Convenience Big Store: Inside the legal issues among Trill Burgers' co-founders

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I was forced into the role of armchair diner this week while I fought off whatever respiratory thing is going around.

For somebody who's more on the "Live to Eat" side of the "Eat to Live" spectrum, that was Not Fun. Some days, it was too much effort to even feed myself more than Triscuits with peanut butter. When did Triscuits get so damn salty, anyway?

But thanks to my food team colleagues, I could dream. I stared longingly at barbecue writer J.C. "Chris" Reid's photo of the smoked-meatball sub at Brett's BBQ Shop in Katy, fantasizing about drone delivery.

Then I scrolled down to read Reid's counterintuitive theory of why our hot summer season is actually a good time to eat barbecue. Hint: It's not just about shorter lines. And I loved the tip about visiting right after a big holiday weekend. Why didn't I think of that?

I felt a pang at Bao Ong's news that Xin Chao, chef Christine Ha's first brick-and-mortar restaurant after her food hall debut, had been closed by her opening partner, Tony Nguyen. And yes, the abysmal 2024 crawfish season played a part.

I tsk-tsked over Sonia Garcia's timeline of Trill Burger's eventful first year of life.

I raised an eyebrow over the news that the insanely talented Emmanuel Chavez, of Tatemo, had been passed over for Best Chef: Texas at the James Beard Awards. I may have muttered something unprintable under my breath, too — but then, I'm allergic to the Beard Awards in its current opaque guise.

I chortled over Ong's bulletin that a social-media influencer is behind a fancy new French-ish patio drinks spot in the trendy Montrose Collective, replete with "aristocrat-meets-artist-inspired interiors," and "house-curated shots."

What a time to be alive, I told myself between coughing fits. Oh, yeah: Somewhere in the middle of my ordeal, I wrote a thing. My only explanation of how I managed to work in a Houston-proud reference to Maori haka is that I was experiencing a low-grade fever at the time.

Until next week, over but not out.