Houston pride is at stake

Shark, gator, grasshopper & mystery meat: Are you fearless enough for a Feast ofthe Brave?

One of the perks of working at CultureMap is that you never know who is going to show up at our doorstep. So today, when I was feeling particularly hungry, we got a call from the organizers of The Feast of the Brave, offering to set up their food truck in our parking lot.

There was only one catch: They were serving "exotic" tacos. Our choices were shark, alligator, crickets and "mystery meat." As part of the competition between six major cities (Houston, Dallas, Austin, Chicago, Miami and Los Angeles), sponsored by the makers of Dos Equis beer as a celebration leading up to the 150th anniversary of Cinco de Mayo, fearless residents get points for their hometown by trying these out-of-the ordinary delicacies.

I felt fortunate with the "mystery meat," because I feared it would be calf tongue or pig's brains. Instead, it looked like a small, crunchy scorpion's tail.

Houston receives 10 points for every shark taco consumed, 20 points for each alligator taco, 30 points for one with crickets and 100 points for trying the "mystery meat."

Currently, with just 50,000 points, Houston trails Austin (just over 56,000 points), Chicago (77,350 points) and Miami (with over 100,000 points). At least we are ahead of Dallas and LA.

In a brave attempt at salvaging our city pride I agreed to try all four tacos.

I felt fortunate with the "mystery meat," because I feared it would be calf tongue or pig's brains. Instead, it looked like a small, crunchy scorpion's tail, whose flavor was mitigated by red and yellow peppers. (Organizers plan to reveal the "mystery meat" at the end of the competition late Saturday on Twitter (@stay thirsty) or Facebook.)

It wasn't half bad.

But it wasn't nearly as tasty as the shark taco, favored with chunks of mango, or the alligator taco, with big portions of deep-fried meat and spicy sauce. By the time I got to the last taco, filled with crunchy crickets, pickled beets and a special sauce, I was feeling a little woozy, but definitely satisfied.

Alas, there is no beer on the food truck, which is operated by H-Town strEATS, the venerable Houston food truck that Dos Equis contracted out for the Houston portion of the competition.

You, too, can do your part for the hometown team by downing one or all four of these types of tacos at the following locations:

Kroger North Shepherd store, 1035 North Shepherd, Friday, 6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
War'Hous Visual Studios, 4715 Main, Friday, 8 p.m. - 10 p.m.
Liberty Station, 2101 Washington, Saturday, 12:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Boneyard Drinkery, 8150 Washington, Saturday, 6:30 p.m. - 8 p.m.
Warehouse Live, 813 St. Emanuel, Saturday 8:30 p.m. - 10 p.m.

For other locations, check out the Facebook page for updates.

Good news: The tacos are free.

But it might be a good idea to take along a bottle of Pepto-Bismol.

Anthony's song

Prolific Houston pizza chef fires up a new Italian restaurant in River Oaks

Anthony's New York Italian interior

Courtesy of Anthony's New York Italian

Anthony's New York Italian is now open near Central Market.

One of Houston’s most prolific pizzaiolos has quietly opened a new restaurant in River Oaks. Anthony Russo, founder of Russo’s New York Pizzeria, has opened Anthony’s New York Italian in the former Pie Tap Pizza space at 3748 Westheimer.

While Russo is known primarily for his fast casual restaurants that sling New York-style pies, Anthony’s New York Italian is both more personal and more upscale. It takes inspiration from his Italian heritage — his father grew up in Naples and his mother grew up in Sicily — as well as Russo’s Italian Restaurant, the Galveston eatery his parents operated for almost 20 years.

“We had veal, lobster, Gulf snapper, a lot of nice, classic dishes. There’s where I grew up in the kitchen,” Russo tells CultureMap. “I was always around fine dining restaurants. My mom and dad used to bring in chefs from Italy. They were excellent chefs. That’s what we had in Galveston for 18 years.”

With Russo’s at more than 50 locations, the time felt right to open a more upscale concept. Partially inspired by New York restaurants such as Carbone and Quality Italian, Russo thinks Houstonians will appreciate his high-end take on Italian American fare.

The menu includes lobster fra diavolo, a 24-ounce prime porterhouse, bone-in veal parmesan, frutti di mare (shellfish with tomato sauce over pappardelle), and more. In addition, the dish utilize Italian olive oil that’s pressed by one of the chef’s friends. Anthony’s also makes all of its doughs, sauces, and sausage in house.

Of course, Russo is making pizza, too. They’re baked in imported Italian ovens using slightly different dough and sauce recipes — along with imported mozzarella and burrata — than his more casual restaurants.

And, no, Russo isn’t concerned that a pizzeria lasted less than a year in the space.

“I feel confident this location is going to be a killer for us. We make homemade pasta on site here, fresh from scratch.” he says. “We're bringing fresh lobster. We're bringing fresh clams. We got a nice veal chop. I mean, these are all chef-selected ingredients. I don't think anybody's doing that in town right now.”

The restaurant is still in such early days that it doesn’t have its own website or social media pages yet. For now, diners can follow Russo on Instagram for updates.

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Anthony's New York Italian is open for dinner Monday-Thursday beginning at 4 pm. It’s open for lunch and dinner on Friday and Saturday beginning at 11 am. Reservations are available on OpenTable.

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