Tag: Chris Shepherd

We’ve wrapped season one of “Eat Like a Local with Chris Shepherd”. In the course of 26 episodes, we answered a lot of questions, including yours – Where should we eat? What should we order? Where and what does a James Beard award-winning chef choose when he’s dining out?

We also got answers to our own questions. ‘Our’ being the Eat Like a Local crew – producer, photographer and host with support from our audio engineer and drone pilot. Like you, when we started this journey, we didn’t know what to expect. We had never met Chris Shepherd. We didn’t know what it meant to shoot a TV show with a highly acclaimed chef who hadn’t hosted a program before. Would he be pretentious? He’s not. High maintenance? Not even a little. Would he freeze in front of the camera? Ha! Never.

What we found is that making a TV show with Chris Shepherd is fun, spontaneous, and frequently unplanned. Despite this producer’s efforts to keep us on point, we frequently end up at what we over time have dubbed “pit stops”. This is when Chris’ excitement to experience every kind of food in our city causes us to abruptly veer off-course.

In this episode of “Eat Like a Local with Chris Shepherd”, we’re sharing some of these unexpected pit stops to give you a feel for life on the road with Chris, plus some pretty tasty bonus bites.

• Watch this episode of “Eat Like a Local” Saturday, June 1 at 10 a.m. on KPRC 2

First stop, KRISP (9486 Long Point Rd.), a small shop serving up a variety of Korean Fried Chicken. Confronted with so many options, Chris soon decides the best route is to try them all.

Next, we make a detour on our way to a shoot at Gyro King. Chris spots The Baker’s Son (8025 Main St.), a Filipino bakery, near NRG Park and has to check it out. Ube, a type of purple yam, reigns supreme here, but Chris doesn’t stop at the iconic flavor. He loads up like a kid in a candy store for a tour of what the shop has to offer.

Then, it’s off to a Houston icon, Brothers Taco House (1604 Emancipation Ave). Here Chris teaches us about one of his favorite kinds of tacos – rajas – and gives us a lesson on salsa.

Finally, we take a hard left when Chris sees El Papaturro (8559 Long Point) on our way to El Hidalguense. It’s time for a pupusa and a few other Salvadorian treats.

Make sure you stay tuned to the end. Not all of our pit stops are food related. Sometimes things just don’t go as planned. In our greatest outtake of the season, see what happens when Chris gets stranded on a crawfish pond at Link Farms.

We hope these bonus bites keep you tied over until next season!

“Eat Like a Local with Chris Shepherd” is your guide to the best food in Houston. Watch episodes Saturdays at 10 a.m. on KPRC 2.

Bookmark the Eat Like a Local website, so you can find more restaurants serving up great food near you.

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“Eat Like a Local” Season 1 episodes

Anita Jaisinghani loved food from a young age, but it wasn’t until she moved to Houston that she turned her passion into a career.

In this episode of “Eat Like a Local with Chris Shepherd”, Shepherd sits down with Jaisinghani, the chef & co-owner of Pondicheri, who he calls a “local legend,” “amazing human,” and “amazing chef.”

Jaisinghani was born and raised in India. She jumped into the food industry when she started catering and selling chutneys in Whole Foods grocery stores. From there, she joined the pastry department at Café Annie, where she worked for two years.

Jaisinghani opened her first restaurant Indika in 2001.

Ten years later, Pondicheri opened. Three years later, in 2014, Pondicheri’s Bake Lab + Shop was open for business.

Jaisinghani hasn’t slowed down. On top of running the restaurants, she writes recipe columns and has a cookbook that was nominated for a James Beard award.

In addition to her attention to quality ingredients and dishes, Jaisinghani is committed to sustainability. In this episode, Shepherd learns how Pondicheri turns food waste into material that helps the environment.

Watch this episode of “Eat Like a Local” in the video player above

“Eat Like a Local with Chris Shepherd” is your guide to the best food in Houston. Watch new episodes Saturdays at 10 a.m. on KPRC 2.

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Pondicheri Restaurant

2800 Kirby Drive, Suite B132

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Pondicheri Bake Lab

2800 Kirby Drive, Suite B240

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More “Eat Like a Local” restaurants featured in this episode

• Udipi Cafe: 2325 Williams Trace Blvd. | Sugar Land

Bookmark the Eat Like a Local website, so you can find more restaurants serving up great food near you. We’re adding restaurants to the map every week.

Watch “Eat Like a Local with Chris Shepherd” Saturdays at 10 a.m. on KPRC 2.

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There are plenty of ways to serve up seafood, but if you want something unique, packed with flavor, and that’s sure to please every time, Chris Shepherd has a few spots for you to try.

In this episode of “Eat Like a Local with Chris Shepherd”, Shepherd takes us to some of his favorite places for fresh shelled seafood like crawfish, crabs, and lobster.

The first stop is Crawfish and Noodles, which is where the Viet-Cajun style of cooking got its start in Houston. Shepherd sat down with the owner of the restaurant to learn about his family’s history and his path to creating a restaurant that goes way beyond crawfish and noodles.

