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    Getting to know Xochi

    Can Hugo Ortega's Oaxacan cuisine overcome the Houston hotel restaurant curse?

    Eric Sandler
    Dec 19, 2016 | 10:07 am

    If Chris Shepherd’s One Fifth is Houston’s most eagerly anticipated restaurant that’s expected to open between now and Super Bowl LI, then surely Xochi, the new restaurant from five-time James Beard Award finalist Hugo Ortega and his wife/business partner Tracy Vaught, is a very close second. The Houston First Corporation revealed that Xochi would be one of the six restaurants opening in the new Marriott Marquis downtown back in July, but, with only a few weeks until its opening in January, Ortega and Vaught have finally revealed some details about the restaurant’s influences.

    Xochi – from Xochitl, Goddess of the Flowers, and meaning to bloom or catch fire (pronounced So-chi) — takes its inspiration from the Mexican region of Oaxaca. Dubbed the “culinary capital of Mexico” by Ortega and Vaught in a press release, Oaxaca is certainly having its moment nationally — celebrity chef Rick Bayless opened a restaurant in Chicago inspired by the region earlier this year — but Ortega, who lived there during his childhood, has his own deep connection to the area.

    “Oaxaca is so rich with culinary diversity and traditions and is a place I never tire of visiting,” said Ortega in a statement. “Its large size and numerous geographic regions hold endless interest for me as a chef and as a Mexican native. The richness of the love I feel for cooking goes back to time spent there preparing food with my mother and grandmother. Xochi is my tribute to Oaxaca and its culinary wealth.”

    To fulfill that goal, Xochi will serve dishes inspired by Oaxaca’s diverse regions and incorporate herbs like poleo, pitiona, hierba de conejo that are native to the region. An entire section of the menu will feature mole: everything from classic mole negro to mole de chicatana (ant mole). Mole sampler platters will be available for those who want to explore the full breadth of options.

    In addition, the restaurant will utilize a wood-fired oven for dishes like barbacoa and Tlayudas, a pizza-like large, thin tortilla topped with different ingredients. Of course, tacos and other streets foods will all be available, and the tortillas will be made in-house.

    Ortega’s brother, pastry chef Ruben, will utilize chocolate made from scratch, starting with cacao beans that are roasted and ground in the restaurant. Non-chocolate desserts will utilize fruits and herbs from Oaxaca.

    On the beverage side, Sean Beck will feature mezcal, Oaxaca’s signature spirit, as well as wine and beer made in the region. The wine list will be global in scope by will all of the vintages served will “follow the models of sustainability, organics and/or biodynamic viticulture.”

    While Ortega’s reputation will certainly help Xochi be a draw, the restaurant is not without its risk. Despite the efforts of talented chefs like Bryan Caswell at the Hotel Icon (prior to opening Reef), Ryan Pera at the Sam Houston Hotel (then the Alden), and Jonathan Jones at the Hotel ZaZa, Houstonians have never fully embraced dining at a hotel.

    Then again, none of those chefs opened a restaurant when they were flying as high as Ortega, who recently saw his namesake restaurant Hugo’s become the only Houston restaurant on Eater’s list of America’s 38 best restaurants. Perhaps the Marriott Marquis, with its 1,000 rooms and luxurious amenities like a Texas-shaped lazy river, will be so busy with travelers that the restaurant won’t need support from Houstonians.

    Or maybe, like Caracol and Hugo’s, the food will be so delicious that Houstonians will overcome their reluctance and learn to love dining at a hotel.

    Piedras y Oro, a chocolate tart with crocant of mixed nuts and praline.

    Xochi Hugo Ortega piedras y oro chocolate dessert
      
    Courtesy photo
    Piedras y Oro, a chocolate tart with crocant of mixed nuts and praline.
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    Immersive, speakeasy-style tiki bar brings the underworld to Montrose

    Eric Sandler
    Jun 24, 2025 | 6:00 am
    Endless Bummer tiki bar
    Photo by Sergio Trevino
    Houston artist Neon Thrash (Brian Dibala) created the bar's interior.

    This year has already been a good one for Houstonians who enjoy well made cocktails, as new bars such as Starduster Lounge, The Kid, and Augustine Lounge have given the city some intriguing new drinking dens. Other recent openings, ranging from Brennan’s refreshed bar to Latin American-inspired Botonica, demonstrate that the trend won’t be slowing down any time soon.

    Add veteran Houston restaurateur Chris Cusack to the list. Known as a co-founder of the late, lamented Heights restaurant Down House and for his intergalactic pizza and cocktail spot Betelgeuse Betelgeuse, Cusack is preparing to unleash a speakeasy-style, immersive tiki bar on Montrose.

    Called Endless Bummer, it’s currently in a quiet soft opening ahead of a grand opening on Wednesday. July 2. Cusack collaborated with Houston artist Brian Dibala (aka Neon Thrash) to transform a 700-square-foot room at Betelgeuse’s Montrose location into a 50-person space that’s equally inspired by tropical destinations and purgatory.

    “Our original thought was along the lines of, ‘How can we make this special?’ and ‘What unique experience can we create that will be unlike other places in Houston?” Cusack said in a statement. “I had known Brian a little bit from mutual friends, his work at Meow Wolf, and a design project we worked on several years before. I reached out and it was really an instant click where our ideas lined up and he really took it from there.”

    Fittingly for an experiential bar, patrons enter through an unmarked entrance that’s accessed by using a code they’ll receive when booking a reservation on Resy (limited walk-ins are also available). Once inside, people will sit at either one of the cozy booths or the 10-seat bar. Either way, they’ll be surrounded by vignettes and other artifacts curated by Dibala. Just like Meow Wolf, the room has a few easter eggs for those will to explore.

    “I was so lucky to get a chance to bring one of my dream bars to life, and even luckier to get to include several other Houston artists to really make it magical,” Diabala added. “Houston is having a big art moment and hopefully, with this project, we're able to show people what the artists in this city are capable of creating.”

    Just as the decor is anything but traditional, Endless Bummer puts its own spin on familiar tiki drinks and other classic cocktails. The drinks have a strong emphasis on presentation, as in the Pistachio Mai Tai, which is flamed tableside, or the Silver Surfer, which has a LED light dropped in that sparkles like a star (please don’t drink it). Other options include a Brown Butter Rum Old Fashioned and the This Sunset Should be Illegal, a mezcal-based riff on the Tequila Sunrise.

    Endless Bummer will be open from 5 pm-12 am Wednesday through Saturday. As noted above, reservations are recommended but not required.

    Endless Bummer tiki bar
      

    Photo by Sergio Trevino

    Houston artist Neon Thrash (Brian Dibala) created the bar's interior.

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