U.S. Department of Agriculture

Facing the Blunt Force Drama of Race

In Race, at Ensemble, David Mamet blowtorches our perceptions.

First Look at Federal American Grill, the Reincarnation of Branch Water Tavern

Matt Brice, the new owner of Federal American Grill, was making his rounds to all of the tables in the wood-paneled dining room last Thursday night. Tables were filling up quickly, but not all of them had come to eat at Federal American Grill. And Brice knew that. "Those two women over there," Bric ... More >>

A Place at the Table: A Heart-Hitting Documentary About Hunger in America

"My dream is to be an honor roll student. My other dream is to be on Home Makeover: Home Edition. I just wish they would come and rescue us from our house ... I want my kids to have a better life than I do: have more food, a bigger house with no mold. Get to do what they want to do, and need to do, ... More >>

HISD Offers Free Dinners to Anyone Under 18, Whether Documented or Not

There are days when students in Houston Independent School District eat lunch at 11 a.m. Burgers, burritos, salads -- school lunches, worth eating for free, worth trading with friends if you want. And once lunch ends, the school day winds on, with classes and breaks and bells intermingling. The scho ... More >>

Chef Chat, Part 2: Joe Macri of Up Restaurant, On Why He Still Likes to Cook on the Line and Serving Sustainable Food with Minimal Allergens

This is Part 2 of a three part Chef Chat series. You can read Part 1 here and Part three in this same space Friday. EOW: What brought you to Up Restaurant? JM: I wasn't used to a very strict type of cuisine. My creativity just wasn't being fed. The Mandolas were very nice; it was a very nice pla ... More >>

Worst of "The Worst": Free Press Doesn't Know How Vegan Works

Note: As Omar Afra reminded us on Twitter today, "Worst of" entries are public submissions and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of Free Press Houston. Carry on. This week, Free Press Houston released its always-scathing, usually quite hilarious "Worst of Houston List." Other than ... More >>

Top 10 Restaurants in the Galleria

Long the bastion of boring chain restaurants and overly expensive hotspots, the Galleria has seen a resurgence in the past few years when it comes to food. Chef-owned-and-driven restaurants are upping the ante along Post Oak Boulevard while places like E-Tao and White Oak Kitchen Drinks are showin ... More >>

Heights Walmart Opened Over the Weekend; Redefines "Local"

Jeff Randall, the store manager for the new Walmart that just opened on Yale Street over the weekend, is incredibly eager and affable as he leads me around the giant Supercenter that covers 150,000 square feet of retail space -- and roughly triple that in a parking lot outside that the Walmart share ... More >>

Who Grills the Best Steak? Killen and Caswell Duke it Out in the Walmart Choice Steak Challenge

What better way to spend a sunny spring afternoon than to participate in a pop-up celebrity chef challenge at your local Walmart parking lot, where the main ingredient is steak? Last Tuesday, shoppers at the Walmart Supercenter # 1409 (10750 Westview Drive) had a lucky surprise when they pulled in ... More >>

The Rest of the Best: Houston's Top 10 Romantic 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. Most peo ... More >>

Comment of the Day

​Today Katharine Shilcutt wrote about Dr Pepper sort of suing itself - that is, parent company Dr Pepper Snapple suing the Dublin Dr Pepper plant for allegedly violating the terms of its franchise agreement. Which led commenter Stuart Reb Donald to present his theory about what's going on: ... More >>

Underground Footage From a Texas Dairy Farm (Not for the Weak of Stomach)

Undercover footage from a dairy farm southwest of Amarillo shows workers crushing sick and injured calves' skulls with pickaxes and hammers, and tossing dying calves on a pile of dead ones in the back of a truck -- acts that one animal welfare group says violates state cruelty laws. Gathered by ... More >>

Chef Chat, Part 1: Ozzie Rogers of III Forks

​Located in Houston Pavilions downtown, III Forks is an upscale dining establishment that encourages patrons to relax with a nice bottle of wine and a big steak. Ozzie Rogers is the man mostly responsible for those impressively behemoth cuts of beef (as well as the decadent side dishes). EOW ... More >>

American Grocers

Samir Itani got rich sending expired food overseas to U.S. troops in the Middle East.

Your Belly Is Full; What About Your Neighbor's?

