Culinary Stars celebrates top chefs in the Houston area.
The 2018 Culinary Stars is just that: a stellar foodie night where the brightest lights on the Houston dining scene get to shine.
Held Thursday night at the Houston Chronicle’s event space, Culinary Stars showcased the culinary talents of about 30 restaurants, many of which found themselves among Alison Cook’s Top 100 restaurants in Houston. More than 500 people attended the event that served as a congratulatory celebration of the Chronicle restaurant critic’s annual canvassing of the Houston dining scene.
Restaurants in attendance included James Beard Award-winning chef Hugo Ortega’s Xochi, which earned the No. 1 spot in Top 100 for the second year in a row. Luis Roger of No. 5 BCN Taste & Tradition also made the scene (he’s opening a casual Spanish restaurant called MAD early next year at River Oaks District) as did Killen’s Barbecue in Pearland, which earned the No. 3 ranking (owner Ronnie Killen is soon to open a new Tex-Mex restaurant in Pearland).
Two other top 10 chefs brought their unique flavors to the party: Anita Jaisinghani of No. 7 Pondicheri (she also writes a vegetable cooking column for the Chronicle’s Flavor section) and Kaiser Lashkari of No. 9 Himalaya, whose restaurant was recently visited by Andrew Zimmern for an upcoming television segment.
The dishes served at Culinary Stars reflected the city’s rich and diverse cuisines: Japanese (Kuu); Peruvian (Latin Bites); Chinese (Mala Sichuan); wild game (Rainbow Lodge); barbecue (Tejas Chocolate Craftory in Tomball); pan-Asian (Aqui); steakhouse (Doris Metropolitan); contemporary American (Weights + Measures); and Southern foodways (Kulture).
Some of the night’s favorite bites included yellowtail nigiri from Kuu; spicy chicken mini tostadas from Xochi; white bean stew with Spanish bacalao from BCN; prime brisket and house-smoked boudin from Pappas Delta Blues Smokehouse in Webster; chile relleno sausage and carrot souffle from Tejas; chicken souvlaki from Just GRK; and doughnuts from Morningstar. And luscious bites of brisket that have make Killen a barbecue star.
The event also served as a fundraiser for Golden Beginnings Golden Retriever Rescue and the Ballard House.