southbound food show #6

here are the podcast links to the southbound food show that aired on sat, 9/29 with special guests gail simmons, from top chef and special projects director for food & wine magazine, and chef jamie zelko who is opening zelko bistro in the heights this fall.

segment 1 - lance zierlein, bryan caswell, & jenny wang discuss top chef & 1560 the game mug awards, jamie zelko talks about zelko bistro & her boss burger coming to the houston heights this fall; everyone "drops" miracle berries

segment 2 - Q&A with gail simmons about cheftestants on new season of top chef, how to judge 12 plates of food in one sitting, how she feels about the the way she is portrayed on the show, and more.

segment 3 - flavor tripping with the berry fairy (jenny wang & lea mckinney) and more with jamie zelko

southbound food show #5

here are your podcast links to last weekend's southbound food radio show with bryan caswell, jenny wang, and lance zierlein, danny vara, & frank bullington from 1560 the game.

segment 1 - the gang chats about the pork belly throwdown at catalan
segment 2 - pork belly throwdown sound bites: cody vasek (VOICE), jonathan jones (beaver's), ryan pera (the grove), antoine ware (catalan), antonio gianola (catalan), and jenny wang
segment 3 - lennie ambrose from saint arnold brewery & justin vann, houston's newest and youngest advanced sommelier, from vic & anthony's.

special guests next week:
- gail simmons , bravo's top chef judge & special projects director for food & wine magazine.
- jamie zelko, former executive chef of lancaster bistro opening zelko bistro in the heights this fall
- the berry fairy, jenny wang & lea mckinney host an on-air miracle berry flavor tripping to promote their upcoming flavor tripping party at ei8ht lounge on wed, 9/2

tune into 1560 AM at 11AM this Sat morning or stream it live from 1560thegame.com

southbound food show #3

yes, i suck for not posting these sooner. here are the podcast links for bryan caswell's southbound food radio show #3 which aired last weekend.

special guests: chris shepherd from Catalan, cody vasek (executive sous chef @ VOICE) and me.

we discuss flavor tripping, Chris' trip culinary adventures in Istanbul, Cody's recent throwdown successes, Julie & Julia, food blogging, PBTD, and more:

segment 1
segment 2
segment 3

please send comments or questions for the "ask the chef" segment to southboundfood@gmail.com.

october memories, november excitement

teas at textile

hello blog! oh i've missed you. i'm so sorry you feel so neglected lately. i've had so many fabulous meals and haven't shared any of them with you...

many of you know that i am actually getting paid to write these days. it's not much, but it's really fun. so although you aren't seeing much writing going on here, i'm actually more prolific than ever. i have actual deadlines authoring business profiles and reviews, editorial listings, event listings, and the weekly go list on houston citysearch.

i've also been crazy busy lately with chowhound events, grand opening parties, visiting new restaurants and bars, and super awesome opportunities that just keep falling into my lap. i have to say that the highlight of my october is a hard choice between the spectacular production of the house of blues grand opening party and the dinner at chez roux and overnight stay at la torretta del lago resort and spa. both events were first-rate, VIP all the way and the latter even included a massage and jet skiing on lake conroe the next day! the mccormick & schmick's pre-opening reception last night was a bit of a disappointment. most of the attendees looked like they just walked in off the street and my friend was charged for a diet coke at the bar. afterwards, i had a private tour of the foundation room led by the director and learned about the significance of the shrines and ornate eastern asian decor. the lounge and dining room are gorgeous and i am envious of anyone with a membership.

the chowhounds also had a whole pig roast at feast a few weeks ago. richard, james, and meagan certainly understand hospitality and i continue to be impressed by how smoothly all of our group dinners are executed. this last event was for 30 people! last week, i had a soup dumpling class at my house by chef sonny zou who has published many chinese cookbooks and has been recognized with tons of awards of his culinary talents. the event ended with full bellys, a lot of postprandial wine drinking and giggling with the chef, and talk of planning future classes with him. and did i mention that the houston chowhounds have a website now?

i will try to catch up and write more detailed blog entries of these events and my recent visit to textile, the new scott tycer restaurant in the heights. i was impressed with the space, the hospitality, the sheer amount of talent walking around in the kitchen, and the dessert tasting that plinio created for us. i also made my way over to saute world cuisine (next door to hobbit cafe and blue fish) to visit chef connie altieri, fellow chowhound. we had a delightful lunch and can't wait until they are in full operation and open late nights until 3 am on thu-sat.

