Here’s a look at this week’s hottest culinary happenings:
Wednesday, October 19
A Special Whiskey Wednesday At Brennan’s of Houston
Brennan’s, 3300 Smith, is celebrating Old Fashioned Week with Elijah Craig and supporting the Southern Smoke Foundation at the same time. Featured cocktails include Elijah Craig Small Batch Bourbon Old Fashioned (standard or smokey), The Manhattan and Street Car Named Desire served alongside assorted hors d’oeuvres and bites from the Brennan’s kitchen from 5 to 7 p.m. Tickets are $35 plus tax and gratuity.
Evening of Namazake at Camerata
Every spring in Japan, Namazake is released on the market with great fanfare; and this Wednesday, Houstonians can learn about the unusual sake at Camerata, 1830 Westheimer. General manager and advanced sake professional Elyse Wilson will present a special Evening of Namazake from 4 p.m. to close, with Takachiyo sake in flights, other featured sakes by the glass and Japanese-inspired foods for snacking. There are no tickets required for admission.
National Seafood Month Celebration at Lotus Seafood
Every Wednesday in October, all locations of Lotus Seafood will be offering a different special each Wednesday on some of the hottest menu items, with this Wednesday featuring a $10 one-pound boiled shrimp plate with corn and potato.
Thursday, October 20
The Spirits of Mexico Dinner, at Arnaldo Richards’ Picos
Arnaldo Richards’ Picos, 3601 Kirby, is hosting a seasonally-inspired dinner that celebrates Mexico’s rich and colorful culture ahead of Dia de Los Muertos, pairing five courses with specialty tequila and wine cocktails. Highlights include huitlacoche tamal with El Tesoro blanco tequila, short rib mole negro with Casa Grande Gran Reserve cabernet sauvignon, and pumpkin pie with cempasuchil flower ice cream and a nixta cocktail. The dinner will take place at 7 p.m. and reservations are available via Resy.
Texas Wine Dinner at Guard and Grace
Guard and Grace, 500 Dallas and Reddy Vineyards are teaming up for a four-course Texas wine dinner, with a reception at 6:30 p.m. followed by dinner service beginning at 7. Enjoy passed appetizers such as Oak Grilled Gulf Crab Fingers and Crispy Quail and courses from pan seared diver scallop and sloe smoked prime beef shank over black rice grits to braised lamb leg cannelonio and spiced almond cake with cranberry and yuzu-orange curd. Cost is $120 per person.
Friday, October 21
Bravado Spice 10 Year Celebration Event at Karbach Brewing Co.
Bravado Spice Company, will celebrate its ten-year anniversary, unleashing its new Manuka Honey Passion Fruit Hot Sauce (available online starting October 21 and nationwide at Cost Plus World Market and Amazon in November with more retailers to come) and hosting festivities at the Bravado Spice 10 Year Celebration Event at Karbach Brewing Co. Guests can enjoy Bravado x Karbarch custom cocktails and food, access to limited-run products, and music from Los Skarnales; and those brave enough can partake in the Noodles From Hell contest. All are welcome and entry is free.
Bollywood Burnout at Musaafer
Guests are invited to celebrate Diwali at a Bollywood Burnout at Musaafer, 5115 Westheimer, on Friday, October 21 from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., featuring Bollywood DJs, dancers, live musical performances and traditional Diwali decorations. General admission is $30 per person and options for table service range from $300 to $1500. The restaurant will also offers a five-course Diwali menu ($95) –think Dal Pakwan, a flour-cumin crisp with chana dal cremeux, tamarind chutney, serrano and 24-karat gold flakes, served with an edible Rangoli pattern created with Rangoli molds intricately created by the culinary team — from October 18-24.
Friday-Sunday
Southern Smoke Festival 2022
The highly anticipated Southern Smoke Festival 2022 is taking place Friday, October 21 through Sunday, October 23, with this year’s event featuring more than 60 of the best chefs and culinary celebrities from across the country. Score tickets for the Texas-sized H-Town Welcome Wagon hosted by Aaron Franklin and Hot Luck on Friday, Southern Smoke on Ice featuring “the raw bar to end all raw bars” on Saturday, and The East Downtown Throwdown featuring live fires, trailers, and pits on Sunday. All events benefit Southern Smoke Foundation, a 501c3 nonprofit organization that supports food and beverage workers nationwide in crisis and that has distributed nearly $10 million directly to people in the F&B industry nationwide in crisis via the Emergency Relief Fund to date.
All month long
October Pumpkin Patch & Activities at Houston Farmers Market
The Houston Farmers Market, 2520 Airline, will host fun fall activities all month long, including a Pumpkin Patch Sale Monday-Thursday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday-Saturday 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Face Painting on October 1 and October 30; the Northside Art Market every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and the Underbelly Beer Garden every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
October Specials at Kolache Shoppe
Kolache Shoppe will offer its October specials Thursday through Saturday at Greenway Plaza and Friday through Sunday at Heights, now through October 30. Get the Oktoberfest Kolache featuring breakfast sausage patty, smoked provolone and garlic sauerkraut from local purveyor Scotty’s Foods ($3.95); the Drunken Pecan Kolache rich with cream cheese, salted and roasted pecans and bourbon cajeta from Blue Heron Farm ($2.95); and Spiced Pumpkin Latte with real pumpkin purée, fall spices, condensed milk and fresh Boomtown espresso (available only at Heights location, $5).
Tata Taco at Tacos A Go Go
In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Tacos A Go Go’s next staff taco promotion will be the pink TaTa Taco, with all proceeds benefiting local breast cancer awareness nonprofit The Rose. The star of chef Maribel Gomez’s TaTa Taco is a pink corn tortilla made with beet juice, giving it a vibrant hue; and it comes loaded with shredded chicken, julienne carrots and jicama, pickled onions and radish, cilantro and a xoconostle cactus fruit sauce. The TaTa Taco will be available for $3.99 (along with a vegan option) at all five Tacos A Go Go locations throughout the Houston area, including its Midtown, Heights, Oak Forest, Greenway Plaza and One Shell Plaza locales.
New and ongoing specials
All-day and seasonal dinner menus at Golfstrømmen
Over in Post HTX, sustainable seafood market and restaurant Golfstrømmen, 401 Franklin, has rolled out a new all-day menu, mixing familiar offerings with some of the concept’s old favorites—think tuna salad and fried fish sandwiches, a blue crab roll with smoked butter on a roll from Lulubelles Bakeshop, and spicy fish nuggets. The restaurant is also rolling out a new seasonal menu (dinner only), with reservations available now.
Chicken Pot Pie at Kenny & Ziggy’s
Autumn has arrived, and so has the famed Chicken Pot Pie at Kenny & Ziggy’s, 1743 Post Oak. The from-scratch pie easily feeds two (“very, very hungry people” for $27.95, available dine-in or take-home.
Dia De Los Muertos menu at Toro Toro
Toro Toro, 1300 Lamar, is getting into the Dia De Los Muertos spirit with a special prix-fixe menu from October 4 through November 6, with dishes paying homage to tradition with a twist–from Mole Coloradito and Seafood Pozole Verde to the El Ritual dessert with palo santo smoke. An exciting cocktail selection created by Johnathan Jones will also be on offer.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2022.
