Where to Drink on Valentine's

Skip the fancy dinner menus and enjoy these 7 Houston bars on Valentine's Day

Dining at a restaurant on Valentine’s Day can be problematic. Lots of people who don’t go out to eat often fill dining rooms to make the day memorable, but the crowds have a downside.

To meet the increased demand, most of Houston’s better establishments switch to prix fixe menus that allow them to get food out more quickly. Regular patrons may find these options less appealing than going on another less crowded night when they can simply order their favorite dishes off the regular menu.

For those who insist on dining out on Valentine’s, the best advice is to pick a favorite place, go early (before things get too crazy), and hope for the best. While staying home might be the most reliable way to have a pleasant Valentine’s evening, it also lacks the excitement of being out and about.

Thankfully, some of Houston’s bars and pubs are stepping up with options that are a little more formal than their usual service and a little more casual than going to a restaurant. For those still seeking that special someone, this list also includes a few possibilities that would work for groups of friends.

Anvil Bar & Refuge
Houston’s most acclaimed cocktail bar dresses up on Valentine’s Day by curtaining off its windows, covering its tables with white tablecloths, and playing jazz throughout the night. For $75 per person, patrons can reserve a seat at the bar where they will receive a glass of champagne, roses, two cocktails for a specialty menu, and a pour from a fully stocked bar cart loaded with options like El Dorado 21, Laphroaig Cairdeas 2015, Four Roses Small Batch Limited Edition 2015, and Yamazaki 12. Seatings are every 90 minutes between 4 pm and 10 pm. For reservations, stop by the bar to purchase tickets.

Momo Food + Wine
The recently-opened Midtown bar offers a bit of nostalgia on Valentine’s with a gourmet s’mores package that includes everything two people need to make the campfire favorite: graham crackers, housemade bourbon-flavored marshmallows, bacon, chocolate, and more. The $45 item also include two glasses of wine. Email hungry@momohtx.com or call 832-582-6335 to reserve.

Public Services Wine & Whisky
The downtown bar (a former Tastemaker Awards winner) starts a new tradition with its Red Sauce Night. Co-owner Justin Yu will serve spaghetti and meatballs; if the cacio e pepe he developed for Better Luck Tomorrow is any indication, it should be good. Pair the pasta with a selection of Italian cocktails, wine, beer, and liqueurs from the bar. The bar's historic location and elegant decor offer just the right setting for a romantic evening.

Little Dipper
A dozen roses costs big bucks on Valentine’s Day, which is why this downtown bar is offering its own twist on the popular gift. For $60, two people will each receive three pours of Four Roses bourbon (yellow label, small batch, and single barrel), chocolates from Galleria-area favorite Cacao & Cardamom, and a flower arrangement from Sparrow and the Nest. The price even includes gratuity. Simply purchase in advance on Eventbrite and show up between 3 pm and 2 am on February 14.

Conservatory
For the second year in a row, Houston’s only food hall (for now) has teamed up with craft breweries Brash and Real Ale for an event it’s calling “Bite Me: A Valentine’s Day Affair.” Starting at 6 pm, diners will have the opportunity to feast on food specials from vendors like El Burro & the Bull and aRTe Pizzeria, along with wine specials from the Noble Rot wine bar. Beer drinkers can even take home special glassware to remember the occasion.

El Big Bad
The downtown tequila bar and restaurant helps diners say “I love you and tacos” with a special deal. For $40, diners will receive all-you-can-eat tacos for two (beef, chicken, or pork) with rice and beans, two margaritas, and chips and salsa. Since quantities are limited, the restaurant recommends patrons purchase the package in advance online (via Eventbrite) and make a reservation on OpenTable to secure a table.

Izakaya
Midtown’s Japanese pub will celebrate Valentine’s Day with a whisky-themed party in its mural room. Pitched to women but open to men or groups of friends, the event will feature cheekily-named cocktails (All My Ex’s, Swipe Right, Single Ladies), specials on both Japanese whisky ($9 Suntory Toki, $11 Hibiki Harmony) and bourbon ($6 Old Forester 1897, $8 Four Roses Small Batches), and small bites created by chef Jean Philippe Gaston. A table selling sweets will have plenty to offer those who require chocolate. Bring a picture of a former flame for a free shot (limit two).

Izakaya will feature whiskey and food specials all night.

Courtesy photo

Izakaya will feature whiskey and food specials all night.

where-drink news-you-can-eat where-to-eat holidays cocktails craft-beer

eat real food

Houston DJ-turned-TikTok star cooks up a cult following one recipe at a time

Courtesy of Uncle Dibbz

Uncle Dibbz, a.k.a. A.H. Bowden, has built a devoted following for his viral recipes.

For the past month, Uncle Dibbz has been, shall we say, going ham on social media with the myriad videos of alternative Thanksgiving dishes. He’s dropped how-to clips for such recipes as Cajun-roasted turkey, honey-baked ham/hens, oven-bag turkey, and six-piece fried turkey (to go). Basically, if you don’t want to cook a bland ol’ Butterball this Turkey Day, Dibbz has you covered.

