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    Rodeo Best Bites

    The Houston Rodeo's best bites: Red velvet Twinkies, short ribs galore or bacon waffle — what's your favorite?

    Eric Sandler
    Feb 24, 2014 | 2:11 pm

    Rodeo season kicked off Sunday night with the 10th annual RodeoHouston Uncorked! Roundup and Best Bites Competition. While almost 5,000 people sampled food and drink from 82 restaurants and hundreds of wineries, a panel of "celebrity" judges from a variety of media outlets sampled the food offerings to determine winners in a variety of categories.

    As the judges weighed the merits of how a red velvet Twinkie compared to white chocolate bread pudding, the attendees lined up to sample some of the city's highest profile restaurants. Crowd favorites like Killen's Barbecue and Royers Round Top Cafe saw long lines, but, in general, people were able to get whatever they wanted quickly, even prized dishes like the lobster tacos from Memorial favorite Jonathan's the Rub.

    Short ribs proved to be the night's unofficial featured ingredient.

    Of course, attempting to sample all of the food would be impossible. Even with the small portions, the organizers noted that a person would consume eight pounds attempting to do so.

    Short ribs proved to be the night's unofficial featured ingredient. In addition to Killen's smoked beef ribs, Glass Wall, the Royal Sonesta Hotel and others all highlighted the protein.

    Although it didn't find favor with the judges, Eleven XI served my favorite dish: Smoked tomato soup with bacon waffle. On the dessert side, Ooh La La Dessert Boutique's fruit-filled white chocolate bread pudding stood out among the mostly chocolate-based offerings.

    In the end, familiar names and familiar flavors ruled the day. Haven took the top spot for its long-celebrated wild boar chili Frito pie. Mario's Seawall Italian Restaurant earned "Reserve Champion" status for cheese-filled meatballs.

    Here are all of the winners:

    Tasty Traditions Award: Mommas Meatballs from Mario's Seawall Italian Restaurant

    Rookie Award: Chocolate Truffles from Chocolate Punch

    Showmanship Award: 1st place, Catering to Your Taste Buds; 2nd place, Mister French's Gourmet Bakery

    Trailblazing Appetizer/Entree Award: 1st place, Wild boar chili from Haven; 2nd place, Mommas Meatballs from Mario's Seawall Italian Restaurant; 3rd place, Bison burgers and French fries with chaat masala from Kiran's

    Two-Stepping Bread/Cheese/Dessert Award: 1st place, Pineapple/Habanero chocolate from Cacao & Cardamom; 2nd place, White chocolate bread pudding from Ooh La La Dessert Boutique

    Best Bites Popular Choice Award: 1st place, Chocolate Pizazz; 2nd place, Royer's Round Top Cafe

    Bud Royer and team Royers Cafe celebrate another people's choice award.

    RodeoHouston Best Bites 2014
      
    Photo by: Brian Tafelmeyer
    Bud Royer and team Royers Cafe celebrate another people's choice award.
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    head north

    Family friendly Garden Oaks restaurant coming soon to Magnolia

    Eric Sandler
    May 30, 2025 | 5:00 pm
    d'Alba food spread
    Photo by Becca Wright
    A selection of dishes from d'Alba.

    A family friendly Garden Oaks restaurant is coming to Montgomery. D’Alba Craft Kitchen & Cocktails will open a new location this summer near the intersection of FM 2978 and FM 1488.

    Located in the former Philipose’s space at 32823 FM 2978 Rd, d’Alba owner Daut Elshani tells CultureMap that he’s been looking for a location in The Woodlands/Woodforest/Magnolia area for about a year. He sees a lot of similarities between the growing northern suburbs and Garden Oaks, the neighborhood where d’Alba has been a neighborhood favorite since it opened in 2021.

    “The recipe is there with young professional couples and young families that have the same demographics that fit what we’ve done in Garden Oaks to make the first one so successful,” Elshani says. “In the last year I moved to the suburbs myself. Seeing how lively it is, you’ll get some deja vu of how the Heights developed in the late twenty-teens.”

    Slated to open in September, area residents will find the same formula that led d’Alba to win Best New Restaurant in the 2022 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards. A meal at d’Alba may start with shareable items such as spinach and artichoke dip, campechana, or the signature balloon bread — a puffed-up, baked pita served with basil-garlic pesto and truffle honey drizzle. Entrees include pizzas, pastas, salads, and heartier mains such as blackened salmon, a cheeseburger, and confit chicken thighs — all of which are made from scratch.

    The restaurant also offers a popular happy hour and a lively brunch. Elshani thinks the area’s relative dearth of Italian-inspired restaurants will work to his advantage.

    “[Compared to] Zanti in The Woodlands and Amalfi in Woodforest, we’ll be in the middle of them with a more casual atmosphere and the same time of quality at a lower price. We’re definitely excited about it,” he says.

    Currently, Elshani is performing renovations to convert Philipose’s into d’Alba. Changes include installing large doors that can be opened during nice weather, getting rid of the outdated drop ceiling, upgrading the lighting, and dividing the room to improve energy and flow.

    “We’re stoked and super excited about getting this up and running,” Elshani says.

    A selection of dishes from d'Alba.

    d'Alba food spread
      
    Photo by Becca Wright
    A selection of dishes from d'Alba.
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