The Politics of Food

The Global Kitchen at The Health Museum

Deep Fried Rodents and Other Foods We Just Don't Eat 'Round Here

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Filmmaker Alyssa Rachelle Explores the Cultural Influences Behind Gumbo

By DeVaughn Douglas
Aug 5, 2019

The lights were dim in the DeLuxe Theater as guests sat around banquet tables and stared intently at the screen. Projected in front of them a woman and a chef moved through the tight, hectic space of a restaurant kitchen as line cooks prepped for the evening’s guests. The two...
Hope Farms and Recipe for Success Hosts Chefs in the Field

By Lorretta Ruggiero
Jun 11, 2019

In a food desert, near Hobby Airport, is an urban oasis with a gathering barn, a chef's garden and fields of fresh vegetables growing in the hot, humid climate a few minutes south of downtown Houston. Hope Farms is the culmination of Gracie and Bob Cavnar's efforts to provide fresh...
Openings and Closings: Guard and Grace This Fall, Three Brothers Bakery Turns 70

By Lorretta Ruggiero
May 10, 2019

Guard and Grace, 500 Dallas, is slated to open in fall 2019 at One Allen Center. Troy Guard, executive chef and owner of TAG Restaurant Group, opened the first Guard and Grace Steakhouse in Denver, Colorado in 2014. The modern steakhouse takes a fresh approach to the genre with seasonal...
Vegans Will Be Protesting This Friday At The Mayor's Holiday Celebration and Tree Lighting

By Kate McLean
Nov 26, 2018

"What if you were forced to lay an egg every single day?" Dani Alexander, an activist for the vegan lifestyle and PETA prophet, said passionately. Sitting around her, a flock of others like-minded nodded. They had a point— what would you do? Probably be bewildered, and then upset. Sunday at...
El Tiempo Cantina Should Have Known Better With That Jeff Sessions Photo

By Cory Garcia
Aug 14, 2018

My father instilled a very specific work ethic in me: if you have a job, it doesn’t matter what’s going on in the world, you get up and go to work. That’s not to say you don’t pay attention to what’s going on in the world — you’re still a...
Who Cooked That: Houston's Service Industry Thrives Thanks to Latino Immigrants

By Carlos Brandon
Jul 11, 2018

In 2016, at the height of the Trump campaign media storm, the late Anthony Bourdain said of immigrant workers, "If Mr. Trump deports 11 million people or whatever he's talking about right now, every restaurant in America would shut down." A long time defender of Hispanic immigrants, Bourdain spoke often...
Why Besh Group's Massive Sexual Harassment Claims Matter to Houston

By Gwendolyn Knapp
Oct 24, 2017

Over the weekend, while you were basking in tacos or the Astros' ALCS win, the New Orleans-based Times Picayune published an exposé by James Beard Award winning food writer Brett Anderson, who spent eight months talking to 25 former and current Besh Restaurant Group (BRG) employees, revealed a chef and company that has...
Should We Just Go Back to Paying for Fast Food With Cash?

By Gwendolyn Knapp
Sep 28, 2017

In September, it was Equifax. Now it's Sonic. The fast food company known for its hotdogs, shakes and slushies, has just admitted to a major security breach that has not only put the credit card information of as many as 5.1 million customers at risk, as reported by Restaurant Business,...
This Is Our City Too

By Thomas Nguyen
Sep 20, 2017

Houston Press contributor and local restaurateur Thomas Nguyen recently wrote a piece for popular website Angry Asian Man called Breaking Streotypes When It Matters Most, which highlighted how Asian people within Houston's restaurant industry made a great impact during the rescue and relief efforts directly after Harvey, including sommelier Cat...
For Two of Houston's Beard Award-Winning Chefs, Reinvention Is Imperative

By Kate McLean
Sep 19, 2017

Now more than ever, chefs and restaurateurs are changing gears in an effort to refresh their brand. Changes in restaurant concept, from menus to interior design are good for both the guest and the creative forces behind them. Not to say that we don’t appreciate the constantly delicious $4.95 banh...
Houston (Restaurants), We Have a Problem

