June Naylor

In just the third night it was open for business, I had the pleasure of enjoying Underbelly in Houston. It’s Chris Shepherd‘s love letter to Houston and its food, and it’s as compelling as any ode to gastronomy I’ve known. And because I’ve had the joy of getting to know the owner-chef a little, it’s an even sweeter experience that I’ll carry with me a long while.

photo by Julie Soefer

Last May, I was lucky enough to be in a group of friends that Shepherd took on a tour of the Lower Westheimer building he’d just acquired for this restaurant. He’d left Catalan, the Houston restaurant on Washington Avenue where his reputation grew to icon status, shortly before. In partnering with Bobby Heugel (owner of Anvil Bar & Refuge, just down Westheimer from the new Underbelly site), he endeavored to go deeper into his rediscovered connection with local foods.

Initially stunning is how Shepherd and partners rehabbed the space, half of which is occupied by Underbelly and half by Hay Merchant, a gastropub with a rich selection of craft beers. When we roamed the nearly derelict space late last spring, we wondered how it could ready inside a year.

But less than 10 months later, the former nightclub is a showplace, thanks to Collaborative Projects, a design-architecture-building firm in Houston. Tables crafted from American walnut give great warmth, and soaring ceilings provide lots of air. Reclaimed materials gathered from around Houston find their way into the setting. Woodcuts figure among the artwork. Preserved and pickled vegetables line one wall near the kitchen.

Sitting down to dinner there last week ranks among my greater joys in this work of eating for a living, and the reasons extend way beyond the food. Yes, I think the skilled execution of his menu easily proves what a wonderful mad scientist he is, but the wealth of rewarding elements here are not limited to what I put in my mouth.

More on the astonishing dishes is forthcoming, here and in a story I’m writing for Texas Highways magazine. But for starters, chew on what Shepherd has wrought, even before he nears the stoves.

* Chris subtitled the restaurant: The Story of Houston Food. When you ask him about it, he hands you a brochure that explains why he displays photos on the wall of people that make him “proud to be a Houstonian.” He says, “Sure, we’d love to have you back at Underbelly, but we politely request that you visit at least one of these folks first.” And he proceeds to list, by Houston zip code, the people and businesses that inspire him. There are farmers, Asian restaurants, markets, chefs, bars, bands, arts groups and much more detailed on the list. (My favorite is Lindsey Brown, the Houston marketing wizard who has turned me onto countless culinary experiences in her city.)

Because of his passion for the city and its food, he also leads culinary tours for Lindsey. These have become extremely popular.

* Whole foods, indeed: When we got a quick tour of the kitchen, I was most curious about the butcher shop. Yes, Shepherd has a full butcher-shop on-site, and whole animals are broken down there. Peter Jahnke, whose culinary talents are many, is running this show, and the scorecord on the wall shows rabbits leading the tally with 110 (day three into business, not bad), with lambs at 22, pigs at 17, goats at 8, cows at 4 and, bringing up the rear, wild pigs at just 1.
* Reading the menu is fun and straight-forward, as is Shepherd. And the wine list is a downright hoot. On the first page, there is the definition of wine: “An alcoholic beverage resulting from the fermentation of grapes, typically not found in frat houses, day cares or the international space station. Once consumed, one might feel inclined to laugh, dance naked, make love or all of the above…at the same time.” And there are very entertaining images on the wine list, too, including one of a colossal wine goblet clutched in Sam Houston’s fist as he rides on a horse, high on a statue.

A mascot in the Unberbelly kitchen.

* Finally, I love the familiar, at-home spirit at Underbelly, That’s because more than one-third of the staff was with him either at Catalan or at jobs he had before, some way back to Brennan’s. He even found one of his former dishwashers just walking down the street recently, at which point he brought him in side and gave him a job. It’s clear these folks love working alongside Shepherd, and it made me happy to be within the walls where all this warm, fuzzy stuff is taking place.

Find Underbelly at 1100 Westheimer Road, Houston, 77006.

Drinking gorgeous, delicious New Zealand.

Here’s my story in 360 West. I just want to go back!

It was every bit as glorious as it sounds.

Getting dinner to go is hardly anything new for Central Market patrons. But now there’s a whole new section that puts a fabulous handmade dinner on your table in minutes.