BLT at Saute

this new month is bringing lots of excitement with the two flavor tripping parties. both events have been moved to the social on washington. the first event sold out weeks ago. the second one is filling up quickly. also, on sun, nov 16th, we will have a fundraiser dinner at himalaya to benefit the houston food bank. i totally forgot that i have tickets for the madonna concert for that evening. either i'll go to the concert late or i'll get rid of the tickets all together. THAT is how important the chowhounds are to me :)

for now, i'm off to the koonce "fun" raiser this afternoon. maybe i'll see you there?

flavor trippin news

so a few tidbits of news re: the flavor tripping parties coming up next month:

the houston chowhounds will be hosting a second party at the saint arnold brewery on sun, 11/23 from 5-7 pm. the sunday date was chosen with restaurant and industry folks in mind and this event will be more geared towards foodies. we plan on having some funky food items that the general population wouldn't even be able to recognize like injera, natto, bitter melon, and sichuan peppercorns.

btw, the first event is already 75% sold out so if this is your date of choice and you don't have your ticket yet, better click here.

if you already purchased tickets for the first event and would like to transfer them to the second one, please email berryfairyhouston@gmail.com.

i'm also pleased to announce our two event sponsors: houston press and the cleverley show. look for our ads in upcoming issues of the houston press. tune into cleverley's radio show on saturdays at noon on CNN 650 radio news to listen for our radio ads.

lastly, if you don't have a copy of the fearless critic houston restaurant guide or their latest book the wine trials: 100 everyday wines under $15 that beat $50 to $150 wines in brown-bag blind tastings, you can pick up a copy (or two - think: awesome christmas prezzies) at both events. two houston chowhounds wrote many of the houston restaurant reviews and it is seriously the most entertaining and wonderfully irreverant reviews you'll ever read. best of all, $3 from the sale of each book will be donated to the koonce benefit fund. bring cash b/c it smells better than plastic and we'll have miracle berry tablets for sale there too!

[edited on 10/14: the fearless critic has joined as an event sponsor and will be donating $8 from every $18 copy of the houston restaurant guide and $6 from every $15 copy of "the wine trials" sold during the both events to the koonce fund]

another flavor trip saintly style

houston chowhounds present houston's 2nd ever...

Miracle Berry Flavor Tripping Party
st. arnold brewery
friday, nov 7th
6:30 - 8:30PM

all you can drink microbrew + miracle berry tastebud tripping is the perfect combination for a raucously willy wonka evening!

if you missed out on the first party, now is your chance to check out the latest foodie craze!

your $35 ticket includes 1 miracle berry, a bacchanalian banquet of foods specially selected for the flavor tripping, and all-you-can-(safely) drink St. Arnold's beer! There will be 6 beers on tap including their seasonal Oktoberfest beer and the delicious St. Arnold Root beer too!

[Edit:] A portion of the evening's proceeds will go to the Koonce Family Benefit Fund set up for James and Katherine Koonce who were critically injured in the Brennan's fire.

Tickets are only available online as we expect the event to sell out before the event. There are a limited number of berries for this event as these fruit are extremely rare, highly perishable and hard to obtain in large volumes. Miracle berry tablets will also be available at the event for those looking for a more intensified berry trip.

for more details or to buy your ticket online, go to http://www.theberryfairy.com/.

until then, i leave you with this hilarious miracle berry video with juliette binoche and gordon ramsey:

more press...

just posted! read the write-up of the miracle berry party on the houston press.

miracle berry party press

guess who's on the front page of the houstonist today? (i can pretend to be modest but any of my friends will tell you that it doesn't really suit me.) MOI. the miracle berry party came off amazingly despite some unexpected service kinks compliments of la strada. over 100 people showed up and 10-15 people even put their names down on a waiting list in hopes that some RSVP's wouldn't show. sorry, they were out of luck.

the reactions to the berry were very different. read the reviews for yourself:
the houstonist
food in houston
tasty-bits
food princess reports

here's a video that jay francis from the houston press took:

didn't make it to the event? subscribe to berryfairyhouston for news on the next flavor tripping party.

good news + berry party update

first of all, i finished my 14 day master cleanse. WOO HOO! i would jump in the air for joy but i'm not quite sure i have enough energy for it. i feel great! now i will be breaking the fast over the next few days which means that - boo hoo - today i'm off the lemonade but replacing it with OJ (yes, more juice <groan>). tomorrow is OJ and veggie broth. by friday, i'll be on solid foods again just in time for the miracle berry flavor tripping party! it will also be the first time i've had booze in over 2 weeks! i'll be a cheap date if there are any takers...

berry good news!

we have over 70 confirmed guests for the berry special party. my berry dealer was happy to accommodate me with a bigger berry shipment as this was a good week for ripe fruit and he just raised his prices (twice actually since i placed my order). i've even offered to take a few more off his hands so... anyone who hasn't RSVP'ed for the festivities on friday, i have extra berries! to guarantee yourself a berry for the flavor trip, paypal me at berryfairyhouston@gmail.com with the names of the attendees. the cost is $20 per person. or just show up at la strada before 6 pm. when i run out, i'm out for good this time and will post that info here if it happens.

