Chef Damarr Brown Shows off his Sweet Side on ‘Top Chef: Houston’

Warning: Spoilers Ahead

Episode 8 of Top Chef: Houston aired on Thursday, April 22, and while it may feel like a broken record, Chicago chef Damarr Brown continues to stand out from his peers.

Brown, who works with chef Erick Williams at Hyde Park’s acclaimed Virtue, delivered a knockout punch for his Restaurant Wars team, making what judge Tom Colicchio hailed as the best carrot cake he’s ever had. The cake helped power Brown’s team into another victory.

The cake was almost a tragedy thanks to Top Chef’s signature oven drama. The temperature wasn’t set high enough while baking, forcing Brown to think quickly, hiking up the temp and then cutting around the undercooked potions before serving dessert to the judges. Apparently, the gaffe didn’t bother Colicchio. Imagine how the cake would have tasted if baked properly? For the full recap, head to Eater Houston.

Michelin-starred Kasama gets the documentary treatment

No Place Like Kasama, a documentary film about the only Michelin-starred Filipino restaurant in the country, has secured a local screening on Monday, May 9 at the Den Theater in Wicker Park. Kasama co-owners Genie Kwon and Tim Flores will hold a Q&A session afterward. Tickets are available online.

Craft beer tastings come to a Ravenswood music festival

Square Roots, a food and music festival thrown by the Lincoln Square Ravenswood Chamber of Commerce and the Old Town School of Folk Music, is celebrating its 10th anniversary. Now with a new a craft beer component — a specialty tasting booth called the Brew Lounge — the street fest returns from July 8 to July 10 between the 4400 and 4600 block of North Lincoln Avenue (from Wilson to Montrose).

Beer drinkers can toast to wedded bliss with new Miller-branded fashion accessories

Miler High Life is partnering with clothing shop Tie Bar on a line of special products celebrating the Champagne of Beers. Particularly, the line focuses on weddings. Find silk neckties, gold cufflinks shaped like beer bottle caps, and a garment bag that transforms into a beer cooler. Miller isn’t the only food and beverage brand to target spouses-to-be: Chicago street food chain Portillo’s in 2019 unveiled a “newlywed spread” featuring hot dog-shaped cufflinks, an engagement photoshoot inside a Portillo’s restaurant, and cheese sauce fountain.

Check out Miller’s selections in the photo below.

Tie Bar