Drink up!

Massive week-long food and wine festival uncorks in The Woodlands

When Constance McDerby conceived the idea for Wine & Food Week in The Woodlands 15 years ago, there was nothing like it in the Houston region. Now, it's the largest food and wine celebration from New Orleans to Aspen, bringing together hundreds of restaurants and wineries for a six-day festival showcasing some of the best of Houston's restaurants and some of the finest wines from around the world.

"I've had this vision since the beginning," McDerby tells CultureMap about the way the event has ballooned. "And there's even more to come."

Gentlemen first
That might be hard to believe, given the lineup of this year's event, which kicks off to the public June 4 at 7 pm with "It's A Guy Thing" at The Woodlands Country Club's The Palmer Course. Hosted by master sommelier and Houston icon Guy Stout, the evening is set to be a real man's man event. Attendees can get a shoe or boot shine, smoke cigars, win door prizes, even try their hand at the poker table. And of course, there's wine.

"It's a real gentleman's night," says McDerby. "We want them to kick back and relax with a big bowl of red wine."

Tickets for the evening are $30 per person.

Dirty talk
For those curious about how wine making happens, from grape to glass, McDerby recommends not missing "Dirt-y Talk," Wednesday, June 5 at 5:30 pm.

"Rudy Marchesi, who was the Oregon Wine Person of the Year, is hosting," says McDerby. "And it's about how wineries can manipulate the soil so it's replenished, rather than the grapevines ruining it."

Marchesi is a leading in Biodynamic and organic farming methods, and leads Montinore Estates. The discussion will naturally feature wine tasting — expect to sample 2017 Pinot Gris Borealis, 2018 Almost Dry Riesling, 2017 Rose, 2017 Red Cap Pinot Noir and 2015 Reserve Pinot Noir. As a bonus, Tim Hanni author of “Why You Like the Wines You Like," will be offering participants a tasting profile, helping them better understand their palates. Tickets are $45 per person.

Those who are into a more informal interaction will love the H-E-B Wine Walk at Market Street on Thursday June 6 from 5:30-8:30 pm. The event allows for lots of sipping and strolling, with savory bites, wine and craft beer and live music by Mango Punch in Market Street’s Central Park. There's evening something for beer lovers in the Ben E. Keith Craft Beer Garden, which will feature offerings from 14 craft breweries.

Sips, Suds, Tacos
Sips, Suds and Tacos is the Friday, June 7 from 6-9 pm at the Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel & Convention Center The taco take-down features tacos of all shapes and sizes, topped with all the fixings. Bragging rights are on the line here, as one taco will be crowned the winner and take home the quirky taco trophy. Tickets are $30 per person.

Wine lovers who want a little more in-depth experience should check out the Truth Talk Seminar and tasting at 7 pm featuring the Wine Enthusiast Wine Maker of the Year, Michael David Winery. Guests will meet Visionary Founder Michael Phillips, Director of Wine Operations Adam Mettler, and Vice President of Operations Kevin Phillips, and have the chance to sample their wines and see for themselves why they topped Wine Enthusiast's list. Tickets are $45.

The week reaches its crescendo on Saturday, June 8 with the Wine Rendezvous Grand Tasting & Chef Showcase. Billed as the week's "ultimate food and wine tasting," it features hundreds of wines and more than 60 major culinary talents from the U.S., Caribbean and Latin America in an elegant ballroom. Guests are there to eat and drink great food and wine, but the chefs are vying for the title of GOYA Foods Chef of Chefs Awards, which comes with both a trophy and $5,000 cash prize. Chef of Chefs Hall of Fame lifetime achievement inductees and Houston icons Michael Cordúa, and Carmelo Mauro will return to see who takes the prize. Tickets for the Grand Tasting are $125 per person.

"This is such a great event because it lets people who are curious about wine enjoy it in an environment that's not intimidating at all," says McDerby. "There's so much to try, and if you wind up not liking it, you can dump it and move on to something else."

