(Clockwise from top left) Oxtails and gravy with a side of cabbage and collard greens with smoked turkey from Johnae’s Soulfood in Dickinson; The Creole Connection from Big Phil’s Soul & Creole Café in Texas City featuring fried catfish with a creamy Creole sauce over dirty rice; Bryan-Keyth Wilson’s peach cobbler and homemade ice cream; Oilicia Alexander’s macaroni and cheese. Photos by Jennifer Reynolds
For the past five years, Carla Smith, owner of Memorable Moments Event Lounge in La Marque, and Carter 7 Grand Events, has been planning and decorating weddings and events. Smith worked closely with an event planner for her own wedding in 2014 and wanted to help other brides turn their dreams into reality. Photo by Stuart Villanueva
Johnny Smecca holds a bowl of cioppino at Mario’s Seawall Italian Restaurant in Galveston. The hearty fisherman’s stew is loaded with shrimp, fish, mussels and snow crab legs. Photo by Stuart Villanueva
Marcus and Yolanda Davis sit on the back patio of their Mediterranean-style home in Friendswood. Photo by Stuart Villanueva
First-time authors Heidi Lutz and Christine Ruiz Hopkins wrote “100 Things to do in Galveston Before You Die,” which was released in April. Courtesy photo
Officially, chili is the state dish. But Texans are nearly 14 times more likely to think steak is, according to trade group Beef Loving Texans, which conducted a survey with the Texas Department of Agriculture to test theories on Texans’ passion for beef. Whether you like it rare or well done, these restaurants know steak. [Read more…]