Mark your calendars, because you don’t want to miss these deliciously fun culinary happenings:
Snooze an A.M. Eatery, multiple locations, has created a special holiday menu, available through New Year’s Day and offering festive and decadent holiday dishes and drinks. Dig into Nana’s Hot Cocoa Pancake, a warm and fluffy buttermilk pancake loaded with white chocolate chips, a gigantic marshmallow and candied pecans and served with a warm pot of Mexican hot chocolate for your drizzling pleasure; or go for Home For The Hollandaise Benny, made with cider-braised, habanero pork belly, bacon-espresso jam, cream cheese hollandaise and cranberry relish. Drinks include the hot mulled Celebration Cider (with white rum and Aperol) and a Spiked Candy Cane Cocoa, kissed with tequila, coffee liqueur, peppermint and vanilla.
La Lucha, 1801 North Shepherd, unleashed a new addition to its dessert menu. The build your soft serve menu ($6) features a variety of flavors and toppings that change regularly, with a base of vanilla, Nutella or swirl ice cream; sauce from hot fudge and salted caramel to EVOO; and toppings like Fruity Pebbles, parmesan cheese, marshmallow fluff, brown butter cookie crumble, house fried chicken skins and maldon salt. Guests can also take it one step further and make it a float ($8) with IBC root beer, Fanta orange or Coke.
On Saturday, December 21 from noon to 6 p.m., French Country Wines, 2433 Bartlett, will be popping the corks on sparkling wines from other regions of France outside of Champagne at a free wine tasting. Often less expensive than sparkling wines produced in Champagne, the alternative wines offer great value for great quality.
Chef-owner Sylvia Casares will host a tamalada at the Eldridge location of Sylvia’s Enchilada Kitchen, 1140 Eldridge, from 2 to 7 p.m. on Monday, December 23, providing all that’s needed for groups of up to 30 people to have their own tamalada party. Casares will be the head tamalera – teacher – to get things started, making chicken and/or pork tamales. All tamales will be packaged to take home to cook and enjoy at holiday celebrations. The classes conclude with happy hour and appetizers. Party goers are encouraged to have dinner while their tamales are being packaged to take home. The price depends on the number of tamales (minimum is one dozen per person). Call 832-230-3842 to make your reservations.
On Thursday, December 26, locals can get a taste of the good stuff at the fourth annual “Say Hello and Goodbye to our Pappy” celebration at Eight Row Flint, 1039 Yale. Beginning at 2 p.m., the modern ice house will be divvying up its allocation of Pappy at-cost. Show up to grab your ticket and choose from pours from $6 for one-and-a-half ounces of Old Rip Van Winkle 10 year to $30 for one-and-a-half ounces of Pappy 23 (limit one pour per person).
The fourth annual Chef Fest returns on Sunday, March 29, 2020, but you can get early bird ticket deals in time for the holidays. Held at Harvest Green Village Farm, 8939 Harlem, in Richmond, and benefiting the Houston Food Systems Collaborative, the event puts farm-fresh produce in the spotlight. This year’s event will feature harvest and locally focused dishes from ten of Houston’s top and emerging chefs, giving guests a full day of eating, drinking, dancing, farm tours and hands-on experiences celebrating the local food system. Tickets (regularly $100) can be scored for $75 with the holiday discount code “CHEFFESTHOLIDAY” now through Tuesday, December, 31. Admission includes unlimited tastings of all ten chef-prepared dishes, live music, and five drink tickets.
Looking for New Year’s plans? Be sure to check out our 2019 New Year’s Eve and 2020 New Year’s Day Dining Guide for the lowdown on the best celebratory NYE meals and next-day brunches.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2019.
