At Alinea, Grant Achatz is conducting a symphony. He’s performing a magic show. He’s painting a masterpiece. He’s not just cooking food.    Alinea is a three Michelin star restaurant in Chicago open since 2005 and headed by Chef Grant Achatz. “Alinea” means the beginning of a new train of thought, and the dishes here are certainly…

Houston tastes like fish sauce. You can’t be a foodie in Houston and not know his name. Georgia James – and now Georgia James Tavern. The late Underbelly, now turned UB Preserv. And One Fifth – the ingenious five-year concept, with a different genre of food each year. Chris Shepherd is a James Beard Award…

Ceviche and pisco sours, in an unassuming location. Andes Café was opened in 2014 by chef David Guerrero from Ecuador. The restaurant covers the various cuisines of South America, including Ecuador, Peru, Colombia and Venezuela. While daunting to serve dishes from the entire continent, rather than focusing on just one country or even a region within…

Considered by some the best Peking duck in Houston, Bamboo House is 15 minutes from downtown – technically in Humble, Texas. What is Peking duck? Peking duck is basically Chinese duck tacos. It has been served to the emperors of China since the 1300s. More recently, the dish was a favorite of both Henry Kissinger…

I couldn’t write about food in Texas without talking about breakfast tacos. Each one of these places could get an article of its own, and some already do, but I’m going to combine my favorites here. Chains: Let’s get this out of the way. There are some decent breakfast taco chains – particularly if you’re…

Southern food. Soul food. This is a contentious topic. The ingredients, the dishes and the way of cooking in Southern food often originate from West Africa, or from slaves or former slaves in the American South where black cooks were the ones who cooked these meals for the white families that either enslaved them or…

I love Mexico City. And if you haven’t been before, you should absolutely go as soon as possible. It’s a cheap, quick flight from Houston or Dallas, making it the perfect weekend trip. There are plenty of attractions – from 20th century murals to 1st century pyramids – and, of course, great food. Food ranges…

April 30. 1975. The Fall of Saigon. Otherwise known as Reunification Day. 44 years later, I remember this day over a warm, comforting bowl of pho gà – basically, Vietnamese chicken noodle soup. This day, and the closing days of the Vietnam War, led to thousands of evacuations and Vietnamese refugees coming to the U.S. Often,…

Off Bellaire Blvd, Crawfish & Noodles sits in a parking lot with a Vietnam War memorial and a public art project called Open the Door that strives for intercultural understanding. On a Saturday night in the height of crawfish season, there was a 45 minute wait, but grab some beers and friends and it will…

Afghanistan is at the crossroads, and this comes across in its food, with various influences from China, India, Russia and the Middle East. Afghan Village, near Hillcroft (Little India) in Houston, is a great spot to try Afghan cuisine for the first time. I’ve included a few dishes below that I’d recommend trying. Bouranee Baunjan –…