Top 10 Food & Drink Events in Houston This Month: January 2023

Dine on delicious dishes and enjoy our picks for the top food and drink events taking place around Houston in January 2023.

Houston is kicking off the new year in a delicious way, rocking happenings from hangover-curing New Year’s Day brunches to an après-ski style cheese party on the patio.

Plus, the return of annual hits including a fiery hot sauce festival and beer & chili cookoff.

Here’s all things tasty happening in Houston this month:

Top 10 Food & Drink Events in Houston This Month: January 2023

• Southern New Year’s Day Brunch at Rainbow Lodge | New Year’s Day, Sunday, January 1 – Rainbow Lodge will be serving its famous Southern-style brunch menu, featuring black-eyed peas. Dig into smoked duck gumbo, grilled chimichurri-rubbed breakfast ribeye & eggs, shrimp & white cheddar grits, and $2 mimosas until 3pm. Prices vary. 10:30am to 3pm.
• Bottomless Hangover Brunch at Hull & Oak | New Year’s Day, Sunday, January 1 – Located at the newest hotel Downtown, the Laura Hotel, hot Southern-inspired restaurant Hull & Oak is offering a New Year’s Day cure-your-hangover brunch to kick off 2023. Guests can enjoy two brunch items, black-eyed peas for good luck, and bottomless beverages with choice of Southern favorite John Dalys, signature mimosas or housemade Bloody Marys. $75. 11am to 2pm.
• Return to Life Brunch Buffet at Caracol, Hugo’s, and Xochi | New Year’s Day, Sunday, January 1 – H-Town Restaurant Group stunners Caracol, Hugo’s, and Xochi are known for their decadent Mexican brunch buffets, which you can enjoy on New Year’s Day with Mexican classics like chilaquiles, migas, huevos a la Mexicana, tostadas, chile rellenos, ceviches and more. $42; $15 for child, plus tax and gratuity. 11am to 3pm.
• Raclette Party on the Patio at Montrose Cheese & Wine | Saturday, January 14 – Head to Montrose Cheese & Wine for an après-ski style Raclette Party on the patio. Guests can oooh and ahhhh as a full wheel of cheese gets scraped onto their plates, which include potatoes with caramelized onions, cornichons and baguette slices. $22; $26 with charcuterie. 1pm ’til sold out.
• Hop Topic World’s Annual Chili Cook-Off at Equal Parts Brewing | Sunday, January 15 – Taste through chilis and enjoy Equal Parts craft beers at this annual chili cook-off, held in Second Ward off Harrisburg. General admission includes unlimited chili samples, a swag bag for early bird tickets, and a token for voting. $18. Noon; judging begins at 2pm.
• Chefs for Paws at C. Baldwin Hotel | Sunday, January 15 – Annual fundraising dinner Chefs for Paws is back to celebrate another year of saving lives. Guests can enjoy a seated, multi-course dinner from some of Houston’s top chefs and restaurants—including Alyssa Dole, Sasha Grumann, Graham Laborde, Paul Qui, Tim Reading, and more, with all proceeds going to Rescued Pets Movement’s lifesaving mission. $250 and up. 5pm to 9pm.
• 7th Annual Hops ‘n’ Hot Sauce Festival at Humble Civic Center | Saturday, January 21 – Hot sauce enthusiasts should check out the 7th Annual Hops ‘n’ Hot Sauce Festival, featuring Spindletap Brewery and fun events like the Hot Pepper Eating Contest and Spicy Food Eating Challenge. Join in for unlimited samples of hot sauces, salsas, seasonings, jellies, jams, pickled products, and more; enjoy eats from popular food trucks; and sip Spindletap brews. The event is family-friendly and covered. $10; free for ages 12 and under. 11am to 5pm.
• Yaga’s Chili Quest & Beer Fest at the Galveston Island Strand | Saturday, January 21 – The 14th Annual Chili Quest & Beer Fest returns to Galveston’s Historic Downtown Strand District for a day full of, you guessed it, chili and beer. Eat your weight in chili samples from the best cookoff teams around, then sip and stroll through 70+ brews and spirits from 1pm to 4pm. Chili tasting is $13; Beer tasting tickets are $35 and include 24 2-ounce samples and 4 spirit samples. Noon to 4pm.
• A Barrel Aged Evening at Saint Arnold Brewery | Friday, January 27 – Guests can get an exclusive glimpse inside the Saint Arnold Barrel Room and enjoy a plethora of barrel aged beers from its cellar. Admission includes samplings of eleven barrel aged beers, two straight-from-the-barrel tastings, open bar pours from its regular lineup of suds, a heavy appetizer buffet, souvenir glass, Barrel Room tour, and 500 mL bottle of Vanilla Mocha Bourbon Barrel Commitment Imperial Stout to take home. $80. 6:30pm to 9:30pm.
• Charity Prix Fixe at Etoile Cuisine et Bar | All month long – As part of its monthly charity series, the Uptown Park French restaurant is bringing awareness and helping to raise funds for Houston Habitat for Humanity, which works to provide a decent life for deserving families and individuals, all January long. Chef Philippe Verpiand has created two special prix-fixe menus with a portion of each going to the charity. Dinner menus are four courses for $74, plus tax and gratuity; Brunch menus are three courses on Saturdays and Sundays for $38, plus tax and gratuity. Times vary.