Tyson Cole, who is the force behind the two most innovative Japanese-fusion restaurants in Texas right now, tied for the title of Best Chef Southwest at the James Beard Foundation awards gala in New York City last night. (His co-winner was Saipin Chutima of Lotus of Siam in Las
Francesca's at Sunset, San Antonio, and Saldivia South American Grill, Houston.
PICTURE YOURSELF ON A Mexican-tiled patio as sunlight filters through a rustic roof made of slender wooden latillas. A margarita stands at the ready, droplets of moisture condensing enticingly on the chilled glass. Within arm’s reach on your left is a cast-iron dish piled with chunky guacamole. On your right
If you’re not already busy on the evening of Friday, June 3, consider going to the Edible Austin-sponsored Texas wine dinner at the AT&T Conference Center in Austin. I could be prejudiced, because I was one of the judges who got to choose the finalists, but it sounds absolutely
It was when I was talking to our cover boy, Buffalo Gap Ranch owner Tom Perini, about frying chicken, that I realized something: The common denominator in a good half of the dishes we feature in our April cover story, “Cook Like a Texan,” is a cast-iron vessel. Think about
How had six years gone by since I attended the Buffalo Gap Wine and Food Summit? It’s the best of the small-scale wine and food fests in Texas–maybe in the country–and the most scenic, with walk-around tastings under the live oaks behind the Perini Ranch Steakhouse and a
Long before this month’s “Cook Like a Texan” package, in December, 1983, Texas Monthly published a cover story boldly headlined “The Texas Food Manifesto”. The author was Alison Cook and even today, more than 27 years later, the story is an astonishing tour de force. And an enormously
Photograph by Jody Horton Talk about the saying, “nothing succeeds like success”: The instant that Austin’s Franklin Barbecue moved into its new, bigger, brick-and-mortar location at 900 West 11th (512-653-1187), it had already outgrown the space. I asked owner Aaron Franklin about this
If I’ve learned one thing in 36 years of writing about food, it’s that everybody’s a critic—and Texans, being naturally ornery, are more opinionated than most. So when we here at the magazine decided to do our April cover story on the topic “Cook Like a Texan,”
I suppose you could call it a working vacation, but since I’m in Marfa (staying at the Paisano Hotel, loafing around, going to see Donald Judd’s magical aluminum boxes, hanging out at the bookstore), the vacation part seems to have priority. But, still, after dessert today at the
On Friday, April 1, food writer Josh Ozersky (he composes the Taste of America column for Time magazine and was formerly the editor of New York magazine’s don’t-miss food blog, Grub Street) spoke on the ideal hamburger, the burger of his dreams. He’s entitled. The man wrote the book
Philippe and Haddington's.
Houston
As they say, there’s good news and there’s bad news. The good news is that three Texas chefs are final nominees for the James Beard Foundation awards for Best Chef: Southwest–they are Bruce Auden (Biga on the Banks, San Antonio); Bryan Caswell (Reef, Houston); and Tyson Cole (Uchi, Austin). That’s
Gabrielle Hamilton owns Prune Restaurant, in New York. You might have even eaten there. A tiny, awkward place in the East Village. Very much a stop on the food-lover’s circuit. Well, now she’s written a passionate, pull-out-the-stops, utterly intense memoir of her life as a chef, and I cannot
No knock on Tim Byres of Smoke restaurant, in Dallas. He’s great. He certainly is a worthy “people’s choice” for Best New Chef in the Southwest, which is a recent nationwide online competition dreamed up by Food & Wine magazine. (The winner was announced today.) But here’s my problem:
I don’t usually review cookbooks in this space. I mean, hello, I eat out for a living. But every now and then a cookbook comes along that is such a great read and has such dazzling photography that I can’t put it down. Uchi, the Cookbook is one of those.
Tango & Malbec and Seasons 52.
Austin
Hey! Texas didn’t do badly at all in the semifinalists lineup for the Oscars of the culinary world, the James Beard Foundation Awards. The list was announced this morning. There are two more voting rounds to go before the winners are announced at a gala at Lincoln Center in New
Food & Wine has a new spin on their highly anticipated ten-best-new-chefs awards. They’re doing an additional people’s choice list, and voting has begun. It will be much, much more inclusive, and six Texans have been nominated for the Southwest region. In fact, Texas totally dominates the list of
The line up for this year’s Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival (it runs March 31-April 3) is exceptional–more modern, more in touch with what’s going on in Texas culinary circles today. And the public is picking up on that fact; first-day ticket sales hit an all-time high,
Just got a note from co-owner Lori Horn at Dough Pizzeria: The Food Network show “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives” recently filmed at Dough. Say what??! Dough is the classiest pizzeria I’ve ever been to. Has Diners host Guy Fieri run out of low-life eateries? Or maybe he’s turning over
Whiskey Cake Kitchen and Bar and Olmos Park Bistro.
