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    where to eat right now

    Where to eat in Houston right now: 11 best new restaurants for August

    Eric Sandler
    Aug 26, 2019 | 11:28 am

    This summer's breakneck pace of restaurant openings has continued into August. New arrivals in River Oaks District, Rice Village, and downtown — many from out of town — may have diners feeling a little dazed by all the new options.

    Even for an alleged professional, it can be hard to keep up. Actually going to all of these places to experience them takes a certain amount of time. Of course, doing so is a necessary component of being able to provide an accurate assessment of what people can expect when they make their own visits. Also, what's the fun in writing about restaurants without visiting them?

    As always, these are roughly ordered by how quickly I think people should visit them, but this month's crop of restaurants is so solid that each choice is a good one. Don't dawdle, because the new openings will continue fast and furious into the fall. Next month's list will include the latest version of One Fifth as well as late-summer stragglers like Rosie Cannonball, Savoir, and Candente.

    Loch Bar
    First, let’s be clear about one thing. Despite the word “bar” in its name and the extensive whiskey selection, Loch is definitely a restaurant first, with a dramatic dining room, live music in the evenings, and late-night service (daily until 1 am). The menu offers a full range of East Coast style seafood, including a lobster roll, fish and chips, and some of the best crab cakes in Houston, along with an extensive raw bar.

    Highlights include any oyster preparation (raw, roasted, or fried) as well as the fish and chips and yellowfin tuna poke. Skip the fried chicken; it’s plenty juicy but not as flavorful as the version at La Lucha. Given the menu’s overall strengths, that’s a relative quibble. 4444 Westheimer Rd., Ste. G110.

    Bravery Chef Hall: BOH Pasta & Pizza, Cherry Block Craft Butcher & Kitchen, and Kokoro
    This food hall’s five restaurants offer enough compelling choices that each could be its own entry in this article, but my strategy over a couple of visits has been to sample a dish or two from the different concepts. In that spirit, plan a progressive dinner through this exciting new addition to Market Square.

    At BOH, chef Ben McPherson’s Italian restaurant, that means a slice of two of his Roman style pizza that features a light, crispy crust or a bowl of his pasta carbonara made with local eggs and crispy guanciale. Chicken fried steak skewers — made with bavette steak and served with a classic red-eye gravy — and the Gulf and Ranch — a ribeye cap stuffed with shrimp andouille sausage — are just two of the beefy delights at Cherry Block, a casual, affordable steakhouse from Black Hill Meats owner Felix Florez and chef Jess DeSham Timmons.

    As satisfying as the dishes at both of those establishments are, Kokoro has become my early favorite. Uchi veterans Patrick Pham and Daniel Lee lead the kitchen, which serves sushi (sashimi, nigiri, and maki) as well as a small menu of yakitori skewers and side dishes like chicken fat fried rice. The precisely cut nigiri, using sustainable fish sourced locally as well as from Japan (who knew Mexican chu-toro could be so delicious) already arrived seasoned with a little soy or a bright citrus element, which means diners shouldn’t be dredging them through a brown slurry of soy sauce and wasabi.

    I’ll consider the other two restaurants, Atlas Diner and Vietnamese concept The Blind Goat, in next month’s column. 409 Travis St.

    Ouzo Bay
    Also owned by Baltimore’s Atlas Restaurant Group, this restaurant offers a more upscale environment and global menu than sister concept Loch Bar. Overall, the stylish restaurant has a lively atmosphere, at least it did on the busy Saturday night I visited for dinner.

    It would be easy just to make a meal of starters like the grilled octopus, wagyu-stuffed grape leaves, and watermelon feta salad, but that would mean skipping the fresh fish selections that are the menu’s biggest draw. Whether that’s Ora King salmon cooked to a delicate medium and served with a white bean puree or pan-seared branzino with capers, fish preparations are balanced to enhance the natural flavors rather than overwhelming them. Meat eaters should consider the lamb chops or bone-in bison short rib.

    Regardless of whether one chooses land or sea, sommelier Evan Turner always seems to have the right vintage to pair with a dish — as long as it's one of the Greek wines he champions. 4444 Westheimer Rd., Ste. G130.

    Sweetgreen
    From its hometown of Washington, D.C., this salad concept has conquered parts of both the East and West coasts with its eclectic menu of creative combinations. It arrives in Rice Village (its first Texas location) with a reputation for inspiring such cultish devotion that the company is worth more than $1 billion.