Opened on Thursday, the new fresh pasta/fresh cheese department at the Fort Worth store marks one in a series of Central Market’s new expansions. Found in the area where the cheese and deli departments connect, this is where you go to get comfort food in a snap. You’ll see a flurry of activity there as chefs make the pasta while you watch, along with big, juicy bundles of fresh mozzarella.

I picked up a couple of the first boxes of freshly made pasta to go on sale, as well as a carton of fresh pomodoro sauce and a wedge of artisan parmesan. Once I was home, dinner was ready in a few minutes. Same story the next day, at lunch.

For the first dinner, I sauteed spinach, tomatoes, mushrooms and garlic I had in my fridge in a little olive oil in a skillet for about five minutes while a pot of water heated for the pasta. When the veggies were almost ready, I threw some of CM’s fresh raviolis (I bought two kinds, the one stuffed with mushroom-goat cheese and the herbed cheese varieties) into the boiling water and let them cook for about 90 seconds to 2 minutes. Because the plump little pillows are just made and so supple, they don’t need but a quick heating to be ready.
I tossed everything in a big bowl and there was dinner, with some of the freshly grated parmesan on the side. A great dinner for two of us in less time than heating most anything else might have taken.

At lunch, I heated the lush, nubby pomodoro in one pan, the pasta in another, in about two minutes. Again, grated parmesan. Voila – a great meal for two people.

All this set me back $21.50 and made four servings. The raviolis are $6.99 per box and make two ample servings; the pomodoro is $2.50 for a 12-ounce tub; and the artisan parmesan is $5 for a hefty, half-pound wedge.

The Fort Worth store, by the way, is the only place to find the new pasta-and-cheese section – for now. Fort Worth’s Central Market is the testing grounds for new concepts throughout the chain. Next up, a new fresh juice section and hot-food bar.

Find it at 4651 West Freeway (Hulen at I-30) in Fort Worth; call 817-989-4700.

Here in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, things are starting to get a bit crazy with Super Bowl fever. The big game is just six days away, but the buzz emanating from downtown Fort Worth, where ESPN has commenced broadcasting for the week, is palpable. We hear that 150,000 people without game tickets will be descending upon the center of town just to get a taste of the festivities.

For some folks, this sounds like a great party. For others, it’s a good reason to get the heck out of Dodge. If you’re among the latter, let me suggest a roadtrip to Austin. The downtown area there is white-hot now with phenomenal new (and less new) dining destinations.Austin City Limits opens its new venue in a couple of weeks, right downtown on 2nd Street.

Trace, at the W Austin

The W Austin just opened, and its restaurant, Trace, is really fabulous. Local farmers and producers provide much of the menu ingredients, and the adjacent hotel bar has one of the coolest bar scenes I’ve seen in a while.

Away, the W spa, made my day last Friday. Christina provided a fabulous massage with reflexology, and the spa shop sells a number of intriguing products, some of them Texas-based.

And whereas I’ve found some of the W hotels here and there to be on the cold side, this W exudes warmth and chic style, all at once. Look for a lot of red downstairs and pretty blues elsewhere.

There are more than a dozen hotels with plenty of good deals going this weekend. Among them are Barton Creek Resort and Spa, offering the “Heaven on Earth” package, starting at $142 per person; and Four Seasons Hotel Austin; Radisson Hotel & Suites Austin; Omni Austin Hotel Downtown; Sheraton Austin at the Capitol; The Driskill Hotel; Hilton Austin; Hampton Inn & Suites Downtown; and
Courtyard & Residence Inn Austin Downtown.

The Austin skyline, photo by Jean-Michel Dufaux

While you’re in town, check out the Carnaval Brasileiro, widely known as one of the best Carnaval celebrations in the nation, on Saturday.

For laughs, go see The Capitol Steps, the DC comedy troupe that puts the “mock” in Democ(k)racy.

Music lovers will want to see Robert Randolph & the Family Band at Antone’s Saturday.
And on Sunday, there’s the Big Game Party at The Highball, where you’ll play BINGO during the game and the commercials, enjoy beer specials and a good food bar, plus a live doggie bowl – that’s dogs playing football. Only in Austin.

Check back this week when I’ll have a restaurant update.

