Dish-Houston

BY DISH CONTRIBUTOR: DONNA SAA

Shepherd Park Draught House is almost quickly passed over when driving down Shepherd. Its location is secluded on the corner of Shepherd and 34^th next to Pinks Pizza. It’s a quaint pub with an intoxicating ambiance that feels as if you have walked through a time machine back to the 80’s with great hair rock and roll music constantly playing and the same styled décor gives an illuminating atmosphere accompanied with tall red booths. The booths were inspired by the old school 80s look, but to also create an air of intimacy in the small space provided. Most of the décor on the walls are from Ken Bridge, the Head Chef and Owner, it’s his personal collection.

Bridge says it best,

“No matter how much money you have, you can’t buy ambiance or character.”

The pub plays on different atmospheres from a family restaurant, a local sports bar, a casual lunch with friends space or business associates meeting to discuss the latest deal, and even a girls night out talking over a fine bottle of wine place. Named after the area it surrounds, this pub delivers what any neighborhood wants: A place where you can be a “regular.” Bridge who used to skateboard around these parts as a child wanted to pay respects to the area he always knew and called Shepherd Park. He likes the area because The Heights is getting so overcrowded and a bit congested. The area he opened Shepherd Park in is as he describes, “the new Heights.”

This perfectly located pub has so much more to offer than merely atmosphere, which is always a huge part of any experience. The food is nothing short of heavenly. The dishes are all unique creations of Chef Bridge, also owner of Houston favorites, such as Pinks Pizza, Lola and Dragon Bowl. He asks for only one thing: no alternatives to dishes. But trust DISH when we say, you will not want to change a single thing. The amazing textures and the unique and sometimes strange combinations will leave you salivating for more and eating off of each other’s plates.  Chef Bridge explains that the inability to alternate any item on the menu is so that people can

“challenge themselves and explore different combinations. I want people to open their minds and challenge their palates.”

And boy, do you! My own personal favorite, the Poblano Burger, is a concoction created by Bridge after his recent (6 years) exposure and use of cilantro. Never imagined a burger stacked with an overwhelming amount of fresh cilantro could make such a riveting combination, but I constantly find myself ordering the rare treat time and time again. The Thai Curry Chicken is another wonderful dish especially for those weary of Indian food. This meal brings together the great flavors of curry chicken, without too much of the overwhelming flavors that many are reluctant to try. Only thing not on the menu is pizza. What are we to do when we want a pizza to go with our football game? Don’t fret too much. Go over next door to Pinks Pizza, order yourself a large and bring it in to Shepherd Park. It’s that easy!

While enjoying your meal, you’ll want to wash everything down with a beer from one of their great beer selections. The beer menu is short, but not generic by any means. The small but welcoming area only offers a limited amount of space and the 15 beers on tap and jam packed in there to create a diverse, yet local selection. The offerings range from St. Arnolds, Shiner, Southern Star and Leprechaun Apple Cider – all Texas owned favorites. You won’t find any over-exposed brands at this local pub. Most of these beers are Texas owned and brewed and who can argue with that brilliant reasoning? Just when you thought it was over … the bar offers brunch every Saturday and Sunday for the amazing flavors to follow you through the weekend. If you didn’t think Shipley’s Donuts could get any better, try it with bacon and whipped cream, in an amazing concoction called the Donut Waffle. This locally Houston owned treasure is a gem at the end of a long exhausting hunt for great food and a great environment.  

AND DISH IS A JUDGE!!

Join DISH and Mike Cortez of Bite Me Houston THIS Saturday March 12th for the public tasting and competition at the 2011 Texas Tequila Throwdown. The event will take place at Momentum BMW Southwest (10002 S W Freeway, Houston, Texas 77074) from 8pm-11pm.

Each Texas Tequila company is hoping to be awarded the best Tequila in Texas for 2011...who do you think will win???

The Texas Tequila Throwdown is a free event and is open to the public 21 of age and up. We are asking attendees to donate canned goods and nonperishable items for the Houston Food Bank. Nothing more wonderful than having a great time while building the local businesses and helping the local community!! TRIPLE WIN!!

El Gran Jubileo Tequila (La Grange), Toro de Lidia Tequila (Laredo), Cavalino Tequila (Katy), Tequila Ambhar (Austin) Riazul Tequila (Houston), Dulce Vida Tequila (Austin), Pepe Z Tequila (Austin), Tequila 1921 (San Antonio) and Sangre Altena Tequila are just a few of the Texas companies that are looking forward to this year’s event all in hopes to be awarded the best Tequila in Texas.

Each company will feature their Blanco, Reposado and Anejo and a winner will be selected from each category. This will be a blind tasting and the tequila will be rated on a points scale according to appearance, aroma and flavor by a mixed panel of judges....Including yours truly!

Bite Me *Houston* is a local blog written by Mike Cortez featuring Houston businesses for their food and drinks. Striving to set himself apart from the other foodies in Houston, Mike is always looking to support local companies and is giving back to the city. AND DISH LOVES HIM!!

www.BiteMeHouston.com

Come on DISHIES! You know you want it and now you can have it "Just the way you like it"!

TUESDAY JUNE 22, 2010 Stop by any Whataburger for a free breakfast!!

The free Breakfast on a Bun event is part of Whataburger Serves. It's all about building employee team spirit and morale, customer appreciation fun moments with free food and community builders that support groups in need.

Did you know that WHATABURGER is Texas based??

It's soo true!! Whataburger has focused on its fresh, made-to-order burgers and friendly customer service since 1950 when Harmon Dobson opened the first Whataburger as a small roadside burger stand in Corpus Christi , Texas!!

Dobson gave his restaurant a name he hoped to hear customers say every time they took a bite of his made-to-order burgers:  “What a burger!” Within the first week, people lined up around the block for his 25 cent, all-American beef burgers served on five-inch buns. Today, the company is headquartered in San Antonio , Texas , with more than 700 locations in 10 states with sales of more than $1 billion annually.

Now THAT'S a success story DISH can take a bite out of!!

Houston Day Trip: Yepez Vineyard, Baytown, Texas

It doesn’t look like most people’s idea of Baytown, but there it is…off a quiet dirt road, set back off the gulf: Yepez Vineyard. Cows lazily graze alongside several rows of grape vines while a gulf breeze steadily blows. An adobe-style tasting room is where you will find Lena Yepez, awaiting visitors and happily offering samples of available vintages. Yepez Vineyard offers between six and eight wines at any one time. Their most popular with the locals is the White Zinfandel, but I liked their Merlot the best. Both Lena and her husband, David, joyously answer questions about their grapes and wine-making process.  

It’s a relaxed environment and guests are invited to take a seat at one of several tables inside or out on the patio to enjoy their wine. Every Sunday, the winery offers live music and several times a year special concerts are held on the property. You are encouraged to linger, bring your family and friends, and even pack your own picnic!

It’s a family operation so expect to see the Yepez’s two daughters playing around in between the vines with their new yellow lab puppy, Elvis. Their names grace some of the winery’s most popular selections! Several events are planned for the fall including a ‘Fall Fest’ and Christmas Market. Check the winery’s website for event details.  www.yepezvineyard.com

- Submitted by DISHIE Rhia Robinson - Wine lover and Yogi extraordinaire.