Tony's has been the go-to restaurant for Houston foodies and powerbrokers alike since 1965, but it's had a particularly great run as of late. Under 26-year-old executive chef Grant Gordon, the premier restaurant in Tony Vallone's empire has earned raves including four stars from Alison Cook and a James Beard Award semifinalist nod for Gordon in the Rising Star Chef category.
Now Gordon and Tony's general manager Scott Sulma are venturing out with a new concept that gives a nod to their mentor. Vallone's, a "modern classic" steakhouse, is opening in the Gateway Memorial City complex, currently under construction at Gessner and I-10 and located next to the Memorial Hermann Memorial City Hospital and across the street from Memorial City Mall.
Vallone's will be designed by Shafik Rifaat, the architect behind the current Tony's building. (And, full disclosure, the husband of CultureMap editor-at-large Shelby Hodge.) The menu is described as a "technique-driven approach to steak, fish, chops, and housemade pastas."
"Besides our ability to source the finest global and local ingredients," says Gordon in a press release, "the things that will set Vallone’s apart from the other steakhouses will be our interpretation of the all-American classic steak and fish house seen through the lens of culinary creativity."
Though the steakhouse will carry his namesake, Vallone is listed only as "consulting" on the project, which is planned to bow in Fall 2013.
