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Subway, the huge nationwide sandwich chain, is rolling out its first-ever breakfast offerings, started on April 5.  Products were very well received in a limited test that included many Canadian outlets.

According to Subway:

The sandwiches will be made with omelets- regular eggs or egg whites and cheese -served on English muffins, flatbread or Subway's fresh-baked sub rolls. Options include Western egg and cheese, Black Forest ham and cheese, bacon and cheese and steak, egg and cheese. Customers can add any of Subway's regular lunchtime condiments or vegetables to their order. Prices range from $1.75 for an English muffin melt to $6 for a footlong sandwich.
Prices for breakfast offerings will range from $1.75 to $6.00.  Apparently Subway has decided to pass on the hotly contested value segment for the product rollout.

Subway has also been touting its industry-leading animal welfare policies, including using eggs only from cage-free chickens.

We've seen many things at SXSW, but we've never before seen Bill Murray tending bar

More information is coming out about John Tesar's exit from his eponymous restaurant.  We broke the story last week about Tesar's hasty and unexpected exit, and a whirlwind of speculation has surrounded the chef's moves.

Last night, John Tesar recently spoke with D Magazine's Nancy Nichols about his leaving Tesar's in the Woodlands.  We're quoting the highlights, and you can read the full interview on D Magazine's site.

In short, Tesar is leaving the Houston area, and heading back to Dallas.

NN: Are you coming back to Dallas?
JT: I am coming back to Dallas. Currently I have 2 options. They are two separate entities. I have signed a letter of intent with both. 

Our source for the original story told us quite plainly that Tesar was fired by the restaurant's investors. Tesar himself tells a different story:

NN: So were you fired from Tesar’s in Woodlands?
JT: I voluntarily decided to walk away from Tesar’s. I was not fired; I walked away. It’s not going to effect my future.

Tesar goes on to present his version of what happened:

NN: So give me the short version of what happened?
JT: I do not wish ill on my ex-partners. They enticed me to leave New York when I was with David Burke [at Fish]. I went into the business with good will. I realized that the project was opening in the middle of a recession and was undercapitalized. We started out with three partners and the 2 majority partners [Bill and Hilary Burke] pushed out my main contact. But we built this thing [restaurant] and got good reviews. But they had no experience in the restaurant business and we knew it wasn’t going to make enough to pay me, especially since I have a family.

We're sorry to see John Tesar leave the Woodlands.  He's a very talented chef, and his restaurant raised the bar for both fine dining and great burgers outside the Loop.

When asked about the fate of Tesar's in the Woodlands, the chef made a telling comment:

JT: The restaurant is doing well—just not well enough to pay a John Tesar-style chef. I gave them back my 20 percent and we are still wrangling over things like money the and name.  It’s a good restaurant.

Reading between the lines, it appears that Tesar was expecting from his months-old restaurant the type of salary that an executive chef would receive at mature, successful establishment.  That sounds naive to me; part of the reason a key employee gets equity in a startup is the fact that he's willing to work for less than his normal salary.  The term is "sweat equity", and it's one well known to folks who work in startups.  Sweat equity can make a key employee rich when the business succeeds, but it means that he won't be paid a high salary until the business becomes profitable.  It's a great example of capitalism in action.

Apparently Chef Tesar wanted to have his steak, and eat it too.

Houston is big.  From Sugarland to the Woodlands is an hour drive, even when there's no traffic. Today's question:

For how long will you drive to visit a restaurant that you want to try?

Fifteen minutes? Thirty? More?

Our poll is on the right; you can vote anonymously. Thanks for your participation.

Unless you've been living in a cave, you know that Congress passed the most sweeping healthcare reform legislation in decades.  It mandates all sorts of changes in the healthcare industry.  But did you know it also mandates changes for restaurants?

One change that will be obvious: If a restaurant has more than 20 locations, it will have to place calorie information on the menu, so it's easy to read while ordering.

We think this is a provision that's long overdue.  Due to hectic lifestyles, many people, especially in Houston, eat at restaurants several times a week.  It's often difficult or impossible to know how many calories a dish contains, or how many can be saved by choosing between two dishes.

Now the information will be readily available to consumers, and each of us can decide whether or not to factor it into our dining decisions.  We applaud this.

Chef John Tesar is expected to be making an announcement this afternoon about his new, exciting plans.  We'll be posting the news as soon as we get them.

