Armando’s 2630 Westheimer Road. (713) 520-1738.
Seats: 80.Cuisine: Mexican.Specialties: queso flameado; beef fajitas with rice and beans; Armando’s cut 8-ounce beef tenderloin with rice and beans.Main courses: $12-$29.Chef: Rafael Ramirez.Owner: Armando Palacios.
Monarch 5701 Main St. at Hotel ZaZa. (713) 526-1991.
Seats: 245.Cuisine: American with Tuscan twist.Specialties: deconstructed ahi roll with avocado, crab ceviche, sushi rice and white-truffle dressing; baby spinach salad with candy-wrap goat cheese, toasted pine nuts, warm bacon and balsamic vinaigrette; seared ginger beef with wasabi cream, sesame whipped potatoes and shiitake demi.Main courses: $8-$42.Executive chef: Bradley Manchester.Owner: Givens-Records Development.
REEF 2600 Travis St. (713) 526-8282.
Seats: 150 in main room, 40 in private room, 50 at bar, 25 on patio.Cuisine: seafood.Specialties: tempura-fried soft-shell crab; snapper carpaccio with grapefruit and garlic bruschetta; seafood “hot pot” with fingerling potatoes.Main courses: $15-$29.Chef: Bryan Caswell.Owners: Caswell and Bill Floyd.
Vin 530 Texas Ave. (713) 237-9600.
Seats: 125 in main room, 30 on patio, 14 in private room.Cuisine: contemporary American with Southern European influences.Specialties: Gulf shrimp and grits with spicy head-on shrimp, andouille and smoked paprika oil; oven-roasted, bone-in beef filet with Maine lobster mac and cheese; the “World’s Tiniest Desserts.”Main courses: $24-$38.Chef: Jared Estes.Owner: Reed Cordish.
Yatra Brasserie 706 Main St. (713) 224-6700.
Seats: 85.Cuisine: Indian.Specialties: samosa chaat; chicken tikka masala; and Goan shrimp curry.Main courses: $8-$18.Chef: A. Sing.Owner: Alyana Entertainment LLC.
FOOD & BEVERAGE DIGESTS Chicken and apple salad debuts at Donatos COLUMBUS OHIO —Donatos Pizza, a 175-unit chain based here, has rolled out a chicken salad. The Chicken Harvest Salad is made with chicken, red apples, blue cheese crumbles, cranberries, honey-roasted pecans and bacon on romaine. It comes with an apple cider vinaigrette. —Donatos Pizza, a 175-unit chain based here, has rolled out a chicken salad. The company plans to make the $6.29 salad a permanent menu item. —Donatos Pizza, a 175-unit chain based here, has rolled out a chicken salad. Avocado producers seek recipes in contest —Donatos Pizza, a 175-unit chain based here, has rolled out a chicken salad. NEW YORK —Avocados from Mexico is handing out cash for recipes. Its annual “Fiesta Time” contest is open to all chefs and sous chefs employed at foodservice operations in the United States. The deadline for entries is Aug. 31. —Avocados from Mexico is handing out cash for recipes. All original recipes must have Hass avocados as a key ingredient. Each will be judged according to taste, visual appeal, originality and ease of preparation. Cash prizes of $2,000, $1,500 and $1,000 will be given to the first-, second- and third-place winners, respectively. Two $500 honorable mention prizes also will be awarded. —Avocados from Mexico is handing out cash for recipes. Additional information regarding the contest may be found at Specialty shows to co-locate with IH/M&RS —Avocados from Mexico is handing out cash for recipes. NEW YORK —Three specialty food trade shows will co-locate with this year’s International Hotel/Motel and Restaurant Show, which will be held Nov. 10-13 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center here. Expo Comida Latina, All Asia Food and Kosherfest will shift to a Sunday-to-Monday format to coincide with the traditional Saturday-to-Tuesday IH/M&RS. The new schedule will allow for an additional day of cross-market access for attendees of all four shows, show managers say. The event, which features 2,000 exhibitors, is expected to draw some 45,000 buyers, representing the largest showcase of its kind in North America. —Three specialty food trade shows will co-locate with this year’s International Hotel/Motel and Restaurant Show, which will be held Nov. 10-13 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center here. “The co-location with Cultural Food New York, which includes Expo Comida Latina, All Asia Food and Kosherfest, will provide IH/M&RS attendees with an opportunity to discover products beyond their norm,” IH/M&RS show manager Christian Falkenberg says. “This is truly a comprehensive market experience, with traditional food products and cutting-edge restaurant equipment featured at the IH/M&RS, and culturally diverse food and beverage products a few steps away.” —Three specialty food trade shows will co-locate with this year’s International Hotel/Motel and Restaurant Show, which will be held Nov. 10-13 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center here. Chefs on the Move —Three specialty food trade shows will co-locate with this year’s International Hotel/Motel and Restaurant Show, which will be held Nov. 10-13 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center here. Sydney Frey, the former pastry chef of Buddakan in Philadelphia, is now pastry chef of 26brix Restaurant in Walla Walla, Wash. Joining her as chef de cuisine at 26brix is Larkin Young, former chef de cuisine of Salish Lodge and Spa in Snoqualmie, Wash.… Sergio Navarro, who was pastry chef of Nobu in Miami, is now corporate pastry chef of SushiSamba, based in New York… Daniel Parilla has been promoted to executive chef of 5 Ninth in New York City, replacing Zak Pelaccio, who left to pursue other interests… Lon Symensma has been promoted from sous chef to executive chef of Buddakan in New York, replacing Michael Schulson, who has left to make a television show… Mary Grace Viado, former executive chef of Village Tavern in Birmingham, Ala., has been promoted to corporate executive chef for the eight-unit Village Tavern chain, based in Winston-Salem, N.C. —Three specialty food trade shows will co-locate with this year’s International Hotel/Motel and Restaurant Show, which will be held Nov. 10-13 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center here.
