Truffle Masters pivots

Decadent Houston truffle festival grows with more local restaurants and extended run

Cacio e pepe risotto with black truffle at Tony's.

Photo by Heirloom Interactive

One of Houston's favorite food events has reconfigured for 2021. Rather than a large gathering with hundreds of people, The Truffle Masters will spotlight individual dishes at participating restaurants with diners trying them on their own schedule, organizer DR Delicacy announced.

Instead of a one-night affair, this year's Truffle Masters will take place from Thursday, February 11 until Sunday, February 28. Expanding to a longer format allows the event to go statewide, and gives truffle lovers more time to sample each restaurant's creations. In addition to participants from across the Houston area, Truffle Masters will also include establishments in Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio.

The statewide format also means a new charity will benefit from the event. All participating restaurants will contribute a portion of the sale of each Truffle Masters item to the Texas Food & Wine Alliance. Founded last year, the nonprofit will establish a series of grants that will be distributed by the end of 2021 through the Alliance’s regional chapters statewide.

“Recognizing the impact COVID-19 has had on the restaurant industry, we felt that 2021 was an important year to pivot The Truffle Masters event in a way that we can directly support and promote our featured restaurants while also helping to raise funds that will go back into the restaurant community,” DR Delicacy founder Diane Roederer said in a statement.

Truffle fans will find that participating restaurants cover a range of cuisines and price points. In the fine dining world, people may opt for Tony's cacio e pepe risotto with freshly-shaved black truffles or hamachi sashimi with brown butter and black truffe at Tris in The Woodlands. Turner's and Potente will also be participating, but their dishes were not available as of press time,

More casual options include El Topo in West University Place, which will offer a doughnut with chicken-honey-truffle butter and shaved truffle and East End Thai restaurant Street to Kitchen, which will serve black truffle durian crab curry. Recently opened tasting menu restaurants Hidden Omakase and Degust have added Truffle Masters dishes to their offerings.

Other participants include BOH Pasta & Pizza, a'Bouzy, Étoile Cuisine et Bar, and Lucille's. Some restaurants will offer pairings from sponsor Karbach Brewery.

In place of the usual tasting panel of media judges, diners who sample Truffle Masters dishes may vote for their favorite sweet and savory dishes. The restaurants with the most votes will be named as this year's winners.

fundraisers news-you-can-eat

return of the mack

Houston restaurateur steps up with massive River Oaks-area steakhouse

Courtesy of Mack Allen's

A rendering previews the Champagne Room, one of three private dining spaces.

A massive new steakhouse is coming to the River Oaks area this summer. Meet Mack Allen’s, a new project from Rouxpour owner Mack McDonald that’s scheduled to open in July.

While McDonald is primarily known for his casual dining concepts, Mack Allen’s is a step up in terms of design, experience, and quality. To bring the vision to life, McDonald has assembled a team of hospitality veterans, including executive chef Carlos Andrade (The Rouxpour. Brennan’s of Houston, etc.) and general manager Shaun Stockton (Turner’s, Vic & Anthony’s, etc.).

Located in the 5POP office tower at 4400 Post Oak Pkwy, Mack Allen’s will occupy 16,000 square feet on the 28-story building’s first floor. Led by Montgomery Roth Architecture & Interior Design, the space has been divided into a main dining room, a fully landscaped patio with fire and water features, and three private dining rooms

The Boardroom, designed for business meetings with full A/V capabilities
The Champagne Room, designed for luncheons, bridal showers, and other celebrations
The Estate Room, a 60-seat room with its own bar.

Once seated, customers will dine on a menu created by Andrade and regional chef Manuel “Manny” Viveros. It includes prime beef, raw and chargrilled oysters, sushi, seafood, and luxury add-ons such as caviar and truffles. More information about specific dishes and preparations will be shared closer to opening.

“At Mack Allen’s we’ll embrace a guest-first philosophy of always saying yes — yes to anything we can do to make our guests feel welcome and valued,” Stockton said in a statement. “This isn’t just about exceptional food. It’s about creating a place where hospitality leads everything and guests feel a true sense of belonging.”

Courtesy of Mack Allen's

A rendering previews the Champagne Room, one of three private dining spaces.

news-you-can-eat openings