Two Houston Celebs Get Their Own Sandwiches — Bayou City Trend Continues With a COVID Doc and a Caring Chef

Within two days, two of Houston’s leading personalities have unveiled namesake sandwiches created for charity. This culinary version of nonprofit fundraising has become a thing in the Bayou City where the art of sandwich-making apparently knows no strangers. The latest to join the party are COVID-19 expert Dr. Peter Hotez and chef extraordinaire Chris Shepherd.

Hotez, a leading voice in media coverage of the pandemic, has collaborated with Antone’s executive chef Alex Padilla in creating the “Dr. Hotez One World” banh mi. Get ready for thinly sliced marinated beef on house-baked French bread served with pickled carrots, cucumber, daikon radish, papaya with a roasted garlic-sambal aioli and fresh jalapeño. Fifty percent of proceeds from the $8.95 sandwich will be contributed to Texas Children’s Hospital‘s Center for Vaccine Development, where Hotez is co-director.

The sandwich will be introduced at all three Antone’s shops on March 1 and will be on the menu through May 31, an extension of the program that typically continues for one month only.

This is the 12th in Antone’s sandwich series saluting leading Houstonians. The company launched its “H-Town Originals” in 2019 with a Bun B fried chicken breast sandwich, the sale of which benefited the Houston Music Foundation. In December of 2020, Antone’s, with the assist of famed ballerina Lauren Anderson, introduced the Tutu Turkey, with 50 percent of sales benefiting Houston Ballet.

Shake Shack is teaming up with Chef Chris Shepherd with a one-day-only offering of the Southern Smoke Chicken sandwich — a crispy, hand-breaded chicken breast topped with spicy bacon jam, which pays homage to Shepherd’s popular bacon sausage; pickled jalapeño mustard; cherry peppers; and shredded lettuce sandwiched between a non-GMO Martin’s potato roll.

The sandwich will be offered on March 4 at Shake Shack locations in Montrose and Rice Village. Proceeds from sale of that $7.39 sandwich will benefit Shepherd’s Southern Smoke Foundation. Far from an ordinary day at the burger house, fans can expect live music, custom merchandise and a few more surprises.

Shake Shack continues the collaboration with Donation Days, March 1 and 2, during which diners can input the code “Donation” prior to check out and 25 percent of proceeds from all sales will be donated to Southern Smoke.

The Shepherd sandwich special is part of the burger brand’s collaborative series Now Serving in which Shake Shack collaborates with local chefs across the country in an effort to give back and support local organizations as well as create unique and delicious menu items. The series highlights Shake Shack’s mission to Stand for Something Good.

In June of 2019, Shepherd partnered with Mendocino Farms in creating a pecan wood-smoked bacon sausage sandwich that was on the menu for one month with 100 percent of proceeds benefiting the Southern Smoke Foundation.