    Consider the “Summer BBQ Salad” that combines blackened chicken thighs with watermelon, raw corn, shredded cabbage, shredded kale, green goddess ranch, and more. The blend of flavors — peppery chicken, sweet watermelon, etc. — and textures — creamy dressing, crunch carrots, chewy kale — means that each bite offers something a little different. The ability to build a custom salad ensures that people get just what they want. Expect even more of a frenzy when a second location opens in Montrose next month. 2551 Amherst St.

    The Gypsy Poet
    This intimate Midtown restaurant serves Neapolitan (described on the menu as “artisan-style") pizzas from a wood-burning oven along with a couple of salads and a very tasty tiramisu. The dough ferments for 48 hours (72 on Tuesdays), which gives the baked crust a light texture and pleasant chew. With toppings like pepperoni and honey, portobello mushrooms with bacon, and a classic Margherita, diners should find a sufficient range of options, and the 13-inch diameter means two people with small appetites could conceivably split a pie — although that’s not as much fun as ordering one per person and having some leftovers.

    Note that the owners also use the space as a performance venue. Impromptu jam sessions can bust out at any moment. 2404 Austin St.

    Warehouse 72
    From the bones of Spaghetti Warehouse comes this Italian-inspired restaurant. With its open kitchen, eclectic decor, and scratch-made menu of pizzas, pastas, and entrees, the restaurant seems more like North Italia than its humble, red sauce predecessor.

    Chef Jaime Salazar, formerly of Brasserie 19, presents a menu full of upscale touches that include angel hair pasta with truffle cream sauce, Australian lamb chops, and seared scallops with romesco. Highlights from a lunch visit included crispy, gooey fried mozzarella; a nicely al dente seafood risotto loaded with shrimp and other shellfish; and juicy roasted chicken.

    Being located in the Marq*E Entertainment Center may prove to be at odds with becoming a successful upscale-casual concept, but Warehouse 72 looks to have the right pieces in place to achieve success. 7620 Katy Fwy., Ste. 305.

    Craft Pita
    Raffi Nasr has brought a taste of Lebanon to Briargrove with this newly-opened fast casual restaurant. The menu offers a crowd-pleasing array of dishes, from hummus and falafel to pita sandwiches, and bowls made with rotisserie chicken or akaushi beef from Heartbrand Ranch. Quality beef is Nasr’s only goo sourcing decision: his pita comes from Phoenicia, his baklava crumble comes from Suzie’s Pastry Shoppe, and next door neighbor Michael’s Cookie Jar bakes his tahini blondie. Friendly service and a family-friendly atmosphere should help it appeal to the young professionals who make their homes in the neighborhood. 1920 Fountain View Dr.

    Mendocino Farms
    Don’t confuse this California-based sandwich’s shop position on the list with an assessment that it is of low quality, because that’s certainly not the case. Each sandwich presents an interesting combination of flavor and textures that transcends what’s typically found at lesser chain shops. For example, the Peruvian steak sandwich comes topped with Oaxacan cheese, herb aioli, and vegetables that give it both heft and crunch (adding avocado for creaminess is good, too). Similarly, a simple-sounding turkey and avocado sandwich gets a spicy boost from chili aioli and jalapeño relish.

    In addition to creative combination, the restaurant offers a stylish interior and a family-friendly atmosphere. With locations in downtown and Uptown Park slated to open before the end of the year, lots more Houstonians will get to decide whether or not Mendocino suits their palates. 5510 Morningside Dr.

    Pepper Lunch
    Bellaire Food Street has already emerged as a popular dining destination in Chinatown, and this Japanese chain is one of the reasons why. All of the dishes arrive on a sizzling iron plate. Diners stir the ingredients together to cook the protein, rice, and vegetables.

    I tried the kimchi beef with rice and corn. The beef cooks quickly, and the flavors work well together. The kimchi’s sour tang balances out the corn’s sweetness, and the rice gets a little crunch as it cooks. More quick and convenient than a culinary revelation, Pepper Lunch makes a solid addition to the area’s dining options. 9393 Bellaire Blvd., Ste. C.

    Angel hair pasta with truffle cream sauce is a signature at Warehouse 72.

