Food

Chron • 10th May 2023

Houston man feels 'ripped off' by high cost of fajitas

Fed up with the rising cost of dining out, a Heights-area man posted a spreadsheet to Twitter this weekend that compared the cost of an order of fajitas at several different central Houston restaurants.

"Houston, thank me later," wrote the Twitter user, who goes by the handle @WestTxGeo. "Attached below is the fajita prices for every restaurant I could think of near the Heights. After feeling continuously ripped off, I’ve reached peak dad life of spreadsheeting this thing out."

He then attache

Chron • 5th May 2023

Pappas Restaurants denied stay of Hobby Airport eviction for 2nd time

For a second time, a Harris County judge has declined a request to postpone enforcement of a newly-awarded contract that will change which restaurant groups manage concessions at Hobby Airport.

The decision is the latest in an ongoing legal battle between Pappas Restaurants and the City of Houston over what Pappas' representatives say has been a flawed contract bidding process. Pappas, under the umbrella company 4 Families of Hobby, sued the city in April after losing a bid to Spain-based compa

Chron • 26th April 2023

Pappas lawsuit against Houston over Hobby contract on pause—for now

Correction April 27, 2023: Attorneys for 4 Families withdrew on Wednesday their request for a temporary injunction that would have paused the new Hobby Airport contract. A previous version of the story stated that attorneys for 4 Families withdrew their lawsuit. This story has been updated throughout to reflect this change.

The legal back and forth between Pappas Restaurants and the city of Houston over a concessions contract for Hobby Airport is on pause—for now at least. During a brief but at

Chron • 12th April 2023

Pappas sues city of Houston over Hobby Airport contract

In a bombshell lawsuit filed against the city of Houston Monday, Pappas Restaurants alleges that a disgraced former aide to Mayor Sylvester Turner reached out to the restaurant group's CEO during a bidding process for a contract at Hobby Airport that Pappas ultimately lost.

The lawsuit is the latest in the battle between city officials and Pappas, operating under the umbrella company 4 Families of Houston, over a contract to run the concessions at the airport. City Council voted on March 8 to a

Chron • 29th March 2023

Very few Houston restaurants advance as James Beard Award nominees

Three Houston restaurants are nominees for the 2023 James Beard Awards, advancing from the Restaurant and Chef semifinalist list announced in January.

The finalists (known as nominees) were announced March 29 at Nashville's Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum, in a subdued ceremony followin

Chron • 10th March 2023

Pedro Pascal sets the record straight on good Tex-Mex, Mexican food

Beloved actor and TikTok heartthrob Pedro Pascal made a stop on the YouTube series Hot Ones this week, where he set the record straight on which states have the best Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisine.

For the uninitiated, Hot Ones is a talk show produced by First We Feast and Complex Media, where celebrities eat progressively spicier hot sauce-drenched chicken wings while answering questions from host Sean Evans. Previous guests have included actress Maya Rudolph, rapper Post Malone, and Top Chef hos

Chron • 8th March 2023

Sorry, Pappas won't be an option at Hobby Airport much longer

A years-long process to decide the future of concessions at Hobby Airport has finally ended, and Pappas Restaurant group is out.

Houston City Council today voted 11-6 to accept a bid from Areas SUA to run concessions at the airport for the next 10 years. That means the locally based, family-owned Pappas Restaurants, doing business under the umbrella of a company called 4 Families, will no longer have restaurants inside the airport's terminals. Pappas has operated concessions at Hobby since 2002

Chron • 28th February 2023

Houston leaders delay vote on Pappas Hobby Airport contract

UPDATE: March 1, 10:09 a.m. CT

On Wednesday morning Houston City Council members once again delayed a scheduled vote on a concessions contract at Hobby Airport, putting off a final decision on the matter until next week at the soonest.

Houston City Council is set to vote March 1 on a concessions contract for Hobby Airport that will determine whether a long-standing Houston restaurant chain--or a newcomer from Spain--will be allowed to operate restaurants in the airport.

The vote comes afte

Chron • 21st February 2022

George H.W. Bush's favorite 'Presidential bacon' is still on the menu at this Houston barbecue joint

Dozier's BBQ in Fulshear makes a style of bacon so special that former President George H.W. Bush once had it personally delivered to the White House on Air Force One.

In fact, it was so beloved by the elder Bush that Dozier's now markets it under the moniker "Presidential bacon."

Dozier's bacon is smoked and sliced in-house, and prepared with pecan wood instead of the hickory used for most commercially available bacon, says pitmaster Jim Buchanan. A whole slab of pork belly, about 30 inches l

Chron • 17th February 2022

Bun B's Trill Burgers restaurant is on hold, but you can get his smashburgers at the Houston Rodeo

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Trill Burgers, the wildly popular smashburger concept backed by Houston rapper Bun B, is one of a handful of new food vendors at the 2022 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

The food stand will serve items like grilled onion "OG" burgers and seasoned crinkle-cut fries for the duration of the rodeo, which runs from Feb. 28 through March 20.

This year's rodeo marks the return of the event after it was abruptly shut down at the start of

Chron • 15th February 2022

Montrose bar offers Euphoria-themed cocktails ahead of the HBO show's season finale

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Present Company, the Montrose bar with a neon patio and kitschy tropical drinks, has launched a new cocktail menu inspired by the HBO show "Euphoria."

