bivalve throwdown

i've stuffed you with fried chicken and then pork belly until you couldn't move anymore. next up is OYSTERS! the 3rd in the series of houston chowhounds chef throwdowns is coined the bivalve throwdown or #BVTD on twitter.

bryan caswell and bill floyd from REEF are graciously hosting this shindig on Sun, Nov 8th from 4-9ish PM.

BVTD chefs will be required to prepare 2 oyster dishes for the judges in this competition: 1 raw and 1 cooked. chefs will be able to choose from several varieties of live gulf oysters in the shell and freshly shucked oysters. all oysters will be provided for the competition, chefs will only need to bring their other ingredients. to compete, chefs must register by tue, 10/27. the final chef line-up will be announced on Mon, 11/1, so check back soon.

the amateur chef potluck competition will be battle gumbo. 10 houston chowhounds will be competing for bragging rights in this contest that the home cooks take equally seriously.

the event promises to be bigger and more impressive than the last. expect a shucking contest, several raw oyster bars with live shuckers, and -- as always -- a massive spread of gastrodelights.

as always, a wild card judge will also be chosen for the panel of judges. if you would like to be considered, please submit a short essay on "why you should be a BVTD judge" to imneverfull@gmail.com by 10/31.

to purchase tickets, click here.
for official event details and competition guidelines, click here.

big thanks to the event sponsors, REEF, louisiana foods, and saint arnold.

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

PBTD line up tonight

pork belly throwdown judges, please look the other way...
i really couldn't resist posting this list for the PBTD attendees tonight.

a couple things i noted:
- more sweet applications than savory
- 2 dishes incorporating "kim chee"
- 3 dishes incorporating apples

what i'm most surprised about: no one is using pork cracklings
what i'm looking forward to trying the most: pork belly sushi (hori-san)
most over-the-top: PB club w/foie gras (mockingbird)
what i'm most curious about: pork and bean ice cream sandwich (vasek)

Team Beaver’s
Jonathan Jones, Russell Kirkham, & Tad Turrany
"Bacon, Biscuit and Eggs" - cured, smoked, sous vide berkshire pork belly, buttermilk biscuit, soft scrambled egg, maple, peach jam

Team Chez Roux
Matthew Gray & Damien Rice
Fennel Crusted Home Cured Belly Pork, Seared Scallop, and Apple Puree

Team Cullen’s
Paul Lewis & Bruce Trathen
Crisp Jolie Vue Farms Pork Belly, Spiced Apple Compote, Housemade Kim Chee

Jason Gould
Molasses braised pork belly, apple & green onion jam, herb bread pudding

Team Haven
Randy Evans, Kevin Naderi & Ojan Bagher
Pork Belly Torta – a taco truck BLT

Team Kata Robata
Manubu “Hori” Horiuchi & Jean-Phillipe Gaston
Pork belly Threesome (Sushi, Crepes, Kakuni with Spinach)

Team Killen’s Steakhouse
Ronnie Killen & Dee Dee Killen
Vermont Maple Glazed Kurobuta Pork Belly

Team Mockingbird
Jose Luis Vela & John Sheely
Kurobuta Pork Belly "Club" with Foie Gras, Tomato/Orange Marmalade and Brioche

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

Randy Rucker from Rainbow Lodge
IOWA PORK BELLY “rice-less” risotto, shrimp, squash blossom kimchee

Cody Vasek from VOICE
Quartet of pork belly: Sweet n sour pork with smoked rice, sesame powder; Pave of pork with pickled cherries & summer corn marmalade; “pork n bean” ice cream sandwich; and ??????????

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

let the pork games begin! see you tonight.

southbound food show #4

here are the podcast links for Southbound Food radio show #4 w/ Bryan Caswell & Lance Zierlein that aired Sat, 8/15. the show has a permanent time slot now @ 11AM on Saturday mornings.

special guests this week: Randy Evans - executive chef of Brennan's who is opening the much anticipated Haven in Oct 2009; Michael Housewright - wine director at Block 7 Wine Company; Heidi Barrett - wine goddess/winemaker of Screaming Eagle, Grace Family, Revana, and her own wine company, La Sirena

segment 1 - randy evans discusses haven
segment 2 - michael housewright discusses block 7 wine co
segment 3 - jenny wang (houston chowhounds) discusses upcoming pork belly throwdown; top chef masters; interview with heidi barrett

tune into 1560 AM saturdays @ 11AM or stream it live from 1560 the game's website.

