Food for Thought

Gourmet restaurant delivery is making a comeback in H-Town: New great on-the-go options

One cold rainy day, writing on deadline in sweats with no makeup and uncombed hair, I wanted some Thai food.

Didn’t happen. The best I could get delivered was Chinese. It was that or chain pizza.

Take-out is more doable in Houston — if you want to get out and pick it up yourself. The new Carrabba’s offers several take-out parking spots near the entrance so you can run in and pick up a wood-fired pizza or pasta and Haven offers a fried chicken dinner for four that you don’t even have to get out of your car for. Just pull up to the valet and they’ll bring it out to you. But that’s only after 5 p.m.

“I never use take-out or delivery. I cook and I like my own food so why would I? Eating at a restaurant is about going out and experiencing it.”

And now Philippe Restaurant + Lounge is offering four boxed lunches that can be picked up: a delicious grilled chicken salad, a Croque Monsieur, a turkey Panini and a Philly cheese steak, all boxed with a side of pasta salad and a fresh baked cookie.

“We simply wanted to give our customer the option to experience the culinary flair, even in a quick but chic lunch box, offering them the Philippe experience in their own offices, bringing joy to them for the rest of their hard but successful working day,” says French Cowboy chef Philippe Schmit.

“I never use take-out or delivery,” says foodie author and radio host John DeMers. “I cook and I like my own food so why would I? Eating at a restaurant is about going out and experiencing it.”

Seems like a lot of folks share that idea.

Still . . . there are times that I just don’t want to leave the house, have time to cook, or want pizza or Chinese. So what about delivery?

There are a few restaurants that will deliver within a certain radius. I’m lucky to be in the delivery zone of Amazon Grill. Order the mixed grill of chimichurri grilled beef tenderloin, chicken and achiote grilled shrimp served with cilantro rice, black beans, maduros and vegetable escabeche (just not on Sunday, the only day it doesn't deliver).

So that leaves services like Restaurants on the Run.

“I’ve never used them here,” says design consultant Pamela O’Brien. “But they have the brochures in hotel rooms and when I travel I do order from them because I don’t like to dine out alone.”

“I’ve used them before,” says Jennifer Olin. “I like it because you can order from a lot of different restaurants, but the delivery charge can be almost as much as the food. So it depends on just how lazy I am.”

New Delivery Hope?

No problem, says Liam. Just call the restaurant and order and he would pick it up, pay for it and bring it to me within 50 minutes.

For a brief, shinning moment, there was Pop-Up Pantry that offered to deliver restaurant quality dinners direct to your home but before I could even try them the company went out of business.

But, just when you thought you’d have to get dressed and head out, or pay a fortune in delivery fees, along comes Liam Musgrove and Clutch Delivery (first reported on by CultureMap's Whitney Radley). Just a guy, a cellphone, a bike and a dream to deliver pretty much anything in the Montrose and Midtown areas for ridiculously reasonable fees (five bucks to $16 for areas slightly farther out).

And by anything I mean smokes, toilet paper, wine and food. Pretty much anything except illegal drugs and live animals.

So I tried him. Called his cell phone at 11 a.m. Got a message saying to text him. Before I could even do that he called me back and asked what I needed.

I needed Thai food for lunch.

No problem, says Liam. Just call the restaurant and order and he would pick it up, pay for it and bring it to me within 50 minutes.

I admit I was leery. But I called Thai Pepper, ordered my chicken pad Thai (extra spicy) and mee krob.

Forty-five minutes after I first called, Musgrove peddles up to the door with hot, delicious food.

I’m in love. I may never leave the house again.

Haven offers a fried chicken dinner for four that you don’t even have to get out of your car for. Just pull up to the valet and they’ll bring it out to you. But that’s only after 5 p.m.

Haven Facebook

Haven offers a fried chicken dinner for four that you don’t even have to get out of your car for. Just pull up to the valet and they’ll bring it out to you. But that’s only after 5 p.m.

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Coming soon to Fredericksburg

Houston restaurant vet serves up Roman-style eatery in the Hill Country

Photo courtesy of Bottega Salaria

Valerio Lombardozzi is opening Bottega Salaria in the former home of La Bergerie.

Valerio Lombardozzi’s culinary career has taken him to the world’s finest kitchens, including restaurants owned by icons like Alain Ducasse, Giorgio Locatelli, and Joël Robuchon. In Houston, he led La Table and Tavola, where he earned a reputation for being one of the city's most engaging front of the house personalities.

But his latest project might be his biggest accomplishment yet. The hospitality veteran is opening Bottega Salaria, a homey Italian osteria and artisan market, in the former home of La Bergerie at 312 E Austin St in his adopted home of Fredericksburg.

Lombardozzi says the restaurant, expected to arrive in winter 2026, fills a gap in the Hill Country dining scene, but, more importantly, it's a reflection of his personal history and time spent working at his family’s restaurant in Rome.

“[It’s about] where I grew up, how I grew up, and how I eat,” he shares.

The three-concept experience is inspired by Italy’s Via Salaria, the ancient route Italians used to transport salt from the Adriatic Sea to Rome. The menu acts as a sort of travelogue, borrowing from the different cultures along the road, and the way village fishermen and shepherds ate.

Lombardozzi is quick to say he didn’t want to open a chef-driven restaurant. Instead, the osteria will serve traditional Roman staples such as cacio e pepe, amatriciana, carbonara, saltimbocca with sage and prosciutto, and branzino carved tableside.

“I was one of the last to be exposed to the old generation of professionals who knew how to carve elegantly for the guests,” he says.

The adjacent bottega will stay open during restaurant hours, offering fresh pasta made on-site, house-made sauces, imported Italian pantry items, cheeses, salumi, breads, and biscotti. Patrons will be able to shop for individual items or put together custom gift baskets.

Outdoors, La Fraschetteria will debut a new hospitality experience in the U.S. The self-guided experience invites diners to grab wine directly from garden shelves, gather a spread of meats, cheeses, bread, or pasta, and linger around long communal tables lit by string lights.

Keeping the chit-chat going will be a thoughtful beverage program anchored by a primarily Italian wine list and imported beer. Lombardozzi says the cocktail menu might be a surprise, offering only gin and tonics, spritzes, and negronis. The latter has been made into a game where diners roll dice to determine the evening's combination of gin, vermouth, and bitters.

After dinner, guests can select an amaro from a rolling cart, sip grappa and limoncello, or sip a neat whiskey.

Lombardozzi shares that he wants Bottega Salaria to be just as comfortable for Fredericksburg locals as it is for destination travelers. Beyond daily service, Bottega Salaria plans community events such as garden wine nights with live music, Sunday movie nights, and hands-on cooking classes.

The space is designed for ease with a warm palette combining olive green and pomegranate reds. The decor blends heritage and modernity, bringing in objects like antique mirrors, plates, custom-made lamps, and even old tablecloths and curtains for an Old World feel.

"We’re not just opening a restaurant,” Lombardozzi says. “We’re creating a gathering place. A home for everyone who loves Italian food, culture, and the joy of sharing a meal with others.”

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