Houston’s food scene always has a lot going on, but not every bit of news that we get qualifies for a full article. However, that does not mean that it’s not useful. We often hear about deals, events such as wine dinners, limited-time menu items, culinary classes and new dishes. “Small Bites” rounds up these tasty little morsels to keep you on top of what’s going on in Houston.
Houston Restaurant Opening News in Brief
Mediterranean Food — Made Your Way — Arrives in Missouri City
Gyro Republic has opened in Missouri City at 23040 Fort Bend Parkway Toll Road. It specializes in New York City-style gyros and can cater to those with dietary restrictions, or who prefer to eat vegetarian or vegan. When ordering, customers select a rice bowl, salad, pita sandwich, loaded fries or a gyrito, (essentially a gyro burrito). Then, diners choose their proteins, vegetables and sauce. All meats are guaranteed halal. The grand opening is on Saturday, September 28 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The first 100 guests will get a free bowl or sandwich and a Gyro Republic T-shirt, and all attendees during the grand opening hours can enter to win some impressive prizes. The giveaways include two 75” televisions, a PlayStation 5, two sets of Apple AirPods and $100 Gyro Republic gift cards. If you can’t make the grand opening, take heart: there will be a half-off promotion on the grand opening day from open to close.
This is the fourth Greater Houston-area location; the others are in Sugar Land, Richmond and southwest Houston. Rehan Ranpuri founded the company, and the Missouri City restaurant is a franchise location from Ahmer Ali and Ejas Hussei. According to a press release, Ranpuri plans to open another four to six locations by early 2025.
South African-Style Chicken is Coming to Montrose
Nando’s PERi-PERi is opening in the historic Tower Theater redevelopment at 1111 Westheimer in the former Copy.com space. It will offer a dining room that seats 84 plus a patio, and is expected to open mid-2025. In addition to its signature peri peri chicken, Nando’s serves chicken platters, wraps, salads and bowls. The Montrose location will be its third in the Greater Houston area. The others are in Katy and Uptown Houston.
This Week (Through Sunday, September 15)
Celebrate National Honey Month with Next-Level Honey Dishes
Through September 18, StarChefs, the National Honey Board and Honey Saves Hives have partnered with Houston (and San Francisco) restaurants to shine a spotlight on one of the world’s most important foods. The Discover Honey promotion showcases honey-focused dishes and drinks. Until the end of the campaign, ordering the honey special at participating restaurants gets you an opportunity to win $100 off of your next meal. To enter, share a photo of the dish on Instagram and tag @StarChefs and @NationalHoneyBoard for a chance to win!
Featured dishes include a five-napkin Fried Spiced Pork Chop sandwich from chef Brandll Mann at Better Luck Tomorrow with hot honey, jalapeño-herb spread, mayonnaise, lettuce and tomato on a pain de mie bun, Crispy Texas Quail from chef Drake Leonards at Eunice with spiced honey, pickled peppers and fresh herbs, Hinojo Flan from pastry chef Ruben Ortega at Xochi with caramel, orange honey blossom cream, mandarin gel and orange honey blossom crunch, and Knafeh — a traditional Arabic dessert made with spun pastry, served with farmer’s cheese, honey syrup, salted honey ice cream and fresh figs from pastry chef Marie Riddle at Bludorn. Visit the website for more information.
Shamelessly Start Your Week With Mezcal
Join one of several mezcal tastings this week hosted by ZOTZ Mexican Spirits Club in secret pop-up fashion. These are limited to only eight people per seating. The event description is, “We have some mezcals and stories to tell you. Once these bottles of fine mezcal are gone, they are gone.” The mezcal tastings are scheduled over three nights with multiple seatings: Monday, September 9 at 3, 6 and 9 p.m., and Tuesday, September 10 and Wednesday, September 11 at 7 and 9 p.m. RSVPs are required, and you can request a spot by sending a message to ZOTZ’s Instagram page. Go once or go three times. We’re not going to tell you what to do.
Taste Wines from Baja California’s Oldest Winery at Hugo’s
On Wednesday, September 11, Hugo’s at Westheimer is hosting a dinner featuring Bodegas de Santo Tomás wines from Baja California. According to some history emailed by Hugo’s, the winery is 40 miles south of Valle de Guadalupe, it was the first winery in Baja California, and the grapevines were planted for religious purposes back in 1797 by Dominican friars. The wine dinner kicks off at 6 p.m. with a reception that includes passed small bites alongside Santo Tomás Mision Blanco, a blend of Chenin Blanc and French Colombard. The seated dinner will begin 30 minutes later, and examples of the dish and wine pairings are Taco De Codorniz Y Pato, a duck and quail taco, teamed with Santo Tomás Tempranillo and Cabernet Sauvignon, and Costilla De Res — braised short rib with cauliflower purée and mole pasilla — with Santo Tomás Unico, a Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot blend. The cost is $130 per person, plus tax and gratuity, and tickets are available online.
