U.S. Department of Agriculture

First Look At Local Pour, Now Open in River Oaks

Stepping foot into newly opened Local Pour, you wouldn't recognize the space as that of the late Sherlock's Baker St. Pub. The revamped bar & restaurant is now more -- in a word -- open. The walls between the old front and back bars have been torn down, making way for a beautiful open-air front di ... More >>

Philly Poutine

A first look at the new Pappa Geno's in Bellaire.

Cambodian Weed

The invasive plant water spinach is banned in some states — and essential to Asian cooking. In a small village outside Houston, relocated Cambodians are growing and selling it across state lines, up North, out West, hoping to get rich.

Nutritional Value of Organic Food Challenged by Stanford University Study

A recently released Stanford University study, which reviewed and analyzed more than 200 previously conducted studies comparing the health effects of organic and conventional foods, suggests that organic food may not be a shining star in the department of nutritional value. The study's findings, in ... More >>

Meat Market

You'll probably be paying more for your rib eyes and Whoppers thanks to the great Texas drought of 2011.

Respect The Bird: 10 Steps to Perfect Turkey

It may not be cold in Houston, but I know most Houstonians have got turkey on the brain. It also means the grocery stores are jammed packed and the Butterball 800 tip-line is getting more calls than most phone sex operators. But you won't have to waste your minutes calling Butterball, if you follow ... More >>

Food Fight: Sweet Potato Pie

Photos by Matthew DresdenA slice of sweet potato pie from House of Pies​A sweet potato is not a yam, and a yam is not a sweet potato. Except when a sweet potato is called a yam, which is not because that sweet potato is an actual yam, but because it is a variety with softer flesh, like an actu ... More >>

The Texas Kobe Beef Burger at Branch Water Tavern

​What's in a gourmet burger? At Branch Water Tavern, it starts with the size of the patty. "Everyone does an eight-ounce burger," explained Branch Water Tavern's Executive Chef David Grossman, "so I thought, let's make it nine ounces." Ground in-house, topped with cheese, bacon, red onions, ... More >>

UTMB Forced to Give PETA Documents on Animal Experiments

UTMB must hand over more than 1,000 pages, AG says.​Attorney General Greg Abbott has ruled that the UT Medical Branch in Galveston must turn over documents sought by PETA regarding experiments done on animals. A PETA whistleblower alleged in January that animals were used in painful and dead ... More >>

Food Fight: Spicy Peanuts

​The peanut occupies a strange and remarkable place in our national consciousness. It's not a true nut (it's a legume, like lentils and peas), but might as well be for purposes of food allergies and supermarket inventory. It's not American, but might as well be for purposes of popular culture, ... More >>

Steak and a BJ Day: The Male Valentine's Day

​Although one of America's newest holidays does not yet have its own Wikipedia page, it does have two separate Web sites as well as an entry on Urban Dictionary. And that's good enough for us. For the uninitiated, Steak and a BJ Day is the "creation" of Tom Birdsey, a radio talk show host ou ... More >>

"McDonald's Fat Menu Will Kill You" Ads May Be Coming To Houston

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, who presumably spent years trying to come up with the most boring "eat your spinach" name ever, may be targeting Houston with its latest attack ad.That ad, which has run in Washington, DC, features a fat guy on a gurney in the morgue with a death gr ... More >>

The Barbed Rose

TRUly Good Booze

​Although I have been eating organic for many years, the idea of drinking organic had not really permeated my brain until maybe a year ago. Even then, finding organic spirits was somewhat of a hassle, especially if I wanted something that was actually drinkable and affordable. After visiting w ... More >>

Robb Walsh's 100 Favorite Houston Dishes #2: Fajitas at the Original Ninfa's on Navigation

​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 >>

Feds Fine Texas Over Food Stamps; Legal Aid Groups Say "We Told You So"

Accepted...if you can get approved​The federal government has levied a fine of almost $4 million against Texas for mishandling its food stamp program. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says the state made too many errors over the past two fiscal years.Those mistakes include both underpaying ... More >>

Terry Grier's Breakfast in the Classroom - Food For All or an Enormous High Caloric Dump Site?

