• Home
  • popular
  • EVENTS
  • submit-new-event
  • CHARITY GUIDE
  • Children
  • Education
  • Health
  • Veterans
  • Social Services
  • Arts + Culture
  • Animals
  • LGBTQ
  • New Charity
  • TRENDING NEWS
  • News
  • City Life
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • Home + Design
  • Travel
  • Real Estate
  • Restaurants + Bars
  • Arts
  • Society
  • Innovation
  • Fashion + Beauty
  • subscribe
  • about
  • series
  • Embracing Your Inner Cowboy
  • Green Living
  • Summer Fun
  • Real Estate Confidential
  • RX In the City
  • State of the Arts
  • Fall For Fashion
  • Cai's Odyssey
  • Comforts of Home
  • Good Eats
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2010
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2
  • Good Eats 2
  • HMNS Pirates
  • The Future of Houston
  • We Heart Hou 2
  • Music Inspires
  • True Grit
  • Hoops City
  • Green Living 2011
  • Cruizin for a Cure
  • Summer Fun 2011
  • Just Beat It
  • Real Estate 2011
  • Shelby on the Seine
  • Rx in the City 2011
  • Entrepreneur Video Series
  • Going Wild Zoo
  • State of the Arts 2011
  • Fall for Fashion 2011
  • Elaine Turner 2011
  • Comforts of Home 2011
  • King Tut
  • Chevy Girls
  • Good Eats 2011
  • Ready to Jingle
  • Houston at 175
  • The Love Month
  • Clifford on The Catwalk Htx
  • Let's Go Rodeo 2012
  • King's Harbor
  • FotoFest 2012
  • City Centre
  • Hidden Houston
  • Green Living 2012
  • Summer Fun 2012
  • Bookmark
  • 1987: The year that changed Houston
  • Best of Everything 2012
  • Real Estate 2012
  • Rx in the City 2012
  • Lost Pines Road Trip Houston
  • London Dreams
  • State of the Arts 2012
  • HTX Fall For Fashion 2012
  • HTX Good Eats 2012
  • HTX Contemporary Arts 2012
  • HCC 2012
  • Dine to Donate
  • Tasting Room
  • HTX Comforts of Home 2012
  • Charming Charlie
  • Asia Society
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2012
  • HTX Mistletoe on the go
  • HTX Sun and Ski
  • HTX Cars in Lifestyle
  • HTX New Beginnings
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2013
  • Zadok Sparkle into Spring
  • HTX Let's Go Rodeo 2013
  • HCC Passion for Fashion
  • BCAF 2013
  • HTX Best of 2013
  • HTX City Centre 2013
  • HTX Real Estate 2013
  • HTX France 2013
  • Driving in Style
  • HTX Island Time
  • HTX Super Season 2013
  • HTX Music Scene 2013
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2013 2
  • HTX Baker Institute
  • HTX Comforts of Home 2013
  • Mothers Day Gift Guide 2021 Houston
  • Staying Ahead of the Game
  • Wrangler Houston
  • First-time Homebuyers Guide Houston 2021
  • Visit Frisco Houston
  • promoted
  • eventdetail
  • Greystar Novel River Oaks
  • Thirdhome Go Houston
  • Dogfish Head Houston
  • LovBe Houston
  • Claire St Amant podcast Houston
  • The Listing Firm Houston
  • South Padre Houston
  • NextGen Real Estate Houston
  • Pioneer Houston
  • Collaborative for Children
  • Decorum
  • Bold Rock Cider
  • Nasher Houston
  • Houston Tastemaker Awards 2021
  • CityNorth
  • Urban Office
  • Villa Cotton
