Hola, my friend

Texas hot chicken restaurant brings the heat to Katy and Spring

The Cookshack has arrived in Katy and Spring.

Photo by Dylan McEwan

A Texas-based hot chicken restaurant continues to spread its wings throughout the Houston area. The Cookshack (223 Mason Rd.) has opened two new locations in Katy and Spring (21640 Kuykendahl Rd.) that join its existing Houston-area outposts in Webster and on Washington Avenue.

Opened in Fort Worth in 2019, the Cookshack serves chicken tenders and chicken sandwiches with different spice blends that deliver increasing levels of heat. The five options range from "not hot" up to "Texas hot" and "AMF" — which the restaurant says means "adios, my friend," wink wink. Pair the tenders with dipping sauces such as barbecue, honey mustard, ranch, or gravy.

The menu also includes salads, chicken tacos, and smoked pork ribs. Side choices include fries, sweet potato fries, cole slaw, mac and cheese, and Texas caviar. Margaritas, beer, and wine help adults get some relief from the heat.

Co-founder Mark Rogers grew up in the restaurant industry as the son of a founder of Cheddar’s Casual Cafe. He worked with chef Stephen Payne to develop the restaurant's menu. Its been well received by diners, earning a spot on Yelp's list of Texas's top 100 restaurants in 2021. All that acclaim made opening two new locations an easy decision.

"Spring and Katy are both growing so fast and the people in both cities are fantastic,” Rogers said in a statement. "As we were looking for where to go next, we said, 'Let’s try to get The Cookshack in both areas.' The communities are extraordinary."

All locations are open daily from 11 am to 10 pm.

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NYT best dishes

Houston Mediterranean restaurant makes NY Times' best desserts list

Sayad Mediterranean Kitchen/Facebook

Sayad Mediterranean Kitchen is the only Houston restaurant on either list.

The New York Times included four Texas restaurants among its favorite dishes of 2025. Divided into two lists — The 23 Best Restaurant Dishes We Ate Across the U.S. in 2025 and The 14 Best Restaurant Desserts We Ate Across the U.S. in 2025 — the dishes are:

Bad Honey Bunny at Mercado Sin Nombre (Austin)
Ketan Hitam at Yeni’s Fusion (Austin)
Konafa Naama at Sayad Mediterranean Kitchen (Houston)
Picadillo Macaroni and Cheese at 2M Smokehouse (San Antonio)

Times food writer Priya Krishna, who authors the entries for all four Texas dishes, traveled to far west Houston to visit Sayad Mediterranean Kitchen. “The konafa, a signature here, arrives with a molten layer of cheese under a sticky-sweet layer of golden, nutty semolina. The craft is evident, the konafa gone in a few bites,” she writes.

Sayad Mediterranean Kitchen Konafa Naama Don't skip dessert at Sayad Mediterranean Kitchen.KSayad Mediterranean Kitchen/Facebook

In Austin, Krishna praises the rice pudding at Yeni’s Fusion. “This barely sweet version, lush with coconut milk, aromatic with pandan and as soothing as warm porridge, is the gentlest way to end a meal,” she states.

Already hailed as one of America’s best breakfast spots by Bon Appetit, Krishna singles out a honeybun at Mercado Sin Nombre. “The coiled honey bun at this semi-clandestine cafe looks almost cartoonishly perfect, and the heady scent of cardamom and honey hits you before you even take a bite. Somehow, it tastes every bit as plush and elegant as it appears,” she writes.

The picadillo mac and cheese at 2M Smokehouse showcases how the San Antonio restaurant incorporates Mexican flavors into traditional Texas barbecue. “Imagine Hamburger Helper, but spicier, punchier and even more luxuriously creamy. It’s not easy to one-up the singular, thickly spiced brisket here, but the picadillo mac and cheese — which runs as an occasional special — holds its own and then some,” Krishna writes.

The New York Times regularly shines its spotlight on Texas restaurants, In September, it named four establishments — ChòpnBlọk (Houston), Isidore (San Antonio), Lao’d Bar (Austin), and P Thai’s Khao Man Gai & Noodles (Austin) — to its list of America’s 50 Best Restaurants.

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