festival season is here

9 flavorful food festivals happening in Houston this fall

The imminent arrival of fall’s first “cold front” (let’s be honest — we’ll take what we can get) signals the start of Houston’s fall festival season. Every weekend is loaded with opportunities to be outdoors, and that includes any number of food-related happenings.

With that in mind, we’ve rounded up nine of the fall’s highest profile events. From staples that will draw thousands of food lovers to an intriguing newcomer that looks very promising, this list has something for every taste and every price point.

Iron Bartender
Thursday, September 25
This annual bash benefits The Periwinkle Foundation, which develops and provides programs for children, young adults, and families who are challenged by cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. After an initial round of judging, these are the finalists who will compete for the coveted title: Victor Navarro (Anvil), Stephanie Di Muria (Botanica), Drew Jerdan (Bad News Bar), Leonel Galvan (Cuchara). Christian Guadiana (Johnny’s Gold Brick), and Marc Estil (Reserve 101).

Courtesy of Chopd & Stewd

Ope Amosu is participating in the James Beard event.

Tickets start at $75 for the tasting or $350 for a seated dinner with cocktail pairings by the finalists.

Chefs for Farmers
Saturday, September 27, and Sunday, September 28
Named for the way it connects Houston chefs with Texas farms, this two-day event returns to Autry Park this weekend. Approximately 60 chefs — split between Saturday and Sunday — will serve bites. In additions, attendees can look forward to experiences such as:

Rosé Ranch – A garden-inspired space with curated pours and photo ops from sponsors.
Tailgate Experience – Beer pairings, lawn games, and football on the big screen, including the Texans vs. Titans game.
Texas Love – A celebration of barbecue traditions and regional flavors.
Artisan Alley – A market of local vendors.

Tickets for either Saturday or Sunday are priced at $145 for general admission and $195 for VIP. Attend both days for $249 or $349. Search Instagram for various influencers with discount codes.

Southern Smoke Festival
Saturday, October 4
Benefitting the Southern Smoke Foundation, which offers mental health services and emergency financial assistance to hospitality workers, the epic food festival returns to Discovery Green with a roster of more than 85 chefs and beverage professionals from across the country. As always, star pitmaster Aaron Franklin headlines the group, which also includes Paul Carmichael (Kabawa, New York), Wylie Dufresne (Stretch Pizza, New York), Tavel Bristol-Joseph (Canje, Austin), Ana Castro (Acamaya, New Orleans), Ashley Christensen (Poole’s Diner, Raleigh), Cassidee Dabney (The Barn at Blackberry Farm), (Billy Durney, Hometown BBQ, Brooklyn), and many others.

Attendees get access to bites and drinks from the participants, along with live entertainment, cookbook signings and more. VIP tickets are sold out, but a limited number of general admission tickets remain for $225.

James Beard Taste America
Wednesday, October 8
A group of 12 Houston chefs — many who are James Beard Award finalists or semifinalists — are teaming up for this event at the Post Oak Hotel. Led by Ope Amosu (ChòpnBlọk), a current member of the James Beard Foundation’s TasteTwenty class for chefs who have shown talent and leadership, the group also includes Emmanuel Chavez (Tatemó), Suu Khin (Burmalicious), and Top Chef winner Tristen Epps (Buboy). See the full menu here.

Tickets are priced at $175 for general admission and $225 for premier access that includes entering one hour earlier. Proceeds from the event benefit the foundation’s mission to champion a more sustainable, equitable, and thriving future for independent restaurants and the broader food system.

Taste of Atlas
(Update 9/29: This event has been postponed. A new date will be announced in the future.)
Baltimore-based hospitality group Atlas Restaurants will bring together all three of Houston concepts for one special evening. Held at Azumi, the company’s Japanese restaurant in River Oaks District, attendees will have the opportunity to sample bites and drinks from Azumi, Loch Bar, and Marmo, along with a tuna cutting and live entertainment. Head to Loch Bar after for 50-percent off drinks for wristband wearers. Tickets are priced at $120 per person.