You bought those beautiful pumpkins for fall decor, and perhaps in an especially ambitious moment, you even used a couple to make puree for your pumpkin pies and creme brulees.

Problem: now that Thanksgiving is over, you’re not quite sure what to do with those pretty pumpkins.

You just bought them just last week and it seems a shame to toss them out – but you need room now for your yuletide decor. Sound familiar?

No worries. As long as you’re not dealing with gigantic pumpkins, there’s a delectable answer waiting right in Dorie Greenspan‘s new book, Around My French Table: More than 300 recipes from my home to yours (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $40).

Ms. Greenspan came through Dallas/Fort Worth on her book tour but I missed her classes at Central Market last month. A clever friend of mine, however, did not miss the recent segment on NPR’s All Things Considered in which her recipe for Pumpkin Stuffed With Everything Good was featured. He said, “We have to make this recipe,” and that’s exactly what we did.

And really, I cannot think of a pumpkin creation I’ve enjoyed more. This magnificent concoction might seem a tad busy, but it’s quite homey in the end. And, I should note, mighty rich. But if you love a savory bread pudding with all the hallmarks of fall, you should not waste another moment pulling this together.

You’ll want a 3-pound pumpkin, which isn’t too big but is more than enough to provide two very generous main-course servings. We used French baguette, Gruyère and Emmenthal cheeses, garlic, bacon, chives, thyme, pecans, spinach and pears for the stuffing, all drenched in nutmeg-laced cream.

Bear in mind that once you’ve stuffed this baby, baking takes 2 hours. Eat it slowly, as you’ll want to savor each wonderful bite, pumpkin and all (minus the shell, of course). Serve it with a Central Coast pinot noir, toasting the transition from November to December merriment.

Pumpkin Stuffed With Everything Good

Makes 2 ample servings

• 1 pumpkin, about 3 pounds
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 pound stale bread, thinly sliced and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
• 1/4 pound cheese, such as Gruyère, Emmenthal, cheddar, or a combination, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
• 2–4 garlic cloves (to taste), split, germ removed, and coarsely chopped
• 4 slices bacon, cooked until crisp, drained, and chopped (my addition)
• About 1/4 cup snipped fresh chives or sliced scallions (my addition)
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme (my addition)
• About 1/3 cup heavy cream
• Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment, or find a Dutch oven with a diameter that’s just a tiny bit larger than your pumpkin. If you bake the pumpkin in a casserole, it will keep its shape, but it might stick to the casserole, so you’ll have to serve it from the pot — which is an appealingly homey way to serve it. If you bake it on a baking sheet, you can present it freestanding, but maneuvering a heavy stuffed pumpkin with a softened shell isn’t so easy.

Using a very sturdy knife — and caution — cut a cap out of the top of the pumpkin (think Halloween jack-o’-lantern). It’s easiest to work your knife around the top of the pumpkin at a 45-degree angle. You want to cut off enough of the top to make it easy for you to work inside the pumpkin. Clear away the seeds and strings from the cap and from inside the pumpkin. Season the inside of the pumpkin generously with salt and pepper, and put it on the baking sheet or in the pot. Toss the bread, cheese, garlic, bacon, and herbs together in a bowl. Season with pepper — you probably have enough salt from the bacon and cheese, but taste to be sure — and pack the mix into the pumpkin. The pumpkin should be well filled — you might have a little too much filling, or you might need to add to it. Stir the cream with the nutmeg and some salt and pepper and pour it into the pumpkin. Again, you might have too much or too little — you don’t want the ingredients to swim in cream, but you do want them nicely moistened. (But it’s hard to go wrong here.)

Just out of the oven.

Put the cap in place and bake the pumpkin for about 2 hours — check after 90 minutes — or until everything inside the pumpkin is bubbling and the flesh of the pumpkin is tender enough to be pierced easily with the tip of a knife. Because the pumpkin will have exuded liquid, I like to remove the cap during the last 20 minutes or so, so that the liquid can bake away and the top of the stuffing can brown a little.

When the pumpkin is ready, carefully, very carefully — it’s heavy, hot, and wobbly — bring it to the table or transfer it to a platter that you’ll bring to the table.

