southbound food show #8

this week we're publishing the podcast links to our upcoming show this weekend a few days early. it's just too hilarious to keep to ourselves for another 48 hours.

the parody of the NEW southbound food show is our response to several recent attempts to sabotage our new radio show by another local radio personality. i think you'll agree that it is quite funny. and big thanks to our special guests this week: the legendary restauranteur tony vallone of tony's & soon-to-open ciao bello and robin goldstein of fearless critic restaurant guide.

this show airs Sat, 9/12 at 11AM on AM 1560 the game. tune in or stream it live from 1560thegame.com

segment 1 - parody of NEW southbound food show, new local restaurants, oyster throwdown announcement
segment 2 - tony vallone discusses his new casual restaurant, ciao bello opening on 9/12
segment 3 - robin goldstein discusses 2nd edition of fearless critic houston restaurant guide & book release party on 9/16

please leave your feedback on the podcast website or email it to southboundfood@gmail.com

southbound food show #7

great show last weekend with special guests michael dei maggi and robert hall III, of the califonia winemaking family robert hall winery, who will be opening the rockwood room together this october. the restaurant will be located near woodway and chimney rock and will feature iconic american cuisine such as roasted prime rib, charbroiled steaks, and broiled lobster tail.

segment 1 - hosts discuss top chef & various other delicious topics
segment 2 - mike dei maggi discusses the menu at the rockwood room
segment 3 - robert hall discusses the wine program at the rockwood room

next weekend, tony vallone will be stopping by the studio to talk about ciao bello, his new casual, italian eatery opening in the former jimmy wilson's spot on san felipe & sage on sat, sept 12th. we're also delighted to have robin goldstein of fearless critic media and "the wine trials" joining us to discuss the upcoming release of the second edition of the fearless critic houston restaurant guide.

the fearless critic houston restaurant guide 2nd edition book release party will be hosted at new living at 6111 kirby on wed, sept 16th from 5:30 - 8pm. everyone is invited to attend.

september new restos

fall in houston not only holds the excitement of cooler weather but will also see the opening of lots of new restaurants. this month, check these out:

tesar's in the woodlands had a soft opening last night after a busted piped delayed the opening by one day. the "modern steak & seafood" menu offers parallel tastings of both grass-and-grain-fed beef, 4 types of kobe ribeyes, and fish dishes have an emphasis on whole fish. in addition to the proteins and raw bar, i'm looking forward to trying the butter-poached king crab, beef cheek ravioli with crispy sweetbreads, and cauliflower brulee, the outdoor tesar's burger bar will also offer grass-and-grain-fed beef burgers and handcut fries with your choice of truffle oil, wasabi, or chili. here's is the dinner menu and cocktail & dessert menu.

valentino serving contemporary italian cuisine opens in the hotel derek [corrected: in mid-september]. vin bar complete with an italian raw bar will be opening first and the formal dining room will be in full operations a couple weeks later.

straits serving upscale singaporean cuisine will be opening in town & country's citycentre on sept 28th.

read my write-ups on these new restos on juli b for more info.

in addition, lynette hawkins' giacomo's cibo e vino is set to open on sept 9th in river oaks on westheimer & bammel where pan y agua once stood. hawkins opened the now defunct la mora in the 90's. the menu which features antipasti, panini, pasta, and grilled items has been posted to their website. take a look.

[added: the folks that brought us pink's pizza & dragon bowl is opening lola in the heights on sept 12th. check out 29-95.com to sample their casual comfort food at a special preview event the night before.]

[added 9/7: tony vallone's new casual, italian eatery named ciao bello will be opening in the former jimmy wilson's spot on san felipe & sage on sat, sept 12th. tune into southbound food on sat, sept 12 at 11am to hear tony give us the full deets and the run-down on all the changes they are making.]

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

PBTD write-up in the Houston Chronicle

greg morago, houston chronicle's food editor wrote a wonderful piece on the houston chowhounds and the pork belly throwdown that took place last week at catalan. The write-up should be in thursday's Preview section of the paper, but you can get a sneak peek on alison cook's blog until then:

http://blogs.chron.com/cookstour/archives/2009/08/the_lowdown_on_1.html#more

PBTD results

photo by Carlos Meltzer

last night at catalan nearly 200 pork lovers from all over houston convened for an evening of pure gluttony at the houston chowhounds pork belly throwdown. chris shepherd and antonio gianola were our hosts with the roasts - pig roasts that is. huge pans of pigs heads and roasted suckling pigs greeted their food fans upon arrival who were welcome to nosh on a piggie cheek, ear, and anything in between. to a chowhound, absolutely no pig parts are off-limits.

in attendance were a boisterous, hungry crowd of foodies (aka houCHies) and industry folks, most of whom chose to spend their only day off this week gathered together in this eating-for-sport event. there were two competitions this evening: first, battle beans competition by houston chowhounds amateur chefs. this contest was judged by twelve of houston's top chefs who were present to compete in the headlining event: a pork belly cooking contest, or "throwdown."

