The 2021 Tastemakers

A toast to the top Texas restaurants and bars crowned at Tastemakers 2021

Each year, CultureMap celebrates Texas' culinary stars with our Tastemaker Awards program. This year felt especially celebratory, as we honored the resilience and ingenuity of restaurants, bars, chefs, and bartenders from across the state with the return of our in-person events held throughout the summer.

Our 2021 Tastemakers tour kicked off in Houston on July 22 with a full house of guests and nominees gathering for food, drink, and a lively awards ceremony emceed by Houston legend Bun B. We then traveled to Austin on August 5, where we honored our Austin and San Antonio nominees and unveiled the winners in an awards program featuring Alamo Drafthouse founder Tim League. On August 19, we wrapped things up with a delicious night in Dallas, celebrating Dallas-Fort Worth's top culinary talent and welcoming comedian CJ Starr as emcee of the evening.

Guests dined on specialty bites prepared by participating nominees and enjoyed a variety of cocktails and other sips perfectly suited for a summer celebration. But the stars of the show — and the heart of the program — were our nominees and winners.

Our 2021 nominees were selected by local panels of industry experts, including past Tastemaker winners. The panels then determined winners in each category, except for Best New Restaurant, which was determined by readers in our popular online tournament, and the Hero Award in Dallas and Fort Worth, which was determined by our editors.

Join us in raising a final toast to the 2021 Tastemaker Awards winners, listed below. And watch the video above for highlights from all of our 2021 events.

Restaurant of the Year: Nobie’s
Chef of the Year: Kaitlin Steets, Littlefoot/Theodore Rex
Rising Star Chef of the Year: AJ Ede, Brasil
Best New Restaurant: Xin Chào
Best Pop-up/Startup: Josh Deleon, Underground Creamery
Neighborhood Restaurant of the Year: Candente
Pastry Chef of the Year: Drew Gimma, Bread Man Baking Co.
Bar of the Year: Heights Bier Garten
Bartender of the Year: Alphonso Quiñones, Tiny Champions
Wine Program of the Year: Squable

Restaurant of the Year: Nixta
Chef of the Year: Fiore Tedesco, L’Oca d’Oro
Rising Star Chef of the Year: Damien Brockway, Distant Relatives
Best New Restaurant: Plank Seafood Provisions
Best Ghost Kitchen: Mother Klucker
Neighborhood Restaurant of the Year: Bouldin Creek Cafe
Pastry Chef of the Year: Ariana Quant, Uchiko, Uchi
Bar of the Year: Garage
Bartender of the Year: Travis Tober, Old Pal, Nickel City
Wine Program of the Year: LoLo
Brewery of the Year: Blue Owl Brewing

San Antonio

Restaurant of the Year: Clementine
Chef of the Year: Nicola Blaque, The Jerk Shack
Best New Restaurant: Southerleigh Haute South
Best Ghost Kitchen: Curry Boys
Bar of the Year: The Esquire Tavern

Restaurant of the Year: José
Chef of the Year: Matt Balke, Encina
Rising Star Chef of the Year: Carol Nguyen, Ngon Vietnamese
Best New Restaurant: Monarch
Best Ghost Kitchen: TLC Vegan Kitchen
Neighborhood Restaurant of the Year: Edoko Omakase
Pastry Chef of the Year: Corey Thomson, Fearing's
Bar of the Year: Cosmo's
Bartender of the Year: Liz Mitchell, Thunderbird Station
Wine Program of the Year: Veritas Wine Room
Hero Award: Meaders Ozarow

Restaurant of the Year: Hatsuyuki Handroll Bar
Chef of the Year: Felipe Armenta, Tavern, Towne Grill, Maria's
Best New Restaurant: La Onda
Bar of the Year: Tulips
Hero Award: Jon Bonnell

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The CultureMap Houston Tastemaker Awards was brought to you by Cigar City Brewing, Savve, Maestro Dobel Tequila, Stranahan's Whiskey, Topo Chico, and Alto. A portion of proceeds benefit our local nonprofit partner, Lucille's 1913.

San Antonio Restaurant of the Year: Clementine.

Clementine SA hush puppies

Clementine

San Antonio Restaurant of the Year: Clementine.

the ranch rides again

Houston hospitality 'dream team' saddles up for World Cup pop-up restaurant

Army Sadeghi, Ben Berg, and Brian Ching

Courtesy of Berg Hospitality

Army Sadeghi, Ben Berg, and Brian Ching are teaming up to open The Ranch Presents Pitch Live.

Two Houston hospitality veterans are teaming up with one of the city’s soccer legends to throw an epic party during the FIFA World Cup. The Ranch Presents Pitch Live will be a 35,000-square-foot pop-up venue that mixes Texas hospitality with top-notch food, drinks, and entertainment.

Located in the former Warehouse Live space (813 St. Emanuel St.), The Ranch Presents Pitch Live unites Berg Hospitality founder Ben Berg (B&B Butchers, Prime 131, The Annie Cafe, etc.) with Army Sadeghi (Melrose, Clarkwood, 1111) and Dynamo legend Brian Ching, co-founder of popular soccer bar Pitch 25 that has a location in EaDo and will soon open in Katy. Rick Perez, a co-owner of Montrose bar Sophie Cocktail & Terrace, will also be involved with the VIP guest experience. Together, they’ll operate a venue for 39 days — June 11 through July 19 — that puts an international spin on The Ranch, Berg Hospitality’s restaurant at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo that operated from 2022-2025.

Berg tells CultureMap that the project began when Houston’s FIFA World Cup Host Committee approached Ching about utilizing the Warehouse Live space during the tournament. Ching reached out to Berg to oversee the food and beverage operations. Berg recruited Sadeghi for his experience in nightclubs and lounges.

“I’m a sadomasochist,” Berg jokes about his penchant for taking on too many projects at once.

“Brian is the face of it and runs an awesome bar,” Berg says. “Bring in the nightlife side with people who are tops at that. My team is tops at putting on a big pop-up, and we have the structure to get this thing open. It’s kind of a dream team.”

“Hosting games in Houston is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to put on something great,” Sadeghi adds. “This concept isn’t just screens and beer buckets. It operates like a global fan destination centered around matches . . . We’re programming the emotional center of the World Cup, and we’re super excited.”

The space is being divided into three sections: a main stage with multiple bars and casual dining; a more premium, VIP-style area with more elevated food and drinks; and a private VVIP lounge with its own entrance and more premium service. Berg notes that they expect the venue will be popular with corporate clients who can host events there.

Details on the food menu are still being finalized. This version of The Ranch won’t have the same full service, fine dining-style experience that the Rodeo offered, but Berg noted that many of its most popular dishes will be available. It will also serve some barbecue. Restaurants related to the countries in that day's matches will be invited to pop-up within the pop-up.

All of the World Cup matches will be shown throughout the venue on multiple screens, including a massive outdoor viewing area. In between games, the venue will host performances by DJs and musicians in a variety of genres. At night, patrons will have the option of splurging on VIP tables with bottle service.

Sadeghi thinks Houston’s diversity makes it an ideal place to host World Cup matches and visitors.

“We have South American, European, African, Mexican, they’re all very passionate about soccer,” he says. “Instead of building something generic, we want to build something that reflects Houston culturally. The goal is global energy through a Houston lens.”

openings world cup news-you-can-eat

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