Next Week — September 16 Through September 22
A local Facebook foodie group is showcasing a perpetual North-side favorite restaurant that’s not had an easy time of it this year. Nick’s Local Eats, founded by Nick Rama, is hosting a special evening featuring favorite dishes at Lasagna House – 1960 on Thursday, Sept. 19 from 6:30 to 9 p.m. The restaurant is located at 217D Cypress Creek Parkway.
The one-night event is to help the restaurant get its bearings after a string of misfortunes, some caused by Hurricane Beryl (like losing two freezers, one refrigerator and the air-conditioner), some by vendor negligence (the phone service provider caused the restaurant to lose the phone number it’s had for 35 years; it finally was restored early this month) and some just through bad luck (like the oven going out).
The four-course dinner is a reasonable flat fee of $45 per person and offers three combinations of appetizer, salad, entrée and dessert, such as “Toasty & Meaty” with Toasted Cheese Ravioli, house or Caesar salad, Meat-Lovers Lasagna and raspberry or chocolate gelato. A meal option for kids under 12 is $16. To reserve, email Nick Rama. Prepayment is required.
Later in September 2024
Tell Summer to Buzz Off at a Mead Festival in La Grange
The 11th Annual Texas Mead Fest is happening on Saturday, September 28 at Blissful Folly Farm in La Grange from noon until 7 p.m. The event is presented each year by the Texas Mead Association to showcase the winners of the Texas Mead Cup and brings together several Texas meaderies for a day of tasting and merriment. Enjoy live music and food while you explore all the distinctive styles of the world’s oldest fermented beverage. Nearly 20 meaderies will be in attendance, including Wildflyer Mead Co., Dancing Bee Winery and Meridian Hive Meadery. Tickets to this family-friendly event cost $25 each and include eight tasting tokens and a keepsake glass. Tickets can be purchased on the website.
Ishtia (Formerly Eculent) in Kemah Hosts Italian Wine Dinner
On Tuesday, September 24, chef and owner David Skinner of Ishtia, his restaurant homage to his Choctaw heritage, is welcoming Simone Focardi of Casa Divina Provvidenza, a family-owned Italian winery in the Lazio region of Italy. The winery has an interesting history. It was founded in 1821, and sold by the Vatican state to the Cosmi family. How will Italian wines pair with Skinner’s takes on indigenous American cuisine, such as the Welcome Pot with bison, heirloom black tepary beans, chives and edible flowers, or rabbit in mole made from nuts and chilis? You’ll have to go to find out. The cost is $195 per person and includes wine, tax and gratuity. An email we received states there are only a few tickets left, so grab one of those online sooner rather than later. Book by visiting the Ishtia website. Select September 24 as the date, and you’ll see an option for the wine dinner.
Happening in Houston All of September 2024
It’s Chiles en Nogada Season at Hugo’s!
For the month of September, when walnuts and pomegranates are in season, chef-owner Hugo Ortega is offering his annual take on chiles en nogada, one of the most celebrated foods from the state of Puebla. Offered at three of his restaurants: Hugo’s, Xochi and Caracol, the dish features a mixture of shredded pork cooked with red and green apples, pears, peaches, plantains, almonds and raisins stuffed into two blackened poblano peppers. The peppers are then battered and fried before being topped with savory walnut sauce, pomegranate seeds and parsley. The dish is served with white rice and costs $28 plus tax.
Toast to National Bourbon Heritage Month at Reserve 101
Downtown whiskey-centric cocktail bar, Reserve 101 — which was just named one of America’s Best Bourbon Bars by The Bourbon Review — has partnered with Angel’s Envy for a special National Bourbon Heritage Month promotion. It’s part of the distillery’s Toast the Trees program, hosted in partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation. The promotion features the False Fall cocktail made with Angel’s Envy Ruby Port-Finished Bourbon, Ruby Port, lemon, maple and black walnut bitters. For every photo of the False Fall cocktail that patrons post on Instagram with the hashtag #ToasttheTrees, Angel’s Envy will plant a tree in their honor. The Bourbon Heritage Month cocktail menu also includes a different $6 Single Barrel Old Fashioned each week, in addition to special prices on many of R101’s single barrel picks, as well as the Koko Coco with Bardstown Bourbon Company bourbon, coconut rum, banana and Angostura bitters.
