The Progressive Vision, The Raw Dedication to Real Purpose Forward, Sustainable Ethics and The Houston Honeybee Project, a non-profit movement that was founded by Chef Jamie Zelko and Dalia Zelko, owners of Award Winning Restaurant Zelko Bistro in Houston, Texas. The Zelko's are Believers in Encouraging Etymology, Organic-Natural Earth Sciences, Biodynamic Innovations, Responsible-Ethical Farming and they Lead by example.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Zelko Bistro named "Best Comfort Food" by Houston Press
Best Comfort Food Restaurant - 2010
Zelko Bistro
Readers' Choice:
Located in an airy little house in the Heights, the newly minted Zelko Bistro has taken a concept we readily adore — comfort food — and added an upmarket spin. Are you one of those naysayers who think comfort food and white linen don't jibe? Fried chicken breaded with Cap'n Crunch, an outstanding Reuben and the city's best fried green tomatoes will have you thinking otherwise. Chef Jamie Zelko seems to know that reputable meatloaf is essential if comfort food's your game. Cooked in a can and served over a mound of buttery mashed potatoes, her "Homeless Joe" meatloaf dances on the tightrope separating down-home and upmarket. You'll want it again and again. Fried pickles, hearty soups and a fabulous burger are additional reasons to hang your hat on the Zelko rack night after night.
Houston Press October 2010
Captain...as in Crunch, that is.
Yes, that's right. Houston's Hottest Chef award winner Jamie Zelko of Zelko Bistro (705 E. 11th St) is serving up farm fresh chicken coated with Cap 'n Crunch, fried until crispy golden brown. As if that is not enough to make you order it -- which it should be -- it also comes with Yukon mashed potatoes, shallot jam and some type of lovely green vegetable to round it all out ($14).
I have to admit, I actually ordered something else, the delicious shrimp and grits, to be exact, but my dining companion got the chicken, which was thrilling. He's a darling boy, but a tad squeamish about his food, so he was visibly relieved to see the chicken was boneless. I was cool with it, as this made for no wasted children's cereal coating.
The mashed potatoes were honestly some of the most flavorful I have had in quite some time, which says a lot, since I love my potatoes. They were exceptional. The asparagus were cooked tender-crisp and were likewise delicious.
But that chicken...oh, man! Sometimes a gimmicky food doesn't work out, but when it does, it's like your birthday and Christmas all rolled into one. You not only get the fun of ordering and anticipating a nostalgic culinary creation, but also the joy of eating something that is truly a gourmet treat. The chicken was intensely moist and flavorful, with an unbelievably tasty, crunchy exterior. Then to make it even better, they top it with that caramelized shallot jam which adds a hint of tangy sweetness. I am adding this dish to my top 10 list of comfort foods immediately.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
88.7 KUHF Radio and Jamie's take on off street parking
http://app1.kuhf.org/houston_public_radio-news-display.php?articles_id=1271202890
Off-Street Parking Ordinance: City May Amend To Reflect Current Trends
April 14, 2010
by: Wendy Siegle
Houston has long been considered a car-centric city. But when it comes to parking all those cars, the interests of homeowners, businesses, and their patrons often collide. From the KUHF NewsLab, Wendy Siegle has the story on how Houston's off-street parking rules could soon change.
“If you’re going into business and you’re looking for a location to open anything, I’m sorry but the number one thing, other than demographics, is parking. If you don’t have parking, then you’re not going to have it.”
Houston-born chef Jamie Zelko is opening her very first restaurant today on West 11th street in The Heights. Zelko Bistro was supposed to open last year but eager foodies had to wait while Zelko struggled with the various city codes that have to be met when converting an old house into a restaurant. The off-street parking law was one of the toughest.
“Off-street parking was difficult because you are required to have eight spots per thousand square feet. And we are a 1920s bungalow so we had to look for other options.”
Zelko Bistro is 1700 square feet, meaning it has to provide a minimum of 14 spaces that aren’t on the street. That was hard for Zelko since her restaurant is situated on a residential-sized lot. She says there’s plenty of parking on the street, but the city doesn’t take that into consideration. In the end, Zelko had to come up with $33,000 to build a compact lot on the property and is also shelling out a monthly fee to lease a lot nearby.
“The off-street parking, it was actually a pretty big hit for us.” Zelko isn’t alone. Many small businesses struggle with Houston’s off-street parking rules. The ordinance has barely changed since 1989. This is Marlene Gafrick, director of Houston’s Planning and Development department. “We really haven’t done a rewrite of the ordinance, or really looked at it, and our development trends have changed.”
Houston is undoubtedly growing; more people are moving inside the loop, and more businesses want to open up shop here. So on the one hand, Houston has an increase in dense, walkable areas; and on the other hand, city laws haven’t caught up with the trends and are still based on the assumption that everyone will be driving.
