The music theme of Southern Smoke Festival 2023 was yacht rock and that seemed altogether fitting. The event, which benefits Southern Smoke Foundation’s emergency relief and mental health initiatives for food and beverage workers, is such a large vessel now it’s able to dock in the plush confines of Discovery Green. This weekend, the downtown green space hosted the Houston-based non-profit’s signature event – The Throwdown – and helped the foundation sail home with $1.8 million to support its worthy causes.
Chef Chris Shepherd and his wife Lindsey Brown, co-founders of the foundation, navigated things so smoothly if there were any choppy waters we fest-goers never felt them. By the time we arrived to The Throwdown – a showcase of culinary delights offered by dozens of the country’s top chefs – there was nothing to do but enjoy the luxury. And, it was quite an afternoon delight.
Since music is paramount to what we do, we were on the hunt for it, especially since we expected full plates of genuine yacht rock, that good, gooey, sometimes syrupy sweet stuff served by master chefs like Kenny Loggins and The Doobie Brothers. As we strolled from booth to booth, we asked The Throwdown’s notable chefs for a favorite yacht rock title, one that really stirs their risotto, and they kindly played along.
We chatted with Michelle Wallace, the B’tween Sandwich Co. owner who offered one of the day’s best bites, a fried catfish sandwich with smoked oyster mayo and hot sauce. Wallace’s culinary talent and creativity have boosted her to Houston celebrity chef status and the sandwich she and her team prepared for The Throwdown was crunchy, moist, Gulf Coast perfection. She admitted she wasn’t sure what yacht rock was and asked if Stevie Wonder counted because he’s a favorite artist of hers and we said sure because we were going back for seconds and thirds on her catfish sando. Plus, Wonder wrote “I Just Called to Say I Love You,” one of the genre’s biggest hits.
Not far from Wallace’s booth, a live band played some yacht rock standards, and we stress the word “some,” as many of their crowd-pleasers pushed the boundaries on the yacht rock genre. We were rolling with an expert on the matter, the Houston Press’s own Bob Ruggiero, who nodded approval when the band delivered a nice version of Toto’s “Africa,” but shook his head in dismay at some other set list choices. We asked him if there was a definitive compilation of the genre’s classics and he directed us to Yacht or Nyacht?, a website devoted to this very subject.
Classic Rock Bob and his wife, Houston Press food writer Loretta Ruggiero, did not shake their heads in disapproval of the boudin balls offered by Chef Jason Ryczek of Little’s Oyster Bar. Ryczek is a fairly new addition to the Houston food scene, tapped to helm the Shepherd Drive Pappas-owned restaurant. We’ve eaten some boudin balls in our days folks and these were miles ahead of anything we’ve ever tried. Between bites we asked Ryczek for a favorite yachtie, but he said he was more a surf rock fan. Makes total sense, as he made his name in San Francisco’s seafood scene. He suggested The Catalinas for your fish fry playlist.
One of the longest lines to sample a bite was over at the Franklin Barbecue booth, reflective of a visit to the actual restaurant in Austin, where waits can last for literal hours. Chef Aaron Franklin happily sliced away at brisket while taking time to chat with eager foodies, including us. He couldn’t name a specific favorite but we didn’t care, we were just giddy to sample the brisket from one of America’s premier pitmasters and to get the chance to do so in under a half-hour. His fellow pitmaster, Truth BBQ’s Leonard Botello IV, had a Bluetooth speaker in his workspace. When we asked for a favorite yacht rock song he stopped working long enough to dial up New Order’s “Blue Monday.” Not exactly a yacht rock song, but a jam nevertheless.
One chef who quickly named her favorite yacht rock tune was Raleigh, North Carolina’s Ashley Christensen who gave us an incredible grilled oyster with pimento cheese butter and blue cornbread crumbs. Yes, it was as good as it sounds – even better. Christensen is a James Beard Award winner and also a pretty good music chooser, going with Jackson Browne’s “Somebody’s Baby” as a yacht rock favorite.
The event ended in the most Houston way possible, on Discovery Green’s stage with Houston’s first and only all-female mariachi band, Mariachi Amor a Mexico, closing out a night of fun music before giving way to Shepherd, who heart-warmingly revealed this year’s fund raising results with the entirety of The Throwdown’s cooking lineup behind him, so reflective of their support for Shepherd’s work to ensure the safety and well-being of the nation’s food and beverage industry employees.
Marichi music is not yacht rock, but Classic Rock Bob enjoyed Mariachi Amor a Mexico’s performance very much. Earlier in the afternoon, when festivities were beginning, we visited with Blue Heron Yacht Club, the DJ tapped to spin the sounds of the soft ‘70s to The Throwdown’s chow-downers. We asked if there was a specific yacht rock song for family picnics, big, full-hearted gatherings like the bash Southern Smoke throws each year. He named a Steely Dan tune. Not “Reelin’ in the Years,” or “Peg” – our favorite and number 18 on Yacht or Nyacht?’s all-time list – but the Dan’s “Do It Again.” He said it’s the perfect choice because every perfect outing deserves a perfect return. We didn’t disagree and as he played the song for us we grooved to its smooth sounds and began daydreaming of Southern Smoke Festival’s 2024 voyage.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2023.
