bowling and bocce, oh my!

Hip new restaurant bowls over Upper Kirby with bocce and bites

Upper Kirby will soon be home to a luxurious destination for eating, drinking, and rolling balls. Pinstripes, a combination bar, restaurant, and bowling alley, will debut at The Kirby Collection mixed-use development on October 25, the company announced.

The massive, two-story facility occupies 33,000 square feet, which ensures plenty of room for both dining and playing games. In addition to 13 bowling lanes, Pinstripes offers six indoor and outdoor bocce courts. It also provides numerous options for private events, including a ballroom that can accommodate 200 people.

"We are excited to open Pinstripes Houston, which marks our second location in Texas and 11th location nationwide,” Pinstripes CEO Dale Schwartz said in a statement. “This new destination offers the vibrant city and surrounding communities a welcoming entertainment experience that combines a distinct mix of dining and sophisticated fun.”

Schwartz founded Pinstripes in Chicago in 2007 to offer people an alternative way to combine fun with food and wine, while connecting with others in the community. The concept has locations across the country, including an outpost in Fort Worth's Shops at Clear Fork development.

The all-scratch kitchen serves a familiar menu of Italian-American fare, including wood-fired pizzas, pastas, appetizers such as calamari and bruschetta, and entrees such as chicken parmesan and espresso-crusted filet mignon. A wine list split mostly between Californian and Italian vintages, local craft beer, and Italian-inspired cocktails round out the beverage options.

All those options help Pinstripes appeal to a wide demographic. Whether it's adults gathering for happy hour, families meeting for pizza and bowling, or late night drinks and bocce, Pinstripes aims to welcome as many people as possible.

Pinstripes opens at 11 am daily. It stays open until 11 pm Monday - Thursday, 1 am on Friday and Saturday, and 10 pm on Sunday.

Pinstripes offers a large bar area.

Courtesy of Pinstripes

Pinstripes offers a large bar area.

openings

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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