Nancy Kerschen

In this week's chef chat, we caught up with Shiva Patel of the Queen Vic Pub and Kitchen (see our conversation here and here). I stopped in just in time for High Tea, a small meal-between-meals that traditionally consists of lighter fare -- sandwiches, scones, and the like. I've been...

Yesterday we spoke with Chef Shiva Patel about how she came to start new British- and Indian-inspired restaurant, the Queen Vic. In today's segment, we learn more about her culturally rich heritage and how it's manifested on the playful menu. EOW: Culturally speaking, both the Queen Vic and Oporto Cafe...

As the maxim goes, "when one door closes, a window opens," and for one Houstonian affected by the recent economic crash, the window became a restaurant. Chef Shiva Patel, co-owner and executive Chef of the Queen Vic Pub and Kitchen, previously worked in the financial industry. In the years leading...

A cell phone-lit dinner is what you often see looking around restaurant dining rooms in the Western world these days. Sounds romantic, doesn't it? Everywhere, there's that blue glow highlighting the blemishes, under-eye bags, and chins of diners who send electronic messages through invisible radiowaves in the air. As a...

This week, as we spoke with Philippe Schmit of Philippe Restaurant + Lounge, opening January 25, the one word that kept appearing was "design." Aside from designing the menus, Schmit poured a lot of energy and thought into constructing the layout of the building with designer Lauren Rottet. The restaurant...