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    Reality Star's Restaurant

    Reality TV star takes over for a controversial chef, puts her own touches on River Oaks' Paleo palace

    Eric Sandler
    Jul 29, 2014 | 4:45 pm

    In a plot twist straight out of a reality TV show's playbook, change came swiftly last month to Corner Table, the River Oaks restaurant owned by Darla Lexington and her daughter Michelle Coopwood. Originally known for a Paleo diet-friendly menu created by controversial former Ruggles chef/owner Bruce Molzan, the restaurant was forced to change directions when Molzan made an "amicable" departure to launch a concept tentatively known as Ruggles Black in the former Nosh Bistro space on Kirby with owner Neera Patidar.

    Into the void stepped Ja'Nel Witt, the local chef who first captured people's attention as the winner of Season 11 of popular reality show Hell's Kitchen. Witt survived being screamed at by Gordon Ramsay long enough to prevail over her rivals, even if Ramsay's Las Vegas restaurant ultimately withdrew the chef job that was part of her prize. After that disappointment, she has found a new home working with Lexington and Coopwood.

    "If I’m going to work in a restaurant, I want to work closely with the owners . . . it’s really personal."

    "I got a phone call and met with Michelle and Darla and Bob (Meyers, director of operations)," Witt recalls. Despite working for the past year as a private chef and developing a clothing line, Witt "was ready to get back into a professional kitchen. It kind of all worked out for the best."

    Witt cites the "uniqueness of the space" and the challenge of crafting a Paleo menu as part of the appeal of the job, but it was the connection she felt with Lexington and Coopwood that sold it. "If I’m going to work in a restaurant, I want to work closely with the owners . . . it’s really personal," she says.

    Paleo Take Two

    To rewrite the menu in her own style, Witt began researching Paleo recipes and techniques. She also consulted with pastry chef Alyssa Dole, who remains at the restaurant and maintains a mostly Paleo diet. "I put my nose in every book I could find to kind of change my thinking," Witt says.

    Instead of focusing on what Paleo removes, Witt decided her approach would be "how would I change what I was doing and make it paleo?"

    Although Witt didn't land up with the prized Vegas job, she did bring some lessons from the show to Corner Table.

    New items feature Witt's signature Asian influences, along with an emphasis on higher quality ingredients and portions that, while still generous, aren't as over the top as the quantities Molzan is known for. Nowhere is this more evident than in Dole's new dessert tray, which only offers eight items compared to the previous 20-plus choices.

    Beet root hummus is one signature product of those experiments. It gives diners a Paleo-friendly alternative to a dish they normally can't have. The preparation brings out the beet's natural sweetness, and it proves to be a tasty substitute to chickpeas. Beef cheeks braised in the Korean paste gochujang bring a fairly mild, slow-burning heat, but they do provide a lot of beef flavor without resorting to the typical short ribs.

    "Beef cheeks (are) something I’ve done for years. I always feel like I have to talk people into trying it. It’s really soulful, really comforting," Witt says.

    Hell's Kitchen fans will be pleased to see one non-paleo item on the menu: Witt's "signature dish," a pasta that features grilled shrimp "tossed in an Asian-inspired pesto."

    The restaurant closed for two weeks while Witt trained her new staff. Those changes should be mostly unnoticeable to diners since, in addition to Dole, longtime front of house manager Vik Sen and sommelier Derek Sawyer both remain in place.

    Although Witt didn't land up with the prized Vegas job, she did bring some lessons from the show to Corner Table. "I've been applying the confidence I gained, not just from being on the show and winning the show, but also from following my gut," she says.

    Whether diners will flock to Corner Table without Molzan remains to be seen, but Witt says the initial reactions have been overwhelmingly positive. In the meantime, she'll keep tinkering and making the restaurant her own.

    Spicy coconut curry mussels bring a Thai flavor to a Paleo dish.

    The Corner Table new menu July 2014 mussels or clams
      
    Photo by Eric Sandler
    Spicy coconut curry mussels bring a Thai flavor to a Paleo dish.
    unspecified
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    What's Eric Eating Episodes 459 and 460

    Meet the men behind Houston's most under-the-radar Italian restaurant

    CultureMap Staff
    Apr 18, 2025 | 5:00 pm
    Fernando Rios Mike Sammons Mimo
    Courtesy of Mimo
    Chef Fernando Rios and sommelier Mike Sammons are this week's guests.

    On this week’s episode of “What’s Eric Eating,” sommelier Mike Sammons and chef Fernando Rios join CultureMap editor Eric Sandler to discuss Mimo, their Italian restaurant in the East End. The duo, whose history goes back to when they worked together at iconic Houston fine dining restaurant Da Marco, opened Mimo in 2023.



    The conversation begins with Rios explaining the progression of a career that took him from Backstreet Cafe to Da Marco to Weights + Measures, where he worked as the chef de cuisine while Sammons was a partner who oversaw the beverage program. Since they both live in the East End, they saw an opportunity to team up by claiming the former Kanomwan space on Telephone Rd.

    They discuss several aspects of the restaurant’s business, including Rios’ changes to the menu, the evolution of Mimo’s wine list, and how its been received by residents of the East End. A digression about Da Marco prompts Sandler to ask about its chef-owner Marco Wiles, who generally stays out of the media spotlight. Sammons shares that Wiles is the only chef or restaurateur who makes him nervous when he dines at Mimo.

    “He’s really not forgiving about things. This is very consistent with the Italian way of looking at things — there’s a right way to do things and that’s it. If it isn’t done that way, it’s wrong. A lot of my other mentors and friends can be more forgiving, but the standards Marco has kept for years has motivated me,” Sammons says.

    “He’s still the same way,” Rios adds. “That was insane to me. I thought, you get older, you’d be more relaxed, but the way he looks at you makes you nervous. Working in the kitchen, there was times he’d throw all my stuff away and say ‘start over.’”

    Was he right, Sandler asks.

    “Absolutely, yes. He was right all the time. I just think he was one of the best to do it,” Rios affirms.

    Listen to the full interview to hear both men discuss the one thing they’re most proud of about Mimo. They also discuss their plans for the future.



    In this week’s other episode, Sandler and co-host Mary Clarkson discuss the news of the week. Their topics include Houston’s finalists in this year’s James Beard Awards, the owners of Jūn adding a daytime concept called Third Place, and Aaron Bludorn promoting chef Allie Pena to be Bludorn’s new executive chef.

    In the restaurant of the week segment, Sandler and Clarkson visit Camaraderie, chef Shawn Gawle’s new restaurant in the Heights. They share their thoughts on the restaurant’s prix fixe menu, as well as its decor and beverage offerings.

    -----

    Subscribe to "What's Eric Eating" on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Hear it Sunday at 9 am on ESPN 97.5.

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