The Association of Food Journalists has announced the finalists in its annual competition, and Texas fared well. Dallas, Texas, even. Leslie Brenner of The Dallas Morning News was nominated for best newspaper restaurant criticism for her continued coverage of our local restaurant scene.
And at the Houston Press, Katherine Shilcutt was nominated for best internet food issue or feature story. In her Tale of Two Dinners, Shilcutt juxtaposes two similar yet vastly different meals in the context of Houston's rapidly evolving dining scene.
While you can order fancy plates at many traditional restaurants, Houston's underground food scene has been turning out dishes that can stand up and even surpass many established fine dining restaurants. Food trucks have been turning up the heat too, offering lobster risotto and bone marrow alongside the standard issue carnitas tacos.
Shilcutt positions these smaller, more nimble food enterprises as the new guard, and I think they are one of the many reasons Houston is getting increasing attention from the rest of the country as a serious food town. Kinda make's Ruthie's Rolling Cafe seem like a snooze, eh?
The San Antonio Express-News was nominated for best food coverage as well, rounding out a decent showing for Texas publications.
Congrats to Brenner and Shilcutt. The AFJ will announce the winners of these an other categories at its annual conference this September in Washington, D.C.