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.

PBTD chefs and judges

Some of you have been anxiously awaiting these Pork Belly Throwdown announcements.

And the judges are...

1. Jenny Wang (@imneverfull) - 002 Magazine food writer & I'm Never Full food blogger
2. Chris Shepherd (@cshepherd13) - chef/owner of Catalan Food & Wine
3. Teresa Byrne-Dodge (@MyTableMagazine) - editor & publisher of My Table Magazine, author of The Ultimate Food Lover's Guide to Houston
4. J.C. Reid (@houston_foodie) - food blogger for Houston Press' Eating Our Words and Houston Foodie
5. Misha Govshetyn (@tastybitz) - Tasty Bits food blogger
6. Justin Basye (@justinbasye) - chef de cuisine, VOICE (*WILD CARD)

And more importantly, the chefs that will be competing are...

1. Randy Evans (@havenchef), chef/owner of Haven (opening this fall)
2. Jason Gould (@chefjasongould), chef/owner of Gravitas
3. Matthew Gray, chef de cuisine of Chez Roux @ La Torretta Del Lago
4. Manubu "Hori" Horiuchi, executive chef at Kata Robata
5. Jonathan Jones (@PapaBeav), chef/owner of Beaver's
6. Ronnie Killen (@ze1chef), chef/owner of Killen's Steakhouse
7. Paul Lewis, executive chef of Cullen's Upscale American Grille
8. Ryan Pera, executive chef at The Grove
9. Randy Rucker (@greensandbeans), executive chef at Rainbow Lodge
10. Cody Vasek, sous chef at VOICE
11. Jose Luis Vela, chef de cuisine at Mockingbird Bistro
12. Antoine Ware (@catalansous), sous chef at Catalan

don't forget: tickets to the throwdown go on sale tomorrow. details will be posted to the houston chowhound yahoo! board.

complete event details on the official website.

live uni demo & dinner

not really like me to brag about a dinner until after i've actually eaten it. this blog post comes sans tasty photos, only an insane menu!

randy rucker, executive chef at the rainbow lodge has planned an extraordinary dinner for the houston chowhounds next week. LIVE sea urchins (yes, with long black spines still moving and everything) are the guests of honor and will be flown in from santa barbara.

each human attendee gets his/her own sea urchin and randy will give us a lesson on how to open and clean it. afterwards, we'll cure the lovely, sweet roe and enjoy this all-uni, all-star menu!

7.15.09 live uni demo & degustation w/wine pairings

- uni popcorn – uni powder seasoned popcorn served during the demo (served in popcorn bags)

- live uni demo & tasting of live uni with olive oil, persimmon vinegar & chive

- raw uni with smoked miso & brown butter

- baby white geoduck clam & a vinaigrette made from uni, meyer lemon & caramel oil

- lots of different eggs both hot & cold

- almond gnocchi with caviar, coddled buttermilk & uni

- slow poached iowa pork belly seasoned with carbonized onion powder & then re-seared, creamed kimchee & uni toast

- sea urchin frozen yogurt & our papaya ceviche

- uni & white chocolate

this menu is totally *sick* right? 20 attendees max & there are still spots left. RSVP here.

and since we're on the subject of the rainbow lodge, have you read my review from last month's 002 magazine? here it is: page 1, page 2

pork belly throwdown

if you thought the fried chicken throwdown was over-the-top, this one will definitely make your jaw drop. yes, it's a pork belly throwdown and a prescription for lipitor should probably come with each judge's ballot.

in this round, the throwdown will be more iron chef than throwdown with bobby flay. this time, we have a (not-so) secret ingredient and the chefs will choose to prepare the ingredient anyway they choose as long as it's the main ingredient in the dish. judging criteria will be based on originality, plating, and taste.

and how fun would pork be without beans? (or really, the other way around.) houston chowhounds amateur chefs will competing in a battle beans potluck that the real chefs will be judging. houchies can register to compete on the chowhound discussion board.