Holly Gologhtly wouldn't throw out the food HISD does​As Breakfast in the Classroom spreads across the breadth and width of the Houston ISD, Superintendent Terry Grier has announced he's been getting some "push back" from parents and educators who aren't embracing the plan.Critics -- most from som ... More >>

Another Dream Deferred For Kids: Clear Creek Ends Its Meat-Processing Classes

​Pause, reader, to spare a thought for the young boy or girl, growing up in the Clear Creek school district, who wants nothing more than to spend a life processing meat.For years, his school district has helped that hopeful flame grow from the merest spark to a fire that can light the world. But n ... More >>

Burger Chic

The RDG Burger at RDG + Bar Annie

Grass-fed Beef: Healthier Hamburgers

Photos by Robb Walsh​Grass-fed sirloin hamburger steak is downright delicious. No doubt grass-fed beef raised without antibiotics and hormones is better for you too. Grass-fed sirloins lack the marbling that makes for tender steaks. But grind it up, and you get all the bold herbaceous flavor w ... More >>

Batter Blaster: Against God and Nature?

Photos by Nikki MetzgarFirst, there was whipped cream. Then, there was cheese. Now, it's pancake (or waffle) batter being sprayed out of aerosol cans. God-fearing people everywhere are trembling as technology pushes us ever closer to experiencing breakfast as nature never intended. We tried Batter ... More >>

Swine Flu FAQs: The Answers You Need...And The Answers You Deserve

Unlike in 1918, when the flu really bitch-slapped humanity, leading medical experts have the ability to immediately update us with information on how to stay safe, and how to separate myth from fact. For example: By now, unless you're a vapid hotel-fortune heiress who answers the cell phone during s ... More >>

Over-the-Top Chophouse at Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse

Squeeze Play: Texas Valley Lemons

I always buy a sack of Valley lemons along with my red grapefruit on the way home from the Lower Rio Grande Valley during the citrus season. The not very tart lemons are wonderful to cook with. But I was never quite clear on the botanical details. "Valley lemons are a cross between a lemon and an ... More >>

Whole Foods Recalls Ground Beef; Leaves Fancy Rhetoric Intact

Whole Foods Recalls Ground Beef; Leaves Fancy Rhetoric Intact

T-Bone Tom's Steakhouse Restaurant

Visit T-Bone Tom's and help keep Kemah weird

Bob's Steak & Chop House

If steak is a sin, then Bob is the devil

Jazz and Oysters

The cocktail lounge at Tommy's is the perfect antidote for Norman Rockwell holidays

Shorthanded

Foreign pickers aren't getting through the post-9/11 barricades to harvest U.S. crops

Horse Flesh

Texas struggles with what to do with its overabundance of Equus caballus, while Europeans wait with open mouths

Where Carnitas Meet Foie Gras

Cultures collide at Washington and Asbury, with wonderfully tasty results

Letters

Lucky Stars

Test your love of Texas at Jim Goode's new cowboy saloon

The Fido Solution

The ultimate answer to too many strays, cash-strapped budgets, animal shelter abuses and starving people

Risqué, Medium Rare

Steak and tits -- how can you go wrong at the Strip House?

Letters

Eating It Up

Are HISD and Aramark cooking the books to feast on federal breakfast subsidies?

Marvelous Meat

Chez Nous

Best Steak House

Boring by Design

Spencer's: dull decor and surprisingly good food

Shooting Bambi's Mom

A gourmet environmentalist shares his favorite venison recipes

History's at Steak

Forgiving Fertitta

Is Tilman's awesome new restaurant reason enough?

Dining by Demographic

Fleming's Prime Steakhouse serves up excellent renditions of the nation's most average food and wine preferences

Hotter than Halal

Islamic fusion restaurants are all the rage because of their organic meat -- and whole chiles

Strange Fruit

People pay lots more for organic produce, but are they getting their money's worth?

Loco for Loroco

The secret herb at Houston's pupuserias can drive you out of your mind

Eenie, Meenie, Minie...

With a menu boasting so many treats, decision-making can be difficult at Leibman's

Elephant Walk

Montgomery County tries to ride herd on its exotic pets