Houston Restaurants & Food

It’s a three-course gourmet dinner menu for $35 per person, with $5 of each dinner sold benefiting the Houston Food Bank.

Houstonians will savor the best of the citys culinary scene during Houston Restaurant Week, the premier philanthropic culinary event benefiting the Houston Food Bank.

The city-wide event, established in 2003, provides diners with the opportunity to sample special menus at Houston’s fine dining restaurants, while helping fight hunger in Houston. Following the popularity and success of the 2009 event, Houston Restaurant Week 2010 has been extended to three weeks at the request of participating restaurants and diners.

This year, Houston Restaurant Week, one of the most successful charity dining events in the country, will showcase 115 restaurants, spanning popular favorites to new hotspots. All participating restaurants will offer a prix fixe, three-course gourmet dinner menu for $35 per person, with $5 of each dinner sold benefiting the Houston Food Bank. New to Houston Restaurant Week 2010, select restaurants will also offer two-course lunch menus for $20, donating $3 of each lunch sold to the Houston Food Bank. All Houston Restaurant Week meals exclude beverages, tax and gratuity.

Houston Restaurant Week is a great occasion for Houstonians to experience our impressive array of dining options at prices that wont break the bank, all while helping to fight hunger, said Cleverley Stone, founder and chair of the event. Last year, we raised a record-breaking $240,000, with 100 percent of funds raised donated to the Houston Food Bank. We hope to raise even more this year to support the Houston Food Bank in their mission to provide food for the hungry in 18 southeast Texas counties.

Houston Restaurant Week offers an inspired opportunity to take action on behalf of families and individuals who suffer from hunger, said Brian Green, CEO of the Houston Food Bank. Each diner at a participating restaurant will provide 15 meals for a hungry child or adult in southeast Texas. Those meals are provided each week to 137,000 individuals who turn to food pantries, senior centers, soup kitchens and shelters for nourishment.

The event is by reservation only. For the latest Houston Restaurant Week information, including restaurant listings, menus, sponsor information, and reservations, visit www.HoustonRestaurantWeek.com.

Follow HRW on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/HouRestaurantWk.
On Facebook at www.Facebook.com/HoustonRestaurantWeek.

Americas will participate in Houston Restaurant Week, August 1-21. Founder and chef Michael Cordua and his son chef David Cordua show food radio talk show host Cleverley Stone, how to make a traditional churrasco steak with chimichurri sauce. The chefs also show a sample of a 3 course dinner that will be available at Americas during Houston Restaurant Week, benefiting the Houston Food Bank.

For more information about food, wine and dining in Houston, listen to Cleverley’s radio show on Saturdays at Noon on KIKK-Talk 650 AM. (By the way, she gives out free restaurant gift certificates on every radio show!)

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Churrasco Steak & Chimichurri Sauce
Source: Chefs Michael Cordua and David Cordua

Ingredients

6 oz beef tenderloin
2 oz chimichurri (see recipe below)
salt and pepper

Directions

1. Ask your butcher for center cut tenderloin and have her portion (cut) for you in 12 oz barrels.
2. Pat the meat dry and using a short sawing motion with a sharp knife cut and push across the
cylinder from left to right to unroll a 1 to 1.5 inch thick steak.
3. Season with kosher salt and pepper, quickly baste in chimichurri, and grill to your desired doneness.
4. When done, brush a little more chimichurri.
5. Serve with plantain chips, pickled onion, yuca, or any other Latin accompaniment.

Chimichurri

Ingredients

1/2 lb parsley, curly
1 1/2 ozs garlic cloves
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
2 cups olive oil
1 tbsp oregano, dried
1/2 tbsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper

Directions

1. Rinse parsley thoroughly and remove excess water.
Allow to dry on a paper towel before chopping.
Meanwhile, finely mince garlic clove.
2. Using a sharp knife bunch up parsley and chop until finely minced.
(A food processor or blender is not recommended because this would bruise
the parsley and turn it to a paste).
3. Combine parsley and garlic in a bowl, add remaining ingredients, and whisk together.
4. Allow to sit at room temperature for several hours to marry the flavors together.

The Grove will participate in Houston Restaurant Week between August 1 and 21. Executive chef Ryan Pera shows food radio talk show host Cleverley Stone how to make Coriander Crusted Tuna with Spicy Cucumber Salad and Coconut Broth. The coriander plant is related to the parsley family. Coriander seeds are a popular ingredient in Mediterranean and Asian cooking. The leaves are known as cilantro, an ingredient used in the cuisines of Mexico, India and the Caribbean. This dish will be on the menu during Houston Restaurant Week. Chef Pera also shows a sample 3 course dinner that will be available during Houston Restaurant Week, benefiting the Houston Food Bank. The restaurant will donate $5 for every special dinner sold during the event.

For more information about food, wine and dining in Houston, listen to Cleverley’s radio show on Saturdays at Noon on KIKK-Talk 650 AM. (By the way, she gives out free restaurant gift certificates on every radio show!)

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Source: Chef Ryan Pera, The Grove
Serves 4

Coriander Crusted Tuna with Spicy Cucumber Salad and Coconut Broth

Ingredients

4-6 oz pieces of ahi sushi grade tuna
2 tablespoons whole coriander
1 tablespoon star anise
1/2 tablespoon whole black pepper
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 recipe cucumber salad (recipe follows)
1 recipe coconut broth (recipe follows)

Directions

1. Place coriander, anise and pepper in a dry skillet and toast over medium heat until
they give off their aroma, being carful not to scorch.

2. Place the toasted spices into a mortar and pestle or a coffee grinder and pulverize.
Add ground spices to salt and proceed to coat each tuna piece evenly with the spice mixture.

3. Heat a heavy bottom skillet over medium high heat. Add oil to the hot pan.
Sear tuna pieces on each side until they are slightly brown, about 30 seconds a side.
Remove tuna from the pan when it is cooked.

4. Slice the tuna into thin slices and place atop the cucumber salad in a bowl.
Drizzle the bowl with the coconut broth. Garnish with fresh toasted coconut or basil leaves if desired

Coconut Broth

Ingredients

1 can coconut milk
2 leaves kefir lime
1 tsp lime juice
1/2 stalk lemon grass
3 coin size slices of fresh ginger root
1 medium shallot
4 cloves garlic

Directions

1. In a small sauce pot heat the coconut broth to a simmer.
Add remaining ingredients and cover pot with a lid.
Allow to steep sauce for 30 minutes. Strain & reserve for use later.
Serve at room temperature

Spicy Cucumber Salad

Ingredients

2 each- medium size cucumbers
1 Tablespoon red bell pepper, fine dice
1 Thai chili, chopped
1 medium shallot, fine dice
1 kefir lime, thin sliced
1/4 cup mirin (a sweet rice wine found at asian grocery store)
1 Tablespoon fish sauce
2 Tablespoon sugar
1 Tablespoon sesame oil
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
2 Tablespoon olive oil

Directions

1. Make the dressing by combining all the ingredients together, except cucumbers and red bell peppers.
2. Pour blended dressing over cucumbers and red bell peppers.