The show, which follows a group of troubled high school students as they navigate trauma, love, sex and drug addiction, recently entered its second season, and has become a buzzy hit on social media.

Starring Zendaya as narrator Rue Bennett, "Euphoria" is especially known for its cin

Eater Houston • 20th December 2021

Houston Restaurants and Bars Are Closing Temporarily Due to Concerns Over the COVID-19 Omicron Variant

A number of Houston bars and restaurants have opted to close temporarily this week due to concerns over the new COVID-19 variant, omicron, which has begun to rapidly spread throughout Houston and the rest of the United States.

Omicron was first detected in Houston on December 6, in a Harris County woman who was fully vaccinated. Since then, Houston Methodist Hospital has reported that the variant is responsible for about 82 percent of new cases in Houston.

Of particular concern is that omicron

Eater Houston • 15th December 2021

Timbits Peddler Tim Hortons Is Bringing Its Canadian Coffee to Texas

Ubiquitous Canadian chain Tim Hortons is planning a big expansion to Texas, starting with the Bayou City.

The fast-food restaurant, known for its coffee, doughnuts, all-day breakfasts, and more, will bring several drive-thru and sit-down locations to Houston, starting in the summer of 2022, according to the Houston Chronicle. The news was first announced in a commercial that aired during Sunday’s Houston Texans football game against the Seattle Seahawks.

The restaurant was founded in 1964 in O

Eater Houston • 8th December 2021

Here Are 2021’s Eater Awards Winners for Houston

Even before the pandemic, 2020 started rough for Houston restaurants, with a water main break that cut off freshwater access to roughly half of the city, including hundreds of businesses. Just a few days later, Rodeo Houston would be canceled, as the first cases of Covid-19 emerged in the city, tied to the rodeo’s massive barbecue cookoff.

The ensuing 22 months have been some of the hardest in recent memory for the hospitality industry. And yet, Houston’s bars and restaurants have endured, with

Eater Dallas • 8th December 2021

Here Are 2021’s Eater Awards Winners for Dallas

It’s been two long, strange years for the restaurant industry, and after a 2020 hiatus, Eater Dallas is excited to announce the best new restaurants in the city. These are restaurants and bars that have opened despite unprecedented challenges, bringing a tropical escape to Greenville Avenue; a vegan take on a favorite fast-food snack; comforting, modern Southern food; stunning Brazilian cuisine; and delicious onigiri to Dallas diners.

Please join us in celebrating this year’s group of winners,

Eater Houston • 7th December 2021

A Crispy Cantonese Duck-Focused Restaurant Will Soon Land in Houston

The Blossom Hotel, the posh new Medical Center-area getaway that opened last month, has announced an exciting new lineup of restaurants opening on-site in early 2022.

The first, Duck House by Boon, is a sibling to Empress by Boon, the stunning modern Cantonese restaurant that opened in San Francisco earlier this year. Empress was the first solo venture for chef Ho Chee Boon, who spent three decades as the executive chef at Michelin-starred restaurant group Hakkasan.

As the name implies, Duck H

Eater Houston • 29th November 2021

Houston’s Sauciest Viet-Cajun Crawfish Is Making a Comeback

Saigon House, the wildly popular Viet-Cajun crawfish restaurant that helped launch chef Tony Nguyen’s career, will reopen on FM 1960 sometime next spring.

Nguyen confirmed the restaurant’s reopening to Eater, saying he hopes to be ready “before crawfish season,” which typically runs from January to July in Texas. Nguyen has already filed alcohol permits for the restaurant, at 3645 Cypress Creek Parkway, and created a nascent Facebook page for the spot.

Saigon House was first founded in Midtown

Eater Houston • 24th November 2021

Get Into the Christmas Spirit at These Houston-Area Holiday Pop-ups

Holiday season in Houston usually means balmy 70-degree days, palm trees draped with twinkle lights, and more rain than snow. It can be hard to get into the Christmas spirit under those tropic-like conditions.

Thankfully, a number of Houston-area bars have begun hosting holiday pop-ups in recent years, complete with dazzling lights, ugly Christmas sweaters, spiked egg nog, mulled wine, and more. If you're looking to be transported to the North Pole, or even just someplace with a ton of holiday

Eater Houston • 22nd November 2021

UB Preserv Is Closing, and Will Be Replaced by a New Bar From Chris Shepherd in January

One of Houston’s most celebrated hospitality groups is closing yet another of its restaurants in December. Underbelly Hospitality announced today that it will shutter its diverse restaurant UB Preserv at 1609 Westheimer Road on Thursday, December 23.

News of the closure comes just a few months after Underbelly announced it was also closing Montrose spots Hay Merchant and Georgia James, which will eventually move into the Regent Square development at Dunlavy Street and Allen Parkway. Earlier thi

Eater Houston • 18th November 2021

EaDo Restaurant Indianola Has an Exciting New Chef

An up-and-coming chef with an extensive resume at some of Houston’s most popular kitchens has returned to the Bayou City, with plans to revamp the menu at EaDo restaurant Indianola.

Martha Wilcox, who most recently worked at celebrated Seattle Italian restaurant Cafe Juanita, has been named chef de cuisine at Indianola, where she will work with executive chef Paul Lewis and culinary director Vincent Huynh. Wilcox has previously worked at some of Houston’s most outstanding restaurants, including