The second stop in this episode is Crown Seafood in Houston’s Chinatown, where your meal goes from the tank to the table in minutes. It’s fresh, it’s flavorful, and it’s a great spot to enjoy a meal with friends or family.

And finally, Shepherd shows us how Hot & Buttered is putting their own mark on crawfish season.

Watch this episode of “Eat Like a Local” on KPRC 2 and KPRC 2+ at 10 a.m.

“Eat Like a Local with Chris Shepherd” is your guide to the best food in Houston. Watch new episodes Saturdays at 10 a.m. on KPRC 2.

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Crawfish & Noodles

11360 Bellaire Blvd. | Houston

Crawfish & Noodles – Heights

2520 Airline Dr. | Houston

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Crown Seafood

10796 Bellaire Blvd, Ste. C | Houston

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Hot & Buttered at Tikila’s

2702 N. Shepherd | Houston

Tikila’s is a bar with a crawfish pop up at the location called Hot & Buttered. They have traditional crawfish, but also crawfish covered in a garlic, butter sauce.

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More “Eat Like a Local” restaurants featured in this episode

• Hai Cang Harbor: 11768 Bellaire Blvd. | Houston

• Fung’s Kitchen: 7320 Southwest Freeway | Houston

• Crawfish Cafe: 11209 Bellaire Blvd. | Houston

Bookmark the Eat Like a Local website, so you can find more restaurants serving up great food near you. We’re adding restaurants to the map every week.

Watch “Eat Like a Local with Chris Shepherd” Saturdays at 10 a.m. on KPRC 2.

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Well refined, Southern cuisine, defined by history.

That’s the message on the website for Lucille’s of Houston. While concise, it represents a family legacy that dates back more than a century and that’s rooted in delicious food and a devotion to service.

Chris and his brother Ben Williams co-founded Lucille’s in 2012 as a tribute to their great-grandmother Lucille B. Smith. She was an educator and culinary innovator who would become an entrepreneur when she founded a food corporation.

Now, Lucille’s is nationally acclaimed, and Chris Williams is a James Beard Award finalist.

In this episode of “Eat Like a Local with Chris Shepherd”, Shepherd sits down with Williams to hear the stories of Lucille’s, his nonprofit organization Lucille’s 1913, Eldorado Ballroom and Rado Market which sit next to Houston’s Emancipation Park, and Williams’ most recent endeavor Late August.

Watch this episode in the video player above

“Eat Like a Local with Chris Shepherd” is your guide to the best food in Houston. Watch new episodes Saturdays at 10 a.m. on KPRC 2.

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Lucille’s

5512 La Branch | Houston

Chris Williams made a name for himself in the culinary world for his creations which fuse international flavors with traditional Southern food.

He trained in kitchens from London to Lithuania before returning home to Houston, where he would create a brand that honored his great-grandmother while making an impact that will benefit future generations.

Since Williams and his brother started Lucille’s, it has grown to Lucille’s Hospitality Group and includes the non-profit organization Lucille’s 1913 — which has served hundreds of thousands of meals to those in need and is working to combat food insecurity and waste.

The charity arm of Lucille’s got its name from the year Williams’ great-grandmother started her catering business — 1913.

Three decades later, in the 1940s, Lucille Smith invented Lucille’s All Purpose Hot Roll Mix for a church fundraiser. They were a hit and became the first hot roll mix marketed in the U.S.

You can get those hot rolls at Lucille’s today, along with many other delicious dishes.

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Rado Cafe & Market

2310 Elgin St. | Houston

Rado Cafe & Market sits across from Houston’s Emancipation Park and is named for its location beneath the historic and famed Eldorado Ballroom.

This dining spot, which offers sandwiches with farm fresh ingredients, is also a spot to shop for locally-sourced products.

Visit their website to see the local brands carried or stop in a grab food and a bottle of wine for a perfect picnic in the park.

Bookmark the Eat Like a Local website, so you can find more restaurants serving up great food near you. We’re adding restaurants to the map every week.

Watch new episodes of “Eat Like a Local with Chris Shepherd” Saturdays at 10 a.m. on KPRC 2.

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You’ll never grocery shop hungry again, if you visit a Houston market that got its start 40 years ago.

Phoenicia Specialty Foods has ready to eat food, plus an expansive store with filled with meats, cheeses, olives, wines, spices and so much more — including a bakery and famous conveyer belt of fresh bread.

In this episode of “Eat Like a Local with Chris Shepherd”, Shepherd learns the history of Phoenicia, sees the inner workings of its pita bread conveyer belt, while exploring other Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisine spots in Houston.

Watch this episode in the video player above

“Eat Like a Local with Chris Shepherd” is your guide to the best food in Houston. Watch new episodes Saturdays at 10 a.m. on KPRC 2.

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Phoenicia Specialty Foods

Westheimer Market – 12141 Westheimer Road | Houston

Downtown Market – 1001 Austin St. | Houston

Phoenicia’s website touts its stores as “the international food market of your dreams.”