We're hoping that Chef Tesar decides to stay in the Woodlands.  In the few months that it's been open, Tesar's has established itself as the best restaurant in the area.  And it's an area with plenty of hungry residents who don't mind paying for good food, as the success of Jasper's has demonstrated.

While we wait for the announcement, those who enjoy a bit of restaurant biz drama should read the comments in this thread on D Magazine's Side Dish.  There's also some banter on CultureMap surrounding the event, but it's nowhere near as amusing.

One thing's for sure... he's got a fan in "Pastry Lady".  I have a feeling she is the anonymous commenter on our earlier Tesar story.

Chef, you need to hire this woman.  She's got your back.

The James Beard Foundation has announced its list of finalists for the 2010 awards, via Twitter.  Congratulations to Bryan Caswell of Reef, a finalist for Best Chef, Southwest.

The list:

Best Chef: Northwest: Naomi Pomeroy, Andy Ricker, Ethan Stowell, Cathy Whims, Jason Wilson

Best Chef: Pacific: Michael Cimarusti, Jeremy Fox, David Kinch, Matt Molina, Michael Tusk

Best Chef: Southwest: Bryan Caswell, Saipin Chutima, Ryan Hardy, Claude Le Tohic, Rick Moone

Best Chef: South: Zach Bell, Scott Boswell, John Harris, Christopher Hastings, Michael Schwartz Best

Best Chef: Southeast: Hugh Acheson, Sean Brock, Linton Hopkins, Andrea Reusing, Bill Smith

Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic: Cathal Armstrong, Jeff Michaud, Peter Pastan, Michael Solomonov, Bryan Voltaggio

Best Chef: New York City: Michael Anthony, Wylie Dufresne, Gabrielle Hamilton, Daniel Humm, Michael White

Best Chef: Northeast: Clark Frasier and Mark Gaier, Peter X. Kelly, Michael Leviton, Tony Maws, Marc Orfaly

Best Chef: Midwest: Isaac Becker, Gerard Craft, Colby Garrelts, Alexander Roberts, Lenny Russo

Chef: Great Lakes: Michael Carlson, Koren Grieveson, Arun Sampanthavivat, Bruce Sherman, Alex Young

Rising Star Chef of the Year Award: Timothy Hollingsworth, Johnny Monis, Grégory Pugin, Gabriel Rucker, Sue Zemanick

Outstanding Pastry Chef Award: Amanda Cook, Michelle Gayer, Kamel Guechida, Nicole Plue, Mindy Segal

Best New Restaurant: Bibou, Flour + Water, Frances, Locanda Verde, Marea, RN74

Outstanding Service Award: Alinea, Joël Robuchon at MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, La Grenouille, Michael Mina, Vetri

Outstanding Restaurateur Award: Tom Douglas, Pat Kuleto, Keith McNally, Richard Melman, Stephen Starr

Outstanding Restaurant Award: Babbo, Boulevard, Daniel, Highlands Bar & Grill, Spiaggia

Outstanding Chef Award: José Andrés, Tom Colicchio, Gary Danko, Suzanne Goin, Charles Phan

In its March 18, 2010 issue, the Houston Press recognized ten Houston blogs that rock their world.  Among a crowded field of truly outstanding talent, H-Town Chow Down was one of two Houston food blogs to be honored.

We were both extremely surprised and deeply honored.  Houston has no lack of top-notch food blogs, many of which you'll see listed on our sidebar. To be selected from this impressive field is an accomplishment of which we are very proud.

Thank you to Cathy Matusow and the rest of the Houston Press staff for selecting us from this incredibly talented field.  Writing this blog is at times exciting, frustrating, rewarding, and befuddling, but never boring, and recognition like this motivates us to do an even better job.  We've met some fantastic people in the process, and enjoyed some truly memorable meals, but more than anything, we've connected with many of our readers, met some in real life, and enjoyed the interaction, especially when they disagree.

We look at this recognition by the Houston Press as a challenge for us to reach higher and deliver an even better product for our readers.  Thank you again to the Houston Press and our readers.

Bad news for fine dining fans - John Tesar is no longer with Tesar's in the Woodlands. Sources say that investors forced him out. More details as they develop.

Many Houstonians are making the annual drive to Austin for the zoo that is SXSW, and the question always comes up: "Where do we eat"?

We've got some favorite places, but the locals have created a Food Bloggers' Guide to Austin with information about everything you could possibly want to eat.  (Thanks to Katherine Shilcutt for pointing out this and other guides to food at SXSW.)

The guide is quite comprehensive... except for burgers.  I didn't see a burger guide.  So here's ours.