  • Luck Springs Houston
  • EightyTwo
  • Rectanglo.com
  • Silver Eagle Karbach
  • Mirador Group
  • Nirmanz
  • Bandera Houston
  • Milan Laser
  • Lafayette Travel
  • Highland Park Village Houston
  • Proximo Spirits
  • Douglas Elliman Harris Benson
  • Original ChopShop
  • Bordeaux Houston
  • Strike Marketing
  • Rice Village Gift Guide 2021
  • Downtown District
  • Broadstone Memorial Park
  • Gift Guide
  • Music Lane
  • Blue Circle Foods
  • Houston Tastemaker Awards 2022
  • True Rest
  • Lone Star Sports
  • Silver Eagle Hard Soda
  • Modelo recipes
  • Modelo Fighting Spirit
  • Athletic Brewing
  • Rodeo Houston
  • Silver Eagle Bud Light Next
  • Waco CVB
  • EnerGenie
  • HLSR Wine Committee
  • All Hands
  • El Paso
  • Avenida Houston
  • Visit Lubbock Houston
  • JW Marriott San Antonio
  • Silver Eagle Tupps
  • Space Center Houston
  • Central Market Houston
  • Boulevard Realty
  • Travel Texas Houston
  • Alliantgroup
  • Golf Live
  • DC Partners
  • Under the Influencer
  • Blossom Hotel
  • San Marcos Houston
  • Photo Essay: Holiday Gift Guide 2009
  • We Heart Hou
  • Walker House
  • HTX Good Eats 2013
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2013
  • HTX Culture Motive
  • HTX Auto Awards
  • HTX Ski Magic
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings 2014
  • HTX Texas Traveler
  • HTX Cifford on the Catwalk 2014
  • HTX United Way 2014
  • HTX Up to Speed
  • HTX Rodeo 2014
  • HTX City Centre 2014
  • HTX Dos Equis
  • HTX Tastemakers 2014
  • HTX Reliant
  • HTX Houston Symphony
  • HTX Trailblazers
  • HTX_RealEstateConfidential_2014
  • HTX_IW_Marks_FashionSeries
  • HTX_Green_Street
  • Dating 101
  • HTX_Clifford_on_the_Catwalk_2014
  • FIVE CultureMap 5th Birthday Bash
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2014 TEST
  • HTX Texans
  • Bergner and Johnson
  • HTX Good Eats 2014
  • United Way 2014-15_Single Promoted Articles
  • Holiday Pop Up Shop Houston
  • Where to Eat Houston
  • Copious Row Single Promoted Articles
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2014
  • htx woodford reserve manhattans
  • Zadok Swiss Watches
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings 2015
  • HTX Charity Challenge 2015
  • United Way Helpline Promoted Article
  • Boulevard Realty
  • Fusion Academy Promoted Article
  • Clifford on the Catwalk Fall 2015
  • United Way Book Power Promoted Article
  • Jameson HTX
  • Primavera 2015
  • Promenade Place
  • Hotel Galvez
  • Tremont House
  • HTX Tastemakers 2015
  • HTX Digital Graffiti/Alys Beach
  • MD Anderson Breast Cancer Promoted Article
  • HTX RealEstateConfidential 2015
  • HTX Vargos on the Lake
  • Omni Hotel HTX
  • Undies for Everyone
  • Reliant Bright Ideas Houston
  • 2015 Houston Stylemaker
  • HTX Renewable You
  • Urban Flats Builder
  • Urban Flats Builder
  • HTX New York Fashion Week spring 2016
  • Kyrie Massage
  • Red Bull Flying Bach
  • Hotze Health and Wellness
  • ReadFest 2015
  • Alzheimer's Promoted Article
  • Formula 1 Giveaway
  • Professional Skin Treatments by NuMe Express

