whiskey-fueled weekend

New whiskey festival serves up spirits, tastings, and eats to north Houston

Get your spirits up at this whiskey-fueled weekend.

Photo courtesy of HTX Whiskey Weekend

Attention, local whiskey fans, a new festival in north Houston is serving up curated tastings, fine dining, and classes on all things malt.

HTX Whiskey Weekend is an inaugural, three-day event taking place at City Place, the dynamic, mixed-use destination in Spring, kicking off April 29. Tickets for the fest are available online now.

Things kick off on Friday, April 29 at 6 pm with a four-course dinner in partnership with sustainability-focused food group The Butcher’s Ball. The ticketed event is limited to 100 guests and will feature three talented Houston Top Chef contestants: current competitor Evelyn Garcia, and past participants Dawn Burrell and Sasha Grumman. The trio are working in collaboration with Daniel Chang of recently debuted City Place eatery Sushi Rebel and the popular Uptown Sushi.

MKT Distillery will pair a whiskey sampling or cocktail with each course; entertainment comes via Austin-based guitarist, singer and songwriter Sophia Johnson. Fun continues after dinner with DJ Redd spinning, cigar rolling, and, naturally, more whiskey samplings. Tickets for this affair are $150.

The next day, Saturday, April 30, starts with a pair of free fitness classes on The Plaza, beginning with HIIT at 8:30 am and followed by yoga/meditation at 10 am. The first 50 participants will receive a voucher for a free smoothie at neighboring Island Grill.

Following the fitness activities, City Place Marriott will host a series of free seminars including Collecting Whiskey 101 with Carl Norris at 10 am, The Business of Whiskey at 12:30 pm, and A Perfect Pour: Whiskey Cocktail Class with acclaimed mixologist Patrick Abalos of Not Too Sweet Ventures at 2 pm. (Note: Tickets for the cocktail class have already been claimed.)

Next up is the weekend’s signature happening, A Taste of City Place, which takes place from 3 pm to 8 pm. This event features separate, ticketed whiskey and food sampling areas, a complimentary main stage plus a cash beer, wine, and cocktail garden.

More than a dozen distillers will be presenting, including MKT Distillery, Devil’s River Whiskey, Gentle Ben, Frontier Spirits, Hill Country Distillers, Still Austin, Old Humble Distilling Company, and Rebecca Creek.

For the “taste” side of the festival, food-focused nonprofit Urban Harvest will showcase bites from award-winning pitmaster Ara Malekian of Harlem Road Texas BBQ in Richmond, and acclaimed Greater Houston-area chefs including Austin Simmons of Tris, Drake Leonards of Eunice, Jason Kerr of Little Kitchen HTX, Bryan Caswell, and more.

Onstage entertainment performances include Rapture at 3 pm, Jake Bush at 4:30 pm, Tony and Liz at 5:30 pm, and a surprise headliner from 6 until 8 pm.

Sampling tickets for A Taste of City Place are $45 per person for whiskey and $35 per person for food. A discounted combo package is $65 per person.

Sunday Funday comes on May 1 with Waffles & Wheels from 9 am to noon. This outdoor brunch will feature a host of Art Cars, music from DJ Redd, family friendly activities, and bites, syrups, and condiments derived from whiskey. Unlike other events, Waffles & Wheels is non-ticketed and free to attend. (Brunch items will be available for individual purchase.)

Given the distance from central Houston and the spirited fun, attendees are encouraged to spend a night or the entire weekend at one of City Place’s three onsite hotels.

To sweeten the deal, the AAA Four Diamond Houston City Place Marriott is offering its TX Whiskey Weekend package, which includes two complimentary welcome drinks and parking for a special rate at $209 per night. The nearby Residence Inn Houston Springwoods Village has the Snacks On Us package offers overnight rates starting at $149 with a $10 snacks credit. The Courtyard Houston Springwoods Village boasts standard rates beginning at $104 a night.

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HTX Whiskey Weekend runs April 29-May 1 at City Place Plaza (1250 Lake Plaza Dr.) in Spring. Tickets and a fill schedule are available online.

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a major award

Michelin-recognized Houston diner makes Bon Appetit best new restaurants

Photo by Jenn Duncan

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The hits just keep on coming for Houston restaurant Agnes and Sherman. Bon Appetit has named the Asian American diner as one of its best new restaurants of 2026.

Published Monday, April 24, the list includes 19 restaurants in 12 states and Washington, D.C. that opened between March 2025 and March 2026. In addition to Agnes and Sherman, Texas is represented by Le Calamar, a French-Texas bistro in Austin.

Editorial operations manager Kate Kassin hails Agnes and Sherman for signature dishes such as a wedge salad that’s topped with youtiao croutons, lap cheong, and ginger-scallion ranch and the signature cheeseburger fried rice that’s made with shredded iceberg lettuce, two slices of American cheese, sauce, and sesame seeds.

“It’s a mishmash of two iconic dishes in their own genres but, together, something wholly emblematic of the food that owners Nick Wong and Lisa Lee are putting forth,” Kassin writes.

Opened in April 2025, Agnes and Sherman puts an Asian spin on the classic American diner. Its received significant regional and national praise, including being named Texas Monthly’s best new restaurant of 2026, as well as earning a James Beard Award finalist nomination for Best New Restaurant and a Recommended designation in the Michelin Guide.

Good Morning America recently featured the restaurant during a weeklong series on diners. During the segment, Wong and Lee announced they'd recently become engaged.

At Le Calamar, Kassin finds first-rate stuffed chicken wings that are cooked on a Japanese binchotan grill. “Likewise, Wagyu hanger steak au poivre boasts a floral sauce that blends black, white, and Tellicherry peppercorns with garlic, brandy, cream, and ginger; it is a dynamic update on the classic,” she writes.

Le Calamar opened in May 2025 in the former Underdog space. A nominee for best new restaurant in the 2026 CultureMap Austin Tastemaker Awards, the restaurant is known for its chic interior, warm service, and dishes such as gnocchi and and raw oysters with fennel mignonette.

While Bon Appetit recognizes restaurants are facing challenges ranging from rising costs to AI disruption, the magazine takes an optimistic tone in the article’s introduction.

“The restaurants we found the most exciting are, of course, delicious, but they were also fearless about challenging the playbooks by betting on community and creativity. These are the traits that help evolve modern American cuisine,” it writes.

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