Who is Dibbz, you say? Well, he’s a North Jersey-born, Georgia-bred, Houston-based chef who’s been building quite the foodie rep online. Several videos across his TikTok, Instagram and YouTube pages, from his Cajun-boiled fried chicken (2 million on IG) to his “Propose to Me Pasta” (12.3 million on TikTok), has amassed millions of views. But Dibbz (government name: A.H. Bowden) wasn’t always a culinary content creator. He used to spin music back in Atlanta as DJ DiBiase, named after retired wrestler Ted “The Million Dollar Man” DiBiase. “DiBiase is a mouthful to say, so people just always call me ‘D’ or ‘Dibbz’ for short,” says Bowden, 37, during a Zoom interview.

@uncledibbz PROPOSE To Me PASTA 💍 🍝 Trust your Uncle! This SEAFOOD Pasta will seal the deal 👌🏽 Get my recipe below ⬇️ or on uncledibbz.com [@uncledibbz Link in Bio] 🌐 **Ingredients:** - 8 ounces spaghetti - 1 lb mixed seafood (shrimp, scallops, crab meat, etc.) - 2 tablespoons olive oil - Fresh chopped basil - 2 cloves garlic, minced - 1/2 cup white wine - 1/4 cup heavy cream - 2 tablespoons unsalted butter - Salt and pepper to taste - Uncle Dibbz Delta Dust [link in bio] - Fresh parsley, chopped (for garnish) - Grated Parmesan cheese (for garnish) **Instructions:** 1. Cook the spaghetti pasta according to the package instructions until al dente. Drain and set aside. 2. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the minced garlic, chopped basil and sauté for about 1 minute until fragrant. 3. Add the mixed seafood to the skillet. Season with Uncle Dibbz Delta Dust to taste and cook for 2-3 minutes until cooked through. Remove the seafood from the skillet and set aside. 4. Pour in the white wine to the skillet and let it simmer for 2 minutes, allowing the alcohol to cook off. 5. Stir in the heavy cream, butter, Uncle Dibbz Delta Dust seasoning, salt, and pepper. Cook for another 2-3 minutes until the sauce thickens slightly. 6. Add the cooked spaghetti and cooked mixed seafood to the skillet. Toss everything together until well coated with the sauce. 7. Remove from heat and garnish with fresh parsley and grated Parmesan cheese. 8. Serve hot and enjoy the flavorful Seafood Spaghetti. That's good Shawty! #UncleDibbz #ThatsGoodShawty #Pasta #marryme #proposal #bride #wife #husband #relationshipgoals #datenight #easyrecipe #seafood #cajun #cooking #fyp #foryou #viral #houston ♬ original sound - Uncle Dibbz 🍴

He was making a nice living as a DJ, even serving as rapper Big K.R.I.T.’s touring DJ for a while. But when the pandemic hit, the gigs obviously dried up.

“I was living in Miami at the time,” he says. “And, you know, when you have a lot of time on your hands to think – but also need to figure out a way to, you know, sustain an income and everything like that – the ideas start coming,”

Like most DJs at that time, he was doing live mixes on Instagram. But his days throwing cookout parties in Atlanta inspired him to start doing his cooking videos, where he used his very own seasoning. Of course, he had a lemon pepper blend, which he used in a lemon pepper hot wings video that currently has over a half-million views on TikTok.

“I'm about to go live to DJ later that night, and my phone was just going off with orders,” he recalls. “So I'm like, where are these orders coming from? And it's not from my friends. I'm seeing the cities and the states. I don't know these people.”

Thanks to his videos, which usually end with him saying his signature line “That’s good shawty!” (that’s also the name of his cookbook he released last year), Dibbz went into the seasoning business full time. He eventually hired another person to help send out the piles of orders he was receiving.

He even got an order from former Dallas Cowboy Emmitt Smith, one of his favorite athletes. “I remember doing a book report on him when I was in fourth grade,” he boasts.

Although Dibbz has a flair for making meals that border on decadent, he’s an ardent practitioner of cooking with natural ingredients, especially in his seasoning. He has several low-sodium seasoning, including Bebe’s Salt Free – named after his mother, who had open-heart surgery a few weeks before the pandemic started.

“I don't think a lot of people understand the amount of toxins and chemicals that go into a lot of these seasonings,” he says. “You're starting to see it in the news now. A lot of the foods with certain dyes are being taken off the shelves and things like that.’

Soon, Dibbz moved himself and his new business to Houston, a favorite place to perform as well as a town whose hip-hop got him into music. He cites local chopped-and-screwed gods DJ Screw, Michael 5000 Watts, and OG Ron C as his holy trinity of influences. To give props to the music of his new home, he created a hot sauce – called HXT Sauce – whose uncharacteristically large bottle resembles Promethazine cough syrup (aka the key ingredient in lean, the preferred purple cocktail for the city’s rap community).

“It's not necessarily about promoting that usage,” he says. “But, at the same time, it’s just a homage to one of the factors and influences of screwed-and-chopped music.”

Dibbz still indulges in spinning records from time to time. The Waxaholics’ DJ Big Reeks has gotten him to break out the vinyl a few times during his Thursday-night sets at Alley Kat Bar & Lounge in Midtown. But creating new recipes, dropping delicious content and proving you can eat and live in a hearty, healthy fashion still remains his full-time mission.

“I’m not just talking about eating cauliflower rice all day and every day, but just eat real food,” he says. “We're eating fake food. That's the bottom line. We're eating fake food and my whole purpose is to inspire people to eat real food and that starts with real ingredients, real herbs, you know – real natural seasonings.”

news-you-can-eat chefs celebrities