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    Foodie News

    Midtown's newest restaurant features burgers and park views, but don't call it Shake Shack

    Eric Sandler
    Sep 18, 2015 | 7:06 am

    For a neighborhood that's known for being Houston's nightlife hotspot, Midtown has surprisingly few places to eat after 11 p.m. Even on the weekends, the traditional option of Mai's has only been recently supplemented by Jinya Ramen, but, other than Cafe Layal and Christian's Tailgate, nothing exists right in the thick of the bustling scene on Bagby.

    At least until Tuesday, when Rico's Morning + Noon + Night makes its debut at Bagby Park on the corner of Bagby and Gray. Rico's is a quick serve kiosk that offers breakfast, lunch, dinner and, on the weekends, late night eats. Named after Cyclone Anaya's owner Rico Valencia, the restaurant serves a menu of classic American fare like hamburgers and hot dogs developed by Cyclone's corporate chef Jason Gould.

    "The main concept was to come up with something that would fit in well with this urban living environment and make it appealing to everybody," Gould says. "So we thought, 'what better than classic burgers and hot dogs?'"

    Gould explains that the Midtown District wanted an attraction that would help make the park a destination to supplement the movie screenings and concerts that are already held at the space. Valencia pitched the Rico's concept that's able to maximize the 400 square foot kitchen by utilizing the Midtown location of Cyclone Anaya's for part of the prep. Free wifi and outlets mean that area residents have a new space to "work from home," particularly on sunny days.

    If the idea of classic American fare and a park setting reminds some people of a certain New York-based, rapidly expanding fast food empire — i.e., Shake Shack — well, that's just a coincidence. "We don't want to think that we stole the idea," Gould says. "The big thing was, what will work in this space? We wanted to have food that we could produce, drinks that we could offer, beer and wine, which we think is great for a park environment. We figured burgers, beer and hot dogs was the best thing."

    At breakfast, the menu features breakfast tacos as well as lighter items like orange juice, granola and smoothies. At lunch and dinner, Rico's offers hot dogs, burgers, fries and shakes, as well as beer and wine, all of which can be eaten in the restaurant's outdoor seating area or on the park's grass.

    "Late night we're doing what we're labeling as 'drunk food'," Gould says. "It will kind of be a mish-mash of different things, more heavy on some things. Chili cheese fries will be on the regular menu, but maybe at night we'll put bacon in it and cook them in lard just to make them more interesting."

    Rico's makes an effort to keep things as local as possible. Both the burger meat and the all-beef hot dogs come from 44 Farms, buns and rolls come from Slow Dough Bread Co. and the tomatoes are from Atkinson Farms. Beverage options include local craft beer and locally roasted Katz Coffee, as well as all-natural Maine Root sodas.

    Of course, serving a six-ounce patty on a potato bun that's easy to hold with one hand won't slow down the Shake Shack comparisons, but only Rico's will serve it in Tex-Mex form topped with guacamole, jalapenos, salsa and queso. The H-Town dog features a bacon-wrapped hot dog that's topped with ketchup and onion jam for a nice balance of sweet and salty flavors.

    "We're doing it with ketchup because the mustard overpowered the flavor. It was too strong," Gould explains. "The tangy-ness of the tomato lends itself to the sweetness of the onion jam."

    Now, when Midtown revelers leave the Dogwood or Pub Fiction, their choices within walking distance won't be limited to food trucks. Rico's will be ready to satisfy almost any craving.

    The Rico's Tex-Mex burger is topped with guacamole, salsa, queso and jalapenos.

    Rico's Tex Mex Burger
      
    Photo by Julie Soefer
    The Rico's Tex-Mex burger is topped with guacamole, salsa, queso and jalapenos.
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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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