Surrounded by 17 stations of gourmet food in an upscale hotel ballroom, Earl Mitchell laughs when asked if he always ate well.

"Growing up, I was just like any other regular person in my neighborhood," the Houston Texans' nose tackle says. "I'd be at McDonald's, Burger King, eating all that stuff."

The 24-year-old Mitchell's found a new world though, one where food is more than just junk you stuff into your mouth. Mitchell jumped at the chance to be a celebrity judge at CultureMap's Last Chef Standing restaurant challenge tasting event Monday night and the football player mingled easily with the foodies in the packed Hotel ZaZa space.

Probably because Mitchell is a foodie himself. Even if he wouldn't call himself one.

"I'm a sushi man," Mitchell says and he name drops Kata Robata as his favorite sushi spot (no small foodie points there).

Mitchell is also a big fan of Eddie V's at West Ave and Vic & Anthony's Steakhouse. But this 6-foot-3, 290-pound third-year player doesn't want you to get the wrong idea. He's not all upscale.

"I just went to Golden Corral the other night," he says. "I can go both ways."

Besides Mitchell insists, he's not the real foodie on the team. That would be starting nose tackle (see a trend?) Shaun Cody and inside linebacker Darryl Sharpton.

"Those guys scope out all the places," Mitchell says. "They can tell you about any new restaurant in Houston. They get everywhere."

Yes, it turns out that the Texans' vaunted Bulls on Parade defense — the ferocious unit that batters NFL quarterbacks — is powered by Houston fine dining. "Guys like to get together and go out and eat," Mitchell says.

Mitchell credits his veteran teammates with getting him past his fast food ways. "It's about getting introduced to a new lifestyle," he says. "And obviously you have more money to eat well."

The Texans defense lost some of its dining regulars this offseason — captain DeMeco Ryans and cornerback Jason Allen who will be in Philadelphia and Cincinnati respectively. Mitchell knows the departures put even more pressure on the remaining players and open up the possibility of more playing time.

He doesn't agree with those who think the Texans have taken a step back though. Mitchell believes there is too much pride on the defense about its turnaround under Wade Phillips and the team's playoff breakthrough to allow that.

"Being from Houston myself, it's huge for me to be a part of that first playoff team," Mitchell says. "Seeing how the city reacted . . . it was great. All the guys have that pride.

"Even if you didn't grow up here, Houston grows on you."

The Texans haven't even started official voluntary offseason workouts yet, but Mitchell and many of his defensive teammates have remained in town, working out on their own at Reliant Stadium.

"I know I can get better," Mitchell says. "You want to come into things in tip-top shape so you have a chance to take advantage of any opportunity."

As long as he gets to play in his hometown, Mitchell will grab what it has to offer too. The nose tackle doesn't expect to land on Top Chef anytime soon. But being a high-end food judge for a night isn't bad either.

The fact that many of the people in the crowd of several hundred (it wasn't exactly a sports-crazed gathering) didn't recognize Mitchell almost seemed to make him more happy.

"This is cool," he says. "I do appearances, but usually we're just signing autographs or something. This is something different.

"And I get to eat."

Spoken like a man who knows his food.