More vino
For those who do know what they like, and want to experience something a bit more high-end, McDerby notes that the Platinum Wine Vault Collectors Tasting, also happening on Saturday, from 4:30-6:30 pm, is right up their alley. The $250 per person entry fee also includes admission to the Grand Tasting, and allows guests to sample some rare offerings from around the world, as well as the chance to talk to wine makers and winery representatives about these fine wines.

"We have 500 wines across the week, 100 restaurants and three seminars," says McDerby. "This is just so much fun. It's a great culinary platform for the visiting chefs, and a chance for guests to experience cuisine from around the world. We're so fortune here in Houston to have such diversity, and seeing our chefs alongside chefs from all these other places is so great."

Among the bold-face names to take part this year are two of Aruba’s top chefs, Erwin Husken, owner and executive chef of Screaming Eagle and chef and owner Urvin Croess of The Kitchen Table by White. John Mueller, the longest-tenured White House chef, is also in attendance. Alex Au-Yeung, chef and owner of Phat Eatery; Wade Elkins, pitmaster and partner at Reveille Barbecue Co.; Drake Leonards, Eexecutive chef at Eunice; Omar Pereney, chef, A La Carte; Tim Welch, chef de cuisine of Emmer & Rye; Brandon Silva, culinary director for Wooster's Garden; Vanquelis Pablopulos, The Petroleum Club's chef; Nicolas Vera, chef and owner of Tlahuac HTX; Olivier Ciesielski, the chef at Avondale Food & Wine; Ben McPherson, chef and owner of BOH Pasta and Pizza; Manuel Pucha, chef and owner of Maison Pucha; and Ernesto Villarreal, executive chef at Thistle Draft Shop are also on the participant list.

McDerby points out the whole affair is what she calls "a party with a purpose," as proceeds from the week go to five area charities, including The Montgomery County Food Bank, the John Cooper School Signature Author Series, and Touch Base: Center for the Deafblind, among others.

A full event listing and ticker purchase options is available online.

Woodlands Wine & Food Week is one of the nation's biggest food fests.

Woodlands Wine & Food Week

Woodlands Wine & Food Week is one of the nation's biggest food fests.

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Where's Eric Eating

CultureMap editor's 11 favorite dishes at Houston restaurants in October

Photo by Eric Sandler

The bucatini Amatricana at Paulie's brings the heat.

As both the city editor of CultureMap and the host of a bi-weekly podcast about Houston restaurants, I am one of those fortunate people whose literal job responsibilities include regularly dining at restaurants. Even though I’m not (and never have been) a food critic, it’s impossible to experience these places without forming some opinions about them.

A couple of years ago, I began documenting my favorite dishes of the month on Instagram. I thought it would be helped for people who looked at my feed as they made their own decisions about which new restaurants to try. Since then, local influencers and food writers have put their own spin on the format.

In addition to those posts, I’m going to share a few thoughts about my picks here on CultureMap. These are not reviews (at all); instead, they’re meant to be a quick summary of what I liked about each dish.

My rules are simple. First, expect approximately 10 dishes each month. Critically, it’s only one dish per restaurant, and no restaurant will appear twice in the same month. Generally, they’ll be new restaurants in the Houston area, but I’ll always mix in an old favorite or two — and I reserve the right to include other parts of Texas when something particularly excellent grabs my attention.

Finally, they’re not presented in any particular order. I do not have a No. 1 favorite dish. I like something about all of them.

Here are my favorite dishes I ate at Houston-area restaurants in October.

Bucatini Amatriciana at Paulie’s
The Montrose staple makes all of its pastas in house, including this tube-shaped style that’s paired with an unapologetically spicy Amatriciana sauce. I add shrimp both for a little protein and to cut the heat a little. With the restaurant set to close December 31, I’ll certainly be back for another order as well as my other favorites on the menu.

