Houston Restaurant Weeks Lineup

Houston Restaurant Weeks lineup: 11 newcomers definitely worth a try

Houston is only two weeks away from the annual dining frenzy known as Houston Restaurants Weeks. This year's event runs for five weeks: from August 1 until Labor Day on September 7, but unofficially kicks off today (July 15) when organizer Cleverley Stone publishes the menus of the over 200 participating restaurants.

As always, the premise is simple. Restaurants put together special lunch, brunch and dinner menus at fixed priced points ($20 for lunch, $25 for brunch, $35 or $45 for dinner). When a diner visits a restaurant and chooses the menu, the restaurant agrees to make a donation to the Houston Food Bank ($3 to $7, depending on the menu).

Last year's effort raised a record $1.6 million, which could be shattered given the additional week of dining.

Most of last year's participants have returned, including popular destinations suchs as Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse, Masraff's and the Cordua family restaurnts of Americas, Churrascos and Artista. While they're certainly worth patronizing, the list below takes a look at 11 of the over 20 new HRW participants. They range from established restaurants joining the event for the first time to new restaurants that diners may not have had the chance to try.

One thing to keep in mind is that the list of restaurants isn't complete. Organizers will be adding additional places right up until the event begins August 1. If a particular favorite is missing, keep checking back. Now to the list:

Amalfi Ristorante Italiano & Bar
The Briargrove Italian restaurant inspired by the Amalfi coast offers a three-course, $45 dinner menu. Starter options include snapper crudo and beef carpaccio. Main courses consist of three seafood options that include snapper ravioli and pan seared tuna steak; those who prefer entrees that walked can choose from paccheri pasta in veal ragout or pork tenderloin medallions with black truffles and mushroom sauce. Three dessert options complete the meal.

B&B Butchers and Restaurant
The white-hot Washington Avenue steakhouse is serving both a three-course, $45 dinner and a three-course, $20 lunch. The dinner menu includes the restaurant's signature sizzling bacon appetizer as well as an 8-ounce filet. Step up to a 16-ounce slab of prime rib for a $20 supplement. At lunch, entree choices include a burger, steak sandwich and salmon. For dessert, don't miss the cheesecake.

Holley's
The Midtown seafood restaurant offers both a $45, three-course dinner menu and a two-course, $20 lunch menu. At dinner, choose from some of the restaurant's signature items like its top-notch gumbo, Thai curry mussels, blackened grouper, chicory-dusted beef tenderloin and spectacular coconut cake. At lunch, the fried oyster salad looks like the most compelling entree choice.

Jonathan's the Rub
The restaurant has been a well-loved neighborhood destination for residents of the Memorial Villages for many years, but Jonathan's is making its first-ever appearance in HRW. The three-course, $45 dinner menu includes starters like mushroom ravioli and mains like lobster salad and a 14-ounce Prime NY strip served with chimichurri sauce. Finish off with key lime cheese cake, apple cobbler or chocolate mousse.

Karbach
The restaurant at the rapidly growing craft brewery offers a three-course, $35 dinner menu. Start with the popular Korean fried chicken or a riff on the Canadian classic poutine. Entree options include shrimp and grits and an 8-ounce steak. Finish with a beer milkshake or chocolate chile stout cake.

Paul's Kitchen
The Upper Kirby restaurant known for its use of high-quality local ingredients keeps things classic on its three-course, $35 dinner menu. Start with watermelon gazpacho, salad or chicken fried quail and waffles. Entree choices consist of shrimp and grits, steak frites or chicken with charred okra. For dessert, choices include lemon poundcake and blackberry cobbler.

Peska Seafood Culture
The stylish seafood restaurant near the Galleria offers both a three-course, $45 dinner menu and a three-course, $20 lunch menu that consist of only savory options: good news for people who aren't into sweets. At lunch, start with ceviche or an oyster trio before moving on to a shrimp taco or yellow tail crostada. Main courses include a pork chop or the daily catch filet. At dinner, start with chef Omar Pereney's signature fruit and flower salad, then move on to lobster capuccino or a soft shell taco. Finish with striped bass trainera or a braised beef short rib.

Prohibition Supperclub & Bar
The downtown restaurant that's home to CultureMap's Tastemaker Awards Bartender of the Year winner Lainey Collum offers a three-course, $45 dinner menu. One could start with something other than six chargrilled oysters, but it would be a mistake to do so. Entree choices include prime rib, pork chop and salmon. Peach cobbler and chocolate torta are two of the three desserts.

Revival Market
Skip the crowds at Coltivare by going to its sister restaurant down the street. The three-course, $35 dinner menu offers most of the recently-introduced menu that's already winning fans. The 13 starter options include both the pickled shrimp and Gulf by-catch salads, as well as buttermilk biscuits or Revival's country ham. Roasted half chicken and a Berkshire pork collar are two of the four entree choices. Dessert choices include lemon panna cotta and buttermilk pie.

Radio Milano
The upscale Italian restaurant in CityCentre is serving three-course menus for lunch, brunch and dinner ($35). At dinner, start with lobster bisque or scallop crudo before moving on to risotto, beef filet or duck. Chef Jose Hernandez is well-known for his desserts, so choosing from the three options could be tough. Best to go with friends and share. On the brunch menu, black pepper spaghetti with rabbit ragu sounds particuarly intriguing.

Sud Italia
This Rice Village newcomer in the former Bistro des Amis space offers three savory courses on its $35 dinner menu. Start with arancini (fried risotto balls) or a fritto misto of fried lobster, shrimp, calamari and vegetables. Three pasta choices are next, including a compelling sounding orecchiette pasta with sausage in pomodoro sauce. Finally, choose from one of three entrees including a stew of mussels, calamari and red snapper.