Rare Steak Festival
Thursday, October 23
As many as 30 Houston-area restaurants will serve bites featuring steak at this festival at the Post Houston. Tickets — priced at $145 for general admission, $200 for early entry, and $307 for VIP — include unlimited samples from the participating restaurants alongside cocktails and other sips from the event’s sponsors. Participants include Guard & Grace, Fielding's, Rainbow Lodge, Marmo, Vic & Anthony's, State of Grace, and more.

Delicious Alchemy: 20th Anniversary Banquet
Monday, November 3
Recipe for Success will celebrate 20 years of teaching children about the importance of eating their vegetables with an epic meal that features 10 Houston chefs, including Ryan Pera (Colitvare), Lucas McKinney (Josephine’s), Dominick Lee (Augustine’s), along with retired chefs Claire Smith (Shade, Alice Blue) and Greg Martin (Bistro Menil). The event takes place in the gathering barn at Recipe for Success’ urban farm in South Houston. Tickets start at $2,500 per person with tables for four priced at $12,000.

Bites & Beyond Festival
Saturday, November 8
Making its debut this year, Bites & Beyond will offer a full day of food and music at Discovery Green. General admission tickets ($30) get attendees in the door, giving them access to food vendors, a craft market, and all of the day’s entertainment. VIPs ($134) get access to a tasting presented by the Houston Hospitality Alliance, along with a VIP entrance, dedicated restrooms, and a VIP lounge. Participating restaurants and bands are still TBA.

Urban Harvest Sunday Supper
Sunday, November 9
The organization behind Houston’s most popular farmers market has rounded up an all-star lineup for its annual fundraiser, which will be held at J-Bar-M Barbecue in EaDo. Participating chefs include Arash Kharat (J-Bar-M Barbecue), Bryan Caswell (Latuli), Felipe Riccio (March), Hilario Zamora (Zanti), Josh Sutcliff (55 Seventy), Marco Incerti (Tavola), Michael O’Connor (Doris Metropolitan), and Jane Wild (Jane and the Lion Bakehouse). Tickets start at $350 for individuals with tables of four starting at $3,000.

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eat real food

Houston DJ-turned-TikTok star cooks up a cult following one recipe at a time

Courtesy of Uncle Dibbz

Uncle Dibbz, a.k.a. A.H. Bowden, has built a devoted following for his viral recipes.

For the past month, Uncle Dibbz has been, shall we say, going ham on social media with the myriad videos of alternative Thanksgiving dishes. He’s dropped how-to clips for such recipes as Cajun-roasted turkey, honey-baked ham/hens, oven-bag turkey, and six-piece fried turkey (to go). Basically, if you don’t want to cook a bland ol’ Butterball this Turkey Day, Dibbz has you covered.

Who is Dibbz, you say? Well, he’s a North Jersey-born, Georgia-bred, Houston-based chef who’s been building quite the foodie rep online. Several videos across his TikTok, Instagram and YouTube pages, from his Cajun-boiled fried chicken (2 million on IG) to his “Propose to Me Pasta” (12.3 million on TikTok), has amassed millions of views. But Dibbz (government name: A.H. Bowden) wasn’t always a culinary content creator. He used to spin music back in Atlanta as DJ DiBiase, named after retired wrestler Ted “The Million Dollar Man” DiBiase. “DiBiase is a mouthful to say, so people just always call me ‘D’ or ‘Dibbz’ for short,” says Bowden, 37, during a Zoom interview.

