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Foodie

Wine and Dine Your Way Through H-Town

Phoenicia Specialty Foods

Indulge in Houston's Ethnic Side

Houston boasts numerous diverse neighborhoods, many of which are anchored by ethnic restaurants and groceries.  Explore key destinations that have transformed the city into a multicultural microsphere. 

Chinatown/Bellaire
Visit palatial food court and grocery store Hong Kong Market inside Hong Kong City Mall—one of the largest Asian superstores in the region—on Bellaire Boulevard.  Fu Fu Restaurant serves some of the only soup dumplings in the city, and HK Dim Sum offers dim sum daily.  Stop by Sinh Sinh for excellent peking duck and prawns.

West Houston
Venture into west Houston-set Phoenicia for 55,000 square feet of international delicacies. Among the outpost's more than 6,000 exotic offerings are freshly-baked pita breads, flakey baklava and tempting tabouli. A smaller downtown store opened in November 2011. Sample delicious, housemade pierogies at Polonia, the city's only Polish grocery/restaurant, and BYOB to Vieng Thai, which serves up some of the city's best Thai cuisine.  Next door, sample cabrito cooked on an open pit at El Hidalguense. Don't miss H-Mart, a massive Korean grocery store, which is just down the street from Chinese grocery 99 Ranch Market.

Chef for a Day: Be a Top Toque, If Only for a Few Hours

For more than 40 years, Brennan's of Houston has been a preferred choice for those seeking a memorable dining experience with a little Creole flavor.  A Chef for a Day experience is available to anyone willing to pay the hefty fee (around $1400 for a day).

Under the guidance of Executive Chef Danny Trace, you'll learn first-hand the tricks of the culinary trade.  Then, his team will help you prep the rest of your sumptuous meal, and the sommelier is on hand to help select the perfect wines.  Finally, join five of your closest friends to relax and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

'Where the Chefs Eat' Culinary Tours

Where the Chefs Eat

If you've ever wondered where world-renowned, James Beard Award-winning chefs go for grub in their downtime, you're in luck. The same culinary geniuses that have topped endless 'Best Of' lists, graced the covers of Food & Wine and Bon Appetit and helped put H-Town on the national map are now making it their mission to show residents and visitors the underbelly of the city's food scene with the 'Where the Chefs Eat' Houston Culinary Tours.

Forget the upscale restaurants, for once—they aren't the only things setting Houston apart from major epicurean cities like Chicago and San Francisco. This time around, the city's top chefs—including The Next Iron Chef's Bryan Caswell and Top Chef Masters' Monica Pope—are teaming up to shift the spotlight to the small, independent, ethnic spots—whose recipes have been passed down from generation to generation.

With only 16 guests per chef-led tour, participants will gain intimate knowledge about the city: unexplored neighborhoods; undiscovered restaurants; and markets that contribute to the locally-driven menus of each chef.  Details at HoustonCulinaryTours.com.