Dish of the week: Brisket flautas

 Dish of the week: Brisket flautas

Brisket flautas at El Tiempo Cantina on Navigation (shrimp a la carte)

It had to happen. The way Houstonians mix and match elements of our disparate cooking styles, sooner or later somebody was going to put shredded and chile-peppered brisket inside a flauta. And it's a genius idea, as I discovered when I visited the new El Tiempo on Navigation Blvd. last week.

I was eager to check out the venue in which the Laurenzo family will be throwing down right next door to Ninfa's on Navigation, the restaurant where matriarch Ninfa Laurenzo launched the tacos al carbon (and eventually fajitas) craze, starting back in the 1970s. The Laurenzos sold their interest in Ninfa's long ago, but now they're back in the neighborhood with a vast palace of tile and stucco and papel picado, studded with huge, muscular horse sculptures and bright traceries of aqua wrought iron.

Read Full Article


Visit my Food Blog at http://southerncookingwithtodd.blogspot.com/

New Houston-area theme park

New Houston-area theme park under development

Developers hope an empty, heavily wooded plot of land in New Caney will transform into a thriving entertainment district by 2015- complete with a theme park, water park and a new dining and music scene and more elaborate attractions.

Construction will begin on the Grand Texas Theme Park in October to be ready for a grand opening in March 2015 if all goes according to plan, said Monty Galland, a pre-development manager for the project.

Developers and officials in Montgomery County will close by the end of April on land on State Highway 242 and U.S. Highway 59, about 15 miles from the Woodlands and 10 miles north of Kingwood.

The cost of the water park, theme park, amphitheater and paintball arena, which will be supported by Galland's group, will cost $119 million. The other developments, which include restaurant and hotel areas, will add $95 million to the overall cost. The project was discussed at a Feb. 14 board meeting of the East Montgomery County Improvement District. Developers project first year attendance to be around 665,000 to eventually reach about 1.8 million after several years.

Read Full Article


Visit my Food Blog at http://southerncookingwithtodd.blogspot.com/

Barbecue championship

Barbecue championship starts coming to Reliant Park

More than 300 cooking teams will compete in the World Championship Bar-B-Cue Contest beginning at 5 p.m. Thursday at Reliant Park and running through Saturday, when the winners will be announced at 7 p.m.

More than a dozen titles will be awarded, including championship brisket, most colorful team and most unique pit. Back to defend their 2012 titles will be the Road Dog Cookers (ribs) and the Swine-O's (Dutch-oven dessert).

New this year to the cook-off is Brewfest.

Located in the Rockin' Bar-B-Que Saloon, Brewfest features six stations offering a selection of craft beers. Brewery representatives will be on hand to talk about their beers. Fans of the grape can find their beverage of choice at the adjacent Champion Wine Garden.

Read Full Article


Visit my Food Blog at http://southerncookingwithtodd.blogspot.com/

Corkscrew BBQ

Corkscrew BBQ a new Houston classic

The smoked turkey and the cobbler were already gone when I lined up outside the Corkscrew BBQ trailer at a quarter past noon on a recent Saturday. Said items were inscribed, with hot-pink marker, on the dreaded "Sold out" whiteboard propped against the order window.

Two dozen other hopefuls were in front of me, and the queue simmered with anticipation sharpened by a jittery dash of anxiety. Houstonians of every flavor swapped barbecue intelligence and debated about what they were going to order. ("Get the brisket," I told anyone who'd listen.) They even discussed the finer points of cobbler, notwithstanding the fact that they wouldn't get any today.

They craned their necks and stood on tiptoe to see what new items had appeared on the "Sold out" sign. When "sausage" went on the sign at precisely 12:53 p.m., a muffled groan was heard. A burly fellow who discovered that they were out of baked potatoes - he'd wanted the pulled-pork number with pico de gallo and poblano ranch dressing for his mom - silently mouthed a mild epithet, turning aside as he did so in deference to Corkscrew's tongue-in-cheek reminder: "We sell out every day! Please, no whining."

Read Full Article

Corkscrew BBQ
★ ★
24930 Budde, Spring, 832-592-1184
Hours: L: Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m. until sold out
Credit cards: all major
Prices: Sandwiches $5.50-$9.95; plates $8.25-$13.75; sides and desserts $2-$2.25
Must-orders: Brisket, rib plate, Bobert sandwich, pulled pork or brisket tacos, mac and cheese, cobbler
Reservations: first-come, first-served at outdoor picnic tables
Noise level: moderate
Website: corkscrewbbq.com



Visit my Food Blog at http://southerncookingwithtodd.blogspot.com/

Bayou City History

Bayou City History

 

Missouri-Kansas-Texas passenger depot behind the Merchants and Manufacturers Building, May 1949. (Chronicle file)

 

You’re looking at the old Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad passenger depot located behind the Merchants and Manufacturers Building (now UH Downtown). Specifically it was at Girard and North Main.
According to the Houston Chronicle, the structure was built in 1914 for $165,000 ($3.6 million today). Thousands would pass through the station (though not through the same entrance) until the Katy discontinued passenger service in Houston in November 1957. The railroad demolished the building in December 1958.
The Katy line ran somewhat northwest from the station along White Oak Bayou before crossing into the First Ward. Today, the train tracks are gone, but you can follow it on bike or foot into downtown. Right now, the path ends right where the old MKT station used to be. Think about that next time you pedal into the city.



Read Original Article with Additional Pictures



Visit my Food Blog at http://southerncookingwithtodd.blogspot.com/