Fried squash blossom taco at Late August
Part of the restaurant’s recently-introduced, seven-to-nine-course tasting menu, the crispy squash blossom is paired with lettuces from Lucille’s 1913’s farm and wrapped in a tortilla made with nixtamalized blue corn. Earthy, crunchy, and a little spicy, it’s a compelling combination of flavors that shows off chef executive chef Sergio Hidalgo’s skills that helped the Midtown restaurant retain its place in the Michelin Guide.

Mezze at March
Speaking of tasting menus at restaurants in the Michelin Guide, one-star March includes this impressive spread of small bites as part of its Levant menu. If it only included the freshly baked pita and caviar, that would have been enough, but the ability to mix and match the various bites — everything from a sweet-and-spicy muhamara to a tangy cheese and briny olives — added an interactive, almost playful element that matches the restaurant’s light-hearted approach to contemporary fine dining.

Wonton soup, grilled beef spring roll, and Vietnamese egg rolls at Kim Son
Before the restaurant closed on October 12, I put it one last to-go order that featured three items I’ve been enjoying for more than 30 years. Most of all, I’ll miss the wonton soup for being the perfect source of salty, savory comfort any time I felt a little under the weather or wanted to be warmed up on a cold day.

Stone crab and cold seafood at Truluck’s
Recently reopened after a two-month renovation, the Galleria-area steakhouse is once again serving its signature stone crab. While the days of all-you-can-eat are gone, the sweet, briny crab remains as compelling as ever.

Barbecue tray at Redbird BBQ
Admittedly, Port Neches isn’t in the Houston area, but this barbecue restaurant, ranked No. 4 in the state by Texas Monthly, is worth the 100-mile drive. Go for the hot honey ribs, the expertly-rendered brisket, the Persian-style koobideh sausage, the dinner rolls — well, all of it, really. And save a little room for banana pudding.

Capellini with lobster at Coltivare
While every visit to this Heights staple should always include its signature black pepper spaghetti, those who eschew its other pastas are missing out. The thing, delicate noodle allows the lobster’s natural sweetness to shine, as do the herbs and lemon in the sauce. Given the seasonal nature of most of Coltivare’s menu, go soon, since it might not be around much longer.

Sea bass with frisee and smoked trout roe at Leo’s River Oaks
Steaks are definitely the focus at this retro-styled establishment that won Best New Restaurant at the 2025 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards, but chef Kirk Thompson and his team cook a nice piece of fish, too. Here, the seared sea bass gets a boost of umami from the smoked trout roe, while a citrus beurre blanc adds acidity to cut the rich flavors.

Ginger-scallion lobster at Fung’s Kitchen
Prompted by my mother to choose “something different” for dinner, we headed outside the Loop to this Southwest Houston staple. One of the lobster preparations is always a reliable choice, as the wok-seared meat is never rubbery or overcooked and the delicate sauce brightens up the meat. The half Peking duck we split could’ve also made this month’s list.

Chicken Milanese at Maximo
Since taking over the kitchen earlier this year, chef Adrian Torres has continued to showcase his vision for modern Mexican cuisine at this Rice Village restaurant. Crispy, juicy, and paired with a spicy green spaghetti, the chicken Milanese is comforting, familiar, and utterly craveable. No wonder Michelin included Maximo as one of the city’s five new Bib Gourmand recipients.

Wild mushroom pizza at Murray’s Pizza & Wine
Newly opened in Memorial, this new concept from the owners of Leaf & Grain offers an elevated approach to pizza centered around a sourdough crust that’s fermented for three days. For this pie, a mix of mushrooms are roasted in wine and butter that’s further enhanced with a bright salsa verde and a garlic-cream sauce. The intensely savory flavors make for a compelling bite, especially when paired with the restaurant’s frozen Negroni.

For more Houston food coverage, follow @ericsandler and @culturemaphou on Instagram and 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.

Photo by Eric Sandler

The bucatini Amatricana at Paulie's brings the heat.

news-you-can-eat favorite dishes