There’s a lot happening in the Houston food and beverage scene. In an effort to catch up just a little, here’s more news:

Second Servings has launched a series called Fight Hunger. End Waste. For the series, a number of Houston restaurants and bars are showcasing a zero-waste dish or cocktail. Participating spots include 93 ‘Til, Bayou & Bottle, Dozier’s BBQ, Eighteen36, El Topo, Guard and Grace, Hando and Kanpai Club, Local Foods, One Fifth Southern Comfort, Roots Wine Bar, Ristorante Cavour, Sticky’s Chicken, Tacos A Go Go, and Woodshed Smokehouse. A portion of each item sold will go to Second Servings. Visit each participating restaurant or bar for each dish.

This year’s Truffle Masters was a little different than in years past, with restaurants offering their truffle-laden dishes to the public in a restaurant-week-style event instead of at a one-night gala. In all, this year’s event raised nearly $10,000 for the Texas Food & Wine Alliance. Diners also had the opportunity to vote for their favorite black-truffle dish, and Houston’s champion is Hidden Omakase. For more, visit the Truffle Masters website.

Beard Papa’s is expanding. The Japanese cream puff proprietor is opening its third location around these parts at 2174 Spring Stuebner Rd, #360, at The Market in Springwoods Village. To mark the opening starting at 11 a.m. April 17, the new store will give Beard Papa’s mugs to the first 100 customers to purchase five dozen or more cream puffs. There will also be a live dragon and lion dance show at the opening.

With more Houstonians getting vaccinated for Covid-19 and fewer cases being reported daily, there’s plenty more activity happening in the city’s food and beverage scene. Here’s a partial list of upcoming events.

April 9–11, 16–18, 23–25: Messina Hof is inviting people to come up to its Estate Winery in Bryan for its Wines & Roses Festival. Enjoy tastings, classes, and more activities over three distinct weekends. This weekend is a wine and family weekend, which includes fun for dogs; April 16–18 is a wine and food weekend, with pairing classes and cooking demonstrations; and April 23–25 is a wine and art weekend, with a spring market, a dinner with live music, and a grape stomp competition. For more information and tickets, visit the winery’s website.

April 10: Public crawfish cook-offs are back! Cactus Cove is hosting one Saturday. Pay $25 to get five pounds of crawdads, sample all the offerings, and vote for your favorite. Additional pounds can be purchased, too. Live music and face painting also offered. Go here for tickets.

April 17: Top Chef contestants Dawn Burrell and Sasha Grumman are teaming up for a bake sale at Tenfold Coffee at 101 Aurora St in the Heights. They’ll bake a range of treats, from black sesame waffles with jasmine cream to focaccia toast with whipped ricotta and tomato jam, and you can browse and pre-order here through April 16.

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