    NFL Brunch Off

    'Brunch-off' between top chefs offers sneak peek at major Super Bowl party

    Clifford Pugh
    Dec 19, 2016 | 2:53 pm

    While the Texans were facing off against the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday at NRG Stadium, another titanic battle was taking place a few miles away at Third Coast.

    At the plush newly-renovated Texas Medical Center restaurant, Café Annie chef Robert Del Grande and Michael McKinney, the chef at Restaurant Orsay in Jacksonville, participated in a good-natured "Brunch-Off," along with Third Coast chef Jon Buchanan, to tout one of Super Bowl LI's top events — the Taste of the NFL extravaganza on February 4.

    Del Grande whipped up Mexican-style scrambled eggs with BBQ brisket and tomatillo salsa for the hungry crowd. It's a great brunch dish because it can be prepared ahead of time and heated when guests come over, he explained. "And now with all the salsas on the market, you just pick one up in the grocery store and you're two minutes away from a good breakfast."

    True to his Southern roots, Jacksonville chef Michael McKinney created a mouthwatering dish of poached eggs with pork belly, greens, and grits while Buchanan stayed true to Texas traditions with smoked turkey enchiladas with Evil Twin Stout mole, black beans, crema fresca, pico de gallo and avocado.

    Guests, who paid $35 for the brunch and unlimited mimosas, ate heartily as the friendly waitstaff delivered large portions of all three brunch dishes tableside.

    The Taste of NFL’s founder Wayne Kostroski, who had flown in from Minnesota for the kickoff preview brunch, told CultureMap that it was a great way to offer a hint of what's to come at the Taste of the NFL, which will be held at the University of Houston the night before the Super Bowl. Chefs representing all 32 teams, plus eight other chefs, including Buchanan, who will represent the Texas Medical Center restaurant, will prepare their finest dishes for a crowd expected to number several thousand.

    "It has has everything," Kostroski. "If you love food and you're a foodie, you've just gone to foodie heaven with all these chefs. If you're a sports enthusiast, the room is filled with current athletes and Hall of Famers. We have celebrities. Alyssa Milano will be back; she calls this her favorite event of the year. Then we close with a national act that we will announce the first of the year. So you get to work off all those calories while hooting and hollerin' with the band."

    All proceeds to go food banks in each NFL city, with the Houston Food Bank receiving a larger share since Houston is the host city for the Super Bowl. "You're going to spend money on Super Bowl weekend (with) all sorts of parties; this one you know it goes to a good cause," Kostroski said.

    Also on hand was Houston Oilers great and Pro Football Hall of Famer Elvin Bethea and his wife Pat. Bethea said he supported the cause because "anyone can be one paycheck away" from going hungry. "This is very important for the city and the people that it serves, so I'm looking forward to being a part of it," he said.

    Del Grande, who participated in the first Taste of the NFL party in Minneapolis in 1992 on behalf of the-then Houston Oilers, recalled "it was a just small band of pirates (including Stephen Pyles and Bobby Flay) up there cooking. We did the first one in the lobby of an office building. It was minus 20 degrees outside, but it was fun.

    "We did sea scallops with a tomatillo sauce, which was really brand new. It's been an interesting time when (the event) went from passing hors d'oeuvres to these food stations. It keeps evolving and gets bigger and bigger."

    When Del Grande returned as Houston's representative in San Francisco last February before Super Bowl L to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Taste of the NFL, he served nearly 3,000 people.

    For the gathering at U of H, he plans to serve Texas flatiron steak on a salad with Texas smoked cheddar and beef cracklings. "I was going to do Gulf Coast seafood but a lot of people are doing seafood that are flying in. Since it's in my hometown, I'm the last one to decide, because I want to give everyone else flying in, shipping stuff in, to do what they want to do first. Beef is normally the hard one to ship and cook and prep, but we have the home court advantage," he said.

    "And every event I've done, whenever you serve beef, the line is long. People want to know, where's the beef? And we've got the beef. It will be a lot of cutting and slicing, but it will be good."

    Kostroski said ticket sales are brisk and he expects the event to sell out by the time the NFL playoffs roll around in mid-January. Tickets are $700 and can be purchased on the Taste of the NFL website.

    Michael McKinney, chef of Restaurant Orsay in Jacksonville, demostrates how he whips up poached eggs with pork belly, greens,and grits.

    Taste of NFL brunch preview, Michael McKinney
      
    Photo by Cody Duty/Texas Medical Center
    Michael McKinney, chef of Restaurant Orsay in Jacksonville, demostrates how he whips up poached eggs with pork belly, greens,and grits.
    super-bowl
    news/society
    CULTUREMAP EMAILS ARE AWESOME
    Get Houston intel delivered daily.

    Power and Style

    Fashion show and tequila toasts light up Latin Women’s Initiative lunch

    Joel Luks
    Jun 13, 2025 | 4:30 pm
    Latin Women's Initiative gala luncheon 2025
    Photo by Dave Rossman
    Jessica Perez, Vicky Nehme, Raquel Thomas, and Alejandra Elizondo.

