In Honor Of

The tasty tales behind 5 famous dishes at TRIBUTE at The Houstonian

As its name implies, TRIBUTE at The Houstonian offers more than just expertly prepared cuisine. It pays homage to the city it is named after, its regional neighbors, and the traditions of its guests. There are stories behind the dishes, with a nod to the chefs' backgrounds and cultures that give diners much more than just a great meal.

Much like the hotel has played an important role in Houston's history — as the former home of President and Mrs. George H. W. Bush — TRIBUTE has created its own delicious contribution to the city's dining scene with "Tex-Lex" cuisine.

This combination of flavors inspired by Texas, Louisiana, and Mexico is curated by executive chef Neal Cox (who hails from north of the Rio Grande River), executive chef Gonzalo Campos, TRIBUTE sous chef Juan Tuch (who come from the south), and chef de cuisine Jeff Boudreaux (who is from east of the Sabine River). These chefs believe their food is exactly how southeast Texans love to eat.

Here's a closer look at the history of some of TRIBUTE's best-known creations:

Smoked blue crab fingers
It's not a rule that each meal needs to start with these dainty slivers of smoky goodness, floating in a shallow sea of tomato butter and served with a grilled baguette, but you'll notice nearly every table does. That's because in addition to being delicious the crab is a tip of the hat from chef Cox to chef Michael Cordúa, who is seen by many as a mentor and leader in the culinary community.

Bacon-wrapped Bandera quail
This story begins on a 7,800-acre ranch in La Pryor, Texas, where hotel general manager Steve Fronterhouse and chef Cox were invited to El Mirador ranch toward the end of quail-hunting season. They heard their hunting guide remark that he had eaten so much quail during the season, he refused to eat another bite. After chef Cox prepared his quail with jalapeño Jack cheese and a mezcal glaze, the guide pulled the chef aside and asked to ship some TRIBUTE quail to his house in West Texas.

King's Inn salad
"Established in 1945" is a reference to The King's Inn, a beloved eatery in Riviera, Texas, run by Randy Ware and long-visited by Cox and his family. Chef Cox combined two of his favorite salads, the avocado and the Bombay, from these trips to Baffin Bay into a mound of Romaine, avocado, tomato, olive, and Bombay dressing.

Puerco pibil
Southeastern Mexico gets its due with a savory pork dish only found in the most authentic of restaurants. Originating from the Yucatán Peninsula, puerco pibil follows the ancient art of slow-roasting in an underground oven. The meat is marinated overnight in citrus juice and seasoned with annatto seed, creating a flavorful dish that has a distinct and vibrant burnt orange color. The seasoned pork is then wrapped in a banana leaf, and placed in the earth and topped with hot coals. TRIBUTE's chefs follow the same traditional marinade and braising techniques, roasting in a traditional oven.

Boudreaux's po-boy
It doesn't get much more authentic than the chef de cuisine's own family recipe. Crispy shrimp is slathered with remoulade and folded in a buttered baguette — so authentic, you might think you're in NOLA.

The wine story at TRIBUTE celebrates the "past, present, and future of what Houstonians love" and begins with rows of back-lit wine lockers at the entrance. The "secret" wine room for four must be reserved in advance and is the city's most intimate celebration hideaway, with its dedicated sommelier and guest-choice playlist for the night.

This is only a taste of what's on the menu at TRIBUTE. The new Tex-Lex Tour experience menu features the diner's choice of five courses for $65, and beverage pairing may be added for $30.

To experience the full story for yourself, make a reservation by calling 713-685-6713.

The bacon-wrapped Bandera quail was added to the menu when it received high marks from notable quail hunting guide Don Wright, from El Mirador Ranch in La Pryor, Texas.

Photo by Stephania Campos

The bacon-wrapped Bandera quail was added to the menu when it received high marks from notable quail hunting guide Don Wright, from El Mirador Ranch in La Pryor, Texas.