the event will be hosted by chris shepherd at catalan on mon, aug 17th. tickets will be $25 each and will go on sale on mon, july 20th after competing chefs and judges are announced. ticket proceeds remaining after covering food costs will benefit the charles v. blanton community garden in the 1st ward.

jonathan jones, the host of our last throwdown; the FCTD throwdown champions, randy evans and cody vasek; and antoine ware, catalan's sous chef, will be guaranteed entry in this throwdown. the remaining spots will be determined by lottery. the registration deadline for chefs to enter the lottery is july 17th @ 5pm.

a wild card judge will also be chosen for the judging panel. if you would like to be considered, please submit a short essay on "why you should be a PBTD judge" to imneverfull@gmail.com by july 17th @ 5pm.

event details, registration information, and judging criteria have been posted here. check the bottom of that webpage, join the houston chowhound discussion board, or follow @imneverfull on twitter for PBTD news and announcements.

2nd annual BBQ smackdown

summers in houston mean unbearable heat to most people, but for houston chowhounds it also signals that the annual BBQ smackdown is near.

usually scheduled the saturday before july 4th, pearl bar was chosen again as the venue because the 1st annual bbq smackdown was so successful there. however, this year had an attendance of 60 hungry houchies (twice as many attendees as last year) as the group has grown to over 400 members in just 1 year.

the premise was simple. brisket and ribs were brought in from 6 local bbq joints and were blind judged by the attendees. our top three winners (pierson & co, burns, and luling city market) from last year's competition were up against three new competitors. this year our farthest competitor was vincek's in east bernard who was picked because they were listed in texas monthly's top 50 bbq joints last year.

the winners for brisket were:

1st. pierson & co.

2nd. virgie's

3rd. vincek's

the winner for ribs were:

1st. virgie's

2nd. pierson & co.

3rd. vincek's

several chowhounds were shocked that burns didn't place again this year. others were shocked that thelma's placed dead last in each category. it should be mentioned that thelma was sick that day but since we had pre-ordered and prepaid for the food, our order was ready for us that morning, however her restaurant was closed.

here are 2 wonderful write-ups of the event. one by the houston press and the other by great food houston.

FCTD winners

it was a full house of full bellys at beaver's this past monday for the houston chowhounds fried chicken throwdown. jonathan jones was our gracious host. over 150 houchies, chefs, and industry folks gathered to binge on copious amounts of fried chicken and some of the best sides imaginable. but really everyone was there to see which of houston's top chefs would be the throwdown champ. the prize? just good ole fashion bragging rights. here's how the throwdown... well, went down.

twelve chefs competed in the classic fried chicken competition. the requirements for this category were: must be (1) chicken, (2) bone-in, and (3) skin-on. entries in this category were judged on (1) crispiness/texture of crust, (2) tenderness of meat, (3) seasoning and (4) overall taste.

Justin Basye, chef de cuisine at VOICE
Classic: Basye Family Recipe*

Frank Butera, chef/owner of Frank's Chop House
Classic: Frank’s Chop House Classic Buttermilk Fried Chicken

Fowl Frying Flyers
Jason Gould, chef/owner of Gravitas
Team Member(s): David Grossman & Cody Dryer
Classic: Buttermilk Battered Fried Chicken

Jonathan Jones, chef/owner of Beaver's
Classic: JJ's Famous Fried Chicken

Killen’s Steakhouse
Ronnie Killen, chef/owner of Killen's Steakhouse
Team Member(s): Dee Dee Killen & Ryan Penn
Classic: Ronnie Killen’s Fried Chicken*

*17 Ex-Pats
Dax McAnear, chef de cuisine at Textile and Ryan Pera, executive chef at The Grove
Classic: Exhibit A

Frank “The Shank”
Frank Moore, sommelier at Textile
Classic: Family Tradition*

Michael O'Connor, restaurant chef at Houston Country Club
Team Member(s): Marc Gabriel Medina
Classic: Fried Chicken w/ sweet potato waffles and honey-lemon butter*

Dusty Sagasser, smokemaster at Beaver's
Classic: Beer battered, smoked fried chicken

Catalan (AKA those Mother Cluckers)
Chris Shepherd, chef/owner of Catalan
Team Member(s): Antoine Ware & Matthew Pridgen
Classic: I Am Not Sharing

Cody Vasek, executive sous chef at VOICE
Classic: God’s Country Classic Chicken*

Jamie Zelko, chef/owner of Zelko Bistro (opening soon)
Classic: Zelko Bistro’s Captain’s Fried Chicken*

five chefs competed in the creative fried chicken competition. the requirements for this category were: must contain (1) poultry of some design, (2) a fried component, and (3) an attachment to fried chicken (i.e. must be reminiscent of fried chicken somehow). entries in this category were judged on (1) originality, (2) presentation, (3) how evocative of fried chicken it was and (4) overall taste.

