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    Foodie News

    Food Network Star is opening a new Houston restaurant — and bringing Guy Fieri along to party

    Tyler Rudick
    Jul 12, 2013 | 7:02 am

    Food Network Star runner-up Susie Jimenez is trading the Rocky Mountain air for the Houston humidity as construction continues on Trenza — her forthcoming West Ave restaurant that will bring together Indian and Latin American cuisine.

    "I'm excited about becoming a part-time Houston resident," the 32-year-old Aspen chef tells CultureMap over the phone during a quick lunch break at soon-to-be-neighbor Pondicheri. "I've been coming here on business for about a year now and I've absolutely fallen for the city."

    "Aspen doesn't get it in a lot of ways. Houston, though, has this great economy and all of these friendly foodies ready for new ideas."

    Though based in Colorado for the last decade, Jimenez says the strong Space City food scene was a major draw for her to launch her first restaurant.

    "Aspen doesn't get it in a lot of ways," she laughs. "Houston, though, has this great economy and all of these friendly foodies ready for new ideas. I decided to just take a chance."

    Trenza is set to open in September with an all-star launch party which Jimenez hopes will include Food Network celebs like Guy Fieri. She notes that Fieri is a friend and invited, but he isn't 100-percent certain his schedule will allow him to attend yet.

    Jimenez already has sketched out an intriguing preliminary menu for her new restaurant, featuring dishes like chicken tikka masala enchiladas and sopes with lamb vindaloo.

    "My family is from Mexico, so I grew up cooking very traditional Mexican food with my grandmother and mother," she says. "But when I finished culinary school, I started incorporating flavors and techniques from around the world into these dishes. There's actually more in common than you'd realize.

    "In India, there's curry. In Mexico, there's mole. It's really the same concept just with different flavors."

    A California native who grew up traveling the West Coast harvesting routes with her family, Jimenez says the restaurant marks a major personal milestone in her life and career.

    "I came from picking cherries and worked my butt off for other people my entire life. Now I'm working for myself and feel like the sky's the limit. Why stop now, right?"

    Trenza is slated to open in mid-September with a launch party featuring some famous Food Network faces (think frosted tips).

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    Trenza is slated to open in mid-September with a launch party featuring some famous Food Network faces (think frosted tips).
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    so hot right now

    Why pork chops are suddenly trendy at Houston's hottest restaurants

    Brianna Griff
    Apr 30, 2025 | 12:20 pm
    truth bbq pork chop houston
    TRUTH BBQ
    The Cornmeal-Crusted Pork Chop at Truth BBQ is brined in sweet tea for 72 hours before being cold-smoked, battered, and deep fried.

    This may be presumptuous, but pork chops just might be the meat of the year for 2025.

    The cut is popping up on menus all over Houston, leaving us to wonder: what’s making this part of the pig so appealing again?

    This isn’t your mom’s dry, Shake 'n Bake pork chops served with a pile of boiled green beans. Rather, Houston chefs are transforming the once-humble cut into something worth seeking out.

    Travis McShane, chef and owner of Ostia, says pork is getting a glow-up, with American-raised pork now rivaling the quality found in countries like Spain. He credits the rise in demand to changing perceptions.

    “For years, pork was kinda seen as a lesser or cheaper item. I think this was because older health recommendations painted pork as unhealthy and recommended it to be cooked well done,” he said. “Thank goodness that has all changed, and people understand you can eat pork closer to a medium cook temperature.”

    Truth BBQ offers pork as a lighter, more budget-friendly alternative for diners looking to mix up their usual order. While restaurants like Snows BBQ feature pork steaks, owner and pitmaster Leonard Botello IV wanted something a little different for his Washington Ave. restaurant.

    “We had a lot of fun working with our team on different pork cuts and how we could prepare them to create something a little more unique to us,” says Botello. “It’s a great add-on to a platter or stand-alone option because it’s one chop — just enough.”

    The Cornmeal-Crusted Pork Chop at Truth is a center-cut, bone-in Duroc chop, available for lunch and dinner from Friday through Sunday. It’s brined in sweet tea for 72 hours, then cold-smoked, battered in cornmeal, and deep-fried. The chop is served with a Carolina-style sweet pepper relish, adding a punchy finish to the deep-fried crust.

    The consensus across restaurants is that brining is key. Soaking pork chops in salt water helps lock in moisture, tenderize the meat, and infuse flavor throughout.

    At Ostia, the pork is brined for at least two hours before it’s fully dried out to either grill or fry. The Pork Milanese is inspired by both the simple, bright flavor combinations of Italy’s Milanese and the crispy, panko breading of Japanese Tonkatsu. Another rendition of the pork chop is fried with oyster aioli and celery.

    “The umami of oysters, anchovies, seaweed is a beautiful combination with the rich nutty fat of pork!” McShane said.

    At Milton’s, Executive Chef Kent Domas added the aptly named Pork Chop ($95) to offer an alternative to the trattoria's signature chicken parm and veal parm. Brined and then grilled in a wood-burning oven, the simple, but flavorful, pork chop can be shared between two or more diners and is served with glazed cipollini onions.

    Michelin Bib Gourmand Belly of the Beast in Spring serves up a 16-ounce Berkshire pork chop alongside fregola (a nutty, couscous-like pasta), artichokes, apricots, and a hint of harissa for some heat. Tangy lemon jus ties it all together.

    The Sakura Farms Pork Chop at Baso has been a fan favorite since the Basque-influenced restaurant opened in December 2023. The chop is grilled over the restaurant’s live fire hearth, before it’s topped with a rich pork jowl sauce, dusted with dried local chamomile powder, and served with a slice of Meyer lemon. Chefs and 2025 CultureMap Tastemaker Award Rising Star Chef of the Year winners Jacques Varon and Max Lappe recommend pairing the dish with a glass of Rosé on a hot Houston day.

    At Credence near Memorial City Mall, the team created the Pork Rib Chop Schnitzel as an ode to Texas’ culinary roots. The schnitzel is both a nod to Eastern European immigrants who brought the recipe to Texas in the mid-1850s and to the Germans who introduced Mexico to Wiener Schnitzel in the late 1800s.

    The ranch-inspired establishment’s heritage-breed pork is pounded thin on the bone, brined, breaded, and then fried until crispy, before it’s finished with a caper brown butter sauce.

    Of course, one Houston restaurant has been championing pork chops for more than 40 years. Perry’s Steakhouse will celebrate its 1979 opening this Friday, May 2 with a throwback deal: a lunch-sized portion of its famous pork chop for just 79 cents. It’s served on a cast-iron plate with whipped potatoes, applesauce, and bread.

    truth bbq pork chop houston
      

    TRUTH BBQ

    The Cornmeal-Crusted Pork Chop at Truth BBQ is brined in sweet tea for 72 hours before being cold-smoked, battered, and deep fried.

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