How tempting must it have been for David Uygur to keep doing what he was doing at Lola. After all, the 37-year-old Dallas chef had amassed quite a cult following, especially at the restaurant’s tiny Tasting Room at Lola. So admired were his eclectic, French-based dishes that when Lola’s
How many rubber chickens have you choked down for a good cause? That’s too many, my friend. Here’s an excellent cause to support and the food is guaranteed to be amazing. On Saturday, February 5, Project Transitions will host a series of eighteen dinners in private homes throughout Austin to
Flora & Muse and Zimm’s Little Deck.
Austin
Where to find our favorite breakfast tacos, fajitas, rigatoni with spicy lamb meatballs, and lakeside views.
I wasn’t a believer until I tried the foie gras peanut butter and jelly sandwich at Bohanan’s downstairs bar in downtown San Antonio. My initial reaction was, What! Foie gras?! You’re kidding, right? No, they weren’t kidding, and darned if it doesn’t work (something about the creamy texture of
GQ magazine has just released its list of the ten best new restaurants in the country, and Austin’s Uchiko is number 7 on the roster. Hooray for our team! And it’s the only Texas restaurant. Who did the deciding? GQ correspondent and restaurant critic Alan Richman, who traveled the
Fuego, at Stephan Pyles, and House Wine.
Houston
Sharon Hage, the chef-owner of York Street, one of the smallest, yet most celebrated, restaurants in Dallas, is closing it on Saturday. Food writer Teresa Gubbins broke the news on the web site Pegasus News about an hour and a half ago. Gubbins wrote that Hage told she
Every five to six years (starting in 1999), this magazine has published a roundup of the best Mexican restaurants in Texas. Our December issue marks the third edition of that opinionated, subjective, and controversial list. First, a few words of explanation: The headline on this story is “LET’S HAVE MEX-TEX.”
I don’t know why I love tea so much. I think it has to do with exploring a different cultural reality than the “DWF Seeking Something Fun To Do On The Weekend Besides Go See A Movie That Everyone Saw When It Came Out” that is my current life. Anyhooo.
Phil’s Texas Barbecue, Houston and Dive Coastal Cuisine, Dallas.
Dallas
Once upon a time there was a little culinary college in San Antonio. Then a local gazillionaire and philanthropist gave it $35 million. The little school proceeded to merge with the exalted CIA (Culinary Institute of America, the most prestigious cooking academy in America, headquartered in Hyde Park, New
Las Canarias, San Antonio and Patrizio, Fort Worth.
I’m a big believer in the helpful phonetic spelling of tricky words (it comes from a long-ago stint as a junior high school English teacher, a disorderly experience that we needn’t go into here). But in the case of “huitlacoche,” a Nahuatl word, the phonetic “hweet-la-koe-chay” doesn’t help much.
On Sunday, October 3, The Next Iron Chef Season 3 will begin. Houston chef Bryan Caswell—of Reef, Stella Sola, and Little Bigs—is one of ten contestants nationwide competing over eight episodes to see who gets a shot at being on Iron Chef America. The premiere airs at 8 p.m.
Brownstone Restaurant and Lounge, Fort Worth and the Meddlesome Moth, Dallas.
Austin
It was announced yesterday that Bryan Caswell, chef and co-owner of Reef, Stella Sola, and Little Bigs in Houston, has been named a contestant on the next season of Next Iron Chef, the Food Network show. We actually found this out this back before July, when we featured Caswell
Liberty Bar, San Antonio and El Mesón, Austin
Houston
Unless you’ve been living under a rock (make that a hot rock with some Kobe beef on it), you are probably aware that Uchi–Austin’s nonpareil avant-garde sushi and Japanese fusion restaurant–has replicated itself on the north side of town, specifically at 4200 N. Lamar (916-4808). In a smart move, chef-owner
Foreign & Domestic, Food & Drink, Austin, and Shockley Market, Corpus Christi
San Antonio
