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    Ranking It

    Most ridiculous best burgers list ever touts an absurd pick for Houston's top burger, snubs the real standouts

    Eric Sandler
    Jun 6, 2014 | 1:56 pm

    People love lists. After all, they're a quick way to get a lot of information, and they give everyone something to argue about, particularly when they relate to food or restaurants.

    When properly executed, a good list balances conventional wisdom with a few off the radar choices and helps guide readers to new, enjoyable experiences.

    The Daily Meal can't help but completely whiff anytime it tries to include a couple of Houston restaurants in its absurd ramblings.

    Then there are the bad lists — where a seemingly random collection of choices is thrown together in a nonsensical order that only seems designed to elicit angry responses. Those kind of lists are what national food website The Daily Meal excels at, and the site's just outdone itself with this week's 101 Best Burgers in America list.

    Just as the scorpion can't help but sting the frog, The Daily Meal can't help but completely whiff anytime it tries to include a couple of Houston restaurants in its absurd ramblings.

    How did they compile the list?

    Well, the site says it started by "building upon last year’s suggestions from authorities including John T. Edge and Josh Ozersky" — that's positive. Ozersky wrote a book about hamburgers, and no national writer has been a more passionate advocate for Houston's food scene than Edge.

    Unfortunately, it quickly goes off the rails from there.

    "We combed existing best-of lists both print and online (and) dug through online reviews . . . We then divided these burgers up by region, and compiled a survey which was then taken by a panel of 50 noted writers, journalists, bloggers, and culinary authorities from across the country, asking them to vote for their favorites, limited to the ones that they’ve tried," The Daily Meal writes.

    Here, essentially, is where Houston got screwed. Who are these 50 people? Have they ever eaten a burger in Houston?

    That's how such well known burger loving destinations as Boston, Nashville and Philadelphia wind up with more representatives than Houston. It also explains why the site chose Becks Prime all the way up at 16, a burger joint that didn't even crack CultureMap's list of Houston's Top 10 burgers, as the city's highest ranked representative. Proving that even a stopped clock is right twice a day, the site included Hubcap Grill (62), but, of course, featured the wrong burger as its highlight — the Hubcap Double instead of the peerless Philly Cheesesteak or Texas BBQ burgers.

    Since it's probably too much to expect The Daily Meal to bring in someone who actually knows Houston burgers (*ahem*), let's just note the list could be less of a tragedy by including, say, the Underbelly Cease and Desist burger that sparked a fight with culty chain In-N-Out or anything from Bernie's Burger Bus.

    Even the chicken fried bacon burger from Stanton's City Bites deserves more attention than Becks freaking Prime.

    The lesson, as always: Don't let silly national lists dictate your eating. Trust the locals.

    Next year, the site should consider selecting the Cease and Desist burger from Underbelly.

    Underbelly UB Double Double hamburger with french fries
      
    Underbelly Facebook
    Next year, the site should consider selecting the Cease and Desist burger from Underbelly.
    unspecified
    news/restaurants-bars

    and the winner is...

    Innovative Houston chef is the city's newest James Beard Award winner

    Eric Sandler
    Jun 17, 2025 | 6:00 am
    James Beard Awards 2025 Thomas Bille Belly of the Beast
    Photo by Getty Images for James Beard Foundation
    Thomas Bille is Houston's newest James Beard Award winner.

    Add another Houston chef to the city’s growing list of James Beard Award winners. Thomas Bille, chef-owner of Belly of the Beast in Spring, earned Best Chef: Texas at the James Beard Foundation’s Restaurant and Chef Awards ceremony.

    Held at the Lyric Opera of Chicago on Monday, June 16, Bille was one of five finalists for the award, along with fellow Houstonian Emmanuel Chavez (Tatemo), Emil Oliva (Leche de Tigre in San Antonio), Regino Rojas (Purépecha in Dallas), and Michael Anthony Serva, (Bordo in Marfa). Neither of Houston’s other finalists — Mexico City-inspired cafe Casaema (formerly known as Ema) for Best New Restaurant and fine dining tasting menu restaurant March for Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program — earned awards in their categories.

    A Los Angeles native who moved to the Houston area to be closer to his wife’s family, Bille took a winding path to his James Beard Award. He opened the first iteration of Belly of the Beast in 2020 as a chef-driven taqueria that was known for its ceviches and birria tacos. He then spent about a year at Chivos, an ambitious but short-lived Mexican-American restaurant in the Heights.

    In late 2023, he and his wife Elizabeth opened a new version of Belly of the Beast in a Spring shopping center. It showcased a broader array of Bille’s skills, with a wide-ranging menu that pulled from global flavors — lamb shank rendang, anyone? — that included meat, seafood, and pastas. The new restaurant quickly earned wide acclaim, including a Bib Gourmand in the 2024 Michelin Guide and CultureMap Tastemaker Award nominations for both Restaurant of the Year and Chef of the Year.

    “I feel a depth of gratitude,” Bille tells CultureMap in a text message. “Knowing that my wife and I were able to reopen on our own terms. Gratitude for my family, staff, and guests to give us love and support. It is much appreciated.”

    In an interview from the ceremony shared by the James Beard Foundation, Bille paid tribute to his wife, Elizabeth, for her role in the restaurant’s success.

    “The risk that my wife and I took to open this restaurant is more than worth it. My wife left her industry, she was a national director for nonprofit organization,” he said. “I said, ‘We’re going to reopen Belly of the Beast. I need you with me side-by-side the whole time.’ The first iteration she held down her job and supported us. With her at my wide, I’m able to focus on the kitchen, on the food, and mentoring my cooks. Able to see the bigger picture instead of just being in the weeds all the time.”

    Bille is the second Houstonian to win Best Chef: Texas, joining Street to Kitchen chef-owner Benchawan Jabthong Painter, who won in 2023. Since the category of Best Chef: Texas has only been awarded since 2022, Bille is the first man to earn the title. Prior to being its own region, the James Beard Foundation included Texas in the Southwest, where chefs Robert Del Grande (Cafe Annie), Chris Shepherd (Underbelly), Justin Yu (Oxheart), and Hugo Ortega (Hugo’s) all won awards.

    The only other Texas finalist to win his category was Arjav Ezekiel of Birdie's in Austin, who became the first winner of Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service, one of three beverage-oriented categories the foundation added for 2025.

    In addition to Bille and Ezekiel, Texam Chad Houser, founder of Cafe Momentum in Dallas, received the Humanitarian of the Year Award. Toni Tipton-Martin, a Houston-based author, scholar, and journalist, received the Lifetime Achievement Award. Houstonian Alba Huerta, who won Outstanding Beverage Program for her bar Julep in 2022, presented one of the night’s awards.

    “It’s with deep celebration that we congratulate the 2025 Restaurant and Chef Award winners — distinguished culinary, beverage, and hospitality leaders whose talent and vision are shaping our dining landscape,” said Clare Reichenbach, CEO, James Beard Foundation, in a statement. “These outstanding professionals are the epitome of ‘Good Food for Good,’ elevating our industry’s standards and redefining what’s possible in American cuisine.”

    James Beard Awards 2025 Thomas Bille Belly of the Beast
      

    Photo by Getty Images for James Beard Foundation

    Thomas Bille is Houston's newest James Beard Award winner.

    awardsjames beard awardchefsthomas billebelly of the beast
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