this week's hot headlines
Star chef's sudden resignation leads Houston's 5 most popular stories

Former Tris chef Austin Simmons served wagyu burgers at the 2024 Southern Smoke Festival.
Editor's note: It's time to look back at the hottest Houston headlines of the week. We begin with the unexpected closure of one of the Houston area's most prominent steakhouses, followed by our New Year's Eve guide, and plenty of suggestions for enjoying Dry January. Get the details below, then find some fun things to do this weekend here.
1. Surprise chef resignation shutters The Woodlands' best restaurant. Known for its wagyu steaks and Korean crab, the popular restaurant permanently closed when its chef abruptly resigned.
2. 18 Houston bars and restaurants throwing all-out New Year's Eve bashes. Our guide highlighted plenty of spots to celebrate the final night of 2024.
3. These are the 10 restaurant stories Houston devoured most in 2024. As always, closings rank highly, taking four of the 10 places on the list.
4. 15 Houston restaurants and bars shaking up tasty Dry January mocktails. These carefully crafted beverages invite patrons to enjoy the social buzz of a bar or restaurant without alcohol.
5. A hurricane, a closure, and King George: These are Houston's top 10 stories of 2024. Our colleague Ken Hoffman wasn't into metrics, but we think he'd be proud to have written last year's most-read article.