Serving

You have choices: you can cut wedges of the pumpkin and filling; you can spoon out portions of the filling, making sure to get a generous amount of pumpkin into the spoonful; or you can dig into the pumpkin with a big spoon, pull the pumpkin meat into the filling, and then mix everything up.

Slicing to serve

Ms. Greenspan says:

A few months ago, 50 people who love Texas food and want to preserve and celebrate its heritage got together at Texas A&M to talk about founding a new non-profit organization. Several are members of Southern Foodways Alliance, based in Oxford, Mississippi, and have been thinking that we need something similar here in our great state.

Food scribe Robb Walsh, chef Bryan Caswell and BBQ king Levi Goode were among the Houstonians at our first meeting. Brian Bracewell from Southside Market & Barbeque in Elgin was there, as was Mary Kimbrough from Food Roots in Dallas. My Fort Worth friends in attendance included chefs Lanny Lancarte II, Louis Lambert and Terry Chandler. Artisan Baking Company’s Gwin Grogan made the trip to Aggieland, as did Fritz Rahr with his beer. We spent a day talking about what we hope to do to grow our organization and how we’d like to gather members to help the mission of sharing and protecting Texas’ food heritage.

Our new board of directors includes assorted professionals from varying areas of the food and academic worlds. You’ll know some of them by name, such as Tom Perini from Perini Ranch Steakhouse in Albany, and Hoover Alexander of Hoover’s Cooking in Austin. Lisa Fain, whose Homesick Texan website and blog has a mighty following, is on the board, too, as is writer and retailer Melissa Guerra of San Antonio and the Valley. We have board members also from the University of Texas, Austin; the University of Houston; Texas A&M University; and the University of North Texas.

Gathering oral histories will be among our principal activities, and the film projects are well underway now. We were fortunate enough to establish the Foodways Texas home in Austin through a partnership with the University of Texas, Austin. We are in agreement with UT’s Division of Diversity and Community Engagement to become an affiliate with the DDCE;  we will have office space in the Community Engagement Center; and our board appointed an executive director to run our organization from UT.

At our first membership drive event – a pie social, no less – happening at 10 am on Saturday, November 6 at the Pearl Brewery in San Antonio, we’ll be offering a sneak peek at our first couple of Foodways Texas films. Pie will be served from Earl Abel’s, coffee comes from Ferra Coffee, and we’ll have a chance to visit with Antonio Sanchez, the pie man at Earl Abel’s for a half-century.

There’s much more to come, too. On November 9, Levi Goode at Good Company BBQ is hosting a Foodways Texas Benefit at the Armadillo Palace in Houston.

Five of our Houston members are doing the food, our first film will be screened, and there’s live music, as well – Band of Heathens will play. Cocktails and beer are included in the $150 ticket.

We need to gather members, so we’ll keep having these events to spread the word. Fort Worth and Dallas events will be up next, and we are working hard on our first Foodways Texas Symposium, scheduled for February 25-26 in Galveston.

To become a member, visit the Foodways Texas website. Your memberships will allow us to begin working on a Texas oral history archive, continue filming great food documentaries like the ones you’ll see at our upcoming San Antonio and Houston
events, and plan and coordinate our first annual symposium. If you love Texas food and its heritage like we do, you’ll be glad you joined us.

Finally, follow us on Twitter (foodwaysTX) and/or on Facebook (www.facebook.com/foodwaystexas). Please invite everyone you know to follow us, too.

DOLORES HIDALGO, Mexico – As often as I’ve traveled in Mexico, and as long as I’ve known that Diez y Seis de Septiembre is the holiday marking Mexico’s independence from Spain, I’ve never fully realized what a charming, if perhaps obscure, town serves as the birthplace of the country’s most important occasion.

How appropriate that I’m finally visiting this lovely destination in the Mexican heartland, as I arrive with friends not long before Mexico’s bicentennial. It was in this colonial town on Sept. 16, 1810, that the priest in this humble Indian village launched Mexico’s bid for freedom from Spanish rule. Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla gave his rallying speech, “El Grito,” from the steps of his parish church – a place that may be one of the more beautiful architectural sites in Mexico.

