Houston is the setting for Season 19 of the Bravo show "Top Chef." Starting Thursday, we'll be able to watch 15 chef contestants fight for the $250,000 prize by cooking Houston-y food. The challenges include queso, barbecue and Nigerian cuisine. 

Today I talk with the only one of the 15 contestants who’s from Houston: Evelyn Garcia, the chef behind Kin HTX.

Here’s an excerpt:

Me: How on earth did someone with Mexican and Salvadoran parents end up running an Asian restaurant?

Evelyn: I’ve traveled through Southeast Asia and worked at Southeast Asian restaurants. The more I learned, the more I felt a connection, being born and raised in Houston. We have such a huge Asian community. To me, growing up, it was normal to have pho, go have banh mi, go have bubble tea — as normal as going out and having fajitas. So it was like, “Oh, I grew up eating this.”

The more I learned about it, the more parallels I saw with my own culture, with being Mexican and Salvadoran. The freshness of ingredients, the use of spices, chiles, herbs — there are a lot of parallels. It was a different way of seeing things, but it’s all the same ingredients. It felt homey.

Me: That is such a Houston story.

Evelyn: I know. Where else would this happen?

NEWS-TON

😱 Texas terrifies trans kids: Recently Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton classified gender-affirming care as child abuse. Last week district attorneys from five Texas counties, including Harris, called the directives “life-threatening” for teenagers and said that they won’t prosecute. But many families say that they’re considering moving out of state, and teachers are concerned. “We’re supposed to snitch on parents who are seeking medical and emotional assistance for their kids?” asked Jackie Anderson, president of the Houston Federation of Teachers. “Really?” (Houston Public Media, Texas Tribune)

🚢 Supply chain still kinked: To deal with its backlog of ships waiting to be unloaded, Houston’s port has added three new cranes and is opening an hour earlier. But that doesn’t fix the shortage of truck drivers. One Houston shipper says that they now often ask for double the normal price. (Houston Chronicle)

🔥 Campaign on fire: Saturday in Houston, would-be governor Beto O’Rourke grabbed a fire extinguisher and doused a campaign worker’s flaming SUV. The SUV’s owner, Chrissy Kleberg, tweeted a video. (Chrissy Kleberg, via Twitter)

⚠️ Careful with those election guides: A mailer with the titles “Harris County Election Guide” and “Democratic Voter Guide” isn’t from the Harris County Democratic Party. Instead, it’s from a PAC called Fort Bend United. Notably, it endorses two challengers over Democratic incumbents — Erica Davis over incumbent Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, and Justice of the Peace George Risner over incumbent Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia. (Houston Public Media)

⚠️ And careful with mechanical bulls: After seeing three children injured at parties after falling from mechanical bulls, researchers at the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles reported the danger to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The kids’ injuries included skull fracture, broken bones, and intracranial hemorrhage. (BMJ Case Reports)

City Cast Houston is hiring a half-time newsletter writer to help me make the thing that you’re reading now. We’re looking for someone whose sentences sing, who has a lively interest in Houston, and who’s brave enough to do battle with MailChimp. 

The job pays $25-$30 an hour, and it comes with health insurance and other benefits.  

Check it out! Apply! Or forward the listing to someone who’d be good at it.

Our unseasonably cool February is likely to give way to an unseasonably warm March. But first, today and tomorrow are both predicted to have lows in the thirties.

Where do animals go when it’s cold? “Moths and bumblebees seek refuge under fallen leaves,” writes Kelsey Low, the adults program manager at the Houston Arboretum. “Reptiles and amphibians bury themselves in mud or under logs. Birds hide deep in trees, next to the trunk, with their backs to the wind. Mammals may burrow or hide in hollow trees.”

Today is Election Day for the Texas primaries — the elections in which you hold the most power as a voter. To find voting locations near you, check with your county elections office. (In Harris County, it's harrisvotes.com.)

If you want to research all the candidates yourself, bless you. Consider using the nonpartisan League of Women Voters’ Vote 411; the in-depth candidate interviews on Off the Kuff; or Erik Alan Manning’s spreadsheet, which has loads of info about every candidate in Harris County’s Democratic primary — including, usefully, which groups have endorsed each person. (Sorry: I tried but never found a similar Republican resource.)

Or here's the useful cheat sheet that I asked City Cast contributor and political junkie Evan Mintz to make for me. Remember that if you want to use it in the voting booth — or if you want to use any other endorsements, or even your own personal list — Texas law says that you can't just look at it on your phone while you're in the voting booth. So remember to print out your stuff.

