Patrise Shuttlesworth

The wizened cook of The Whistlestop Café, Sipsey, said about the local sheriff, "Oh it don't make no kind of sense. Big ol' ox like Grady won't sit next to a colored child. But he eats eggs- shoot right outta chicken's ass!" Grady, in Fried Green Tomatoes, may have been a little bit racist, but he knew the virtue of fresh eggs.

Americans, even urban ones, have been sidling up to the idea of growing their own food, sparked by a yen for better-tasting, healthier fare, food safety concerns, and economic necessity. With backyard gardens more common, the idea of backyard poultry has begun to sneak through the gate. This is a big step. I doubt there is a single country, besides ours, that views the city chicken as a complete aberration.

For us, many miles and many layers of plastic, Styrofoam and abstraction separate city dwellers from the places where their food is grown, so the sound of crowing and clucking has come as a shock. It also flies in the face of local ordinances, which vary widely from one state or municipality to the next. Houston's Municipal Code , for example, spells out the particulars of chicken ownership within city limits. It's not hard to meet the code requirements.

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The Beef Ravioli Meal, Ready to Eat (MRE) was the best option on my post Hurricane Katrina menu.

​Six years ago, citizens of the Gulf Coast were starting to understand the immediate implications of their world post Hurricane Katrina. Power had been out since the storm made landfall, which meant that refrigeration systems were inoperable, food was spoiling, and people were hungry. Eventually federal, local and volunteer aid agencies started to distribute cooked meals to those affected by the storm.

In the interim, the National Guard and police distributed MREs (Meal, Ready to Eat) at filling stations and by Humvee. MREs are a full day's calories consisting of an entree, appetizer, dessert, beverage and accessories (i.e. a heater, condiments, gum and toilet paper) packaged in a waterproof vinyl pouch.

A deputy sheriff delivered two cases (12 per case) of MREs to Mom and me at her home in the dense, piney woods 20 minutes north of Lake Pontchartrain. It was finally time to take a break from our cans of cold Chef Boyardee ravioli.

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foodanddrinkdigital.com

Big Tex, State Fair mascot who turns 59 this year, wears a 75 gallon hat and size 70 boots.

​As soon as you walk through the gates of a state fair, whatever "diet" you may be on becomes null and void. If you're watching your carbs, trying to stay away from fried foods or cutting back on sweets, you may as well just stay home. Golden-battered goodies and chocolate-covered everything can be found around every corner, and most are served on sticks for your convenience. Forks? Psshhhttt. But a state fair is like the Louvre. Try as you might, you just can't see (or eat) everything in one day.

The State Fair of Texas, the largest in the country, kicks off in Dallas on the 30th of this month. Each year, food vendors compete for the Big Tex Choice Award, an honor bestowed upon only the tastiest and most creative edible inventions. With past winners like fried beer and fried butter, the bar is set pretty high. On Labor Day, the votes were tallied and the winners announced.

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The sun is angry.

​Every day so far in August, we've watched the mercury climb over 100 degrees. Combined with the lack of rain, this summer has been brutal not only to us but also to our botanicals. My husband and I had planted our first urban garden this spring with the hopes of harvesting ingredients for some truly fresh home-cooked meals. Unfortunately, with the way the climate has been going this summer, we got little more than burnt tomatoes and dying lemons.

The scorching son has decided to prematurely dry our herbs for us, but we have no fresh fruits and vegetables with which to eat them--only wizened, half-dead stumps where vegetables used to be. This year, we'll attribute our brown thumbs to our status as unseasoned gardeners, but next year, I swear our garden will be a rainforest of vegetation--with or without that rain--thanks to these five gardening tips for when the sun is plenty but the rain runs scarce.

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Photo by Randy Robertson

Bonus points if you can get someone at your party to wear a hat just like this.

​Many of you will no doubt be spending Memorial Day in a backyard somewhere -- maybe not even your own -- grilling and barbecuing the day away.

And since you're already going to be doing both of these activities, we want you to snap a photo of your festivities and send it in to us at hpcontest at houstonpress.com. We're holding a contest over Memorial Day Weekend to see who has the grandest grill set-up (or the baddest barbecue pit) and who has the most tantalizing tablescape.

A $50 gift card to Randall's, to stock up on more supplies for your next big party, will be awarded to the person who sends in the best grilling or barbecuing photo.