special thanks to anonymouseater and she eats for their blog posts on the event. we could not have had a response this huge if it weren't for them! besos!

and expect to see more restaurant reviews now that i'll be eating real food again. on my list is raia's italian market, sunfired foods (houston's only raw food restaurant/deli), blue nile ethiopian (w/ my fellow chowhounds) and another visit to bowl.

the photo above is humboldt fog, one of my all time favorite cheeses (and not cheap at a whopping $25.99/lb). it will be served at the flavor tripping at la strada on friday. try to snag a taste before you eat your berry if you've never tried it before. and get here early or it might all be gone (read: in my belly).

miracle fruit "flavor tripping" party

come join me and the houston chowhounds as we share yet another culinary adventure together.

what are miracle berries? these fresh fruits native of west africa when eaten will change your sense of taste temporarily for 30 mins to 1 hour. all sour and bitter foods will taste sweet and delicious!

lemons taste like lemonade, goat cheese tastes like cream cheese frosting, rhubarb tastes like a sugar stick, guiness tastes like a chocolate milkshake, cheap tequila tastes good! wanna try for yourself?

houston's first-ever miracle berry flavor tripping party details:

when: friday, july 25, 2008
where: la strada

address: 322 westheimer rd. @ taft, houston, 77006
time: 5:30 - 8 pm

please arrive at 5:30 and meet us upstairs. the flavor tripping will start at 6:00.

the second floor of the restaurant is reserved for the event. we will have our own bartender and cash bar. i have arranged for happy hour prices on drinks including a $5 specialty cocktail that will be made to pair with the miracle berry.

i have 50 berries arriving next week. the cost of the event will include 1 fresh miracle berry and a smorgasbord of food and adult beverages to taste chosen specifically to accompany the crazy fruit.

that list includes: fresh citrus, other fruits, veggies, various cheeses including humboldt fog, salt & vinegar potato chips, pickles, various condiments, bologna sandwiches (which have been reported to taste like cake! i'm not a believer, so i have to try it myself) and more!

the cost will be $15 per person if paid in advance by paypal by 7/22. extra berries (if any) will be sold at the door on the day of the event for $20. first come, first served.

to reserve your spot, please send payment to berryfairyhouston@gmail.com via paypal by tuesday, 7/22. please leave your attendees' names in the comments section.

questions? email me at berryfairyhouston@gmail.com.

we are excited! i hope you are!

wanna learn more about miracle fruit? check out these links:

ny times article & flavor tripping party video, WSJ article, NPR broadcast, and blog postings here and here

*****************

update on 7/23: miracle berry party update here

update on 7/24: miracle berries are here!

my new pet: miracle fruit plant

(photo courtesy of wikipedia)

i woke up to a pleasant surprise today. my miracle fruit plant arrived from jene's tropicals in st. petersburg, FL.

i first heard about these miracle berries from my friend in cambridge. he told me about a miracle berry party that his friends threw that was so much fun. eating the flesh of the berry will change your tastebuds for 30 mins to an hour and cause sour and bitter foods to taste sweet. after one of these babies, you can eat a lemon whole and it will taste sweet like lemonade. i've also heard that cheap tequila will actually taste good. dark stout beers may even taste like chocolate milkshakes. watch this NYT video and you'll get the idea.

the NYT recently wrote an article on these trippy berries and now the wait time to get ahold of them is 6 weeks to two months. each berry will cost you $1.50 to $4 and shipping costs are as high as $30 per order. the fruit are highly perishable and must be overnighted. most of the stuff available in the US is being grown in FL. it's ironic that it was faster for me to receive a whole plant than the actual berries themselves. from seed to fruit, it usually takes 4-5 years before a plant is bearing fruit; i'm hoping it will only be a matter of months before my new plant is.

so my plant is a lot smaller than i thought it would be. i ordered the 3 gallon size and expected the plant to be at least 4 ft tall. my plant is 1 ft tall from the topsoil. i am notoriously bad with plants, but this baby wasn't cheap. cost more than what i paid for both my cats together (they were rescues). i think i need to treat it is as if it were my new pet. first of all, let's call her a girl and shall i give her a name? it will need to be fed and talked to and nurtured every day. i will be very proud of myself if i can actually get this thing to bear me some fruit. it will make dinner parties at my house a lot more interesting...


in the meantime, i have 50 berries on order to arrive on a specified date in july for a "flavor tripping" party for the houston chowhounds. planning is taking place right now but the location of the event will be in a bar in montrose.

okay. any suggestions on names for my new green pet?