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    Southern Smoke 2018

    Southern Smoke Festival serves up culinary star power, fab fare, and goodwill

    Eric Sandler
    Oct 1, 2018 | 10:51 am

    If brevity is the soul of wit, than Chris Shepherd is Houston’s Jon Stewart.

    As he took the stage to present the donation checks at the fourth annual Southern Smoke Festival, the James Beard Award winner saluted the crowd for another impressive donation total.

    “You guys fucking rocked it! $425,000,” Shepherd exclaimed.

    Three worthy causes will benefit from the money. The National MS Society will receive $200,000, and Hurricane Florence relief efforts will receive $10,000. The remaining almost $215,000 will go to the Southern Smoke Emergency Relief Fund, a charity formed after Hurricane Harvey that provides financial assistance to people in the restaurant industry. The September 30 total means the event has raised close to $1.5 million dollars in four years.

    Intermittent rain showers couldn’t dampen the crowd’s enthusiasm — or the line for Franklin Barbecue. As always, many of the 1,500-plus attendees waited an hour or more for bites of brisket, sausage, and pimento cheese from the world-renowned Austin barbecue joint.

    But why stand in line for brisket when so many other chefs from across the country delivered such tempting bites? Highlights included Brooklyn pitmaster Billy Durney’s smoked ribeye tacos, Sam Jones’ Carolina-style whole hog sandwiches with crispy pork skin, Chicago chef Jason Vincent’s swordfish with smoked chickpeas, and Seattle chef Edouardo Jordan’s jerk chicken with peas and rice.

    James Beard Award-winning pizzaiolo Chris Bianco served up a Texas version of his signature Wise Guy pizza that used Texas-milled flour from Barton Springs Mill and bacon sausage made by Shepherd. Daniela Soto-Innes, the Beard Award-winning chef de cuisine of acclaimed New York Mexican restaurants Cosme and Atla who previously worked for Shepherd at Underbelly, impressed with her grilled octopus skewer with pineapple salsa.

    Houston chefs delivered plenty of culinary delights, too. Hugo Ortega (Hugo’s, etc.) served huitlacoche tamales, and Kata Robata chef Manabu Horiuchi put his signature spin on Japanese-style skipjack tacos. Justin Yu (Theodore Rex) collaborated with Feges BBQ owners Patrick Feges and Erin Smith on smoked beef cheeks with noodle salad. Agricole Hospitality (Coltivare, Revival Market, etc.) took the unofficial award for the day’s most Instagrammable dish with a Steampunk-looking trompo spit that rotated eight spits of pork and chicken for tacos.

    Attendees could pair that food with any number of beverage options, including cocktails from sponsor Knob Creek, beer from Sierra Nevada, and a wide range of wines. Silent auction items that fetched top dollar included a private dinner for six prepared by Shepherd and New Orleans chef Ryan Prewitt ($33,500), a photo shoot dinner for Shepherd’s upcoming cookbook ($10,500), a trip for four to Burgundy, France with sommelier Antonio Gianola ($10,000), a private dinner for 12 prepared by celebrity chef Andrew Zimmern ($6,000), and the velvet painting of Tom Selleck that hung in One Fifth Romance Languages ($2,125).

    Attending today or not, you can still bid on this treasure. https://t.co/FNf3J4m1rG. You’re welcome. pic.twitter.com/bV4c1RMvj3

    — Southern Smoke (@SouthernSmokeTX) September 30, 2018

    Musical performances by the Bayou City Brass Band, Mariachis Los Gallitos, and Neon Rainbow kept the crowd entertained. VIP attendees could grab a seat in the Lexus lounge or head inside to Hay Merchant.

    The crowd event got a sneak peek at the new interior for Georgia James, the steakhouse Shepherd will open next month. New brick, wood, and lights constitute a total change from the space's previous iteration as Underbelly, but it's a relocated bar that looks to be the biggest change.

    Taken together, this year’s combination of culinary star power, drinks, and entertainment establishes this year’s Southern Smoke as the best one yet. Shepherd and his crew will have to work hard to top it in year five. We can’t wait to see what they come up with.

    Chicago chef Jason Vincent (Giant).

    Southern Smoke 2018 Jason Vincent
      
    Photo by Emily Jaschke
    Chicago chef Jason Vincent (Giant).
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    What's Eric Eating Episodes 459 and 460

    Meet the men behind Houston's most under-the-radar Italian restaurant

    CultureMap Staff
    Apr 18, 2025 | 5:00 pm
    Fernando Rios Mike Sammons Mimo
    Courtesy of Mimo
    Chef Fernando Rios and sommelier Mike Sammons are this week's guests.

    On this week’s episode of “What’s Eric Eating,” sommelier Mike Sammons and chef Fernando Rios join CultureMap editor Eric Sandler to discuss Mimo, their Italian restaurant in the East End. The duo, whose history goes back to when they worked together at iconic Houston fine dining restaurant Da Marco, opened Mimo in 2023.



    The conversation begins with Rios explaining the progression of a career that took him from Backstreet Cafe to Da Marco to Weights + Measures, where he worked as the chef de cuisine while Sammons was a partner who oversaw the beverage program. Since they both live in the East End, they saw an opportunity to team up by claiming the former Kanomwan space on Telephone Rd.

    They discuss several aspects of the restaurant’s business, including Rios’ changes to the menu, the evolution of Mimo’s wine list, and how its been received by residents of the East End. A digression about Da Marco prompts Sandler to ask about its chef-owner Marco Wiles, who generally stays out of the media spotlight. Sammons shares that Wiles is the only chef or restaurateur who makes him nervous when he dines at Mimo.

    “He’s really not forgiving about things. This is very consistent with the Italian way of looking at things — there’s a right way to do things and that’s it. If it isn’t done that way, it’s wrong. A lot of my other mentors and friends can be more forgiving, but the standards Marco has kept for years has motivated me,” Sammons says.

    “He’s still the same way,” Rios adds. “That was insane to me. I thought, you get older, you’d be more relaxed, but the way he looks at you makes you nervous. Working in the kitchen, there was times he’d throw all my stuff away and say ‘start over.’”

    Was he right, Sandler asks.

    “Absolutely, yes. He was right all the time. I just think he was one of the best to do it,” Rios affirms.

    Listen to the full interview to hear both men discuss the one thing they’re most proud of about Mimo. They also discuss their plans for the future.



    In this week’s other episode, Sandler and co-host Mary Clarkson discuss the news of the week. Their topics include Houston’s finalists in this year’s James Beard Awards, the owners of Jūn adding a daytime concept called Third Place, and Aaron Bludorn promoting chef Allie Pena to be Bludorn’s new executive chef.

    In the restaurant of the week segment, Sandler and Clarkson visit Camaraderie, chef Shawn Gawle’s new restaurant in the Heights. They share their thoughts on the restaurant’s prix fixe menu, as well as its decor and beverage offerings.

    -----

    Subscribe to "What's Eric Eating" on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Hear it Sunday at 9 am on ESPN 97.5.

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