tonight was a follow-up to the fried chicken throwdown at beaver's two months ago. the two winners of that evening's challenge, randy evans (executive chef of the much anticipated Haven opening in oct) and cody vasek (executive sous chef at VOICE) returned to defend their titles. however, tonight's challenge had only one judging category and could only have one winner.

the judges this evening had the daunting task of tasting twelve different pork belly dishes. the panel included teresa byrne-dodge, publisher/editor of my table magazine; chris shepherd, chef/owner of catalan; chris reid, houston press food blogger; misha govshetyn, tasty bits food blogger; wild card judge - justin basye, chef de cuisine at VOICE; and yours truly. each dish was scored based on (1) originality, (2) plating, and (3) taste. scores for taste counted twice and was double-weighted.

and the winners were...

1st place: Cody Vasek, VOICE. Quartet of Pork Belly: tempura fried pork belly over fermented black rice; pave of pork belly with pickled cherries & sweet corn marmalade; pork and bean ginger snap ice cream sandwich; fried pork belly & chicken skin wrapped scallop. cody received near perfect scores across the board for all categories. the ice cream sandwich was spectacular

photo by Misha Govshetyn

2nd place: Randy Evans, Haven. Pork belly pastor torta. the flavors were both comforting and extremely tasty. randy served this with a bucket of mexican cokes & jarritos, pickled carrots, and homemade salsa verde. it's difficult to imagine that a torta could beat the rest of the dishes you'll see below, but it really was THAT GOOD.

photo by Misha Govshetyn

3rd place: Manubu "Hori" Horiuchi, Kata Robata. Pork Belly Threesome: braised pork belly and green onion crepe w/kim chee sauce; braised pork belly sushi w/grated daikon soy sauce, bonito flakes, & yuzu pepper; "kakuni" sake-braised pork belly w/spinach in sweet soy reduction. this was another dish with high originality and plating scores.

From Pork Belly Throwdown

the other dishes were as follows:

Jonathan Jones, Beaver's. "Bacon, Biscuit and Eggs" - cured, smoked, sous vide berkshire pork belly, buttermilk biscuit, soft scrambled egg, maple "caviar", peach jam. it was served with the Beaver's famous "squealing mary" bloody mary made with bacon-infused vodka and garnished with bacon sugar salt rim and candied bacon. JJ described this dish as tasting like his childhood.

From Pork Belly Throwdown

Ryan Pera, The Grove. Crisp pork belly with sweet and sour watermelon, tamarind vinaigrette and scallion salad.

From Pork Belly Throwdown

Matthew Gray, Chez Roux. Fennel Crusted Home Cured Belly Pork, Seared Scallop, and Apple Puree.

From Pork Belly Throwdown

Paul Lewis, Cullen's Upscale American Grille. Crisp Jolie Vue Farms Pork Belly, Spiced Apple Compote, Housemade "Kim Chee."

photo by Misha Govshetyn

Antoine Ware, Catalan. Brown sugar & bourbon glazed belly of Mr. Hatterman’s Blue Butt Hog, butternut squash.

From Pork Belly Throwdown

Jose Luis Vela, Mockingbird Bistro. Kurobuta Pork Belly "Club" with Foie Gras, Tomato/Orange Marmalade and Brioche. Definitely the most decadent dish of the evening.

From Pork Belly Throwdown

Ronnie Killen, Killen's Steakhouse. Vermont Maple Glazed Kurobuta Pork Belly w/ Cabbage slaw

From Pork Belly Throwdown

Jason Gould, formerly of Gravitas. Molasses braised pork belly, apple & green onion jam, herb bread pudding.

From Pork Belly Throwdown

Randy Rucker, Rainbow Lodge. 36 hour poached Iowa Pork Belly sliced thin and glued to shrimp carpaccio with "TG" and dusted with a powder made from pork fat, isomalt, truffle & tapioca maltodextrin and torched, “rice-less” risotto made from yukon potatoes micro-diced to the size of carnaroli rice, squash blossom kimchee (served in its physical form, pureed, and foamed.

From Pork Belly Throwdown

the results of Battle Beans were as follows:

1st place: Karen Rittinger. Fabada Asturiada.

photo by Carlos Meltzer

2nd place: Steve Philpot. Third Coast Cassoulet.

photo by Carlos Meltzer

3rd place: Cindy Robertson. Cindy was also the winner of the fried chicken throwdown's Battle Mac & Cheese.

left over proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to the charles blanton community garden in the 1st ward.

a separate charitable effort in the form of an e-cookbook is also being compiled to benefit recipe for success. the "book" will include the pork belly and bean recipes from the evening's event. copies can be requested with a $5 donation by emailing info@recipe4success.org.

From Pork Belly Throwdown

links to other event write-ups & photos:

• houston press write-up & slideshow
• great food houston blog
• compilation of event photos from photo sets by carlos meltzer, misha govshetyn, jim gossen, and food princess