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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.

    One of Xochi's cocktails.

    Xochi Hugo Ortega cocktail
      
    Courtesy photo
    One of Xochi's cocktails.
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    That's Amore!

    Pioneering Mexican chef and chic speakeasy popping up at Houston hotel

    Brianna Griff
    May 23, 2025 | 10:00 am
    Chef Alejandro Ruiz of Casa Oaxaca
    Photo courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel Houston
    Four Seasons Hotel Houston is hosting a two-night pop-up dinner featuring chef Alejandro Ruiz of Casa Oaxaca.

    Houston diners won’t need a passport to explore Mexico’s culinary capital next month. On June 16 and 17, Four Seasons Hotel Houston will host From Oaxaca, With Love, a five-course experience that teams celebrated chef Alejandro Ruiz of Casa Oaxaca with Oaxaca City cocktail bar Sabina Sabe and agave-spirits producer The Lost Explorer.

    The evening begins with Sabina Sabe bartender Mike Prado greeting diners with a cocktail in Bandista, the hotel’s speakeasy bar and lounge. The libations promise to be divine, with Sabine Sabe currently ranked No. 54 Best Bar in North America, and Bandista sitting at No. 59.

    From there, the party moves into a dining room filled with contemporary works supplied by Oaxaca Serrano Contemporary Art Gallery and underscored by live music.

    Ruiz, whose flagship Casa Oaxaca earned a spot in Mexico’s inaugural Michelin Guide, built his reputation by elevating the dishes he learned as a child cooking alongside his mother on the family farm.

    The chef stays close to his roots with recipes crafted using native ingredients such as chiles, corn, insects, and seeds purchased directly from local producers. Ruiz has long been considered an ambassador of the southern Mexican state — his enfrijoladas caused Noma’s famed Chef Rene Redzepi a moment of rapture.

    For his Houston appearance, diners can expect a true taste of Oaxaca: think a mini tostada topped with heirloom chapulines, chicatanas, and gusanos de maguey (grasshoppers, flying ants, and agave worms); red snapper cured in a bright tomatillo-rice-vinegar broth; and a slow-braised short rib finished in a fruit-laced mole.

    Prado will pair each course with cocktails such as the Pimiento Margarita, combining The Lost Explorer Tobalá mezcal with vermouth, peach, pimiento, cinnamon, and lime.

    “It is our great pleasure to welcome chef Alejandro Ruiz and Sabina Sabe to Houston, Texas,” Tom Segesta, Four Seasons Hotel Houston’s general manager, said in a statement. "These dinners, featuring these awarded ambassadors of Oaxacan food and drink, are sure to be enjoyed by our local community and guests from around the world.”

    The pop-up continues the hotel’s ongoing dinner-series format, which has previously spotlighted restaurants ranging from Emeril’s in New Orleans to Employees Only in New York and an Italian-American steakhouse from James Beard Award winner Chris Shepherd.

    From Oaxaca, With Love begins at 7 pm on Monday, June 16, and Tuesday, June 17. Seating is limited, with tickets priced at $250 per person plus tax and gratuity. Each reservation will receive a signed English-language copy of Ruiz’s cookbook The Food of Oaxaca: Recipes and Stories from Mexico's Culinary Capital. Reservations are available via OpenTable.

    Those who wish to linger can book the hotel’s Advance Purchase offer, which discounts room rates by up to 25 percent when reserved three or more days ahead.

    The menu features:

    Starter Trio

    • Mini tostada with heirloom insects
    • Zucchini blossom stuffed with ricotta and roasted banana purée
    • Hoja santa “taco” with quesillo, beans, and wild mushrooms

    Green Aguachile

    • Red snapper cured in tomatillo-rice-vinegar broth, Persian cucumber, red onion, cilantro, ginger-toasted peanuts
    • Cocktail: Pequeño Gigante – Madre Cuishe mezcal, hoja santa, ginger, lime, Oaxacan spices

    Tortilla Soup

    • Tomato-pasilla mixe broth, crispy tortillas, fresh cheese, cream, pork cracklings, mint-celery garnish
    • Cocktail: Pimiento Margarita – Tobalá mezcal, Mistela vermouth, peach, pimiento, cinnamon, lime

    Braised Short Rib

    • Anchamanteles mole, seasonal fruit relish, banana purée, crispy plantain
    • Cocktail: Agave Xerez – The Lost Explorer tequila, Palomino sherry, green apple, pear

    Textures of Oaxacan

    • Chocolate Mousse, sponge cake, ice cream, tuile, passion-fruit jelly, cacao nibs
    • Neat pour of Tobalá mezcal
    • Traditional water-based hot chocolate infused with cacao flower

    Chef Alejandro Ruiz of Casa Oaxaca
      

    Photo courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel Houston

    Four Seasons Hotel Houston is hosting a two-night pop-up dinner featuring chef Alejandro Ruiz of Casa Oaxaca.

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