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Thanksgiving with Chef Hugo Ortega and family at Backstreet Cafe

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Published  November 27, 2024 1:23pm CST
Foodies and Friends
FOX 26 Houston

Foodies & Friends: Backstreet Cafe

Contributor Katie Stone showcases popular restaurants within the Bayou City. This week, she takes us to Backstreet Cafe.

HOUSTON - For those of you who may not know, Chef Hugo Ortega began his career in the restaurant business at Backstreet Café, first as dishwasher and busboy and later as a line cook, before graduating from Houston Community College's culinary program and later becoming its executive chef and owner, along with wife Tracy Vaught. 

A former geologist, Vaught decided to forsake the oil business for a more people-oriented profession and opened Backstreet Café, her first restaurant, in 1983. Together, they have created an award-winning Houston restaurant family that also includes Hugo's, Caracol, Xochi, and URBE.

Katie Stone shares some Thanksgiving traditional foods and discovers a delicious holiday fruitcake, while talking with Chef Ortega and his daughter Sophia about being a restaurant family during the holidays, favorite foods and family traditions.

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Backstreet Café is located at 1103 S Shepherd Dr, Houston, TX 77019. 

Hours of Operation:

  • Tuesday to Thursday: 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
  • Friday: 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.
  • Saturday: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
  • Sunday: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

More information about the restaurant and special holiday events can be found on their website at backstreetcafe.net

Backstreet Café is closed on Thanksgiving Day and on Christmas Day.

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The Cleverley Stone Foundation was created by Cleverley’s daughter, Katie Stone, to continue her Mother’s mission and legacy of supporting Houston Restaurant Weeks benefiting the Houston Food Bank, which takes place August 1st through Labor Day each year. Together, Houstonians and Houston restaurant owners have raised more than $18 million over the past 20 years to support the Houston Food Bank and the hunger needs of our community.

Houston Restaurant Weeks and its sister event Eat Drink HTX is the largest annual fundraiser for the nation’s largest food bank. The Houston Food Bank services an 18-county area in southeast Texas.

More about the Cleverley Stone Foundation can be found here.

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