Frank Butera, chef/owner of Frank's Chop House
Creative: Pollo Fritto All’abruzzese
spaghetti w/an italian, peasant-style ragu made with chicken hearts and gizzards topped with more fried hearts and gizzards.

Team Haven
Randy Evans, chef/owner of Haven (opening this fall)
Team Member(s): Kevin Naderi
Creative: Fried Chicken Ballantine with Watermelon Rind Slaw & Black Pepper Bourbon Gravy*

Fowl Frying Flyers
Jason Gould, chef/owner of Gravitas
Team Member(s): David Grossman & Cody Dryer
Creative: Mustard Crusted Battered & Fried Chicken

Plinio Sandalio, pastry chef at Textile & Gravitas
Team Member(s): Erika Mandeville
Creative: Chicken and Biscuits: buttermilk biscuits, chicken ice cream, honey-guajillo butter, crispy chicken flakes*

Cody Vasek, executive sous chef at VOICE
Creative: “Chicken and Funnel Cake”
chicken drumettes, frenched, dipped in funnel cake batter and deep fried. served with maple syrup and powdered sugar.

* recipes are included in the recipe book

AND HERE ARE THE WINNERS!

Congrats to all of our fried chicken throwdown winners!

In the Classic category

1st place - Cody Vasek, VOICE, God’s Country Classic Chicken
Cody's fried chicken was brined in pepperoncini juice and served with shiner bock beer bread

2nd place: Ronnie Killen, Killen's Steakhouse (Pearland), Ronnie Killen's Fried Chicken
Ronnie's fried chicken was cryovac-ed in buttermilk & spices and sous vided before it was battered and fried.


3rd place: Jason Gould, Gravitas, Buttermilk Battered Fried Chicken
Jason's fried chicken is available every Tuesday night at Gravitas as a blue plate special.


if i could give an award for most interesting crust, my first place would go to the *17 Ex-Pats team (Dax & Ryan) for a "bread crumb" mixture made from a combination of chicharron (pork rinds), pulverized crawfish shells, ramen noodles, and the ramen seasoning pack. it created an extremely crispy crust and some really interesting flavors no one quite expected.

my second place would go to Jamie Zelko for her slightly sweet crust of Captain Crunch cereal, corn flakes, oatmeal, and panko bread crumbs. the taste and texture was wonderful and definitely kid-friendly.

also worth noting is Dusty Sagasser's entry which was first smoked and then beer battered. the smokiness of the chicken meat was very pleasing.

In the Creative category:

1st place: Randy Evans, Haven, Fried Chicken Ballantine with Watermelon Rind Slaw & Black Pepper Bourbon Gravy
randy's chicken was served with a refreshing watermelon rind slaw and very delicious watermelon juice iced tea. he nailed the "evocative of fried chicken" judging criteria.

2nd place: Plinio Sandalio, Textile, Chicken and Biscuits: buttermilk biscuits, chicken ice cream, honey-guajillo butter, crispy chicken flakes
plinio's chicken ice cream (basically a frozen sweet veloute) was surprisingly tasty (well, maybe not if you're familiar with his work). he had some freezer issues at the event so his ice cream was served more like a semi-freddo. the chicken cracklin was incredibly, ridiculously delicious.

3rd place: Jason Gould, Gravitas, Mustard Crusted Battered & Fried Chicken

so who judged all 17 of these entries? a panel of houston chowhounds composed of (clockwise from top) Bryan Caswell of REEF, Jim Gossen of Louisiana Foods, Katharine Shilcutt Houston Press' food writer and She Eats blogger, Jay Francis Houston Press' food explorer, moi, and Karen Rittinger who won the wild card judge spot. it was seriously hard work, but someone had to do it!

but we weren't the only judges at the event. Nine houchies participated in battle mac and cheese potluck. Guess who judged this event? All the chefs at the event including Bryan Caswell and Monica Pope.

