Tastemaker Winners Revealed

Houston's best restaurant, chef, and more unveiled at 2021 Tastemaker Awards

Presenting the winners of the 2021 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards. Presented at a lively ceremony on Thursday, July 22 by Houston hip hop legend Bun B, our judges panel of restaurant industry experts selected these establishments and individuals as the very best of Houston’s culinary scene in every category except Best New Restaurant, which was voted on by CultureMap readers.

Collectively, they set high standards in all they do, from making delicious food and drinks to creating a welcoming atmosphere in their spaces. Like many of their peers, they faced the challenges of a global pandemic head on and took the steps necessary to keep both employees and patrons safe.

While it’s certainly important to recognize the winners, let’s acknowledge another important truth. The world of Houston restaurants has so much talent that any of the finalists in any of the categories would have been a worthy winner. It is truly an honor to be nominated.

Hearty congratulations to all of this year’s winners. We can’t wait for next year.

Restaurant of the Year: Nobie’s
With its five year anniversary rapidly approaching, this award acknowledges something that’s been true for awhile. Sara and Martin Stayer’s Montrose restaurant is one of Houston’s finest dining establishments. From its eclectic menu to its creative cocktails and all-vinyl soundtrack, Nobie’s succeeds because its staff takes their work seriously without taking themselves too seriously. If it's been awhile since that last visit, follow the restaurant's instructions to "get high and stop on by."

Chef of the Year: Kaitlin Steets, Littlefoot/Theodore Rex
Fresh off a James Beard Award semifinalist nomination for Rising Star Chef of the Year in 2020, Steets demonstrated the breadth of her talent with Littlefoot, the French-inspired pop-up that took over Theodore Rex for three months earlier this year. Her precise technique and high regard for ingredients have served her well at both restaurants. As T. Rex owner Justin Yu has commented previously, Steets is ready for her own restaurant; hopefully, she opens it in Houston.

Best New Restaurant: Xin Chào
Chefs Christine Ha and Tony Nguyen’s modern take on Vietnamese comfort food prevailed through four rounds of voting in the Best New Restaurant tournament. More than the strength of Ha’s devoted social media following — the former Masterchef winner has over 100,000 followers on Instagram — this award recognizes that Xin Chào has provided a fresh perspective on one of Houston’s favorite cuisines. Adding smoked elements to dishes like shaking beef and duck salad gives them added depth of flavor, while creative cocktails provide plenty of pairing options.

Rising Star Chef of the Year: AJ Ede, Brasil
This experienced chef has reinvigorated the beloved Montrose institution by utilizing some fine dining techniques to enhance the cafe’s casual fare. While customers don’t necessarily need to understand the fine points of fermentation or learn the names of the farms that supply his ingredients to appreciate the sheer deliciousness of what Ede and his team are turning out, he’s happy to explain when someone asks. The chef is also committed to helping his cooks grow as professionals by teaching them techniques that will make it easier for them to advance in their careers and encouraging them to add specials to the menu.

Best Pop-up/Startup: Josh Deleon, Underground Creamery
Not that these frozen treats need more attention — Deleon sells out his weekly production of 300 pints almost instantly — but no other ice cream maker in Houston producers flavors quite like Underground Creamery. Whether it’s salted vanilla with strawberry swirl and graham crunch, brown sugar ice cream with salted caramel swirl and Oreos, or any of his other creations, Deleon’s ice creams always offer an intriguing mix of textures and flavors. Yes, the ordering process can be frustrating, but perhaps this award will inspire Deleon to keep growing until his creations are available to a wider audience.

Pastry Chef of the Year: Drew Gimma, Bread Man Baking Co.
From Common Bond to Better Luck Tomorrow to Squable to Bread Man, Gimma has earned a reputation for taking bread seriously. In his role as Bread Man’s director of operations, Gimma oversees production that provides freshly baked loaves to Whole Foods stores across Texas as well as the company’s myriad restaurant clients. He’ll face an even bigger challenge when the bakery relocates to a massive, 40,000-square-foot facility later this year, but we suspect he’ll do just fine. After all, he's been preparing his entire professional life for this sort of challenge.

