Gather ’round: Foodies celebrate Top 100 rankings
Dozens of chefs, restaurant owners and food bloggers were on hand Wednesday as the Houston Chronicle revealed Alison Cook’s Top 100 Houston Restaurants, which appeared in Thursday’s Preview section. The backdrop for the afternoon event was Glazier’s Culinary Journey food show at Reliant Center.
Chronicle managing edi- tor Steve Proctor welcomed guests and, in his opening remarks, called Cook a “critic of genuine stature.”
When the Top 100 Restaurants were revealed, the crowd pushed forward to see where their favorite chefs ranked. Marcus Davis, owner of the popular Breakfast Klub, was among those snapping photos of boards displaying the Top 100. His young son Joshua posed as he pointed to the Breakfast Klub’s No. 89 spot.
Among the other restaurateurs in the crowd were Ana Beaven and Charlie McDaniel of No. 44 Cuchara, Adriana and Gerry Sarmiento of Mezzanotte and Piqueo restaurants in Cypress and Barry Terrell of Tookies in Seabrook.
Culinary collaborators Ronnie Killen and Ricky Craig, expected to open CK Steakhouse in the Heights in
2014, greeted fans of their popular restaurants. Killen’s eponymous Pearland steakhouse moved up to No. 8 on Cook’s list, and Craig’s Hubcap Grill held the 21st spot.
Among the chefs taking time from their kitchens: Roberto Castre of No. 19 Latin Bites, Joe Duong of No. 83 the Shack, Matthew Hutchinson of No. 34 Pizaro’s Pizza and Randy Evans of Haven, who earned two mentions in the Top 100. Evans’ restaurant-within-a-restaurant, Cove Cold Bar, was No. 10 while his Southern-influenced Haven ranked 45th.
Houston foodies turned out for the Top 100 reveal, including bloggers Paul Galvani of Houston’s Top 100 Food Trucks, Hank Lewis of Hank on Food, Shanna Jones and Felice Sloan of Urban Swank, Kaitlin Steinberg of Houston Press, Darla Guillen of Eater and Eric Sandler of CultureMap.
Other faces in the crowd included Sunil and Anupama Srivastava of No. 26 Great W’Kana, Christine Gomez and P.K. Hennigan of No. 56 El Tiempo, Gregory Evans of No. 41 Hubbell & Hudson and Rasheed Mohammad of Sitar Cuisine of India.
Fueling the festivities were alchemists Laurie Sheddan and Leslie Ross of Ladies of Libations. The pair created three cocktails for the event, including a refreshing take on the Pimm’s Cup and the Paloma Sour garnished with a homemade marshmallow. The showstopper was the Hanoi High-Five, which included flamed Thai chili green chartreuse, salted green curry lemonade and a caviar garnish.