Ninfaritas in the galleria

The Original Ninfa's sets opening date for highly anticipated Galleria-area location

Galleria-area diners will soon be feasting on fajitas and drinking Ninfaritas. The Original Ninfa's Uptown Houston will open June 10, owner Legacy Restaurants announced.

Most Houstonians need little introduction to Ninfa's. Founded in 1973 by "Mama Ninfa" Laurenzo, the restaurant is credited with turning fajitas — tacos al carbon served on a sizzling comal alongside flour tortillas — into a global phenomenon. In a city obsessed with Tex-Mex, it remains a vital member of the culinary community, as demonstrated by its James Beard Award semifinalist nomination for Outstanding Restaurant earlier this year.

Although other, licensed Ninfa's locations continue to operate in Houston and points beyond, the Uptown restaurant is the first expansion owned by Legacy and overseen by its corporate executive chef Alex Padilla.

Located in the former Peska space at the BLVD Place mixed-use development, Legacy worked with Austin architect Michael Hsu and Houston’s Studio Red Architects to recreate the look of the original Ninfa's location on Navigation. That means a tortilla station at the entrance and photographs of founder Ninfa Lorenzo on the walls, among other design elements. All told, the restaurant will seat 280 people, including a 50-seat private dining room.

Similarly, the menu at the new location matches the original, and the prices will be the same, too. The addition of both a wood-burning oven and a wood-burning grill means that the flavors of Padilla's recipes should be the same, too. Chef Jason Gould (Cyclone Anaya's, Gravitas) will oversee the kitchen, while general manager Ashley Clark will run the dining room. Ninfa's Uptown will be open for lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch. Plans include the possibility of weekday breakfast service.

Legacy recruited beverage consultant Linda Salinas (Jonathan's the Rub at Memorial Green, Hungry's) to create new cocktails that will join the classic Ninfarita as drink options. For now, Salinas' creations are exclusive to the Uptown location, but they'll make their way to Navigation, too.

For a city obsessed with Tex-Mex, the Galleria area offers relatively few options. Expect Ninfa's to be busy from day one.

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The Original Ninfa's Uptown; 1700 Post Oak Blvd.; Monday-Thursday from 11 am to 10 pm, Friday 11 am to 11 pm, Saturday 10 am to 11 pm, Sunday 10 am to 10 pm.

The menu will be the same at both locations.

Photo by Kirsten Gilliam

The menu will be the same at both locations.

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Anthony's song

Prolific Houston pizza chef fires up a new Italian restaurant in River Oaks

Courtesy of Anthony's New York Italian

Anthony's New York Italian is now open near Central Market.

One of Houston’s most prolific pizzaiolos has quietly opened a new restaurant in River Oaks. Anthony Russo, founder of Russo’s New York Pizzeria, has opened Anthony’s New York Italian in the former Pie Tap Pizza space at 3748 Westheimer.

While Russo is known primarily for his fast casual restaurants that sling New York-style pies, Anthony’s New York Italian is both more personal and more upscale. It takes inspiration from his Italian heritage — his father grew up in Naples and his mother grew up in Sicily — as well as Russo’s Italian Restaurant, the Galveston eatery his parents operated for almost 20 years.

“We had veal, lobster, Gulf snapper, a lot of nice, classic dishes. There’s where I grew up in the kitchen,” Russo tells CultureMap. “I was always around fine dining restaurants. My mom and dad used to bring in chefs from Italy. They were excellent chefs. That’s what we had in Galveston for 18 years.”

With Russo’s at more than 50 locations, the time felt right to open a more upscale concept. Partially inspired by New York restaurants such as Carbone and Quality Italian, Russo thinks Houstonians will appreciate his high-end take on Italian American fare.

The menu includes lobster fra diavolo, a 24-ounce prime porterhouse, bone-in veal parmesan, frutti di mare (shellfish with tomato sauce over pappardelle), and more. In addition, the dish utilize Italian olive oil that’s pressed by one of the chef’s friends. Anthony’s also makes all of its doughs, sauces, and sausage in house.

Of course, Russo is making pizza, too. They’re baked in imported Italian ovens using slightly different dough and sauce recipes — along with imported mozzarella and burrata — than his more casual restaurants.

And, no, Russo isn’t concerned that a pizzeria lasted less than a year in the space.

“I feel confident this location is going to be a killer for us. We make homemade pasta on site here, fresh from scratch.” he says. “We're bringing fresh lobster. We're bringing fresh clams. We got a nice veal chop. I mean, these are all chef-selected ingredients. I don't think anybody's doing that in town right now.”

The restaurant is still in such early days that it doesn’t have its own website or social media pages yet. For now, diners can follow Russo on Instagram for updates.

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Anthony's New York Italian is open for dinner Monday-Thursday beginning at 4 pm. It’s open for lunch and dinner on Friday and Saturday beginning at 11 am. Reservations are available on OpenTable.

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