chicken parm tastes so good

Chris Shepherd kicks off new charity dinner series with an Italian feast

Chris Shepherd is collaborating with the Four Seasons Hotel Houston.

Photo by Daniel Ortiz

One of Houston’s most luxurious hotels has launched a new charity dining series that’s hosted by James Beard Award winner Chris Shepherd. Titled as the Celebrity Chef Pop-Up Series, the quarterly dinners at the Four Seasons Hotel Houston will feature Shepherd, who moonlights as CultureMap’s Wine Guy, and some of America’s top culinary talent.

Not surprisingly, the dinners will also serve as a fundraiser for the Southern Smoke Foundation, the nonprofit Shepherd founded with his wife Lindsey Brown that provides emergency assistance and mental health services to hospitality workers. Shepherd’s recent Respect the Rosé dinner provides a template for what diners can expect — a personal menu, big time chefs, and a rollicking good time.

“I’m thrilled to partner with Four Seasons in creating this ongoing pop-up series, featuring some of my friends and favorite chefs from around the country,” Shepherd said in a statement. “Bringing these exciting culinary experiences to H-Town is a great way to have some fun, and share great connections over amazing food and wine.”

Shepherd is launching the series on Sunday, August 4 with his take on Italian American comfort food. Working with chefs from the Four Seasons Houston, the six course, pre-fixe menu takes inspiration from Mr. C's Steakhouse, Shepherd's favorite restaurant from his childhood. It features all of the chef’s favorite dishes along with an environment that wouldn’t feel out of place in The Godfather — holiday lights, checkered tablecloths, and Rat Pack tunes. Houstonians may recall that the final iteration of One Fifth, Shepherd’s restaurant that changed concepts annually, also served this style of food.

Here’s the menu:

Aperitivo: Negroni Sbagliato cocktail, as imagined by Bandista, the hotel’s speakeasy-style bar
Formaggio: Parmigiano Reggiano broken from a 1/4 wheel paired with aged balsamic vinegar
Insalata e Pane: Traditional Cardini Caesar — served tableside; Old school garlic cheese bread with “roni” and Tuscan ranch.
Pasta: Lumache alla Vodka, Mezze Maniche All’amatriciana, and Baked Cacio e Pepe
Carne: Strip steak and chicken parmesan; crispy potatoes with Calabrian chili aioli; and grilled broccolini with grated horseradish, lemon, and olive oil
Dolce: Tiramisu
Digestivo: Amaro Cart

Seatings will be at 5 pm and 8 pm. Reservations are available here. The dinner is priced at $195 per person with optional wine pairings available for $130 and prestige wine pairings available for $310.

Lineups for the fall and winter dinners will be announced in the future.

“Chris is a great friend to us and the Houston community as a whole, particularly through his Southern Smoke Foundation, which we’re proud to support” Four Seasons general manager Tom Segesta added. “In partnering with him to bring these exciting culinary experiences to Four Seasons, we’ll continue to showcase our downtown destination as a place where great things happen, including award-winning chef pop-ups from all over the country.”

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PLATE EXPECTATIONS

Houston falters on surprising new list of America's best foodie cities

Photo by Vivian Leba

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Houstonians have a lot of pride for their city's diverse food scene and its wealth of culinary all-stars, but a new report has declared Houston's food scene apparently doesn't stack up among the top 10 best U.S. cities for foodies.

Houston claimed the No. 13 spot in WalletHub's just-released study comparing the "Best Foodie Cities in America."

To determine the rankings, analysts compared 182 U.S. cities across two key dimensions — "affordability" and "diversity, accessibility, and quality" — using 28 relevant metrics, such as the cost of groceries; the number of restaurants, food trucks, grocery stores, cooking schools, and others; restaurant diversity and ratings; and more.

The top five best foodie cities in America, according to WalletHub, are: Miami (No. 1); Portland, Oregon (No. 2); San Francisco (No. 3); Seattle (No. 4); and Austin (No. 5). The study comes to some surprising conclusions, as top culinary destinations such as New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles are outside the top 10 in favor of places like Tampa, Florida and Denver.

Houston's food scene ranked 18th in the national diversity, accessibility, and quality category, which examined the prevalence of certain dining establishments, the diversity of restaurant cuisine, and restaurant growth.

The local food scene ranked 24th in the national category for affordability, which prioritized the accessibility and affordability of high-quality restaurants, the costs for groceries and restaurant meals, sales and food taxes, and the average price for beer and wine.

People who consider themselves foodies don't have to limit themselves to a local restaurant scene, the report's author says. Foodies can discover new flavors and cuisines "wherever they can find them," including exploring in their own kitchens, checking out a food festival, or visiting "less prominent establishments" like food trucks.

"For these culinary enthusiasts, the experience of eating is elevated to a hobby or even a lifestyle," the report said. "While being a foodie can be quite expensive, culinary hotspots across the U.S. offer plenty of affordable and delicious options. These wallet-friendly cities cater to diners who prefer to cook at home, explore the local flavors, or both."

The Houston metro has been a hotbed for restaurant debuts and reopenings this year, including a lavishly renovated Chinese buffet, the return of two staple Mexican eateries, a new Brazilian steakhouse in Katy, a tequila-focused upscale Mexican restaurant opening in Cypress, and a new chic Italian eatery in The Woodlands, among others. And there's more new concepts coming to Houston later this year or in 2027. In addition, Houston restaurants took home two 2026 James Beard Awards and the state's only Food & Wine Best New Chef award.

Top foodie cities across Texas
Austin was the only Texas city to star among the top 10 best foodie cities nationwide. Austin's food scene ranked 11th in the national diversity, accessibility, and quality category, and it ranked 15th in the national category for affordability.

San Antonio, however, had the 2nd most affordable local foodie scene in the nation, but WalletHub claimed its culinary diversity, accessibility, and quality (No. 30) lacked in comparison. The combined rankings, plus additional factors analyzed by WalletHub, resulted in San Antonio being declared the 18th best foodie city in the U.S.

Dallas' food scene suffered a tumble to the 36th spot overall this year after ranking as the 25th best foodie city in 2025, but Fort Worth made a leap from No. 89 last year to No. 74 in 2026. Fort Worth was also ranked the ninth cheapest foodie city in the U.S.

The local food scenes in the suburbs of Dallas-Fort Worth leave much to be desired, according to the report. Out of all 182 U.S. cities, Plano (No. 94) was the only suburb that ranked among the top 100, which left out Arlington (No. 118), Garland (No. 120), Irving (No. 128), and Grand Prairie (No. 160).

The top 10 best foodie cities in America for 2026 are:

No. 1 – Miami, Florida
No. 2 – Portland, Oregon
No. 3 – San Francisco, California
No. 4 – Seattle, Washington
No. 5 – Austin, Texas
No. 6 – Orlando, Florida
No. 7 – Tampa, Florida
No. 8 – Las Vegas, Nevada
No. 9 – Sacramento, California
No. 10 – Denver, Colorado

restaurants wallethub reports