The chefs decided. Our mac & cheese winners were:

1st place: Cindy Robertson, Truly Scrumptious Mac-N-Cheese
2nd place: Chuck Redick, Chuck E. Mac and Cheese
3rd place: Matthew McClung, Not Yo Crawdaddy's Mac & Cheese

The event raised over $700 for Recipe for Success who were onsite at the event. Four chefs donated their $50 stipend towards food costs to the charity. These gastro angels were Ronnie Killen, Michael O'Connor, Plinio Sandalio, and Chris Shepherd.

Recipe books were also sold at the event which contained all nine mac & cheese recipes and 8 fried chicken recipes (including both 1st place winners) with 100% of the proceeds donated to Recipe for Success. Special thanks to Syd Kearney and 29-95 for printing our books and ballots for free and for doing it with such short notice.

If you would like a copy of the recipe book, please send a $5.50 donation via paypal to imneverfull@gmail.com and a PDF of the book will be emailed to you. Our goal is to raise $1000 for Recipe for Success.

Also, be sure to read the Houston Press write-up.

all photos courtesy of katharine shilcutt. view the complete set of FCTD photos on flickr.

and the FCTD wild card judge is...

congrats to Karen Indellicati Rittinger for winning the 6th spot on the judges panel for the fried chicken throwdown next week! here is her winning response to "why i should be a FCTD judge."

WHY I SHOULD BE A FCTD JUDGE
TOP TEN LIST

10. My palate has enjoyed the sophistication of foie gras at Lucas Carton in Paris to fried chicken at Hodaks in St. Louis.

9. Ten years of prescribed Lipitor is not the result of eating boiled, baked or braised chicken.

8. Never allowing the annual fryer butchering event on my grandparent’s farm to deter my taste for fried chicken even after wringing necks, opening the gizzards to determine the fowls’ last meals, plucking feathers and singeing the naked bird over a flame.

7. Good fried chicken is like the man in my life……..always satisfying.

6. My family’s fried chicken got me a wedding proposal, a 2.5 carat diamond and 17 years of good marriage (There’s truth in that old saying that “the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach”).

5. My grandmother fried enough chicken in her kitchen on a 100 degree Texas summer day with no air conditioning to feed children, grandchildren, a few neighbors and the field hands.

4. Zone‘d Erotica has never sold anything as satisfying as my family’s fried chicken.

3. I taught my Yankee cousins that Emily Post does not criticize if you eat southern fried chicken with your fingers.

2. I can proudly say that fried chicken has helped me reach a weight of ***.


And the number 1 reason that I should be a FCTD judge is because:

1. I can fry chicken just like my mother and grandmother!

***Will disclose if selected as a FCTD judge

karen, of course we won't ask you to disclose your weight. because then i might feel the need to share mine and that would just be TMI. congrats!

fried chicken throwdown

the michelada throwdown at anvil last weekend spawned an even bigger, more ambitious event. the challenge this time is everyone's favorite comfort food: FRIED CHICKEN.

the fried chicken throwdown (FCTD) will take place at beaver's on mon, 6/8 and i've posted the complete event details, throwdown guidelines, and judging criteria to the houston chowhounds website.

the line-up of contestants is SICK. this is the current list:

- Jonathan Jones, chef/owner of Beaver's (event host)
- Dusty Sagasser, smokemaster at Beaver's
- Plinio Sandalio, pastry chef at Textile & Gravitas
- Robert Heugel, master mixologist/owner of Anvil Bar & Refuge
- Frank Butera, chef/owner of Frank's Chop House
- Randy Evans, chef/owner of Haven (opening this fall)
- Chris Shepherd, chef/owner of Catalan
- Justin Basye, chef de cuisine at VOICE
- Randy Rucker, executive chef at Rainbow Lodge
- Dax McAnear, chef de cuisine at Textile
- Michael O'Connor, restaurant chef at Houston Country Club
- Jamie Zelko, chef/owner of Zelko Bistro (opening soon)

these contestants will be competing in one of two categories: classic or creative. the most creative entry so far sounds like plinio's chicken ice cream w/ chicken cracklings. bobby from anvil bar is calling his entry "gin chicken." will it be served in a glass or on a plate?