Chris Cusack explains

Houston bar owner speaks out about surprise arrest for health code violations

Photo by Sergio Trevino

Chris Cusack owns two locations of Betelgeuse Betelgeuse.

Certainly one of the most unusual interactions between a restaurant and City of Houston officials took place on Wednesday, May 6 when Betelgeuse Betelgeuse owner Chris Cusack was arrested for health code violations at his location on Washington Avenue.

News of the arrest spread quickly across social media over the weekend. Now, Cusack is ready to tell his side of the story.

Cusack, whose time operating restaurants in Houston goes back more than 15 years to Down House and its affiliated restaurants such as Hunky Dory and D&T Drive Inn, tells CultureMap the problem began on Monday, May 4 when a health department inspector came to Betelgeuse Betelgeuse and asked to see the restaurant’s grease trap.

The only problem is that location has never had a grease trap. Prior to becoming Betelgeuse Betelgeuse, it was Liberty Station, a pioneering bar in Houston’s craft beer and craft cocktail scenes. In the early days, Betelgeuse served food from a food truck. More recently, it prepares its food next door at The Bell and Crane. Cusack acknowledges he didn’t share this information with the inspector.

“Usually I’m a charmer with the health department, but I was a little defensive. She kept asking me. I said, ‘ma’am, we don’t make food here,’” he explains. “The tone wasn’t my finest moment, but there was no name calling or anything like that. She said, ‘where does the food come from?’ I said, ‘it doesn’t matter where it comes from. It’s produced in a commercial kitchen.’”

Cusack says he knew there would be a follow up, but he was shocked when the inspector returned two days later with more colleagues from the health department, TABC inspectors, and Houston Police Department officers.

“I got somewhere between 21 and 25 citations,” Cusack says about the return visit. He got dinged for everything from graffiti in the bathroom to a missing Harris County tax stamp on the photo booth he leases from a vendor (it has both State of Texas and City of Houston stamps, Cusack says).

One inspector told Cusack he needed a food dealer’s permit. He showed the inspector that a food dealer’s permit had been issued for the restaurant's address under the former food truck’s LLC but not to the LLC that operates Betelgeuse Betelgeuse. Cusack says he had renewed the food truck’s permit in March, but that wasn’t good enough for the inspector. In Cusack’s telling, he was arrested for not having the permit, since it was also flagged as missing in an inspection from October 2025. He's the only person he knows who has ever been arrested for a misdemeanor violation of the health code.

Cusack says he spent 21 hours in the Harris County Jail. When he got out, he says he was contacted by a more senior official within the Health Department. Once Cusack confirmed he owned both LLCs, he was told he could reopen. Both locations of Betelgeuse Betelgeuse have been operating normally since Friday, May 8.

Cusack maintains he never knew about the October 2025 inspection, which is why he renewed the food dealer’s permit for the food truck’s LLC rather than applying for one under Betelgeuse Betelgeuse’s LLC. “There’s no paper trail that shows I was given this information,” he says. “I did not get the email [from the Health Department].”

As for why things got so out of hand, Cusack theorizes he was a victim of Houston Mayor John Whitemire’s crack down on “reckless behavior” on Washington Avenue and stepped up enforcement on bars generally that led to the temporary closure of near northside cocktail bar Rabbit’s Got the Gun.

Cusack says he’s a “huge supporter” of efforts to reduce crimes like street racing, drug dealing, and sex trafficking along Washington and in its surrounding neighborhoods. Still, he feels targeting by the city for being impolite to a health inspector.

He plans to fight both the arrest and the citations in court. “I want the charges dropped, and I want it expunged completely from my record. That’s the first thing, and I’m going to try very hard to do it,” he says.

“That’s going to end up costing thousands of dollars just to deal with the sheer volume,” he adds.

CultureMap contacted Mayor Whitmire’s office. A representative said the mayor was not aware of the situation and has no comment on an open investigation.

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