Radio Milano is a newcomer to Houston Restaurant Weeks.

Courtesy photo

Radio Milano is a newcomer to Houston Restaurant Weeks.

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what's next for Paulie's

Exclusive: Houston restaurateur brings two new Italian spots to Montrose

Casa Carlo Michael Hoffman Davide De Angelis Charles Clark

Photo courtesy of Brasserie 19

Michael Hoffman, Davide De Angelis, and Charles Clark are partnering on Carlo and Casa Carlo.

A veteran Houston restaurateur has claimed a prime Montrose location for two new establishments. Brasserie 19 owner Charles Clark will expand his portfolio with two Italian restaurants, a fast casual eatery, called Carlo, and a fine dining concept called Casa Carlo.

Clark has leased the former Paulie’s and Camerata space at 1834 Westheimer and 1830 Westheimer, respectively, to bring Carlo and Casa Carlo to life. If all goes to plan, the restaurants will open in May, with casual Carlo open for lunch and dinner daily and Casa Carlo serving dinner — with lunch to follow once it’s settled in.

Clark is partnering with two chefs he’s worked with and mentored for many years. Former Coppa executive chef Davide De Angelis will serve as executive chef for both Carlo and Casa Carlo, while Brasserie 19 executive chef Michael Hoffman will serve as a culinary director, with responsibilities at all three restaurants. Clark tells CultureMap he’d been looking for three years or so to find the right opportunity to partner with the two chefs.

“Let’s have a restaurant where they can both have ownership without having to put up any money. It’s harder to open a restaurant than it was 15 years ago. It’s just expensive. It’s $1,000 a foot to build one. It used to be $400,” Clark says.

“These guys are super talented. Davide is an immigrant from Naples, Italy. He started washing dishes in New Braunfels. Worked his way up to line cook. I brought him in as a line cook at Coppa. He became executive chef, running 5-600 covers a night.”

“I still can’t believe that Charles believed in me and was so generous in giving me this incredible opportunity,” De Angelis tells CultureMap. “Without him, I wouldn’t be in this position — after all these years working for him, since he brought me into the company in 2017.”

Similarly, Hoffman worked alongside Clark at Ibiza, his Spanish-inspired restaurant that closed in early 2020 after an almost 20-year run. Since then, Hoffman has led the kitchen at Brasserie 19, allowing Clark, 64, to step into a restaurateur role of overseeing the River Oaks staple’s lively dining room.

Carlo and Casa Carlo

Turning to the restaurants, Clark explains that Carlo will be a lot like Paulie’s, a fast casual, neighborhood-oriented Italian restaurant serving classics such as chicken parmesan, freshly made pasta, and pizza. Critically, he expects to keep the pricing similar to the famously affordable Paulie’s, which closed in December after 27 years.

“I don’t want to alienate the Montrose crowd. I’m not going to double the prices and make it somewhere they don’t feel comfortable,” Clark says. “Hopefully, when they read about it and see the chefs are guys who’ve worked their way up, they’ll accept it more. It’s not going to be me. I’m going to be here [at Brasserie 19].”

With a full-time chef in the kitchen, Clark says he expects the plating at Carlo to be a little more elevated. “Paulie’s was good, but I’m going to make it more chef-driven, where you can see the pastas are put together well,” he explains.

“With Carlo we see it as an all-day restaurant where you can walk up and order from an array of classic pastas, sandwiches, and salads,” Hoffman adds. “Definitely see it as a place to serve the neighborhood, where you can get a quality, comforting meal without breaking the bank.”

In addition to keeping Paulie’s moderate prices, Clark says he intends to preserve the restaurant’s open kitchen. Like Paulie’s, Carlo will serve cookies and other baked goods for dessert.

Casa Carlo will be a more elevated, white tablecloth restaurant in the model of acclaimed New York establishments such as Cipriani, Carbone, Torrisi, and Don Angie, with a menu that takes inspiration from both De Angelis’ and Hoffman’s Italian heritage. That same standard will also apply to the service in the form of tableside preparations and a lengthy wine list.

“We’d also like to include some seafood dishes inspired by Naples, where I was born, and dishes my mom used to make for me when I was a kid — like peperoni arrostiti stuffed with sausage and beef served with bagna cauda,” De Angelis says.

“The recent field trip to New York was great to see the different avenues a modern Italian restaurant can be,” Hoffman adds.

In terms of design, Clark says he’s inspired by restaurants such as The Polo Bar in New York. Plans call for an elegant bar and leather banquettes.

Both restaurants will offer the same kind of customer-first service that’s the standard at Brasserie 19.

“I think with both places we have to recognize what got us here,” Hoffman says. “Charles has always set the example of what happens when you create a space where the customer is welcomed and at ease and then receives a quality product.”

B19 Update

It’s been about four years since Clark and Grant Cooper ended their partnership in Clark Cooper Concepts. Clark became the owner of Brasserie 19, while Cooper created the Big Vibe Group that owns Flora Mexican Kitchen and Coppa Osteria.

The River Oaks restaurant is flying higher than ever. Last year, Clark says he upgraded the restrooms and spent about $250,000 on Brasserie 19’s new patio. This year, he plans to invest in new dining room chairs and more comfortable banquettes.

“We’re having record months. I had the busiest December I’ve ever had. I did $1.2 million in sales,” Clark says. Later, he adds, “I want to make it a classic restaurant like Galatoire’s in New Orleans where it’s kind of an institution.”

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