One of 2018's most eagerly anticipated new restaurants makes its debut on Thursday, March 22.
After a couple of weeks of practice and training, Feges BBQ, the restaurant from husband-and-wife duo Erin and Patrick Feges, is ready to serve the public. The restaurant is the latest addition to the food court in Greenway Plaza that's already home to Greenway Coffee, the Rice Box, and burger-chan.
Patrick Feges, a classically trained chef whose resume includes Brennan's, Underbelly, Killen's Barbecue, and Southern Goods, takes a broad approach to his smoked meat. Feges BBQ's menu goes beyond the "Texas trinity" of beef brisket, pork ribs, and sausage to include boudain, turkey, pulled pork, and even smoked chicken. The chef has become known for his Carolina-style whole hog, which he plans to serve as a special every Friday.
Erin Feges has earned wide acclaim for her own work as a chef at restaurants including Plonk, Main Kitchen, and for the Clumsy Butcher group, where she oversaw menu development for Blacksmith, Hay Merchant, and Anvil. The Stratford High School graduate also won an episode of Chopped in 2016 and has played a key role in I'll Have What She's Having, an organization that's uniting women in the hospitality industry for the cause of raising money for and awareness of women's health issues.
Her influence on the menu can be seen in the restaurant's sides. Traditional options like potato salad and cole slaw get creative twists, but the menu also includes roasted eggplant with mint, Moroccan-spiced carrots, and Asian cucumber salad. Feges BBQ is so proud of its vegetable sides that diners can order any three of them as an entree, which makes eating a slice of peanut butter and jelly chocolate cake or banana and caramel cream pie a little easier to justify.
On a recent episode of CultureMap's "What's Eric Eating" podcast, the couple shared that this balance between traditional Texas barbecue and lighter fare is designed to appeal to Greenway Plaza office workers who may not always want to indulge in a heavy barbecue lunch. Offering healthy options gives the restaurant the every day appeal it will need to succeed in a competitive marketplace.
The prospects for success look good, if the reaction of the crowd at Saturday's invite-only friends-and-family service is any indication. Diners chowed down on loaded sandwiches, thick slabs of cornbread, and quite a bit of PB&J chocolate cake. Serving every day to paying customers will be different, of course, but the couple have been preparing for this moment for years. Hopefully, they're ready. Houston deserves a barbecue joint where the vegetables are just as important as the meat.
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Feges BBQ, 3 Greenway Plaza, Ste. C210 Concourse Level – The Hub (look for signs for visitor parking); open Monday through Friday from 11 am to 5 pm.
Pulled chicken salad.
