Chef Hugo Ortega Will Participate in Art Project

Hugo's chef and owner Hugo Ortega will be participating in an installment of a popular art-meets-food series to be held in an office at the Pennzoil Place building. Yesterday The New York Times ran a piece on the Houston meal, which is a part of artist Mary Ellen Carroll's "Itinerant Gastronomy" project. Past installments of this art experiment have seen construction workers having a meal on a bridge that connects Staten Island to New Jersey. But because this is Houston, this meal will hint at the city's most recognizable aspects. The artist has designed "a chair inspired by space shuttle furniture and a table inspired by the roof structure of the Astrodome," Hortega will be dining with prominent heart surgeons (honoring Houston's world-renowned medical center), and the food itself will be comprised of international dishes, a nod to this city's diversity. A pretty impressive set of characteristics, especially since they didn't hint at humidity or pollution.

The pieces can be seen at University of Houston's Blaffer Art Museum through December 7.
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Chef Hugo Ortega [Backstreet Cafe/ Facebook]