‘Insecure’ Star Issa Rae Gets a Dose of Houston

It’s fair to say that Issa Rae has her hands in a little bit of everything.

The award-winning Insecure creator landed in Houston for a brief five days in mid-January during one of the first stops of her An Evening with Issa Rae tour. Held at the Hobby Center for Performing Arts, the night felt like a celebration — of Black joy, Houston, and Rae’s many accomplishments, which run the gamut from television, hair care, and wine. The filmmaker’s newest movie, One of Them Days, a comedy starring actress Keke Palmer and singer SZA, debuted at no. 1 during its opening weekend (Rae popped into multiple ths around Houston to greet fans for the premiere).

As it turns out, Rae is no stranger to the food and beverage world. (“I’ve always said if I wasn’t doing what I’m doing now, I’d want to be a waitress or a bartender,” she said at the Houston event.) She’s partnered with Los Angeles-based independent coffee chain Hilltop. She and her team recently opened the jazzy Los Angeles restaurant and lounge Somerville in November — her ode to Black Los Angeles’s residents, and, in 2023, she launched her own Prosecco line Viarae in stores nationwide, pairing the debut with artsy, well-produced promotional videos to fit every drinking mood.

But just as An Evening with Issa Rae was an engaging sit-down with the multi-hyphenate, it was also full of affirmations (Rae’s love language, she says) for Houston and its food scene. Rae, who hasn’t visited Houston since her 2013 book tour for The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl, says the city reminds her of her hometown Los Angeles. Both are sprawling cities with “a laidback, cool, loving vibe,” an emphasis on hospitality, and a love of Mexican food (“I could eat a taco every day,” Rae said). But unlike Houston, Los Angeles doesn’t have an abundance of West African cuisine.

Rae, who is of Senegalese descent, says one of her first food stops in Houston was Dakar Street Food, a Senegalese restaurant tucked into a strip mall in West Houston. “I was fucking that food up!” she said as the audience laughed.

Megan Sumpton

In true Houston fashion, locals in the audience had many dining recommendations for Rae. Houstonians in the crowd shouted out their favorites — the iconic Black-owned Breakfast Klub in Midtown, Timmy Chans, and Third Ward bakery Crumbville. It seemed like Rae didn’t need too much convincing for a return: “I love this city,” she said. “And I need to come back.”

Eater Houston sat down to catch up with Rae. Here’s what she had to say about her forever comfort food, how she uses food as a creative vehicle in her films and television shows, and more.

This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

So how did it feel doing this show tonight?

It was fun. You know, this is still kind of an experimental show. We’re figuring out what it is, and so I’m just grateful that people want to come and see it. It’s something that we’re shaping. We’re doing another one in D.C., but it’s just always fun to meet the people who’ve been supporting me for a very long time. It’s also a way to introduce people to Viarae, which is kind of what it’s all about.

How are you finding Houston as a food city, so far? I know that you made it to the Senegalese spot. Do you have any other places on your itinerary?

Someone told me to go to Laredo Taqueria. I still want to try barbecue. I don’t know the spots! I would normally hit Eater to be like “Where do I go?” but I just didn’t have enough time this time. Y’all got a Nando’s out here, so I was really excited to go.

What’s your order there?

I always do the half-chicken, and y’all got Brussels sprouts, and they don’t have that in the U.K. It’s usually smashed peas. I get the chips. I love it. That chicken is the best, and I’m an Extra Hot girl. I know Nando’s is not unique to Houston, but I was just surprised y’all have it out here. I was just telling Kendrick [Sampson] that I have to come back. He’s a real foodie.

Megan Sumpton

When thinking about your creative side — film and TV — what role does food have, in those aspects of your life?

Typically, I try to use food to represent characters. Cities are always characters in my projects, whether they’re in the forefront or even the background, so with food, I try to set the scene in the best way possible. You can look at what somebody’s eating and kind of determine or judge someone’s character or family, or their means, or whatever it is. There are so many things that you can suddenly do to fill in a character for people immediately — just by what they’re eating or what’s on their plate, where they might go to eat, or if they’re cooking. It’s a constant conversation when I’m writing. I will write specifically about what dish someone is eating, just because I feel like it helps to inform. If I were playing the character, it tells a lot on the page. You’re always trying to find clues as as an actor, like, what tells you about this particular person. So, it plays a big role, even though people don’t always notice. In Insecure, in particular, it was more about like the restaurant scene and showcasing the best food areas and the Black-owned areas in LA that I feel should be highlighted.

With Viarae, why was it important for that to be one of your first ventures into the food world, aside from your coffee shops and restaurants?

Just because it felt so organic to my lifestyle, to the way I like to celebrate, to what that next chapter was. And because I had put it in the show and was constantly seen with Prosecco, it just felt like I wanted to have my own. There was so much fun in shaping the branding of a product and starting something from the ground up that really appealed to me. Viarae has become like a lifestyle — I was just in Columbia for my birthday, and it was out there, you know. So yeah, it is a lifestyle for me at this point.

I love the promotions, by the way. I saw the video of you and Kofi, and I was like is this The Photograph? This is like a movie.

Yes. That was a privilege. He was just down, so that was a fun time.

Megan Sumpton

What’s a dish where you’re like, ‘ Oh my gosh. I have to have this?”

My forever comfort food will always be gumbo. I love gumbo.

Who has the best?

My older brother now actually has the crown.

Does he put okra in it?

No.

Wow, are you kidding me? I love okra in my gumbo. Okra means gumbo.

No, it doesn’t. Okra does need gumbo. Gumbo doesn’t need okra. Okra needs gumbo for its reputation.

Wow.

And my new dish that I’m obsessed with is my husband’s food. I started cooking, and my husband was like, “I got it.” That has been really great. That’s my newest obsession — him cooking better than me and making the food.

What’s your favorite thing that he makes? Just curious and being extra nosey.

I’m on a health kick, and I love roasted chicken, sweet potatoes, and a vegetable. Somehow when I make it, it’s very plain, and somehow, when he makes it, it’s like the most flavorful dish on Earth. I don’t know what he does. He takes too long, but it’s worth it. He just adds more garnishings and seasonings and extra vegetables with it that I appreciate. It’s a very simple dish that I know will fill me up and that I can eat and go.