Rapper Slim Thug Teams Up With Houston Restaurant to Raise Money for Education Charity

Welcome to AM Intel in the time of coronavirus, a round-up of the city’s newest bits of restaurant-related intel. Follow Eater on Facebook and Twitter for up-to-date details on how COVID-19 is impacting the city’s dining scene.

Slim Thug and Chick’nCone team up to create meal benefitting Boss Life Foundation

Houston rapper Slim Thug has teamed up with fried chicken chain Chickn’Cone for a special dish benefitting Thugga’s nonprofit organization Boss Life Foundation. The ‘Still Tippin’ Cone, named for the rapper’s collab with fellow Houstonian Mike Jones, features fried chicken strips in a crispy waffle cone, topped with spicy Kickin’ Ranch sauce and macaroni and cheese. The dish will be available at Houston’s Chick’nCone starting April 22, and a dollar from each sale will benefit Boss Life, which focuses on education programs for young men ages 8 to 24. Slim will also host two meet-and-greets at the restaurant, at 1919 North Shepherd Drive, at 4 p.m. on April 22 and May 6. Find out more at Chick’nCone’s Facebook.

Vaccines now available to all adult Houstonians, no appointment needed, at NRG Park

It is now much easier for any adult in Harris County to get a COVID-19 vaccination. In an announcement Monday afternoon, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said that the mass-vaccination site at NRG Park would begin operating on a walk-in (or drive-in, if you will) basis, and that appointments would no longer be necessary. Effective today, the site is also expanding its hours to noon to 9 p.m., seven days a week. NRG is only distributing the Pfizer vaccine.

In early March, when the state of Texas reopened bars and restaurants to 100 percent capacity, several food service workers criticized the fact that they still weren’t considered a priority category for the shot. On March 29, the state officially opened vaccine eligibility to all Texans over the age of 18, but for food service workers, appointments at NRG, which was then open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., were hard to find. The new move is expected to help many second and third-shift workers get access to the shot.

Tacos del Julio gambles on Vegas expansion

Tacos del Julio, a small Houston chain that serves up spicy trompo and other street tacos, has expanded to Las Vegas. The restaurant recently opened in Sin City’s Hawaiian Marketplace, Eater Vegas reports, and is expected to roll out an updated menu for the location inspired by Nuevo León, including campechana, doblana, and fried charro beans. Tacos del Julio was first founded in Monterrey before landing in Houston in 1990.