, there's still tainted water and untreated sewage -- but raw words and the stench of politics flow freely.

Raging Hormones

Frédéric Perrier

Open Mouths, Closed Hearts

The Feds created a program to feed the hungry. In Harris County, it became a program to feed the greedy.