Life + Arts

Houstonians fill up plates for charity

Houston’s culinary event of the year roars into town Tuesday as the Houston Press puts on Menu of Menus. In its seventh year, attendees can expect a little something different.

Director of marketing Lori Alexander said Menu of Menus is changing things up a little.

‘The venue is new and both of our charities are new,’ Alexander said. ‘Discovery Green is one of them, and then the Center for Hearing and Speech is one of our charities so we’re excited to be working with them.’

Tickets to the event are $35, and include tastes of Houston’s best restaurants.’

‘A $35 ticket means a sampling from about 34 restaurants here in Houston and it also includes beer, wine and liquor tasting,’ Alexander said. ‘Right now we have Budweiser bringing a ton of their craft beers and then Tito’s Vodka comes on board with Sweet Leaf Tea and they’ll sample together, and then we have about 18 different wineries.”

In past years, the event has been held at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, but Allisen Picos, marketing coordinator at the Houston Press, said they were looking for something a little different this year.

‘I know we’ve done it at the museum for the past couple of years,’ Picos said. ‘But people are excited to see something a little fresh, and that venue may have gotten a little stale.”

Though they’ve switched venues over the years, Menu of Menus has been held in Houston for the past six years.

‘This is our seventh year and it’s actually an idea that our publisher came up with,’ Alexander said. ‘We’ve actually implemented it into all of our media markets. So there’s a Menu of Menus in Denver, there’s a Menu of Menus in L.A., and it’s just been really successful for us.’

After six years, Houstonians are still excited about the event.

‘(In ticket sales) we’re tracking above last year so we’re excited,’ Alexander said. ‘I think Discovery Green has a lot to do with that, it’s kind of a hot spot here in Houston right now and people are excited to check it out.’

VIP tickets are also on sale for $75, and include early admission to the event.

‘The benefit of getting in early is that we’re only selling a minimum amount of those tickets,’ Picos said. ‘So people that get in an hour earlier will have the ability to stroll around leisurely and sample other restaurants at their own pace before the masses come.’

Menu of Menus will also feature a voting element.

‘Everyone who walks in the door will receive voting tokens,’ Picos said. ‘They get to vote on which restaurant they think has the best food and also who has the best booth because we try to encourage all the restaurants to bring decorative things to make their table stand out.’

Though voting has taken place in earlier years, both Picos and Alexander said this year, the ballot boxes will be more visible on each restaurant’s table.

All of the restaurants participating in Menu of Menus, are in the glossy publication the Houston Press puts out each year. The issue, named after the event, is dedicated to highlighting Houston restaurants. ‘

‘The event is really a celebration of our special issue that we produce this time of the year,’ Picos said. ‘It’s also called the Menu of Menus and this event was kind of built around it.’

Tickets are $35 for regular admission and $75 for early VIP admittance.’

Since there will be alcohol sampling, sales are limited to those 21 and up.’

Alexander said she expects tickets to sell out online, but those that aren’t sold will be available at the door.

Tickets can be purchased online at http://www.houstonpress.com/microsites/menu-of-menus.

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