Often overlooked in the shadows of the far more famous nearby vacation spot San Miguel de Allende, Dolores Hidalgo (population 40,000) and its magnificent neighbor, Guanajuato (population 140,000), deserve at least a day or two unto themselves. In this pair, in fact, my friends and I find the more purely Mexican experience that has become too hard to find in trips to our neighbor to the south.

Parking our rental car just a block from the jardin, or landscaped plaza, we stroll to see the Parroquia de Dolores, or Father Hidalgo’s church. Like many a tourist stopping here, we initially set out for Dolores to enjoy the wealth of ceramics factories and sensational ice creams that we have heard are made here. But once we find ourselves on the steps of the church, we’re overwhelmed by the magnitude of the history that began at this very spot.

Gazing up at its towering 18th-century façade, painstakingly restored for the bicentennial, we’re awe-struck by the intricately carved rose-colored stone design that exemplifies the Spanish Baroque style called churrigueresque. Inside, we marvel at the ornate altars. Each year on the anniversary, Father Hidalgo’s Grito is remembered in a ceremony.

Ice cream on the jardin, Dolores Hidalgo

Back on the jardin, we wander beneath the soaring trees to inspect the numerous hand-painted carts selling ice cream, or nieves, for which Dolores is famous. Rightfully so, we soon find out: Each of the stands stocks an assortment of freshly made ice creams in a fascinating selection of flavors, ranging from shrimp, tequila and cactus to pinon (pine nut) and tropical fruit. Free tastes are readily offered – and then I find my favorite: molé, full of pungent spice and just enough sugar.

Pointing the car toward Guanajuato, we make an hourlong stop to see how the renowned Talavera pottery is made and to pick up souvenirs. The colorful pottery pieces are hand-painted by artisans who work while we watch. We then head into the showroom to see what bargains can be had. My blue-and-white dinner plates feel like a steal at $6 per dish; I just hope I can get them home with no breakage.

Talavera pottery, painted by hand in Dolores Hidalgo

In less than an hour, our drive lands us upon the visual feast that is Guanajuato. After the somewhat flat, dusty and – save for the festooned church – simple tableau that Dolores presented, we’re stunned by the jumble of color, heights and activity unfurling in Guanajuato, a lofty colonial city, sitting at 6,700 feet in altitude, with silver mining riches in its history. Friends have raved about the city’s mummy museum, which proves too creepy for me; I’m much more eager to enjoy the whirl of youthful hubbub on the streets, provided in ample doses by the hordes of students attending the massive University of Guanajuato, which anchors one end of the city.

Driving in town proves tricky, however, and we find it is best to park on the outskirts and take a $5 cab ride into town to the lookout, the best place to drink in the views of a patchwork of vividly painted houses that climb the steep side of the gorge into which this city is tucked.

Taking the funicular, a mountainside tram car, for a steep ride down into the city center, we snap photos as fast as we can. At the bottom, we camp at a sidewalk cafe next to Teatro Juarez, the exquisite opera house dominating the main plaza, or the Jardin de la Union. Greek muses and bronze lions keep watch over us while we soak up the local color – and buy some fabulous silver earrings and bracelets from roaming vendors on the theater steps.

Teatro Juarez in Guanajuato

Music fills the streets. While we’re there, we enjoy free concerts taking place on the steps in front of the Teatro Juarez; offerings range from festive mariachi tunes to odd, if well-meaning, John Lennon covers.

We realize that we could sit all day, sipping cappuccinos and watching the street life, but it would mean missing too much of the elements that made Guanajuato a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Baroque, 17th-century buildings fill the center of Guanajuato

Colegiata de Nuestra Senora de Guanajuato, an exquisite and imposing building covered in golden-yellow paint. The 17th-century baroque church sits on Plaza de la Paz, and inside sits a jewel-covered statue of the Blessed Virgin from the eighth century. From there, it’s a short walk to the museum that occupies Diego Rivera’s childhood home. The country’s most famous artist was born here in 1886, and his life and various artistic periods are detailed in exhibits throughout the three-story building.

A block from the Rivera museum and home sits Mercado Hidalgo, which turns 100 this year. Built to celebrate the centennial of Mexico’s fight for independence, the market’s architect was Gustave Eiffel of the Paris tower fame. Boldly handsome in design, the market building opens up to a colorful treat inside, packed with textiles and candy on the first floor and clothing and leather goods upstairs.

