This Week's Hot Headlines
Houston pickleball hot spot surprisingly shutters and more top stories
Solarium, a Midtown pickleball bar, has closed.
Editor's note: It's time to look back at the top Houston news of the week, including a pickleball closure, an Italian opening, and Houston's James Beard finalists for 2026. Plus, we introduce you to the Houston Tastemaker nominees for Dessert Program of the Year. Catch up on our most popular stories below, then find the best Easter weekend events right here.
1. 6 things to know in Houston food: Openings, a closing, and more. From an intimate new Italian restaurant in West U. to the surprise shutter of a Midtown pickleball venue, the Houston food scene moves pretty fast.
2. These are Houston's 11 best dessert programs of 2026. For this year’s CultureMap Tastemaker Awards, we’ve shifted our dessert-focused award from Pastry Chef of the Year to Dessert Program of the Year. It’s a subtle but important change that recognizes that cooking is a team sport, and it allows us to recognize some of our favorite pop-ups along with our favorite restaurants.
3. Houston earns 6 finalist nominations in the 2026 James Beard Awards. Houston had an impressive showing in the next round of the 2026 James Beard Awards. Of the city’s 12 semifinalist nominations, four have been named finalists in the nationwide categories, as well as two for Best Chef: Texas.

4. Guy Fieri-loved Filipino restaurant closes in the Heights after 6 years. A pioneering Houston Filipino restaurant has served its last meal. Be More Pacific has closed as of March 31.
5. Houston leads America in population growth for 2025, Census states. Imagine that the Houston metro area swallowed a city the size of Pearland in just one year. That’s essentially what happened from 2024 to 2025, with the Houston metro ranking first in the U.S. for population growth based on the number of people.
