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What Does Amazon's Purchase of Whole Foods Mean for Houston?

By Gwendolyn Knapp
Jun 16, 2017

The Philistines had David vs. Goliath. The Japanese had Mothra vs. Godzilla. And Americans in the 21st Century will obviously have Amazon vs. Walmart. Yes, the fight to bring drone-delivered quinoa to your guard-protected gated community while the peasants in the drought wasteland beyond survive off of years old swimming...
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.
House of Cards: The Rise and Fall of Restaurateur Chris Cusack

By Craig Malisow
Feb 14, 2017

Six days before Christmas 2016, Darth Vader strolled into the Thai food restaurant on Main Street with the bad news: The joint was closing and everyone was out of a job. To be clear, it wasn’t the dark-helmeted, planet-exploding villain himself who lowered the boom, but a 35-year-old, boyishly handsome...
Opening Up: Houston Restaurateurs Share Their Stumbles, Strategies and Insights

By Thomas Nguyen
Oct 18, 2016

It was April 2009 and the third day since the grand opening of our first Peli Peli location, at Vintage Park. I was excited and proud of myself because I had finally persuaded a group of women to come try our unique, South African cuisine. A minute later, my server...
Fried Chicken and Champagne: Meet Jerry Lasco of Max's Wine Dive

By Thomas Nguyen
Aug 18, 2016

Houston diners may not be familiar with his name, but many have been to at least one of his restaurant concepts. Jerry Lasco is the owner of The Tasting Room and Max’s Wine Dive—the latter which became notable in part for its slogan, "Fried Chicken and Champagne? Why the Hell Not?!"...
Resurrection of an Icon: Robert Del Grande Reclaims the Cafe Annie Name

By Phaedra Cook
May 12, 2016

Visitors to 1800 Post Oak will see something that may invoke a great deal of nostalgia. RDG + Bar Annie has been rebranded to award-winning chef Robert Del Grande’s former restaurant name, Cafe Annie. Along with reclaiming the classic logo and iconography, Del Grande has also put some of Cafe...
Chef Justin Yu Clinches Second James Beard Award for Houston Within Two Years

By Phaedra Cook
May 3, 2016

After being a finalist for the James Beard Best Chef: Southwest award three times in a row, Chef Justin Yu of Oxheart finally received a heavy, shiny metal to call his own. It's a coveted honor that had been received by no Houston chef since Robert Del Grande in 1992...
Hugo Ortega of Caracol and Justin Yu of Oxheart Named 2016 James Beard Award Finalists

By Phaedra Cook
Mar 15, 2016

This year, there were more concurrent semifinalists for the annual James Beard Foundation Awards from Houston than ever before, but this year looks a whole lot like last year. Chefs Hugo Ortega of Hugo's and Caracol and Justin Yu of Oxheart are once again finalists. This is the fifth year...
Houston and the James Beard Foundation Awards: A History From 1987 to 2015

By Phaedra Cook
Mar 15, 2016

Many Houstonians are eagerly awaiting today's 11 a.m. announcement of the 2016 James Beard Award finalists. This year features the most concurrent semifinalists from Houston ever, so it’s a good time to look back on this city's history with the awards. Before the James Beard Foundation Awards, there was the...
BREAKING: Houston Has a Tremendous Showing in the James Beard Semifinals

By Phaedra Cook
Feb 17, 2016

2016 is shaping up as another breakthrough year for Houston on a national level. Five chefs have been named James Beard Foundation award semifinalists, a notable cocktail bar has made its annual appearance on the list, and both partners of a notable husband-wife team have each earned their own honors...
50-Year-Old Tony's Owes Its Success to Owner's Exacting Standards

By Phaedra Cook
Dec 10, 2015

The restaurant industry is known for grueling work, long hours standing and heavy competition. Imagine not only staying in this industry for more than 50 years, but doing it at such a high level that your restaurant is still regarded as one of the finest in Houston. That is exactly...
Despite Big Business Stigma, Iron Chef Competition Exemplifies Talent of Landry's Chefs

By Phaedra Cook
Nov 17, 2015

Imagine that you’re working on a special project and have mere minutes left to finish. Your peers are watching you complete your last few tasks and two guys keep popping in and out of the room calling out how many minutes you have left. Running late isn’t an option. Once...
Bourdain on Craftsmanship, Whisky and Plans for Houston

By Phaedra Cook
Nov 5, 2015

Anthony Bourdain is in Houston for a brief series of events called The Balvenie Rare Craft Collection. About 800 lucky Houstonians were able to score a spot to hear Bourdain speak and taste some of The Balvenie's whiskys. It’s not his first time in Houston, nor will it be his...
Will Eliminating Tipping Improve Restaurant and Bar Service or Make It Worse? [UPDATED]

By Phaedra Cook
Oct 16, 2015

This week, one of the best known restaurant groups in New York, Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group, whose restaurants include highly-regarded The Modern and Gramercy Tavern, announced they are eliminating tipping at all 13 of their concepts. The change will take effect over the next year. Meyer literally wrote...
Killen's, Coltivare, Holley's and More Land Coveted Houston Culinary Awards

By Phaedra Cook
Oct 5, 2015

The 2015 Houston Culinary Awards, hosted by My Table magazine was held at The Houstonian last night and 25 awards were handed out, as well as the annual Legends Of Houston Restaurants award. The ceremony, a veritable "who's who" in the Houston restaurant and bar industry, had more than 300 attendees...
Sammy Patrenella Shares Some Family History

By Kaitlin Steinberg
Feb 25, 2014

This week's feature story (online Wednesday) takes an in-depth look at the Houston families who developed our diverse food scene into what it is today. We spent hours researching and interviewing family members to compile their stories, but not everything could make it into print. In celebration of these fascinating...
Tony's Still Wows Nearly 50 Years After First Opening

By Kaitlin Steinberg
Feb 18, 2014

With newer, hipper Italian restaurants opening in Houston every year, it can be easy to overlook the fine-dining behemoth that is Tony's in favor of something, perhaps, less dated. But this would be a mistake. Tony's opened in 1965 as a mom-and-pop Italian eatery serving hearty bowls of pasta and...
The First Families of Houston Food: Why We Eat the Way We Eat in H-Town

By Kaitlin Steinberg
Jan 28, 2014

Houston is a town inundated with great restaurants, but in tracing the city's history, you discover that many of the big names in the restaurant industry are related to each other in some way, whether by blood or business. Some families have continued to stick with their own, too, but...
12 Houston Chefs with Celebrity Doppelgangers: Restaurant Weeks Edition

By Brooke Viggiano
Aug 8, 2013

It's Doppelganger time! See which Houston local chef tried to steal a kiss from Natalie Portman and who plays for the MLB in his spare time. And don't forget to support Houston Restaurant Week by visiting the chef's restaurants all month long (special bonus: if you sneak into the kitchen...
Houston Native Wine Celeb Ray Isle Returns Home, Finds Food Scene "Deeply Local While Still Cosmopolitan"

By Jeremy Parzen
May 2, 2013

My 80-year old mother may not know his name but she knows his face. "You mean that handsome young man who talks about wine on the Today show with Kathie Lee [Gifford] and Hoda [Kotb]?" she asks when I mention that I'm having lunch in Houston with Food & Wine...

More Titans of Industry

Titans of Industry

Meet Houston's Truffle Queen

High Efficiency: How H-E-B Delivered Relief After Harvey

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