@uncledibbz PROPOSE To Me PASTA 💍 🍝 Trust your Uncle! This SEAFOOD Pasta will seal the deal 👌🏽 Get my recipe below ⬇️ or on uncledibbz.com [@uncledibbz Link in Bio] 🌐 **Ingredients:** - 8 ounces spaghetti - 1 lb mixed seafood (shrimp, scallops, crab meat, etc.) - 2 tablespoons olive oil - Fresh chopped basil - 2 cloves garlic, minced - 1/2 cup white wine - 1/4 cup heavy cream - 2 tablespoons unsalted butter - Salt and pepper to taste - Uncle Dibbz Delta Dust [link in bio] - Fresh parsley, chopped (for garnish) - Grated Parmesan cheese (for garnish) **Instructions:** 1. Cook the spaghetti pasta according to the package instructions until al dente. Drain and set aside. 2. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the minced garlic, chopped basil and sauté for about 1 minute until fragrant. 3. Add the mixed seafood to the skillet. Season with Uncle Dibbz Delta Dust to taste and cook for 2-3 minutes until cooked through. Remove the seafood from the skillet and set aside. 4. Pour in the white wine to the skillet and let it simmer for 2 minutes, allowing the alcohol to cook off. 5. Stir in the heavy cream, butter, Uncle Dibbz Delta Dust seasoning, salt, and pepper. Cook for another 2-3 minutes until the sauce thickens slightly. 6. Add the cooked spaghetti and cooked mixed seafood to the skillet. Toss everything together until well coated with the sauce. 7. Remove from heat and garnish with fresh parsley and grated Parmesan cheese. 8. Serve hot and enjoy the flavorful Seafood Spaghetti. That's good Shawty! #UncleDibbz #ThatsGoodShawty #Pasta #marryme #proposal #bride #wife #husband #relationshipgoals #datenight #easyrecipe #seafood #cajun #cooking #fyp #foryou #viral #houston ♬ original sound - Uncle Dibbz 🍴

He was making a nice living as a DJ, even serving as rapper Big K.R.I.T.’s touring DJ for a while. But when the pandemic hit, the gigs obviously dried up.

“I was living in Miami at the time,” he says. “And, you know, when you have a lot of time on your hands to think – but also need to figure out a way to, you know, sustain an income and everything like that – the ideas start coming,”

Like most DJs at that time, he was doing live mixes on Instagram. But his days throwing cookout parties in Atlanta inspired him to start doing his cooking videos, where he used his very own seasoning. Of course, he had a lemon pepper blend, which he used in a lemon pepper hot wings video that currently has over a half-million views on TikTok.

“I'm about to go live to DJ later that night, and my phone was just going off with orders,” he recalls. “So I'm like, where are these orders coming from? And it's not from my friends. I'm seeing the cities and the states. I don't know these people.”

Thanks to his videos, which usually end with him saying his signature line “That’s good shawty!” (that’s also the name of his cookbook he released last year), Dibbz went into the seasoning business full time. He eventually hired another person to help send out the piles of orders he was receiving.

He even got an order from former Dallas Cowboy Emmitt Smith, one of his favorite athletes. “I remember doing a book report on him when I was in fourth grade,” he boasts.

Although Dibbz has a flair for making meals that border on decadent, he’s an ardent practitioner of cooking with natural ingredients, especially in his seasoning. He has several low-sodium seasoning, including Bebe’s Salt Free – named after his mother, who had open-heart surgery a few weeks before the pandemic started.

“I don't think a lot of people understand the amount of toxins and chemicals that go into a lot of these seasonings,” he says. “You're starting to see it in the news now. A lot of the foods with certain dyes are being taken off the shelves and things like that.’

Soon, Dibbz moved himself and his new business to Houston, a favorite place to perform as well as a town whose hip-hop got him into music. He cites local chopped-and-screwed gods DJ Screw, Michael 5000 Watts, and OG Ron C as his holy trinity of influences. To give props to the music of his new home, he created a hot sauce – called HXT Sauce – whose uncharacteristically large bottle resembles Promethazine cough syrup (aka the key ingredient in lean, the preferred purple cocktail for the city’s rap community).

“It's not necessarily about promoting that usage,” he says. “But, at the same time, it’s just a homage to one of the factors and influences of screwed-and-chopped music.”

Dibbz still indulges in spinning records from time to time. The Waxaholics’ DJ Big Reeks has gotten him to break out the vinyl a few times during his Thursday-night sets at Alley Kat Bar & Lounge in Midtown. But creating new recipes, dropping delicious content and proving you can eat and live in a hearty, healthy fashion still remains his full-time mission.

“I’m not just talking about eating cauliflower rice all day and every day, but just eat real food,” he says. “We're eating fake food. That's the bottom line. We're eating fake food and my whole purpose is to inspire people to eat real food and that starts with real ingredients, real herbs, you know – real natural seasonings.”

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