Since the opening last year, Underbelly has been drawing national attention as one of the best restaurants in Houston — and beyond.
And now the man behind the curtain (or at least in the kitchen), Chris Shepherd is enjoying another neat honor.
Food & Wine magazine put Shepherd on the cover of its July issue. It's part of Shepherd being named one of the 10 Best New Chefs in America by the magazine, which CultureMap first reported back on April 2.
What hadn't come about before is the kind — and somewhat funny — words, Food & Wine food editor Kate Krader has for Shepherd.
"Chris Shepherd looks like an all-American linebacker," Krader writes. "(In fact, he is friends with several players on the Houston Texans and closes his restaurant on Sundays so he can tailgate.) So I was surprised at how Asian-leaning — and mind-blowing — the food at Underbelly is.
Shepherd tells CultureMap that "it was shocking when I got a call that said 'You're one of our best new chefs.' " He was driving down the freeway and he says that he just started laughing when he found out he'd won the honor.
The Underbelly chef is sharing the love though. He provided two of his recipes to Food & Wine for the readers to try at home: Popcorn Shrimp with Corn Butter and Spicy Shrimp with Garlic Butter.
Chris Shepherd at his popular Underbelly restaurant.
