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    Best New Restaurant Face-Off

    Tastemakers Best New Restaurant face-off offers some intriguing match-ups

    Eric Sandler
    Apr 28, 2015 | 12:53 pm

    In eight of the nine categories in this year's CultureMap Houston Tastemaker Awards, a panel of restaurant industry insiders selected the nominees and picked the winners. But that's not how we select the winner in the Best New Restaurant category.

    To determine the ninth winner, CultureMap readers vote in a head-to-head bracket that will winnow down a field of 16 restaurants to one winner. In other words, it's your turn.

    Rather than push the battles between big names to the later rounds, these contests pit heavy hitters against each other right out of the gate. After all, to be the man, you gotta beat the man.

    Find a breakdown of the first round matchups below. Then vote.

    The Honeymoon vs Tout Suite

    In this corner, a neighborhood cafe with high-quality, locally-roasted coffee, a casual menu and a super popular brunch. Oh wait, that's both of them. Tout Suite's sleek industrial space in EaDo features a variety of seating options and top-notch sweets from the in-house bakery. The Honeymoon features a laid-back New Orleans vibe and critically-praised high-quality cocktails. What's more important: sweets or booze?

    Dak & Bop vs Dosi

    This matchup pits two modern Korean restaurants against each other. Dak & Bop serves ultra-crispy, just spicy enough Korean fried chicken alongside craft beer and cocktails. Dosi offers a more sophisticated slate of dishes that ulitizes seasonal ingredients. While every food writer in town seems to have fallen in love with Dosi, Dak & Bop's more populist leanings have made it a hit in the Museum District. Certainly Dak & Bop's simplicity is part of its appeal, but doesn't Dosi's ambition deserve recognition?

    BCN Taste & Tradition vs Radio Milano

    Spain and Italy square off in this matchup. BCN chef Luis Roger moved to Houston from Spain to open his restaurant in Montrose and he's found an audience eager to sample his Spanish cuisine made with impeccable ingredients. Jose Hernandez is known for his French cooking skills but he displays a deft touch with Radio Milano's housemade pastas and carefully constructed dishes. But how does one choose between Jamon iberico and prosciutto?

    Table 57 vs The El Cantina Superior

    The El Cantina looked doomed, but the F.E.E.D. TX group rescued it with an all-new menu that blends Tex-Mex classics with barbecue. Table 57 is grocery giant H-E-B's first Houston restaurant, with a menu created by former Haven chef Randy Evans; it also turns out some pretty serious 'cue of its own. Can an emerging Heights destination serving the city's favorite cuisine hold off a restaurant that doesn't allow its patrons to tip?

    Holley's vs Oporto Fooding House & Wine

    Both of these Midtown newcomers are so good that it almost doesn't seem fair to pair them up this early, but that's life in the Tastemakers bracket. At Oporto, chef Rick Di Virgilio has taken everything good about the original location in Greenway Plaza and improved upon it with an expanded menu, more space and high-style design. At Holley's, chef Mark Holley has taken the best aspects of Pesce and added some signature dishes that pay homage to his heritage. Which restaurant that's part of Midtown's expanding dining options will move on?

    Common Bond vs Weights + Measures

    Common Bond has been a smash hit since it opened, as demonstrated by the length of its lines and the speed with which it sells out of its signature pastries. Weights + Measures has had plenty of success, too; weekend brunches may serve as many as 500 people per day — then another 300 show up for dinner. How does one decide between croissants or donuts? Kugelhopf or Bavarian cream? Michelin star resumes or local talent? Montrose or Midtown?

    Pax Americana vs Prohibition

    Two restaurants that are united by their commitments to local sourcing, evolving menus and excellent beverage programs. Pax has been a hot spot since day one, with diners packing in for Rising Star Chef of the Year nominee Adam Dorris's globally inspired cuisine. Enthusiasm has built more slowly for Ben McPherson's elevated Southern cuisine at Prohibition, but it's emerged as one of downtown's best restaurants. Sure, Pax serves an outstanding dry aged ribeye, but have you had Prohibition's roasted oysters?

    Bernie's Burger Bus vs Mascalzone

    Admittedly, these two don't have much in common, but both restaurants feature upgraded twists on two of America's favorite foods. At Bernie's, the burgers are made from a patties that are ground in house and served with housemade condiments. Mascalzone serves wood-fired Italian pizzas and housemade pastas. Could anything be more classically American than burgers versus pizza?

    Which restaurants will advance? Vote now to pick the winners. Check back May 1 for round two.

    BCN Taste & Tradition squares off against Radio Milano.