    Houtson's Latin Women’s Initiative pulled off a tres chic triple threat — style, celebration, and serious giving — during its 30th anniversary luncheon and fashion show, drawing more than 850 supporters to the Hilton Americas-Houston ballroom. The event blended culture, community, and catwalks into one spectacular midday affair.

    Event chairs April Ramirez Fabre and Julie Garza, alongside board president Jovanny Orellana, welcomed guests to a ballroom teeming with fashionistas, philanthropists, and a whole lot of Latin sass. The annual luncheon, show, and bustling marketplace marked a major milestone for the nonprofit, which has supported Houston’s Latin community for more than two decades. This year’s honorees, Lisset Garza and Naimeh Salem, were recognized for their years of dedicated support to the organization and beyond.

    Festivities kicked off early with a shopping marketplace that opened in the morning and quickly became standing room only. Stylish attendees sipped tequila samples from local brand Titanium Tequila while browsing vendors. A specialty cocktail bar and music from DJ Freddy B kept the energy festive. Event designer Johanna Terry delivered an elegant setting, infusing the ballroom with rich emerald green tones, a nod to the organization’s 30th anniversary, paired with lush florals.

    The program began with Orellana welcoming the crowd from a dramatic Y-shaped runway, as Mariachi Reyes de Mexico filled the room with music that hushed the crowd for a heartfelt invocation.

    Then came the moment every fashion lover waited for: Lo Mejor de Saks Primavera 2025 (The Best of Spring Saks 2025), a luxe runway show presented in partnership with Saks Fifth Avenue, led by Heidi Turney and Hasina Starks. Applause echoed as models and a few brave Houston firefighters showed off the season’s must-haves. But the true showstopper? Actor and TV host Julián Gil, who surprised the audience by strutting the runway himself, earning whoops and cheers from the crowd. His appearance was generously sponsored by Salem.

    The catwalk came alive with Latin beats and massive LED screens flashing colorful visuals, thanks to a production team led by Lenny Matuszewski and Tamara Bonar. Behind-the-scenes storytelling and videos, created by exclusive media partner Telemundo Houston, added a poignant layer to the spectacle.

    As guests settled in for lunch, anticipation built for the raffle, which included a dazzling diamond tennis necklace from Zadok Jewelers. Helene Zadok herself took the stage to crown the lucky winner. All that excitement translated into impact: the event raised more than $500,000 to benefit Justice Forward, Rebuilding Together Houston, Segundo Barrio Children's Chorus, El Centro de Corazon, and Naba Shoes for Kids.

    And what’s a Latin party without a proper toast?

    Guests clinked glasses in a tequila-fueled cheers to three decades of fashion for a cause, then danced the afternoon away to live music from Grupo Kache. The grand finale included more marketplace shopping and lite bites, with plans already announced for next year’s fête on May 1, 2026.

    Houston’s Latin glitterati showed up, including Ceron, Patricia Herrera, Leticia Fallick, Rosi Hernandez, Gloria Luna Bounds, Trini Mendenhall-Royalty, Vicky Dominguez, Becky Reyes, Maritza Gonzales, Vicki Luna, Chree Boydstun, David Cordua, Frances Castañeda Dyess, Patricia Garcia, Alba Huerta, Daisy Mendoza, Arcy Muñoz Marshall, Jolene Treviño, Mari Salazar, Leanne Schneider, Hoda Sana, Xochitl Ljuboja, Jackie Garcia, Cathryn Martinez, Mariangeles Orti, Vanessa Ramirez, Matty Restivo, Lisa Flores, Susan Dray, Marilu Garza, Conchita Reyes, Lorena Gomez, Lucia and Michael Cordua, and Leisa Holland-Nelson.

    Latin Women's Initiative gala luncheon 2025
      

    Photo by Dave Rossman

    Jessica Perez, Vicky Nehme, Raquel Thomas, and Alejandra Elizondo.

    fundraiserslatin women’s initiative
    news/society
    Loading...