Wine Program of the Year: Squable
Originally started by sommelier Justin Vann, general manager Terry Williams now oversees Squable’s wine list. Initially, the restaurant only offered European and North American selections, but Williams has been adding Australian and South African wines to match changes in chef Mark Clayton’s menu. Of course, the best way to sample the selections is Monday-Friday from 4-6 pm when all alcoholic beverages are half-off.

Bartender of the Year: Alphonso Quiñones, Tiny Champions
The veteran bartender has brought his customer-first approach to this new restaurant from the team behind Nancy’s Hustle. Quiñones has embraced restaurant life by frequently working with the kitchen to make cocktail ingredients. In addition, his interests in using amaro and incorporating tropical flavors can be found throughout the restaurant’s cocktail offerings. For example, consider the Club Tropicana that incorporates both amaro and a grapefruit and passionfruit swizzle.

Bar of the Year: Heights Bier Garten
Among all of Houston’s patio bars, Heights Bier Garten stands out in many ways. First, it’s expansive and lush patio offers the feeling of escape from a crowded city. Second, it’s extensive selection of wine, beer, cocktails and spirits transcends similar establishments. A creative food menu elevates the typical pub grub with plenty of vegetarian dishes and scratch made sandwiches.

Neighborhood Restaurant of the Year: Candente
Entering the world of Tex-Mex can be tricky for a new restaurant; after all, every Houstonian already has strong opinions about their favorite places for enchiladas, fajitas, and margaritas. But a similar barrier didn’t stop proprietor Michael Sambrooks from getting into barbecue with The Pit Room, and the same approach that made it successful have translated to Candente. Specifically, the elements of success are: use great quality ingredients, cook them consistently, and deliver good value. Sounds simple, but successfully executing the formula has made Candente a hit.

Best New Restaurant: Xin Chao.

Photo by John Suh/Xin Chao

Best New Restaurant: Xin Chao.

tastemakers

eat real food

Houston DJ-turned-TikTok star cooks up a cult following one recipe at a time

Courtesy of Uncle Dibbz

Uncle Dibbz, a.k.a. A.H. Bowden, has built a devoted following for his viral recipes.

For the past month, Uncle Dibbz has been, shall we say, going ham on social media with the myriad videos of alternative Thanksgiving dishes. He’s dropped how-to clips for such recipes as Cajun-roasted turkey, honey-baked ham/hens, oven-bag turkey, and six-piece fried turkey (to go). Basically, if you don’t want to cook a bland ol’ Butterball this Turkey Day, Dibbz has you covered.

Who is Dibbz, you say? Well, he’s a North Jersey-born, Georgia-bred, Houston-based chef who’s been building quite the foodie rep online. Several videos across his TikTok, Instagram and YouTube pages, from his cajun-boiled fried chicken (2 million on IG) to his “Propose to Me Pasta” (12.3 million on TikTok), has amassed millions of views. But Dibbz (government name: A.H. Bowden) wasn’t always a culinary content creator. He used to spin music back in Atlanta as DJ DiBiase, named after retired wrestler Ted “The Million Dollar Man” DiBiase. “DiBiase is a mouthful to say, so people just always call me ‘D’ or ‘Dibbz’ for short,” says Bowden, 37, during a Zoom interview.