​The coming Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays are a time when we all enjoy thinking about the massive spreads of food we'll eat with our families, how we'll abandon all pretense of formality and wear stretch pants to the dinner table and how we'll enjoy leftovers while watching endless footb ... More >>

Reporting from the Southern Foodways Alliance Symposium: Thacker Mountain Radio Show, Mississippi Masala, and a Talk by Robb Walsh

Robb Walsh, right. ​The 13th Annual Southern Foodways Alliance Symposium officially kicks off today, but the fun got started Thursday night with the Thacker Mountain Radio show and some dinner offerings in line with the "Global South" theme, including Mississippi Masala by Suvir Saran. Thack ... More >>

Even Gawker Commenters Can't Snark About Feral Hogs

Not to be snarked about​You may not be aware of it, because it came as yet another announcement in an increasingly silly race for Agriculture Commissioner, but October is "Get the Hog Outta Texas" month.It's all about killing off as many dangerous feral hogs as possible, says incumbent Todd Staple ... More >>

Welcome to Mi Pueblito, Washington

The small-town, family-farm lifestyle that we love to celebrate is being preserved — thanks to Mexican immigrants.

Designer Meats

In Houston, more and more chefs are curing their own pig products

Hot Off the Grille

The original Perry & Sons Market & Grille is still rooted in mom-and-pop charm even with its growth into 12 big-box restaurants across Texas.

Down on the Farm

The Humane Society and big agriculture slug it out over animal rights.

Pop Tarts Buh Bye (Yes!) But What About Those Jews and Muslim Kids Who Don't Eat Pork?

​Pop Tarts are exiting the Houston ISD breakfast program. As Hair Balls detailed a month ago, union leader Orell Fitzsimmons attacked the district's use of Pop Tarts and other surgary, processed foods in its breakfast program at a board meeting -- and apparently made some headway.This morning, fo ... More >>

Inside the MasterMinds

The Houston Press honors three local arts groups on the city's cutting edge.

Songs To Help Kinky Friedman Learn What the Texas Agriculture Commissioner Does

Craig Hlavaty​​Musician, author, animal-rights activist (and probably a couple of other titles we're leaving out) Kinky Friedman announced Monday he was withdrawing as a candidate for governor in next March's Democratic primary and instead seeking the office of Agriculture Commissioner, a post p ... More >>

Texas, Unfortunately, Leads The Country In Hungry Kids

More than anywhere else the country, children in Texas don't know where they'll get their next meal.That's according to a recent study by Feeding America, the nation's food-bank network, which analyzed stats on "household food insecurity" published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. According to ... More >>

Stuffed Tenderloin Cheeseburgers

photos by Robb WalshHomemade Cheeseburgers Ready to Grill On the subject of cheeseburgers, James Beard wrote in American Cookery, "this means a piece of processed cheese atop a cooked hamburger patty and broiled just long enough to melt. It is not very good." Instead he offered his own recipe fo ... More >>

Texas Wants Beer: Change This Law!

This Just In: Watermelon Good for Blood Flow (and Erections)

All about Eve

Our guide to Houston's best New Year's parties

Hog Wild

Feral pigs are ugly, destructive and mean. Some people in Texas just love to trap, stab or shoot them. Or put them in rodeos. With dogs.

Bling-Bling Bordeaux

At Pappas Bros. Steakhouse, flashing your wad is the whole point

Sushi as an Accessory

At Uptown Sushi, the fish looks great whether you eat it or not

Psychedelic Peppercorns

Try a spice at Sichuan Cuisine that's been banned in the States since 1968

Banana Breakfast

Central American early-bird specials

The Cow Says "Oink"

Which Houston restaurants are swapping pork for veal?

Summer Breakfast Strategy

Waffling is one of the hot-weather defenses dished up at the venerable Frank's Grill

Le Fracas Français

Boycott is the only bad taste at Chez Nous

New Digs, Old Tricks

The Riviera Grill has moved downtown, but it doesn't know how to make an urban statement

Pig in the City

A foodie saint is tainted by fast food's evil empire

The Bambi Syndrome

Texas is overrun with native whitetails, so why do restaurants have to buy their venison from game farms?

Fish Fraud

Passing off cheap fish for expensive red snapper is against the law. But no one enforces the regulations. So Texas restaurants are free to rip you off.

Food with Thought

Lunch with Pat Brown

Air Sic

In cargo holds or plane cabins, critters are taking more than flights of fancy

RiceTec Paddy Whack

An Alvin-based rice company, the Prince of Liechtenstein, the United States Patent Office, and an Indian eco-feminist bring global trade debates to a roiling boil on Houston's back burner

Dish

Can't Buy Love -- or Armadillo

Night & Day

June 10 - 16, 1999

When the Circus Comes To Town

And the stars of the show end up dead

Killer Weed

The life-suffocating Salvinia molesta has entered Texas waterways. It's green, fast and deadly.

Steak and Potato Paradise

If you can get past the silly surface, Outback delivers the goods