The Chili Shak, Houston

In July of 2011, Bernard Montgomery opened a chili-focused restaurant using his grandmother's recipe, a bean-less mixture deemed "best chili in Houston" by HoustonPress. After years of preparing chili in Los Angeles for family gatherings, picnics, and church outings, he relocated to Houston where he catered a football function. Urged by family, friends, and even his own boss, he started jarring batches of the chili and eventually opened his own restaurant starring the meaty mixture. Today, The Chili Shak serves up burger patties, hot dogs, burritos, and other diner favorites slathered with this prized chili. Cooks also prepare chili rice bowls paired with a side of cornbread, a meal Montgomery's grandmother used to make on cold winter days to melt the ice on the sidewalk.