Foodie News

Michelle Obama's favorite Houston restaurant makes a big change: Are you ready for afternoon delights?

Triniti chef/owner Ryan Hildebrand has a simple explanation for his decision to resume lunch service at his stylish, River Oaks-area restaurant on Feb. 3.

"We're ready to do lunch and do it right."

For more than a year, Triniti has only served dinner during the week, but the success of the restaurant's weekend brunches, and the highly publicized transformation of its bar into a cocktail lounge called Sanctuari, helped convince the chef that the time had come for a change.

"It’s a more approachable space. I think it’s a more approachable concept. People are understanding it better," Hildebrand says.

"We're ready to do lunch and do it right."

"We’re not forcing a multi-course lunch on guests. The structure in the past has been that way. People might not have time for that at lunch," he adds.

Instead, the new lunch menu is built around one-course sandwiches and salads that are satisfying by themselves. For those with a little time to linger, the menu offers a local greens salad, cheese board, oysters and catfish and corn hush puppies as starters. On the entree side, Hildebrand says his two favorites are the shellfish salad and a classic steak frites.

Wine enthusiasts will appreciate the synergy of a by the glass list that's selected from popular Houston Wine Merchant sommelier Antonio Gianola's weekly Antonio's Picks.

"It’s a fun way to work with them," Hildebrand says about the partnership with his across-the-street neighbor. "People can try something by the glass. If they like it, they can get it and take it home."

The lunch menu's most intriguing dish may be the burger. Not because of its toppings of lettuce, tomato, cheese and "shhh sauce," but for what it represents. "It’s the components of a preview of a burger that’s coming to 903," Hildebrand says.

In other words, FM 903 — Triniti's long-delayed companion restaurant that's slated for the former Ruggles Grill site at 903 Westheimer — actually lives! Hildebrand isn't ready to offer many details beyond stating that the concept has changed. Construction should begin with 90 days, but that "depends on the city," Hildebrand says.

Whether to taste the future or simply to get a salad, Triniti's lunch menu offers something for everyone. Now we know where First Lady Michelle Obama may choose to dine if she's ever in Houston during a free afternoon.

Triniti begins lunch service February 3. It will served from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.

A look inside Triniti's stylish dining room.

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BA hearts HOU

Houston haunt earns only Texas spot on Bon Appètit best new bars list

Photo by Julie Soefer

Lee's is one of America's best new bars, says Bon Appètit.

A Houston bar is basking in the national spotlight. Bon Appètit has named Lee’s in Rice Village to its list of The 9 Best New Bars of 2025.

Published last week, the list spotlights new bars in cities ranging from cocktail staples like New York and New Orleans to an establishment in Madison, Wisconsin that served a menu inspired by the Great British Bake-Off. “These places remind us why we go out in the first place: not just to drink, but to drink in community, creativity, and craft,” the magazine writes.

Lee’s is the only Texas establishment to make the list. Open since January, it’s the companion cocktail bar to Milton’s, the nostalgic Italian-American restaurant that Local Foods Group opened last year. Just as Milton’s is named for LFG owner Benjy Levit’s father, Lee’s is named for his mother. The bar earned a CultureMap Tastemaker Award Bar of the Year nomination for its ability to blend a quirky cocktail menu with a warm, welcoming atmosphere.

In its entry, Bon Appètit recognizes Lee’s for cocktails such as the Black Hat, a black Manhattan that’s also black in color courtesy of cuttlefish ink, and the Pale Blue Eyes, an Old Fashioned that’s blue thanks to a clarified blue corn syrup. “Much of the inspiration at Lee’s is understated, from drink names that reference the Velvet Underground to complex mixology,” the magazine adds.

“I am extremely honored for Lee’s to be recognized on such a short, meaningful list by Bon Appètit,” Levit said in a statement. “The article describes a great bar as being about ‘mood, memory, effortless hospitality, and a sweet suspension of time.’ It’s everything we strive for at Lee’s and across all Local Foods Group concepts.”

Shortly before Bon Appètit named Lee’s to its list, the bar made a quiet change in personnel when director of bars Máte Hartai left the company in mid-May. In his place, the company has named former March bartender Chad Matson as the bar manager for both Lee’s and Milton’s.

“The LFG team is grateful for [Hartai’s] contributions and wishes him the best in his future endeavors, which will without a doubt be fun and creative,” a representative tells CultureMap.

cocktails nightlife lee's lists bon appetit