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After a brief hiatus following his departure from Underbelly Hospitality, James Beard Award-winning chef Chris Shepherd is back on the dining scene with a new TV show, a speaker series at Houston’s theater facility Stages, and his annual food festival. And as promised, he’s cooking again, but to experience it, you’ll have to catch him if you can.
The Southern Smoke Foundation founder is teaming up with Burger Bodega owner Abbas Dhanani for a special edition burger that will be available for one day only. From 11 a.m. until sell-out on Wednesday, September 13, Shepherd and Dhanani will dish out a Southern Smoke Juicy Lucy Burger, a one-patty burger comprised of two Burger Bodega patties and Franklin barbecue brisket that’s then stuffed with American cheese. The burger is then layered with even more cheese, diced onions, and Bodega sauce, and sandwiched between a potato bun.
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The burger collaboration is part of an occasional series of pop-ups that Dhanani has hosted in previous months, with chefs including Rafael Nasr of Craft Pita, Mayank Istwal of Musaafer, Benchawan “Chef G” Jabthong Painter of Street to Kitchen, Alex Au-Yeung of Phat Eatery, and Paolo Justo and Luis Mercado of Neo.
This most recent rendition with Shepherd comes ahead of several major projects debuting this fall, including Shepherd’s new show, Eat Like a Local, which airs this September on KPRC 2, and his nonprofit’s annual food-fueled Southern Smoke Festival.
