Churros
WITH MOTHER’S DAY right around the corner, you may be thinking about a special treat for her — perhaps a festive place to entertain, with options for alfresco dining to enjoy the fine spring weather.
Hugo’s, in its striking hacienda-style space, sports a tucked-away patio and blockbuster weekend brunch. Moreover, this is not a place nor an event to skip dessert!
Still buzzing since 2002, the award-winning restaurant celebrates the authentic cuisine and culture of its namesake Hugo Ortega’s homeland of Mexico. Meticulously crafted desserts, the handiwork of Hugo’s brother, Executive Pastry Chef Ruben Ortega, are no exception and have received many awards and accolades.
Ruben recently curated a new dessert menu that brings together previous favorites as well as new creations, each representing one of the seven regions of Mexico. “The flavors and ingredients vary from region to region within Mexico, and I wanted to create a list that celebrated the diversity of these flavors,” he says.
“Just as our family and generations of Mexican families have done, everything is made from scratch as traditionally as possible, including our house made Mexican chocolate that starts by roasting and grinding cacao beans in the restaurant,” adds Ruben. You can’t miss the intoxicating chocolate fragrance wafting throughout the restaurant and you can certainly taste the difference in richness and freshness of the chocolate.
Pastel del Mole
Platanitos Flameados
Crepas con Cajeta
If you like the classics, try the churros rellenos from the Central region of Mexico. Beautifully piped churros are stuffed and garnished with dulce de leche and served with house-made chocolate ice cream and real Mexican hot chocolate.
Want more chocolate — and dark chocolate, too? Go for the Pastel De Mole from Pacifico Sur: a moist Mexican criollo chocolate and mole poblano cake with bright Mandarin sorbet and candied pumpkin seeds. Or cruise to the El Sur region for the Pirámide de Chocolate, a flourless criollo chocolate bizcocho with dulce de leche cream and wild prickly pear sauce. Ortega also serves a vegan chocolate cake with silk vegan chocolate frosting and macerated cherries.
If you’d rather skip dinner for dessert, tuck into Platanitos Flameados from El Golfo region. Mocambo Veracruz rum-flambéed lady finger bananas and cane sugar syrup are crowned with rompope créme fraiche. Optionally, its Crepas con Cajeta from Bajio stars caramel-filled crepes with dulce de leche ice cream, candied pecans, and mango. Nothing but real-deal ingredients here. “Authenticity and quality are our hallmarks,” says Ortega.
Other new desserts include a Mexican-style brioche bread pudding and a tequila-soaked baba cake (all desserts $10-$12). Of course, its famous full Sunday brunch buffet will be featured on Mother’s Day including an assortment of smaller desserts. The regular dinner menu will be available with the new desserts starting at 5pm. Feliz Dia de las Madres!
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Jeremy Gee, inset, stars in Stages' new production of 'The Legend of Georgia McBride'
FROM SHAKESPEARE PLAYS to Baroque-era opera, from Milton Berle to David Bowie, drag has always been an integral part of artistic and human expression. But if you think drag is easy, think again. Just ask Houston actor Jeremy Gee, who stars In the upcoming Stages of production of The Legend of Georgia McBride as a struggling husband with a baby on the way who loses his gig as a so-so Elvis impersonator before finding newfound success as a drag queen.
For Gee, whose previous roles at Stages include a meth-addicted teenage father in Luna Gale and Sea Bass John in Panto Little Mermaid, learning the role has been challenging, and given him a deeper understanding of what it takes to do drag. “The heels are no joke,” says Gee, who is 6-foot-2. “I didn’t know walking in six-inch heels is actually the best calf workout you can ever do.”
Gee graduated from Sam Houston State University with a BFA in Musical Theatre, and says he has always been “super comfortable” onstage. But upon landing the role of Casey, he knew he needed a little help to truly get into character.
Enter Cameron Davis, the show’s choreographer and drag consultant, who performs frequently around Houston as Carmina Vavra. “If we didn’t have Cameron there, I don’t know if I would have been able to pull off a lot of the things I’m doing in the show,” says Gee, who began rehearsals dressed in Casey’s “street clothes” before moving on to padding (to shape his body accordingly), wigs, and those aforementioned heels. “Cameron told me, ‘As soon as you put on the dress, the makeup, and the wig, you’re going to start to feel it, and be much more comfortable,’” says Gee.
The Legend of Georgia McBride also stars Krystal Uchem as Casey’s wife Jo; Brandon Morgan as Eddie, a nightclub owner who sees dollar signs when he sees drag; Seán Patrick Judge as Miss Tracy Mills, a struggling drag queen who partners up with Casey to transform Eddie’s club into a hot tourist attraction; and Jarred Tettey as Miss Tracy’s campy sidekick, who delivers a powerful, show-stopping monologue in which she describes drag as a form of protest.
“In my experience, drag queens have been some of the nicest, most accepting people I’ve ever been around,” says Gee when asked about the misconceptions people have about drag, and the hostility directed at drag performers and members of the LGBTQ community. “They are not trying to ruin the children of the country by dressing as women.”
During the run of The Legend of Georgia McBride, audiences can also check out Drag Wonderettes, a lighthearted, drag-spin on the off-Broadway jukebox musical The Marvelous Wonderettes, featuring such sugary hits as “Lollipop,” “It’s My Party,” and “Stupid Cupid,” all delivered in high drag style. Both shows have 7pm and 10pm showtimes and 2pm weekend matinees to allow audiences to experience each production on the same night, on back-to-back nights, or within the same week.
“This is the perfect time to be doing both of these shows,” says Gee. “I hope people who do not understand or agree with or are afraid of drag come to one or both shows and get something out of it.”
Previews for The Legend of Georgia McBride begin May 5.
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