It got its start in Houston in 1983 when Arpi and Zohrab Tcholakian opened a single 2,500 square foot market and deli. Now, Phoenicia Specialty Foods has two markets — a 28,000 square foot market in downtown and a 55,000 square foot facility in Westchase, across from the original deli.

The stores offer more than 20,000 products from more than fifty countries.

Fresh bread is what it may be known for best, because of an elaborate pita bread production system that ends with a conveyer belt in the store. (Watch this episode of “Eat Like a Local” to see how it works!)

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Al Aseel

8619 Richmond Ave. | Houston

In 2012, when Al Aseel opened, they would serve just five or six chickens a day. Now, eleven years later, they average 200 chickens a day.

Ali Khatib, owner, said it’s a family business that he started quite simply because he loves cooking.

Shepherd said he had heard Al Aseel served delicious fried chicken, but it was the grilled chicken that had him hooked from his first visit. The full bird is marinated the night before it’s grilled. Shepherd said everything about it is perfect.

All the items on the menu are made from scratch at Al Aseel, including the breads and hummus.

“The texture of it is fantastic,” said Shepherd referring to Al Aseel’s hummus. “The flavor is on point.”

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Suzie’s Pastry Shoppe

8619 Richmond Ave. Suite 800 | Houston

This southwest Houston dessert shop offers an impressive assortment of authentic Mediterranean and European desserts.

Whether you want to satisfy your own sweet tooth or you’re looking to bring a box of goodies to a friend or family member’s house, Shepherd says Suzie’s Pastry Shoppe is a great place to go.

They have sugar-free options too, which are sweetened with monk fruit.

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More “Eat Like a Local” picks featured in this episode

• Al Shami: 7919 Westheimer | Houston

Bookmark the Eat Like a Local website, so you can find more restaurants serving up great food near you. We’re adding restaurants to the map every week.

Watch new episodes of “Eat Like a Local with Chris Shepherd” Saturdays at 10 a.m. on KPRC 2.

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Whether you’re looking for a place to go with your long-time sweetheart or wanting to impress someone on a first date, “Eat Like a Local” has many great options for a special evening.

In this episode of “Eat Like a Local with Chris Shepherd”, Shepherd and his wife Lindsey Brown start their date night at Montrose Cheese & Wine (1618 Westheimer Rd.}. It’s one of their top spots for small bites and delicious wine.

Then they head to Pappas Bros. Steakhouse for dinner. The steakhouse also has one of the most impressive collections of wine around — with nearly 4,000 different ones.

After that, they hit up a spot very special to Shepherd, Brennan’s of Houston, for dessert.

Scroll down for more on the restaurants, as well as places other notable Houston chefs and restaurant owners go for great cocktails and delicious dinners.

Watch this episode on KPRC 2 and KPRC 2+ at 10 a.m.

“Eat Like a Local with Chris Shepherd” is your guide to the best food in Houston. Watch new episodes Saturdays at 10 a.m. on KPRC 2.

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Pappa’s Steakhouse

1200 McKinney St. | Houston (Downtown)

5839 Westheimer Rd. | Houston (Galleria)

Shepherd and his wife share a steak whenever they go to Pappa’s Steakhouse. The reason — they want to save space for the many incredible side dishes. One of their favorites isn’t on the menu, so be sure to ask for the sautéed jalapeños if you like a bit of kick with your food.

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Brennan’s of Houston

3300 Smith | Houston

Shepherd worked at Brennan’s for nine years and says the desserts are among the best in town. His wife Lindsey loves the bananas foster, but the most impressive tableside show comes if you order the café brûlot.

Café Brûlot means burnt brandy. The alcohol is set on fire as it’s poured down a spiraling orange peel. (You’ll see how it’s made in this episode.)

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🍸 Chris Shepherd and friends share their favorite spots to get a cocktail

• If you’re into whiskey, Shepherd says Reserve 101 (1201 Caroline St.) is the place to go.
• Shepherd says the treasure box filled with cocktails and sparklers is the way to go at Winnie’s (3622 Main St.).
• Erin Smith, from Feges BBQ, says Anvil (1424 Westheimer Road) is one of her favorite spots.
• Michael Sambrooks, owner of Candente, says his favorite places are Ostia (2032 Dunlavy St.) and Refuge (1424 Westheimer Road) because he likes their martinis.

🍽 Shepherd and friends share more great date night dinner spots

• Shepherd likes Katami (2701 W. Dallas St.) is great for Japanese food. He also says March (1624 Westheimer Rd.) is a great way to go. There, you can enjoy a six or nine course testing menu.
• Erin Smith likes Bori (1453 Witte Rd.) for Korean BBQ.
• Patrick Feges, of Feges BBQ, chooses LaLucha (1801 N. Shepherd Dr.) for a nice night out.
• Aaron Bludorn, chef and owner of Bludorn restaurant, says Coltivare (3320 White Oak Dr.) is one of his favorite places to go.

Bookmark the Eat Like a Local website, so you can find more restaurants serving up great food near you. We’re adding restaurants to the map every week.

Watch new episodes of “Eat Like a Local with Chris Shepherd” Saturdays at 10 a.m. on KPRC 2.

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