Evan writes:

Here is my voting list for the 2022 Democratic and Republican primaries. I typically yield to incumbents — especially in judicial races — unless there is a reason to remove and a quality challenger. I have also provided short explanations in some of the open seats or heated races. In a few contests I have no strong opinion. In others I endorse against a specific candidate. 

DEMOCRATIC

U.S. Rep. District 38 — Duncan Klussman or Diana Martinez Alexander. I give credit to Alexander for running a good race for commissioner in the last cycle. Klussman has a quality background as former Spring Branch ISD superintendent. I presume this will go to a runoff

Governor — Beto O’Rourke. Duh. 

Lt. Gov. — Mike Collier. I’ve always liked Mike. He’s run tough races and was one of the first candidates willing to run a statewide race for an inevitable but good loss. And he shows how Ds should be reaching out to rural voters and a business community who aren't getting what they need from an increasingly nutty Legislature. He also has raised the most money.

Attorney General — Joe Jaworski. He, too, has tried to run a statewide campaign. Jaworski was previously mayor of Galveston. He also has better fundraising in contrast to the other candidates. 

Comptroller — Janet T. Dudding. She’s the only candidate with a professional background in accounting. 

Land Commissioner — Jinny Suh. I like her on a personal level. Jay Kleberg is good, too, and has the money to run a serious campaign. 

Agriculture Commissioner — Susan Hays. I like her on a personal level and she has raised more money and has more endorsements than Ed Ireson, who would also be a fine candidate. She’s a hemp farmer; he’s in the cattle business. 

State Board of Education District 4 — No strong opinion one way or another. Staci Childs has endorsements from youth oriented organizations. Coretta Mallet-Fontenot has labor endorsements. 

State Senate, District 15 — Molly Cook. She is one of my favorite candidates. This is her first campaign and she’s impressively strong on the stump with a clear vision of how Democrats should be fighting in the Legislature. Her involvement in the campaign to stop the I-45 expansion had her blockwalking in neighborhoods and talking to Houstonians who had long been ignored by the multi-decade incumbent. John Whitmire says he’s running for mayor. He’ll be distracted with that work if reelected. Voters deserve someone 100% focused on the job. I have additional thoughts about Whitmire, but I’ll keep them to myself. 

State Representative, District 142 — Candis Houston, if only as a way to vote against incumbent Harold Dutton, who tossed his fellow Democrats under the bus during the last legislative session over anti-trans legislation. He is also responsible for a poorly written bill used to threaten a state takeover of HISD.

State Representative, District 147 — No strong opinion and I don’t live in the district, but I’m drawn to Namrata "Nam" Subramanian. 

Justice, 14th Court of Appeals, Place 2 — Kyle Carter. Obvious choice. 

Justice, 14th Court of Appeals, Place 9 — William Demond. Two solid candidates in this race but Demond has the endorsements and an impressive history of civil rights cases.

District Judge, 183rd District Court (Criminal) — Gemayel L. Haynes. He has an impressive background as a former prosecutor turned public defender and supports pretrial reform. The incumbent, Judge Chuck Silverman, supports the ongoing felony bail reform litigation. He had no criminal law background when first elected and has been criticized for both detaining too many cases and also making reckless release decisions.  

District Judge, 184th District Court (Criminal) — Abigail Anastasio

District Judge, 185th District Court (Criminal) — Jason Luong

District Judge, 189th District Court (Civil) — Scot "Dolli" Dollinger 

District Judge, 208th District Court (Criminal) — Kimberly "Kim" McTorry. Incumbent Judge Greg Glass made some poor pretrial release decisions and has a low case clearance rate. 

District Judge, 228th District Court (Criminal) — Samuel "Sam" Milledge II. Incumbent Frank Aguilar was rated as one of the worst candidates of 2018 by the Houston Chronicle editorial board, and he refused to meet with them again four years later. Milledge has more endorsements. 

District Judge, 230th District Court (Criminal) — Chris Morton

District Judge, 245th District Court (Family) — Tristan Harris Longino

District Judge, 248th District Court (Criminal) — Hilary Unger

District Judge, 263rd District Court (Criminal) — Amy Martin

District Judge, 270th District Court (Civil) — Dedra Davis

District Judge, 280th District Court (Family) — Damiane "Dianne" Curvey. I’ve been a fan of incumbent Barbara "Babs" Stalder because of her passion for defending women facing abuse, but the lawyers I talk to say that she is not doing well on the bench. Reasonable minds can differ. 