@uncledibbz PROPOSE To Me PASTA 💍 🍝 Trust your Uncle! This SEAFOOD Pasta will seal the deal 👌🏽 Get my recipe below ⬇️ or on uncledibbz.com [@uncledibbz Link in Bio] 🌐 **Ingredients:** - 8 ounces spaghetti - 1 lb mixed seafood (shrimp, scallops, crab meat, etc.) - 2 tablespoons olive oil - Fresh chopped basil - 2 cloves garlic, minced - 1/2 cup white wine - 1/4 cup heavy cream - 2 tablespoons unsalted butter - Salt and pepper to taste - Uncle Dibbz Delta Dust [link in bio] - Fresh parsley, chopped (for garnish) - Grated Parmesan cheese (for garnish) **Instructions:** 1. Cook the spaghetti pasta according to the package instructions until al dente. Drain and set aside. 2. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the minced garlic, chopped basil and sauté for about 1 minute until fragrant. 3. Add the mixed seafood to the skillet. Season with Uncle Dibbz Delta Dust to taste and cook for 2-3 minutes until cooked through. Remove the seafood from the skillet and set aside. 4. Pour in the white wine to the skillet and let it simmer for 2 minutes, allowing the alcohol to cook off. 5. Stir in the heavy cream, butter, Uncle Dibbz Delta Dust seasoning, salt, and pepper. Cook for another 2-3 minutes until the sauce thickens slightly. 6. Add the cooked spaghetti and cooked mixed seafood to the skillet. Toss everything together until well coated with the sauce. 7. Remove from heat and garnish with fresh parsley and grated Parmesan cheese. 8. Serve hot and enjoy the flavorful Seafood Spaghetti. That's good Shawty! #UncleDibbz #ThatsGoodShawty #Pasta #marryme #proposal #bride #wife #husband #relationshipgoals #datenight #easyrecipe #seafood #cajun #cooking #fyp #foryou #viral #houston ♬ original sound - Uncle Dibbz 🍴

He was making a nice living as a DJ, even serving as rapper Big K.R.I.T.’s touring DJ for a while. But when the pandemic hit, the gigs obviously dried up.

“I was living in Miami at the time,” he says. “And, you know, when you have a lot of time on your hands to think – but also need to figure out a way to, you know, sustain an income and everything like that – the ideas start coming,”

Like most DJs at that time, he was doing live mixes on Instagram. But his days throwing cookout parties in Atlanta inspired him to start doing his cooking videos, where he used his very own seasoning. Of course, he had a lemon pepper blend, which he used in a lemon pepper hot wings video that currently has over a half-million views on TikTok.

“I'm about to go live to DJ later that night, and my phone was just going off with orders,” he recalls. “So I'm like, where are these orders coming from? And it's not from my friends. I'm seeing the cities and the states. I don't know these people.”

Thanks to his videos, which usually end with him saying his signature line “That’s good shawty!” (that’s also the name of his cookbook he released last year), Dibbz went into the seasoning business full time. He eventually hired another person to help send out the piles of orders he was receiving.

He even got an order from former Dallas Cowboy Emmitt Smith, one of his favorite athletes. “I remember doing a book report on him when I was in fourth grade,” he boasts.

Although Dibbz has a flair for making meals that border on decadent, he’s an ardent practitioner of cooking with natural ingredients, especially in his seasoning. He has several low-sodium seasoning, including Bebe’s Salt Free – named after his mother, who had open-heart surgery a few weeks before the pandemic started.

“I don't think a lot of people understand the amount of toxins and chemicals that go into a lot of these seasonings,” he says. “You're starting to see it in the news now. A lot of the foods with certain dyes are being taken off the shelves and things like that.’

Soon, Dibbz moved himself and his new business to Houston, a favorite place to perform as well as a town whose hip-hop got him into music. He cites local chopped-and-screwed gods DJ Screw, Michael 5000 Watts, and OG Ron C as his holy trinity of influences. To give props to the music of his new home, he created a hot sauce – called HXT Sauce – whose uncharacteristically large bottle resembles Promethazine cough syrup (aka the key ingredient in lean, the preferred purple cocktail for the city’s rap community).

“It's not necessarily about promoting that usage,” he says. “But, at the same time, it’s just a homage to one of the factors and influences of screwed-and-chopped music.”

Dibbz still indulges in spinning records from time to time. The Waxaholics’ DJ Big Reeks has gotten him to break out the vinyl a few times during his Thursday-night sets at Alley Kat Bar & Lounge in Midtown. But creating new recipes, dropping delicious content and proving you can eat and live in a hearty, healthy fashion still remains his full-time mission.

“I’m not just talking about eating cauliflower rice all day and every day, but just eat real food,” he says. “We're eating fake food. That's the bottom line. We're eating fake food and my whole purpose is to inspire people to eat real food and that starts with real ingredients, real herbs, you know – real natural seasonings.”

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