    Warehouse 72 angel hair pasta
      
    Photo by Adrian Verde
    Angel hair pasta with truffle cream sauce is a signature at Warehouse 72.
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    he finished the job

    Houston chef Tristen Epps dishes on his Top Chef victory — and what's next

    Eric Sandler
    Jun 13, 2025 | 9:05 am
    Top Chef Tristen Epps
    Photo by David Moir/Bravo
    Kristen Kish, Tristen Epps, Gail Simmons, and Tom Colicchio.

    Houston has played a leading role in America’s culinary scene, but the city has never been home to a Top Chef winner — until last night. In the final episode of season 22, chef Tristen Epps earned the title and a $250,000 cash prize.

    Epps secured his victory by remaining true to the Afro-Caribbean cuisine that helped him secured an impressive four Elimination Challenge wins and $35,000 in additional prize money from two Quickfire wins and as a member of the team that won the show’s signature Restaurant Wars challenge. His four-course menu took a panel of celebrity judges on a journey that also referenced the finale location of Milan, Italy.

    In particular, Epps wowed the panel with his second course — Chicken “Durango” with injera shrimp toast and shellfish jus — that referenced both the Ethiopian chicken stew doro wat and the Italian dish pollo durango, a sly nod to the history of imperialism between the two countries. He finished his savory offerings with Oxtail Milanese Crepinette with Carolina Gold rice grits, curry butter, and bone marrow gremolata, which earned praised from the panel.

    “Historically, we’ve been underserved oxtail,” Top Chef alum and James Beard Award winner Gregory Gourdet said during the episode. “Tristen took the time to pull it, create that beautiful, huge, maybe too big, portion of oxtail. And cover it with that gremolata. He did not forget the bone marrow. That’s very, very smart.”

    Throughout Top Chef’s run, Epps has been holding a series of pop-ups devoted to everything from hot dogs to steakhouses. Now, he can turn his attention to Buboy, a tasting menu concept that will celebrate the Afro-Caribbean cuisine he championed throughout his time on the show.

    CultureMap caught up with Epps on Friday morning for a brief chat about his victory and what’s next.

    CultureMap: What do you remember from the day you cooked that final dinner?
    Tristen Epps: It was an extreme amount of focus. A lot of writing in my notebook. I didn’t want to laugh. I didn’t want to cry or do anything except finish the job, regardless of whatever the outcome would have been. I remember wanting to call my mom. I really wanted to talk things out so I could calm myself down and stay within my focus. Once I got into cooking, I felt so much at ease. It’s my happy place. It’s my serenity.

    CM: How did you feel when you saw Gregory Gourdet on the panel? Did you feel like you had an advocate in the room?
    TE: I’ve cooked with gregory before, a long time ago. It was really fun. I loved what he was doing.

    I felt like I had kind of an advocate. I was worried my food wold be too spicy or too overpowering [for the European chefs]. Seeing Gregory was really good, especially with what I was doing.

    CM: Other chefs, including Gregory Gourdet and Houston chef Dawn Burrell, have done well on the show with Afro-Caribbean cuisine but they didn’t win. How important was it to you to finish the job and use those flavors to win the title?
    TE: To me that was super important. There’s adventurous people who make phenomenal food. They’ll go once because it’s interesting, bu they’re usually skeptical. When you don’t nail it, they say, that’s why I go to the regular places that are familiar.

    Finishing the job was really important to me. People have come up short on this. I wanted to get this right for everyone who’s made that step forward and created the ladder.

    CM: What have your last 12 hours been like since the episode aired? Have any celebrities reached out to you?
    TE: A lot of calls, a lot of good luck. A lot of everything. It’s been amazing.

    A lot of past Top Chef winners reached out to me, giving me a lot of support and telling me what they did after they won.

    [ESPN football commentator] Mina Kimes did, which was really cool.

    CM: What are your plans for the prize money?
    TE: It’s going to go to Buboy. Now that the cat’s out of the bag, it can go a little faster.

    CM: You’ve been holding a series of pop-ups that range from tasting menus to hot dogs? What’s next?
    TE: Part of getting the restaurant open has been introducing myself to all of Houston. These pop-ups represent my interests and my fun. They’re the things that Buboy is going to represent. It can be fun, it can be a conversation, it can be educational, it can push the limits of cuisines we know. It’s an expression of culture in whatever way I see fit that day.

    The hot dog concept will probably be a separate venture, but who’s to say there’s not a hot dog at the end of that meal?

    Top Chef Tristen Epps
      

    Photo by David Moir/Bravo

    Kristen Kish, Tristen Epps, Gail Simmons, and Tom Colicchio.

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