Foodie News

Georgia's Farm to Market has downtown on its mind with Main Street location

Georgia's Farm to Market in Katy: Big enough to dance in.
Photo via Georgia's Farm to Market/Facebook
Byrd's Market & Cafe
Adam Brackman
Shoppers at Georgia's in Katy
Photo via Georgia's Farm to Market/Facebook
Wide selection of hard-to-find products
Photo via Georgia's Farm to Market/Facebook

One of the best trends for inner-loopers is the migration of some of the best outside-the-beltway destinations now setting up shop downtown.

First there was the announcement of a Phoenicia Specialty Foods going in at One Park Place — first scheduled for spring, it's now slated for an October opening— followed by the owner and chef of Ray's Grill debuting Sorrel in Upper Kirby.

Now Georgia's Farm to Market, a popular restaurant and indoor market on the west side of Houston with a focus on foods that are local and organic, is on its way, as first reported by Eater.

Georgia's has announced plans for a second location in the former Byrd's space on Main Street at Prairie downtown, to debut in November.

Georgia's has announced plans for a second location in the former Byrd's space on Main Street at Prairie downtown, to debut in November. According to the Chronicle, the new Georgia's downtown will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner including "a hot bar and salad bar along with sandwiches, burgers and pastas...grab-and-go salads, wraps, sandwiches and breakfast items," with the interior space to be redesigned by Zeigler Cooper Architects.

Georgia's, owners Georgia and Rick Bost, are founders of Urban Harvest, a nonprofit organization that runs several farmers markets around Houston, and the duo also run Hibiscus Hill Plantation in Waller county, which includes a working ranch and farm as well as a horticultural nursery to house their unique strain of hibiscus.

Are you a fan of Georgia's? Do you think it can succeed where Byrd's failed?

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truffle masters recap

Street corn shines at Houston's truffle-powered chef competition

Photo by Daniel Ortiz

Marcus Benedict, Daniella Johner, and chef Luis Roger of MAD and BCN.

One of Houston’s top Mexican restaurants took the top prize at this year’s Truffle Masters competition. Victoria Elizondo, chef-owner of Cochinita & Co., bested 24 other Houston chefs with Elotitos, corn brushed with chiltepin aioli, dusted with seven chile spice, and finished with shaved truffles and Parmesan.

“The team killed it last night,” Elizondo wrote on Instagram. “We won 1st place at @thetrufflemasters all while having fun and cooking with love! Food doesn’t need to be fancy, it just needs to be made with corazón!”

The attention couldn’t have come at a better time. As CultureMap reported last month, Cochinita & Co. is currently in the process of opening a second location in Lindale Park. Customers can invest in the project via the NuMarket platform in exchange for credits at the restaurant.

Second prize went to Camaraderie in the Heights for its black sesame and black truffle gelato, while Cocody, a French restaurant in River Oaks, took third place for its truffle-shaped Lollys Persillade Escargot Cromesquis, essentially an escargot lollypop with with black truffle and quail egg in the middle.

Montrose sushi restaurant Soto won People’s Choice with its Engawa fin muscle with truffle balsamic unagi sauce, kizami, and chocolate black truffle masago arare. Aniket Bhingare, a bartender at Michelin-starred restaurant Musaafer, won the cocktail competition with his Pour Me a Slice, made with truffle and herb-infused and a clarified mix of roma tomatoes, fresh basil, oregano, basil, and truffle oil.

Other standout dishes included a Yukon Gold potato with truffle brown butter from Michelin-recognized sushi restaurant Hidden Omakase, truffle s’mores from Israeli-inspired steakhouse Doris Metropolitan, beef tartare and truffle ice cream from fine dining sushi restaurant Katami, and Credence’s truffle duck sausage with plums and truffles. Maximo, a Mexican restaurant in West U., maximized (sorry) its truffle usage with a Cachetada de Barbacoa Taco, made with nixtamalized truffle tortilla, truffle-braised barbacoa, and sottocenere al tartufo cheese with black garlic-habanero salsa

More than 350 attended the sold-out affair, which took place at the Astorian events space in Sawyer Yards. The judging panel include both media members (such as this author) and hospitality pros. A portion of proceeds will be donated to the KNOWAutism Foundation.

Photo by Daniel Ortiz

Marcus Benedict, Daniella Johner, and chef Luis Roger of MAD and BCN.