By Thomas Nguyen
Feb 15, 2017

If you have not noticed lately, some of our favorite restaurants in Houston are closing, and it does not look like it’s going to stop any time soon.
Houston-Area Restaurateurs Struggle With Yelp's Business Practices [UPDATED]

By Phaedra Cook
Aug 31, 2016

Yelp proved a long time ago to be a successful outlet for consumers to speak their minds about restaurants and other kinds of businesses. However, the consumer reviews displayed on a Yelp page is sometimes a skewed by the “Yelp Sort” algorithm. Even basic facts, like whether a business is...
The People To Convince On “No Tipping” Are Customers And Servers

By Phaedra Cook
Jun 14, 2016

New York restaurateur Danny Meyer of Union Square Hospitality Group caused a stir in the restaurant industry last year when he announced that his restaurants, which include The Modern and Gramercy Tavern, would move to a no-tipping model called, “Hospitality Included.” Customers would no longer need to tip, employees would...
Kirby Ice House Says Dogs Okay, 21- and 22-Year-Olds Aren’t

By Phaedra Cook
May 26, 2016

As first reported in the Houston Chronicle, Kirby Ice House at 3333 Eastside has made an unusual decision. Even though the legal drinking age in Texas is 21, the bar’s new policy requires patrons to be 23 or older. The announcement was made on the bar’s Facebook page, where it...
Group Wants Voters to Decide if Retail Beer and Wine Sales Should Be Allowed in The Heights [UPDATED]

By Phaedra Cook
May 18, 2016

In a press release today, a group called the “Houston Heights Beverage Coalition” announced their intent to collect at least 1,500 signatures on a petition to get the issue of beer and wine sales in The Heights on the ballot during the upcoming elections in November. The group has 60...
Political Mischief-Makers Target Taco Cabana With Anti-Trump Signs

By Phaedra Cook
Mar 14, 2016

San Antonio Mexican restaurants Taco Cabana and Mama Margie’s Mexican Café have been tagged with signs claiming that they will not serve supporters of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. According to San Antonio Express-News, both Taco Cabana and Mama Margie's emphatically denies that they or any of their employees posted...
The Only National Food Holidays That Matter

By Phaedra Cook
Feb 8, 2016

The “national food day” gimmick is out of control. These days, there’s everything from National Cream Puff Day to National French Fried Clam Day. There's even a Turkey Neck Soup Day. It's an overdone marketing technique that's just not very creative. (If you’re curious as to how many silly food...
The TABC Ban on Crowlers Is About to Go to Court

By Phaedra Cook
Jan 13, 2016

On September 15, 2015, we told you about Cuvée Coffee Bar, an Austin bar that defied the Texas Alcohol Beverage Commission’s ban on crowlers. A crowler is similar to a growler in that it can be filled with beer for customers to take home. The only difference is that it...
Houston Restaurants Struggle With Open Carry Law (UPDATED)

By Phaedra Cook
Dec 21, 2015

Imagine that you are enjoying a meal in a restaurant. At a nearby table, another customer is unhappy with their dinner. His voice grows louder as he angrily berates the waitress over the slow service and the fact that he asked for mustard, not mayonnaise. You look over at the...
Flor de Caña Sugar Producer Responds to Allegations of Poor Working Conditions

By Phaedra Cook
Dec 14, 2015

Last week, we published an article entitled, “Rum To Die For: Plight Of Sugar Cane Workers Leads Bar Owners To Dump Popular Brand.” It details how some bar owners are no longer carrying Flor de Caña rum due to a Vice Munchies exposé. The Vice article reported on abnormally high...

More The Politics of Food

The Politics of Food

The Global Kitchen at The Health Museum

Deep Fried Rodents and Other Foods We Just Don't Eat 'Round Here

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