Through Fall 2024
Upgrade Your Taco Tuesday with Fajitas at Candente
Montrose Tex-Mex restaurant Candente is offering a new Size Up Tuesday promotion in which guests can get a large order of sizzling fajitas for the price of a medium order. Prices vary depending on the selected meat(s), but all orders are served with grilled onions, pico de gallo, guacamole, cheddar cheese, sour cream, chile lime butter, handmade corn or flour tortillas, rice and your choice of charro or refried beans. The promotion is available for dine-in and phone orders only and excludes ribeye fajitas.
Beef Up Your Monday Dinner Plans with Steak Night at Sassafras
Finding a great spot to hangout on a Monday with good food and drinks can be tough. Luckily, Sassafras, the Garden Oaks watering hole known for its refreshing house sangria and cheap drink specials, has launched Monday Steak Nights with Amexicun, led by chef-owner Leo Espitia III, starting at 6 p.m. As its name implies, Amexicun offers a flame-grilled amalgamation of American, Mexican and Cajun cuisine. The steak selection includes bacon-wrapped filet mignon for $25, USDA Choice sirloin for $30, USDA Choice New York strip for $38 and USDA Choice ribeye for $45 as well as a head-turning Prime Tomahawk Date Plate for $100. Other entrées include Bourbon-Glazed Pork Chop for $24, glazed salmon for $25, Tuscan Grilled Chicken for $28 and portobello mushrooms for $18. Each plate comes with tossed house salad, starch of the day and a vegetable of the day.
Cabrito Wednesdays Come to Bar Bludorn
Bar Bludorn, chef and restaurateur Aaron Bludorn’s upscale neighborhood tavern in Memorial, is now offering a weekly cabrito special. Every Wednesday, the restaurant is serving this treasured Mexican dish with sides for $69. This shareable feast consists of tender, slow-roasted kid goat cooked over charcoal and served with cabbage slaw, bean purée, marinated tomatoes, tostadas, charred habanero salsa and tomatillo salsa.
New, Year-Round Additions to the Houston Food Scene
Georgia James Steak Introduces New Social Hour
Georgia James Steak has launched a new social hour from 5 to 7 p.m. Sunday through Thursday. For appetizers, the menu includes raw oysters with accouterments for $32 a dozen or $18 per half dozen, flat bread with mozzarella, tomato and housemade pepperoni for $15, popcorn shrimp for $20 and truffled sweet potato fries for $12. Social hour entrées include steak frites au poivre for $28, the GJ Burger for $18, Cajun crab dip for $18 and Wagyu meatballs for $14. Wash it all down with 30% off all wines under $150 Sunday through Tuesday and $10 house old-fashioneds and house martinis on Wednesday and Thursday. Social-hour specials are available at the bars only.
New Happy Hour in the Heights
Ume sushi restaurant in the Heights is now offering a happy hour menu from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Monday through Sunday. It includes $3 edamame or Wakame salad, three-piece chef’s choice nigiri for $12, a daily special hand roll for $9, trio hand roll for $15, $5 duck or chicken skewers, tempura or grilled shishitos and $8 karaage. For beverages, choose from $5 Japanese beers, $8 house wines, sake specials and a selection of $10 cocktails.
Greenway-Area Restaurant & Bar Rolls Out its Happy Hour
Southern restaurant and cocktail purveyor Tipsy Treats at 3839 Southwest Freeway has introduced its happy hour, which runs from Tuesday through Saturday from 4 to 7 p.m. Frozen libations are $9.99 each, and include the new Grey Goose La Poire Pear Martini and a Sidecar made with Martell and Grand Marnier. Happy hour food selections include perpetual Tex-Louisianan favorites such as fried chicken, red beans and rice and Crack Cornbread for only $5, Short Rib & Collard Green Tacos, Crawfish Boudin and Smoked Boudin for $6 and spinach dip or gumbo for $8. New to the menu are the Mini Southern Roll Sliders, a Southern twist on the lobster roll made with crawfish, shrimp and lump crab tossed in a creamy remoulade. The cost at happy hour is $13.
Mario-Sebastian Berry is a wine and spirits vendor who has been in the hospitality industry since 2002. Currently, he represents Blanco, Texas-based Andalusia Whiskey Co. and multiple wine labels. Somehow, he also finds time to be Houston Food Finder’s associate editor and social media manager.
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