tickets went on sale on the Houston Chowhounds discussion board early friday morning and sold out within a few hours.

there aren't any tickets left but there's still a wild card spot on the judging panel. the wild card judge will be chosen by whoever submits the best response to the question, “Why should I be a FCTD judge?” anyone may enter by sending his/her answer in 100 words or less to imneverfull@gmail.com by mon, 6/1 at 5 pm.

you may have missed out on this event, but it's not too late to attend the Houston Chowhound 2nd annual BBQ smackdown! the date has been set for sat, 6/27 @ noon. the location will be announced soon. so if you aren't a member, seriously. what are you waiting for? join here.

photo courtesy of roboppy

que huong

que huong
8200 wilcrest dr # 27 @ beechnut

our lunch from Que Huong

the chowhounds and i had an impromptu lunch @ que huong yesterday, where robb walsh claims may be the best authentic vietnamese in the country. several attempts have been made to organize meals here but have fallen apart for one reason or another. my tum was crying for a light meal and i knew QH would hit the spot.

to start, 2 cold salads:

#300 jellyfish salad topped w/shrimp and pork from Que Huong

where's the jellyfish? i asked 2 or 3 times. i finally saw it hidden in the nether regions of the salad. once detected not much was found either. the salad was still wonderful w/sliced pork, shrimp, julienned celery, onion, carrots, cucumbers, crunchy fried shallots, and cilantro.

#306 sliced rare beef & shrimp water spinach salad from Que Huong

the beef (probably tai used for pho) was tender and pink, shrimp seemed fresh enough but the real standout was the bed of fresh water spinach (rau muống, ong choy, or in chinese, kongxincai "hollow heart vegetable") and the tasty dressing which was vinegar based, not overly sweet, and well-balanced.

both salads were light, fresh, and tasty. both were accompanied by shrimp chips - although slightly reminiscent of packaging peanuts -which were crunchy and fun to eat. they shared the same pleasant vinaigrette. i could eat either of these salads every day and have mentally added them to my list of healthy yummy food that i need to direct more attention to in following through with some new years resolutions.

next up, an appetizer:

#14 fried sticky rice combination from Que Huong

the fried sticky rice combination came with chinese sausage, vietnamese ham (chả lụa), tiny dried shrimp, and crushed peanuts. the dish was simple yet comforting and delicious. the fried puck of rice didn't appear to be deep fried as it did not have consistent browning. my guess is it is panfried, however i'm not sure how they do it. sticky rice is, well, sticky. i'm assuming copious amounts of oil must be involved yet the dish seemed grease-free. (if anyone can enlighten me on the preparation of this dish, please leave a comment.)

continuing on... i was disappointed they didn't have bánh bột chiên (fried rice flour cake) or bánh cuốn, steamed rice noodle rolls similar to chinese cheong fun served during dim sum. but bánh ướt is similar.

#99 banh uot w/ham, pickled pork sausage, fried shrimp cupcake from Que Huong

bánh ướt or steamed rice sheets are almost translucent white and have a bit of a gelatinous texture. while i quite enjoy it, i've known others to be turned off by the soft, chewy texture. by themselves they don't have much flavor and here QH cuts them into strips and pairs a small mound of cold bánh ướt with vietnamese ham or chả lụa (steamed pork loaf), pickled sour pork sausage or nem, and a fried shrimp cup cake. garnished with cilantro, julienned cukes, bean sprouts, and fried shallots, this dish is eaten after a generous amount of fish sauce or Nước chấm is added.

i loved the different textures of this dish: the soft, slimy noodles, the fresh crunch of the veggies and herbs, the pork prepared 2 ways, and the deep fried shrimp cake. even the juxtaposition of the 2 meats was interesting: nem- pickled, mushy, rawish-looking sausage (not sour to me at all) could turn others off, but i think it is quite tasty. and chả lụa- boiled/steamed silky smooth and mild pork bologna.