But it’s back around the jardin that we fall one evening into what feels like an impromptu group event but is actually a regular happening most nights. The callejoneadas, or wandering minstrel groups, consist of musicians in period costumes inviting anyone who’s game to join them in a walking, drinking, singalong just after nightfall. We pay about $10 for the pleasure and enjoy an hour of joking and merriment – including a stop at the Callejon del Beso, the Kissing Alley where superstition dictates that lovers must stop and kiss or risk bad luck.

Squash blossom dish at Las Mercedes

The grand finale of our trip is dinner at Las Mercedes. Found in a family home perched high on a hillside overlooking downtown, Las Mercedes offers intimate dining in a lovely, split-level space with walls splashed in shades of coral and ochre.

But it’s the food at Las Mercedes that woos and wows us; we’re not surprised to find that Rick Bayless, the restaurateur and noted PBS Mexican cooking expert, likes to dine here. Over a leisurely meal, we thrill to the handmade delicacies, such as green chiles stuffed with mild cheeses; a salad of tender cactus leaves and fried squash blossoms; chicken in a molé sauce; and a corn cake dessert crowned with pecan ice cream and caramel sauce.

As we reluctantly finish dinner and ride back to the hotel, I’m consumed with thoughts of preparing a special Diez y Seis de Septiembre dinner back at home, one centered around stuffed chiles on the plates from Dolores Hidalgo that I vow to bring home safely.

DETAILS

Getting there: Fly to Leon, in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico. The drive into Guanajuato is less than an hour. The drive to San Miguel de Allende is about 1 1/2 hours, and the drive to Dolores Hidalgo is less than an hour.

Where to stay: Near Dolores Hidalgo, Hacienda Las Trancas is a 450-year-old home with 11 suites, thick, stucco walls and plenty of shady patios, a swimming pool, spa and horse stables. Meals, included with stays, consist of mountains of fresh fruits and salads, homemade soups, home-style chicken molés and beautiful fried squash blossoms. Rates are $300-$400 per night or $2,170 per week for a suite; ask about renting the whole hacienda for family and friends. Book a massage for $20 per hour. Call 828-712-9910.

In Guanajuato, the Hotel Mision Guanajuato sits within the walls of a 17th-century hacienda but is a modern inn with 193 rooms. It’s an older place that could use sprucing up but remains charming in an old-fashioned way. Swimming pool, tennis courts, gardens, restaurant and bar are on site. Rates are from $60 daily, and packages, including breakfast and tours, start at $85 daily.

Where to eat: In Guanajuato, go to Las Mercedes, Calle de Arriba No. 6. Telephone 52-473-733-9059. A lavish meal, without wine, is about $25 per person.

More visitor information is found here.

We actually did make reservations for brunch at Cat City Grill, hearing that the new offering was already lights-out, crazy-busy. But everyone likes their brunch experience so much that they don’t want to vacate their tables, even after the eating is over. They just want to hang around this popular spot on Magnolia. They practice obvious lollygagging, to be perfectly honest.

Cat City Grill's bloody marys go down easy at two bucks a pop

Cue up the Jamie Foxx ditty, because I blame it on the bar – specifically the $2 bloody marys and mimosas that partners Vance Martin and Martin Thompson had the brilliance to offer. When we arrived on time for our reservation, there was no table to be had. Same for the crowds that flooded the place right behind us. But it’s possible to snag a couple of seats at the bar, where you will be readily served – both the brunch cocktails and the mighty addictive food.

Sweet and savory crepes at Cat City would make Elvis happy

Seeing friends at the bar, we ogled their plates for a few minutes to decide what we’d order. We liked the looks of – and they raved about – the sweet and savory crepes, a plate pairing a peanut butter-and-banana crepe (hey, Elvis) in a chocolate drizzle with a crepe wrapped around ham and brie, with a light draping of bearnaise sauce on top. We also admired the perfect-looking Texas omelet, filled with spicy tomatoes and green chiles and topped with pepper jack, tomatillo sauce, sour cream and guacamole.

But I could not, would not, stop thinking about the shrimp and grits, one of my favorite indulgences. Appropriately southwestern, rather than the Carolina version made so famous in Charleston, Cat City Grill’s shrimp and grits arrived as a large and lush pond of creamy jalapeno cheese grits filled with lots of tender baby shrimp, with two enormous shrimp crowning the works. The serving was more than one person can finish.