The Houston Planning Commission is now reevaluating the off-street parking ordinance. At a recent public meeting in The Montrose, parking concerns clashed. Homeowners don’t want people parking in front of their houses to go to nearby businesses, small business owners want to lower the minimum off-street parking requirements and others worry about not having anywhere to park.
“I think the best solution for Houston would be to completely discard the parking ordinance and to not have any parking requirements at all.”
That’s urban designer Andrew Burleson. He takes a free-market approach and suggests letting businesses decide how many parking spaces they need to make their customers happy. That way, valuable land won’t be wasted. Homeowners, he says, can petition to have parking meters installed, which could deal with any overflow onto nearby streets.
“If you try to micro-control it, you end up with a situation where your regulation becomes so onerous and complex that it’s paralyzing for businesses.”
While it’s unlikely that the city will embrace Burleson’s “no ordinance” solution, planners are looking at a variety of possible amendments—more parking meters is one of them. Others include reevaluating how far people are willing to walk to park, revising the parking ratios for businesses, and reducing parking requirements along transit stops. Bar owner Steven Scalice offered his two-cents at the meeting and says the city should require more shared parking lots, like the one in Rice Village. There, people pay to park in a garage and some businesses validate the tickets.
“Everyone wins. It solves the problem for parking; it solves the congestion problem."
Wendy: "So instead of having multiple lots all over the place, you can have one lot shared and maybe multi-level even."
"Exactly.”
Off-Street Parking Ordinance: City May Amend To Reflect Current Trends
April 14, 2010
by: Wendy Siegle
Houston has long been considered a car-centric city. But when it comes to parking all those cars, the interests of homeowners, businesses, and their patrons often collide. From the KUHF NewsLab, Wendy Siegle has the story on how Houston's off-street parking rules could soon change.
“If you’re going into business and you’re looking for a location to open anything, I’m sorry but the number one thing, other than demographics, is parking. If you don’t have parking, then you’re not going to have it.”
Houston-born chef Jamie Zelko is opening her very first restaurant today on West 11th street in The Heights. Zelko Bistro was supposed to open last year but eager foodies had to wait while Zelko struggled with the various city codes that have to be met when converting an old house into a restaurant. The off-street parking law was one of the toughest.
“Off-street parking was difficult because you are required to have eight spots per thousand square feet. And we are a 1920s bungalow so we had to look for other options.”
Zelko Bistro is 1700 square feet, meaning it has to provide a minimum of 14 spaces that aren’t on the street. That was hard for Zelko since her restaurant is situated on a residential-sized lot. She says there’s plenty of parking on the street, but the city doesn’t take that into consideration. In the end, Zelko had to come up with $33,000 to build a compact lot on the property and is also shelling out a monthly fee to lease a lot nearby.
“The off-street parking, it was actually a pretty big hit for us.” Zelko isn’t alone. Many small businesses struggle with Houston’s off-street parking rules. The ordinance has barely changed since 1989. This is Marlene Gafrick, director of Houston’s Planning and Development department. “We really haven’t done a rewrite of the ordinance, or really looked at it, and our development trends have changed.”
Houston is undoubtedly growing; more people are moving inside the loop, and more businesses want to open up shop here. So on the one hand, Houston has an increase in dense, walkable areas; and on the other hand, city laws haven’t caught up with the trends and are still based on the assumption that everyone will be driving.
The Houston Planning Commission is now reevaluating the off-street parking ordinance. At a recent public meeting in The Montrose, parking concerns clashed. Homeowners don’t want people parking in front of their houses to go to nearby businesses, small business owners want to lower the minimum off-street parking requirements and others worry about not having anywhere to park.
“I think the best solution for Houston would be to completely discard the parking ordinance and to not have any parking requirements at all.”
That’s urban designer Andrew Burleson. He takes a free-market approach and suggests letting businesses decide how many parking spaces they need to make their customers happy. That way, valuable land won’t be wasted. Homeowners, he says, can petition to have parking meters installed, which could deal with any overflow onto nearby streets.
“If you try to micro-control it, you end up with a situation where your regulation becomes so onerous and complex that it’s paralyzing for businesses.”
While it’s unlikely that the city will embrace Burleson’s “no ordinance” solution, planners are looking at a variety of possible amendments—more parking meters is one of them. Others include reevaluating how far people are willing to walk to park, revising the parking ratios for businesses, and reducing parking requirements along transit stops. Bar owner Steven Scalice offered his two-cents at the meeting and says the city should require more shared parking lots, like the one in Rice Village. There, people pay to park in a garage and some businesses validate the tickets.
“Everyone wins. It solves the problem for parking; it solves the congestion problem."
Wendy: "So instead of having multiple lots all over the place, you can have one lot shared and maybe multi-level even."
"Exactly.”
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