Foodie News

Pappas brothers win top honors and new favorites emerge at My Table CulinaryAwards

Rebecca Masson's chocolate-stout syllabub
Photo by Sarah Rufca
The Houston culinary crowd came together to celebrate at the 15th Annual MyTable Houston Culinary Awards.
Photo by Sarah Rufca
2011 winners of the My Table Houston Culinary Awards
Photo by Sarah Rufca
New York strip with pig's head fritter, curried pumpkin puree and beef jus byMatt Marcus and Grant Gordon.
Photo by Sarah Rufca

Houston's foodie community never manages to feel as big and yet as tight-knit as during My Table's annual Houston Culinary Awards. With exponential growth since the beginning of the awards 15 years ago, the event was held for the second time at the Conrad Hilton ballroom at the University of Houston Hilton and emceed by KUHF's St. John Flynn, with a three-course dinner catered by Jason Hauck, Quattro's Maurizio Ferrarese, Jeramie Robison of Cinq, Grant Gordon of Tony's, Eatsie Boys' Matt Marcus and Rebecca Masson of Fluff Bake Bar.

The 10 official Houston Culinary Awards have been augmented by 15 more casual categories, dubbed Houston Foodie Star award. All the awards were decided through online voting from Houston foodies.

In the marquee awards, Harris and Chris Pappas of Pappas Restaurants won Restaurateur of the Year (and got a standing ovation from the sold out 300-plus crowd), Hugo Ortega of Hugo's and Backstreet Cafe was awarded Chef of the Year, and Philippe Gaston of Haven was named Up-and-Coming Chef of the Year.

"This really means a lot to me because there are so many people that I have learned from throughout the years," said Ortega. "What a great city and what a great country to work in."

Jim Gossen of Louisiana Foods was given a Legends of Houston Restaurants award for his work towards sustainability in the Gulf seafood industry and his philanthropic leadership after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. My Table Publisher Teresa Byrne-Dodge also presented Gossen with a proclamation from Mayor Annise Parker declaring Oct. 2 as Jim Gossen Day in Houston.

Brennan's of Houston also took home three HCAs for Outstanding Wine Service, Outstanding Bar Service and Best Interior Design. Hector Andrade of Mockingbird Bistro won Service Person of the Year, prompting presenter Kathryne Castellanos to quip, "I think the Susan Lucci spell has ended."

Bobby Jucker of Three Brothers Bakery won Pastry Chef of the Year, El Real Tex-Mex was named Best New Restaurant and Niko Niko's won Houston Classic, in addition to nabbing the 'Favorite Mom & Pop Ethnic" Foodie Star Award.

While there were some service hiccups throughout the dinner. Passed hors d'oerves were sometimes hard to come by, and the main course — cubes of juicy New York strip steak with curried pumpkin puree and beef jus — was served nearly an hour after the dinner began. One highlight was Masson's chocolate-stout syllabub with Saint Arnold Winter Stout, which was a perfect mousse-y mix of sweet, salty and rich.

The full list of Houston Culinary Awards and Foodie Star Awards winners:

Restaurateurs of the Year — Harris Pappas & Chris Pappas, Pappas Restaurant Group

Chef of the Year — Hugo Ortega, Hugo's and Backstreet Cafe

Up-and-Coming Chef of the Year (age 35 or younger) — Philippe Gaston, Haven

Outstanding Wine Service — Brennan's of Houston

Pastry Chef of the Year (includes breadmakers) — Bobby Jucker, Three Brothers Bakery

Outstanding Bar Service — Brennan's of Houston

Service Person of the Year — Hector Andrade, Mockingbird Bistro Wine Bar

Houston Classic (a restaurant in business for 10 or more years) — Niko Niko's

Best Interior Design — Brennan's of Houston

Best New Restaurant (must have opened since June 1, 2010) — El Real Tex-Mex Cafe

2011 Houston Food Star Awards:

Favorite Mom & Pop Ethnic — Niki Niko's

Favorite Late Night Spot — Katz's Deli

Favorite Bakery — Three Brothers Bakery

Favorite Mixologist — Justin T. Burrow

Favorite Barbecue — Luling City Market

Favorite Food Truck/Cart — Eatsie Boys

Favorite Breakfast — The Breakfast Klub

Favorite Supermarket — H-E-B

Favorite Burger — Hubcap Grill

Favorite Pub or Bar — The Ginger Man

Favorite Coffeehouse — Brasil

Favorite Houston Food Blog — 29-95.com

Favorite Wine Seller — Central Market

Favorite Sweets/Ice Cream — Amy's Ice Creams

Favorite Outdoor Dining — Brenner's Steakhouse on the Bayou

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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.