#274 soft shell crab tempura w/butter sauce from Que Huong

fried soft shell crab in "french" butter sauce. the crab looked quartered, then battered and fried. it was then tossed with butter sauce which i couldn't detect enough of and served on a bed of watercress. who can hate fried soft shells? i didn't with this version, although i have had much better at mai's. misha seems to think sinh sinh has the best in town and i look forward to confirming that.

#224 bo luc lac from Que Huong

lastly, i ordered bo luc lac or "shaken beef" which is a good benchmark dish with which to critique all vietnamese restaurants. misha remarked that i went safe and boring, the others at the table thought we probably already had enough food w/o this last dish, but our server promised me it was good. well... he was wrong. the beef cubes were overcooked and chewy. the flavors of the dish, even though i liked the addition of snow peas, were unremarkable.

i should have ordered something more adventurous like:

• #287 aromatic snail sauteed w/basil leaves
• #288 quail simmered in honey soy sauce
• #289, 291, 294 eel, frog legs, or alligator w/hot pepper & lemongrass
• #290, 292, 295 eel, frog legs, or alligator in curry sauce
• #296 grilled alligator on hot plate
• #321 goat meat, taro, and carrots in curry sauce w/ french bread or vermicelli

is this the best authentic vietnamese in houston? yes, so far, as far as i can tell.

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:

beijing olympics closing ceremonies - part 2

continued from part 1

peking cuisine
8332 southwest fwy @ gessner

the second meal of the day to commemorate the end of the beijing summer olympics last weekend was appropriately centered around peking duck. peking cuisine is well known for serving the best peking duck in town. i remember having the peking duck there on thanksgiving with my family many many years ago, but couldn't really remember thinking it was as good as people say it is. i was anxious to get back there and investigate with the houston chowhounds.

dinner this evening was for 12 and we secured the private room for the event and also ordered our ducks one day in advance. my chinese mother was in tow for dinner so we could order off the chinese language menu.


chinese language menu. we ordered 2 ducks and the family dinner for 6 which included your choice of 6 cold appetizers, 6 hot dishes, and 1 starch.

this is what our table looked like once all the dishes were brought out. (the duck soup came much later)

la pi in garlic sauce. it had a strange sour taste, i was not fond of it.

honey smoked fish. the consensus at the table was that the dish was not that great. it was overly fishy, dry, and had only a slightly sweet taste.

fried stuffed bun. i didn't try it.

preserved egg with tofu. i only like preserved eggs (aka thousand year old eggs) in congee. it is definitely an acquired taste. i noticed that most of this dish went untouched on the table.

soy sauce pork feet. truthfully, i don't remember trying this. if i did, it was not memorable. perhaps some attendees can comment about this dish.

jellyfish with garlic. excellent. i could have eaten the whole plate myself.

spicy beef tendon. i love tendon and this was no exception. i would have prefered cilantro on top instead of scallions to complement the heat.

fish with hot red pepper. i expected the fish to be crispy which it wasn't. perhaps, i waited too long to dig into the dish. it also looks a lot spicier than it was. next time i'd rather order the sichuan fish.

eggplant with garlic sauce. i love japanese eggplant and this dish didn't disappoint.

fantail shrimp (not on english menu). nothing exciting. the dish tasted exactly the way it looked. i would have liked to eat more of the veggies in the dish, but i was sharing with 11 other people.

stirfried green beans. very good.

sichuan beef. good ma la from the dish, however not nearly as tasty as sichuan cuisine.

ma po tofu. again, passable but not as good as sichuan cuisine.

the star of the show peking duck. the duck skin was arranged on top of the plate of duck meat carved off the whole duck. scallions and plum sauce were served on the side. pancakes were served in plastic tortilla holders (pancakes are in the above photo of the whole table). the duck had cooled down too much by the time it was served and i expected the skin to be crispier. however, the pancakes were warm and delicious. definitely the best i've had. soup made from the duck carcasses, napa cabbage, and tofu was also served at the end of the meal.

it's hard to believe that this is the best peking duck houston has to offer. does any place in houston actually carve peking duck at the table?

the meal was fun and enjoyable of course b/c the chowhounds were there. it was also a great value as the meal came out to $13 per person. for sichuan food, i'd definitely head to sichuan cuisine, but i guess for my peking duck fix - this is as good as it gets?

special thanks to reed, my mom, for many of the photos posted here. the good ones are hers ;-)