District Judge, 312th District Court (Family) — Clinton "Chip" Wells

District Judge, 313th District Court (Family) — Natalia Oakes

District Judge, 315th District Court (Family) — Leah Shapiro

District Judge, 482nd District Court (Criminal) — I have no strong opinions in this three-way race for a newly created bench that currently has a Republican appointee. Veronica Monique Nelson is a former prosecutor turned staff attorney for judges. She has most of the endorsements and best fundraising. The other candidates are Alycia Harvey, a longtime ADA, and Sherlene Cruz, who works in the public defender's office. I’ll probably vote for Cruz. 

County Judge — Lina Hidalgo. If you’re voting for anyone else, you’d spend your time better in the Republican primary. The Democratic challengers to Hidalgo are petty and weak — and that’s me being nice. The top opponent, Erica Davis, is the chief of staff in a scandal-plagued constable’s office. Davis made headlines for a borderline anti-Semitic tweet about Democratic activist Dan Cohen and former Chronicle editor Jeff Cohen.

Judge, County Civil Court at Law No. 4 — Probably M. K. Monica Singh. Definitely not David Patronella. As a justice of the peace, Patronella continued evictions during COVID even as other Texas JPs worked to prioritize safety. 

Judge, County Criminal Court at Law No. 2 — Ronnisha Bowman 

Judge, County Criminal Court at Law No. 3 — I have no strong opinion on this race for an open seat but will for Staci Biggar or Porscha Natasha Brown. Both are defense attorneys. Brown is in the public defender's office and has more endorsements. Biggar is a prosecutor turned defense attorney and has more experience, and has served on the Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association board. The other candidate is Lorenzo Williams, whom I think is a prosecutor. He doesn’t seem to have any endorsements. 

Judge, County Criminal Court at Law No. 5 — David Marcel Fleischer

Judge, County Criminal Court at Law No. 6 — Kelley Andrews 

Judge, County Criminal Court at Law No. 7 — Andrew A. Wright

Judge, County Criminal Court at Law No. 8 — Franklin Bynum. Bynum is one of my favorite judges. He bravely smacked down the DA when she tried to prosecute a doctor for handing out COVID vaccines before they expired. He testified in favor of the highly successful ODonnell settlement to commissioners court. The police union is going after him because he doesn’t hesitate to dismiss cases that lack probable cause. He 100% deserves your support (and campaign donations). 

Judge, County Criminal Court at Law No. 10 — Thuy Le. She is a defense attorney, and I’ve worked with her on trying to tell stories about how misdemeanor bail reform helps Houstonians and their families. The other candidate in this race for an open seat is Juanita Jackson, who is also an impressive candidate with a background as a public defender, Texas Assistant Attorney General. Both are good candidates, and reasonable minds can differ. 

Judge, County Criminal Court at Law No. 14 — David Singer

Judge, County Probate Court at Law No. 2 — Michael Newman. For reasons I don’t entirely understand, a huge segment of the Democratic apparatus has lined up behind challenger Pamela Medina. But Newman is the incumbent, he has a positive bar rating, and I’ve yet to hear any specific problem. 

District Clerk — Marilyn Burgess

County Treasurer — Dylan Osborne. I’m starting to think that we either need to empower the Treasurer position or eliminate it entirely, but I like Dylan, the incumbent, on a personal level and there is no reason to remove him. 

County Commissioner Pct. 2 — Adrian Garcia. If you want to vote against him, you’d spend your time better in the Republican primary. The main opponent is George Risner, who seems like a front for the police union. 

County Commissioner Pct. 4 — There are several good candidates in this race. Lesley Briones has the money and major endorsements. She was appointed to a civil court at law seat after a judge accidentally resigned in an April Fool’s joke gone wrong (I am not joking) and previously was COO at Arnold Ventures, where I work. Benjamin "Ben" Chou seems to have claimed the progressive lane. Former state rep. Gina Calanni is also running. 

Justice of the Peace, Pct. 1, Place 2 — Steven Duble. He has one of my strongest endorsements, and not just because he’s my sister’s father-in-law. Duble has a clear vision of how JP positions can and should be used to help people rather than just grease the wheels of a cruel eviction machine. Sonia Lopez is also a good candidate. 

REPUBLICAN

U.S. Rep. District 2 — Dan Crenshaw. Wingnuts are mad at Crenshaw for not being anti-vax enough and for telling them the truth about political hucksters. He’s doing fine. 

