James Beard Semifinalists revealed

Houston chefs, bars, and restaurants nab 11 James Beard semifinalist nominations in 2019

The James Beard Foundation will be in Houston next month to announce the finalists for its annual awards, which are considered the Oscars of the culinary world; they recognize achievements by chefs, bartenders, restaurant owners, media members, and more. When it does, several of the city's chefs will be eagerly awaiting the news.

The foundation announced the semifinalists for its chef awards, and once again, Houston is well-represented in the category of Best Chef: Southwest. This year's local nominees are: Ronnie Killen (Killen's Steakhouse), Trong Nguyen of Crawfish & Noodles — both of whom were nominated last year — and, for the first time, Kaiser Lashkari of Himalaya.

Other intriguing Texas nominees include: Austin chefs Kevin Fink (Emmer & Rye), Bryce Gilmore (Barley Swine), and Michael Fojtasek (Olamaie); Dallas chefs Bruno Davaillon (Bullion) and David Uygur (Lucia); perennial nominee Steve McHugh (Cured in San Antonio), and others.

Jonny Rhodes, chef-owner of Indigo, earns a nomination for Rising Star Chef of the Year, a national award for the most-promising talent under the age of 30. Despite being a 13-seat, tasting menu restaurant, Indigo has attracted major buzz in recent weeks, including being among Texas Monthly food editor Pat Sharpe's list of the state's best new restaurants for 2018.

Houstonians earned nominations in a number of the prestigious national categories, too. For the first time, The Original Ninfa's on Navigation is nominated for Outstanding Restaurant. Chris Shepherd, already a Best Chef: Southwest winner, is nominated for Outstanding Chef in America. Tracy Vaught, chef Hugo Ortega's wife and business partner in the H-Town Restaurant Group (Hugo's, Caracol, etc), receives another nomination for Outstanding Restaurateur. Anvil Bar & Refuge has once again been nominated for Outstanding Bar Program; Pappas Bros. Steakhouse is up for Outstanding Wine Program. Both Tony's and Hugo's have been nominated for Outstanding Service.

Overall, Texans earned 27 entries in the various categories, which Texas Monthly notes is the most ever and is up from 20 last year. How many will become finalists remains to be seen, of course, but surely the Beard Foundation wouldn't come to Houston just to shut the city out — right?

The awards will be presented in Chicago on Monday, May 6.

Tracy Vaught has been nominated for Outstanding Restaurateur.

Backstreet Cafe Hugo Ortega cooking video October 2013 Tracy Vaught

Photo by Joel Luks

Tracy Vaught has been nominated for Outstanding Restaurateur.

chefs awards

head east

Eagerly-anticipated Houston barbecue joint hosts weekend preview pop-ups

Courtesy of Eastbound Barbecue

Get a first taste of Eastbound Barbecue this weekend.

One of Houston’s most eagerly anticipated new barbecue joints is giving diners a preview of what’s to come. Eastbound Barbecue will host “Sneak Peak Weekends” every Saturday and Sunday beginning this Saturday, December 20, until the restaurant opens in early 2026.

Held at the restaurant’s location in the East End (1105 Sampson Street) from 12-4 pm (or sold out), the weekend service gives diners their first chance to try Eastbound Barbecue’s smoked meats, sides, and desserts. That includes, smoked brisket, baby back ribs, jalapeno & cheese sausage, hatch chili lasagna mac & cheese, herbed potato salad, and more. Save room for the two dessert offerings, salted caramel banana pudding and cookie butter cake.

To distinguish Eastbound’s barbecue, chefs Lopez and Granville use different seasonings than other restaurants, such as rosemary salt in the brisket rub and a miso-caramel sauce that gives its ribs a sweet and savory bite. During the preview, Eastbound’s prices are noticeably lower than many other Houston barbecue joints, with brisket priced at $29 per pound, ribs at $26 per pound, and pulled pork at $22 per pound.

As CultureMap reported in August, Eastbound unites four friends, Ryan Penn, Ryan Powell, Luis Lopez, and Jake Granville, who also held senior roles at various restaurants owned by prominent Houston chef Ronnie Killen. Since then, the four partners have finished many of the improvements they needed to make prior to opening, including closing in the patio and installing offset smokers on the property.

For Penn, leaving the Killen’s organization after almost 20 years was a difficult decision, but one he felt he had to make. “I could have worked for [Killen] forever and been happy. It was more along the lines of, if I don’t do this now, I don’t want to be 70 and wish that I had,” he said at the time.

Courtesy of Eastbound Barbecue

Get a first taste of Eastbound Barbecue this weekend.

news-you-can-eat barbecue openings