This Week In Dining

These are the 9 best food and drink events in Houston this week

The week begins with a benefit to help The Women's Home in Montrose, which provides support for women and families as they rebuild their lives. And it culminates in a series of offers to celebrate Father's Day. Along the way, check out New Zealand wines and see what's cooking around town for National Burger Month.

Monday, June 10 – Sunday, June 16
Taste of Montrose
This week-long benefit for The Women’s Home invites diners to eat out at participating restaurants, all of which have agreed to donate a percentage of sales or a flat sum to the area charity devoted to fighting addiction, tending to mental illness, and helping women reclaim their lives. Those taking part include Avondale Food and Wine, Good Dog Hot Dog, Katz’s Deli, Night Heron, Niko Niko’s, Paulie’s, Roost, and Southside Espresso.

Tuesday, June 11
Outdoor Cooking Series at Eight Row Flint
The popular Tuesday series continues at this Heights favorite. Chef de cuisine Marcelo Garcia honors National Burger Month with a bacon-blue cheese burger served with waffle fries for $15. They'll be available starting at 5 pm until sold out.

Wine Tasting at Jasper's
This Woodlands' restaurant features an evening of wines from Medallion paired with appetizers from chef Ruben Campo. The tasting (5-7 pm) includes selections such as baked oysters paired with the 2016 Domaine de la Verpaille Vire-Clesse, a short rib taco served with Black Rock “Cougar’s Cuvee," and duck confit gnocci with La Magia Rosso di Montalcino. Tickets are $35 per person, plus tax and gratuity. To purchase, call 281-298-6600.

Wednesday, June 12
New Zealand wine dinner at Coterie
This five-course dinner features selections designed to showcase the depth and imagination of New Zealand wines. The menu includes mini smoked salmon quiche paired with the 2016 TU Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, arugula salad tossed in a red wine vinaigrette and served with pine nuts and Greyure cheese accompanied by the 2015 Ceres Cosmopolitan Pinot Noir from Otago, and Texas Wagyu steak with chevre potatoes paired with 2013 Mills Reed "Elspeth" Syrah from Hawkes Bay. Tickets are $55 per person or $100 per couple and can be reserved online. Dinner begins at 6 pm.

Friday, June 14 – Sunday, June 16
Father’s Day Flights at Bosscat Kitchen and Libations
Celebrate Dad all weekend long with this whiskey flight of four selections, including Bosscat’s very own 1792, as well as Russell’s Reserve Single Barrel, Jack Daniels Single Barrel, and Four Roses Single Barrel. The cost is $20.

Friday, June 14
Bourbon flights at Ouisie’s Table
In honor of National Bourbon Day, the River Oaks favorite is offering a flight of three bourbons for $20 all day long. Enjoy one-and-a-half-ounce pours of Angel’s Envy and Basil Hayden, both from Kentucky, and American Prairie from High West in Utah. Those looking for a taste of something else can make substitutes by asking their servers.

Sunday, June 16
Second Annual Father's Day Cookout at Last Concert Cafe
Sponsored by I'll Have What She's Having, this party from 11 am to 2 pm brings together some of Houston's hottest chefs to raise money for Liz Fenton Purse Snacks, a fund for preventive health care for the Houston restaurant industry's uninsured employees. Among those taking part are Mallory Buford of Tacos A Go Go, Alvin Schultz of Eat. Drink. Experience., Otto Sanchez and Matt Cabon of Magnol French Baking, EJ Miller of International Smoke, and Justin Yu of Theodore Rex, Better Luck Tomorrow, and Public Services. The menu features Texas wagyu brisket with side dishes of organic, local produce from Loam Argonomics. Beverages come courtesy of Saint Arnold Brewing Company, Tequila Patrón, and Gin Mare. Tickets are $60 and include admission, food, and beverage. A VIP tasting of special bottling by Patrón is an additional $30. A $15 children's plate includes one meat, two sides, dessert, and a cookie decorating station. Tickets are available online.

Brunchisimo Sundays at Cyclone Anaya’s
Kicking off just in time for Father’s Day and running weekly until July 14, the Mexican kitchen’s amped-up Sunday brunch includes build-your-own mimosas and free swag. Offered from 11 am to 3 pm, the new menu includes selections like crab cakes Florentine, migas, pancakes, Carne Asada and eggs, and a host of other items.

Father’s Day Backyard Cookout at Brenner’s on the Bayou
This outdoor party features live country music and a great dinner deal. Thirty bucks buys a 20-ounce porterhouse steak served with a loaded potato and salad. Also available is a bucket of six Shiner Bocks for $25 (drinkers can buy them individually for $5). For kids, there’s an 8-ounce top sirloin.

Eight Row Flint begins an outdoor cooking series.

Photo by Carla Gomez

Eight Row Flint begins an outdoor cooking series.

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service switcheroo

Street food-inspired Houston restaurant swaps counter service for servers

Photo by Andrew Hemingway

Traveler's Cart is add new dishes to its menu, including steak frites and chicken parm.

A globally-inspired Houston restaurant is making a big change to its service model. Traveler’s Cart will switch from counter service to full service beginning this Monday, November 17.

When owners Thy and Matthew Mitchell opened Traveler’s Cart last year as a more casual sister concept to Traveler’s Table, their globally-inspired Montrose restaurant, they decided counter service would match the restaurant’s street food-inspired menu and lower price point. With a year of experience, they’ve decided full service — where diners sit down and order from a server — will improve the customer experience in a number of ways.

First, they noticed that some of their online reviews go to great lengths to explain the ordering process. Moving to traditional table service will elimination that confusion.

“We want to be like a great brasserie or izakaya where people come and enjoy food and drinks at a reasonable price,” Matthew Mitchell tells CultureMap. “There’s a lack of intuitiveness about the process right now. Almost a year in, we’re still having to explain where you go and how you order. That tells you we probably missed the mark.”

He also recognizes that the inherent uncertainty of counter service — people are concerned about how long they’ll have to wait to order and whether a table will be available once they do — limits the restaurant’s appeal as a date night option or for larger groups who want the certainty of having a place to sit.

Even though the restaurant has been a financial success, according to Mitchell, he thinks Traveler’s Cart is missing out on revenue with its counter service model. “I think people order less at the counter. You may not order a cocktail, and you certainly won’t get back up and order more drinks,” he says.

Switching to full service will also help the restaurant’s perceived value. With entrees mostly priced between $15 and $25, the restaurant may feel expensive relative to other fast casual restaurants. Once servers are added, Mitchell thinks diners will appreciate the value, particularly since its prices are about half of sister concept Traveler’s Table.

“I feel like the food quality is outstanding for the price, but when it crosses that $20 or $30 threshold, people perceive it as pricey,” he says.

Traveler’s Cart has other ways to enhance the value of its offering, such as its $18, three-course lunch that includes iced tea or a fountain drink. Happy hour, available Monday through Friday from 3-6 pm, includes $8 cocktails, $3 drafts, $8 small plates, and more.

Along with the new service model, Travelers Cart is updating its menu with a number of new dishes. They include Thai chili queso, Baja shrimp tacos, salmon donburi bowl, chicken parmesan, and steak frites. The cocktail menu has also been refreshed with a Mexican espresso martini and a Tuk Tuk Old Fashioned, named for the vehicle that now sits in front of the restaurant’s entrance.

Recently recognized by the Texas Restaurant Association as Restaurateurs of the Year for the Houston region, the Mitchells hope that these changes will lead to even more success. With the service style refined and the menu dialed in, they’re already looking for another location.

Photo by Andrew Hemingway

Traveler's Cart is add new dishes to its menu, including steak frites and chicken parm.

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