    2 BCN exterior at the BCN dinner for Texas Children's Hospital September 2014
      
    Photo by Quy Tran
    BCN Taste & Tradition squares off against Radio Milano.
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    he finished the job

    Houston chef Tristen Epps dishes on his Top Chef victory — and what's next

    Eric Sandler
    Jun 13, 2025 | 9:05 am
    Top Chef Tristen Epps
    Photo by David Moir/Bravo
    Kristen Kish, Tristen Epps, Gail Simmons, and Tom Colicchio.

    Houston has played a leading role in America’s culinary scene, but the city has never been home to a Top Chef winner — until last night. In the final episode of season 22, chef Tristen Epps earned the title and a $250,000 cash prize.

    Epps secured his victory by remaining true to the Afro-Caribbean cuisine that helped him secured an impressive four Elimination Challenge wins and $35,000 in additional prize money from two Quickfire wins and as a member of the team that won the show’s signature Restaurant Wars challenge. His four-course menu took a panel of celebrity judges on a journey that also referenced the finale location of Milan, Italy.

    In particular, Epps wowed the panel with his second course — Chicken “Durango” with injera shrimp toast and shellfish jus — that referenced both the Ethiopian chicken stew doro wat and the Italian dish pollo durango, a sly nod to the history of imperialism between the two countries. He finished his savory offerings with Oxtail Milanese Crepinette with Carolina Gold rice grits, curry butter, and bone marrow gremolata, which earned praised from the panel.

    “Historically, we’ve been underserved oxtail,” Top Chef alum and James Beard Award winner Gregory Gourdet said during the episode. “Tristen took the time to pull it, create that beautiful, huge, maybe too big, portion of oxtail. And cover it with that gremolata. He did not forget the bone marrow. That’s very, very smart.”

    Throughout Top Chef’s run, Epps has been holding a series of pop-ups devoted to everything from hot dogs to steakhouses. Now, he can turn his attention to Buboy, a tasting menu concept that will celebrate the Afro-Caribbean cuisine he championed throughout his time on the show.

    CultureMap caught up with Epps on Friday morning for a brief chat about his victory and what’s next.

    CultureMap: What do you remember from the day you cooked that final dinner?
    Tristen Epps: It was an extreme amount of focus. A lot of writing in my notebook. I didn’t want to laugh. I didn’t want to cry or do anything except finish the job, regardless of whatever the outcome would have been. I remember wanting to call my mom. I really wanted to talk things out so I could calm myself down and stay within my focus. Once I got into cooking, I felt so much at ease. It’s my happy place. It’s my serenity.

    CM: How did you feel when you saw Gregory Gourdet on the panel? Did you feel like you had an advocate in the room?
    TE: I’ve cooked with gregory before, a long time ago. It was really fun. I loved what he was doing.

    I felt like I had kind of an advocate. I was worried my food wold be too spicy or too overpowering [for the European chefs]. Seeing Gregory was really good, especially with what I was doing.

    CM: Other chefs, including Gregory Gourdet and Houston chef Dawn Burrell, have done well on the show with Afro-Caribbean cuisine but they didn’t win. How important was it to you to finish the job and use those flavors to win the title?
    TE: To me that was super important. There’s adventurous people who make phenomenal food. They’ll go once because it’s interesting, bu they’re usually skeptical. When you don’t nail it, they say, that’s why I go to the regular places that are familiar.

    Finishing the job was really important to me. People have come up short on this. I wanted to get this right for everyone who’s made that step forward and created the ladder.

    CM: What have your last 12 hours been like since the episode aired? Have any celebrities reached out to you?
    TE: A lot of calls, a lot of good luck. A lot of everything. It’s been amazing.

    A lot of past Top Chef winners reached out to me, giving me a lot of support and telling me what they did after they won.

    [ESPN football commentator] Mina Kimes did, which was really cool.

    CM: What are your plans for the prize money?
    TE: It’s going to go to Buboy. Now that the cat’s out of the bag, it can go a little faster.

    CM: You’ve been holding a series of pop-ups that range from tasting menus to hot dogs? What’s next?
    TE: Part of getting the restaurant open has been introducing myself to all of Houston. These pop-ups represent my interests and my fun. They’re the things that Buboy is going to represent. It can be fun, it can be a conversation, it can be educational, it can push the limits of cuisines we know. It’s an expression of culture in whatever way I see fit that day.

    The hot dog concept will probably be a separate venture, but who’s to say there’s not a hot dog at the end of that meal?

    Top Chef Tristen Epps
      

    Photo by David Moir/Bravo

    Kristen Kish, Tristen Epps, Gail Simmons, and Tom Colicchio.

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