And another $50 gift card to Randall's will be awarded to the person who sends in the best photo of their Memorial Day dining or party setup.

Even if you don't win one of our grand prizes, your photos will be featured in our Memorial Day slideshow on Tuesday. Winners will also be announced on Tuesday, so make sure your photos are in to hpcontest at houstonpress.com by 6 p.m. on Monday, May 30.

Photo by John Suh

The mudbugs before I tore them up.

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I used to host crawfish boils and cook the critters myself -- that is, until my garage started to smell like Galveston at its worst and then stayed that way for the next three months. I gave up and got my seasonal crawfish fix elsewhere, but that isn't cheap.

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Photo by Groovehouse

Get your tropical drink on at Kata Robata's intimate patio.

​Over the last four weeks, we have been guiding you around Houston's best patios in several different categories:

• The best places to catch up with friends
• The best places to bring the kids
• The best places to pretend you're on vacation
• The best places to drink a glass of wine

This week's fifth and final category: Houston's unexpected treasures.

Kata Robata

From the street, you may think that Kata Robata is merely another sushi joint -- albeit Houston's best sushi joint -- in a strip mall. But the restaurant has cleverly carved out an intimate patio at the rear of its space, perfect for the robata portion of its name. And the sushi bar has also been putting on fabulous happy hours there recently, where sous chef Seth Siegel-Gardner occasionally gives away such goodies as roasted suckling pig.

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Photo by Groovehouse

Behind the front doors at Baba Yega is one of Houston's grande dame patios.

​​​​With patio weather season in full swing, Houstonians are absolutely spoiled for places to enjoy the day outside. And sometimes all you know is that you're in the mood for a patio, but can't figure out where to go. So how do you choose?

Over five weeks, we'll be guiding you around Houston's best patios in several different categories:

• Unexpected treasures
• The best places to bring the kids
• The best places to pretend you're on vacation
• The best places to drink a glass of wine

This week's category: The best places to catch up with friends.

Baba Yega

If the patio at Baba Yega were a person, it would be the Queen Mother. No other patio in Houston quite holds a candle to this sprawling, lush, quirky, sunny, wonderfully unique outdoor area that's expanded several times over the years. Even the "indoor area" has a patio feel to it with views onto the beautifully landscaped gardens and fountains. There isn't a bad spot in the entire place, and the Sunday brunch buffet is the perfect way to catch up with your friends after a long week. (It's also the ideal kick-off spot for Sunday Funday, I'm just saying.)

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Photos by Katharine Shilcutt

Maybe only have one of these at Goode Co. Taqueria if you've got the kids in tow.

​​​With patio weather season in full swing, Houstonians are absolutely spoiled for places to enjoy the day outside. And sometimes all you know is that you're in the mood for a patio, but can't figure out where to go. So how do you choose?

Over the next five weeks, we'll be guiding you around Houston's best patios in several different categories:

• Unexpected treasures
• The best places to catch up with friends
• The best places to pretend you're on vacation
• The best places to drink a glass of wine

This week's category: The best places to bring the kids.

Goode Co. Taqueria

Get your little ones a mesquite burger or a cheese quesadilla from the five-item kids' menu here, then give them a handful of pennies and take a seat next to the giant fountain on the patio. They'll spend the entire time trying to get the pennies into the mouths of the little concrete crocodiles that sit in the water and you'll get plenty of time to eat your food and drink a Corona.

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Backstreet Cafe

​​With patio weather season in full swing, Houstonians are absolutely spoiled for places to enjoy the day outside. And sometimes all you know is that you're in the mood for a patio, but can't figure out where to go. So how do you choose?

Over the next five weeks, we'll be guiding you around Houston's best patios in several different categories:

• Unexpected treasures
• The best places to catch up with friends
• The best places to bring the kids
• The best places to pretend you're on vacation

And this week's category: The best places to drink a glass of wine. Sometimes all you want to do after work or on the weekend is relax in a quiet setting that's doesn't have the pulsing vibrations of a Sunday Funday crowd or dozens of kids underfoot. These are your patios.

Backstreet Cafe

With one of the best sommeliers in the city -- Sean Beck -- and one of the prettiest patios, Backstreet is a surefire bet for this category. If you dress up, you can pretend like you're a Lady Who Lunches, even if only for the afternoon. And to quote ourselves, the best thing about Backstreet Cafe is that "the food is better than it has to be."

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