Shrimp and grits get the Texas treatment

My friend liked her Texas Benedict, an open-face biscuit topped with sausage patties, poached eggs and cream gravy. The grilled potatoes alongside were on the cold side, however. I told her to get another $2 bloody mary and it wouldn’t matter what the potatoes did.

We expect brunch to stay plenty busy at CCG, and not just because of the cheap brunch cocktails. The menu is affordable overall – entrees are $8 to $12, and most are $10 – and service is quick and cheerful. Especially at the bar.

Brunch is offered 10:30 am until 2 p.m. on Sunday. Find Cat City Grill at 1208 West Magnolia Ave., Fort Worth, TX. Call 817-916-5333 for reservations

Ellerbe Fine Foods, opening last summer on Magnolia Avenue to much fanfare, has nabbed an enviable honor: Bon Appetit magazine says Ellerbe is one of the 10 best new restaurants in America.

Richard King chooses a wine for an Ellerbe dinner party.

You can read all about it yourself when the September issue hits newsstands on August 24.

Here’s an excerpt:

“Ever wonder what it would be like to have a charming southern grandma who invited you over to her cozy little house for Sunday supper?” asked Bon Appétit. “Ellerbe Fine Foods offers you the opportunity to enjoy a similar experience—from the warm feel of the dining room (in a former service station, no less) to their everyone-is-family philosophy. And with apologies to all you southerners, the upscale country cooking is probably much better than grandma’s.”

Co-owners Richard King, who runs the front of the house, and chef Molly McCook grew up together in Shreveport. King, a TCU alum who worked in other industries before opening Ellerbe, wanted to have a restaurant in his adopted city – and persuaded his childhood buddy to join him.

Chef Molly McCook sits down with friends and family at an Ellerbe party.

They renovated a 1920s gas station, infusing it with a contemporary rural feel that suits their farm-to-table approach. Natural light floods the interior, illuminating walls painted a muted, fresh green and woods that are washed in creamy white. Small cut flowers spring from small, vintage milk bottles on each table.

Molly’s ever-changing selection of goods plucked from markets and regional purveyors wind up in thoughtful treatments, a craft she honed at culinary school in San Francisco and in her tenure with such luminaries as the award-winning Suzanne Goin in Los Angeles. A regular clientele has been quick to build, with even Tuesday nights – often a restaurant’s slowest – finding a packed house.

Ellerbe is named for a street in Shreveport where McCook’s parents lived. It’s nice when family inspiration can lead to sure success.

Chez Spencer, the French food truck

French food-as-entertainment takes over Cowtown this weekend, thanks to Lunch Wagon Wars.

That’s the working title of an upcoming Food Network program, slated to air in August 2010. This evening through Sunday, a team of San Francisco-based chefs and a film crew will be shooting food and fun in Fort Worth’s Cultural District.

The hubbub you’ll find in front of the Will Rogers complex focuses on the food truck called Spencer on the Go: French Take-Away. That’s the mobil restaurant attached to brick-and-mortar San Fran restaurant called Chez Spencer.

When I found them late this afternoon, the team of chefs cooking from the truck had made a stop at Saint-Emilion, Fort Worth’s beloved French restaurant, to pick up necessary supplies, such as frogs’ legs. Next, they were popping over to Fiesta Mart for more groceries, before setting up shop by Will Rogers.

Jessie, Laurent and John

The trio of Jessie Vera, Laurent Katgely and John Desmond will be prepping tonight and cooking all weekend. They’ll be serving up escargot, frogs’ legs, lobster bites, lamb lollipops and more. Just stop on by; they’ll be serving from 11 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday – until the food runs out.

I asked if there would be good French wine to enjoy with the French food. Alas, they said, they can’t dispense wine – but people should feel free to BYOB. I offered to bring a selection of Texas wines, which they said they’d enjoy.

The guys said they were also delighted to find such gorgeous weather here. Their last stop a few days ago was in Santa Fe – where it snowed.

Spencer on the Go hits the road again Monday. They’ll make several more stops as they head toward New York City, then return home again in mid-June. Bon appetit, y’all!