Chicken necking or traps?

By Katie Walsh on June 24, 2017 Filed Under: Features, Frontpage 1 Comment

A crab fished from the water at Highland Bayou hangs in a net. Crabbing is a simple and accessible pastime that requires little more than a piece of chicken, a net or trap, and patience. Photo by Stuart Villanueva

Both are tried and true methods for netting a magnificent meal

Crab season in Texas is better than it has been in many years. For the past few seasons, crabbers have seen a lot more big, meaty blue crabs — so why are they so hard to find at grocery stores, fish markets or local restaurants? [Read more…]

Found in translation

By Katie Walsh on August 27, 2016 Filed Under: Food & Drink, Frontpage Leave a Comment

Geraldo Schaun chops cilantro for his moqueca dish in the kitchen of his Galveston home. Photo by Stuart Villanueva

Diverse dining scene on Texas Coast offers a world tour of Gulf seafood

People from around the world call the upper Texas Coast home, bringing with them cultural influences and culinary traditions. [Read more…]

Planting seeds

By Katie Walsh on August 27, 2016 Filed Under: Features, Frontpage 1 Comment

John Sessions, left, co-founder of Seeding Galveston, hands Robert Smith sacks of okra, collard greens and pomegranates at a weekly farmstand at the neighborhood farm. Photo by Jennifer Reynolds

Urban farm concept gives islanders access to fresh and local food

A few years ago, the corner of 33rd Street and Avenue N in Galveston was a littered, overgrown vacant lot. Today, it’s lined with rows of raised garden beds growing seasonal vegetables and fruit tree saplings beginning to lay down their roots. [Read more…]

Following the fish

By Katie Walsh on July 30, 2016 Filed Under: Features, Frontpage Leave a Comment

Ideal conditions, intuition and experience get better bites

Most novice anglers plan their fishing trips around their next day off, when their buddy with the boat is available, or where they feel like posting up for a while. [Read more…]

Harborside Mercantile

By Katie Walsh on June 25, 2016 Filed Under: Table Surfing Leave a Comment

Pecan-smoked sticky ribs with bourbon cane barbecue sauce and pickled watermelon rind. Photo by Jennifer Reynolds

Southern coastal restaurant brings out the island’s inner Creole

On the miniature cutting board before me, cornmeal-crusted oysters spill over slabs of Texas toast, revealing lacy leaves of arugula and a deep red tomato so juicy it must have just been sliced. [Read more…]

Mad about mudbugs

By Katie Walsh on February 27, 2016 Filed Under: Food & Drink, Frontpage Leave a Comment

Rhonda Sykes displays a large crawfish while enjoying Crawfish Night at Bubba’s at Tiki, a sports bar and grill. Photo by Stuart Villanueva

Once a rare and wild treat, crawfish has become a tail-twisting Texas tradition

An unusually warm and wet winter brought crawfish season early this year, with the first signs of them fresh, live and by the pound at the beginning of January. And lucky for all you mudbug lovers out there, all signs point to a consistent abundance of them through July. [Read more…]

Gumbo or chili?

By Katie Walsh on January 30, 2016 Filed Under: Food & Drink, Frontpage 1 Comment

Executive Chef James Lundy ladles roux into a steam kettle while preparing seafood gumbo at Little Daddy’s Gumbo Bar in League City. Photo by Stuart Villanueva

Coastal Texans have the best of both culinary worlds when it comes to winter comfort foods

It’s hard to say what residents in these parts turn to more when it’s cold — chili or gumbo. [Read more…]

Make your bones

By Katie Walsh on January 30, 2016 Filed Under: Food & Drink Leave a Comment

The makings of a golden tile fish stock with bones and bits of celery, leeks, cilantro, parsley and whole garlic cloves. Photo by Katie Walsh

A quest to revive the lost art of homemade fish stock

One of the real prizes of living on the coast is having access to the freshest fish around. And maybe the most oft-overlooked secret to buying and cooking with fresh fish is knowing how to use the whole animal — not just the fillets — which can stretch your catch from only a few servings to several meals. The key? Homemade stock, or broth. [Read more…]