U.S. Rep. District 8 — Morgan Luttrell. There are a ton of candidates in this race, but let’s be real: It is a two-man contest between Luttrell and Christian Collins. Collins is claiming the culture war lane. Luttrell is more of a traditional Republican. He’s a former Navy Seal and has tons of big name endorsements. 

U.S. Rep. District 28 — Wesley Hunt. I have fond memories of the 2018 Hunt campaign’s pro-Ike Dike rhetoric. A bunch of people are trying to make Hunt lose this race for a district that was seemingly drawn just for him. Mark Ramsey has notably been supported by Tim Dunn. That billionaire controls enough of Texas politics as is. Vote for Hunt. 

Governor — Greg Abbott. He’s adopted everything you liked about Huffines with none of the baggage. Allen West is a war criminal from Florida. 

Lt. Gov — Dan Patrick. What else are you going to do? 

Attorney General — Eva Guzman is obviously the best candidate. Ken Paxton is a crook. Louie Gohmert is a nut. George P. screwed over Houston when it came to Harvey recovery funds. A former justice on the state supreme Court, Guzman is a widely respected jurist who is — gasp — actually qualified to be attorney general. She has support from the Republican Party’s major business interests. And I will always respect her for signing onto the dissent in Patel v. Texas, showing that she wouldn’t flip-flop on her values the moment it became politically convenient. 

Comptroller — Glenn Hegar. I’ve always liked him and wish his idea for turning the rainy-day fund into a sovereign wealth fund caught some traction. 

Land Commissioner — Not Dawn Buckingham. The state senator is the clear leader, but she doesn’t seem to be treating the position as anything more than a political stepping stone. The Dallas Morning News endorsed Don Minton. The Chronicle endorsed Jon Spiers. 

Agriculture Commissioner — James White. Sid Miller is a crook, his top aide has been charged in a pay-for-play scheme, and White, a state rep, has the best chance of beating him.

Railroad Commissioner — Sarah Stogner. Incumbent Wayne Christian is a crook. Stogner stoked controversy for posting a video of herself topless on an oil pump. But she’s smart and serious on the issues, and I admire the high-risk high-reward political tactic. 

Justice, Supreme Court, Place 9 — Evan Young. He has impeccable credentials, and I’m sure I disagree with him on just about every political and moral issue. But Republicans will be happy. The other candidate, David J. Schenck, has been endorsed by some real nuts. 

Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals Place 5 — Scott Walker. In addition to being the incumbent, he’s the only criminal defense attorney on the Criminal Court of Appeals. 

State Board of Education, District 6 — Will Hickman. He’s the incumbent, and challenger Wolfe had a sexual harassment scandal while on the Harris County Department of Education board. 

State Board of Education, District 7 — The Houston Chronicle endorsed Danny Surman because, out of all the candidates with education experience, he sounded the most sane.

State Senator, District 11 — Bob Mitchell. He is on the Bay Area Economic Partnership Board, which has been a strong supporter of the Ike Dike from Day One. Do not vote for State Rep. Mayes Middleton, who tried to attach poison-pill amendments to the state’s Ike Dike bill. 

State Representative District 132 — Mike Schofield. He narrowly lost his seat in 2018, won it back in 2020. 

State Representative District 133 — Not Greg Travis. I’m still mad about his vote against eliminating parking minimums. You can’t support free markets and also support parking minimums.

State Representative District 134 — Ryan McConnico. I’ve been impressed with his past campaigns. 

State Representative District 138 — Lacy Hull. Why remove an incumbent?

District Judge, 308th Judicial District (Family) — No strong opinion. Both candidates seem to have experience in family law but Todd Frankfort seems to have a better background in the field. 

District Judge, 311th Judicial District (Family) — I can be convinced otherwise, but Gardner Eastland seems to have more experience in the field. He has been endorsed by the C Club and Houston Realty Business Coalition. Ray VanNorman seems to have more political support. 

District Judge, 313th Judicial District (Juvenile) — Julie A. Ketterman. A jury found that the other candidate, Rachel Leal-Hudson, committed fraud in regard to the requisite 250 signatures to appear on the ballot.  

County Judge — Oh boy. Probably Vidal Martinez, based on his ties to the Houston business community, though I can understand why lots of Republicans are supporting Alex Mealer — she has a vibe. The Chronicle liked Martina Lemond Dixon, and she has experience as an elected official. Not Randy Kubosh. 

County Treasurer — I can’t bring myself to say Eric Dick. 

Disagree? Let us know why: houston@citycast.fm