looking so fine

Posh Italian restaurant and electric car brand headline new additions to Uptown Park

Uptown Park continues to evolve

Courtesy of EDENS

Uptown Park continues to stake its claim as one of Houston’s premier shopping and dining destinations. Real Estate developer EDENS announced four new tenants that are coming soon to the Galleria-area development.

They are:

Lombardi Cucina Italiana: an Italian restaurant from Dallas-based restaurant group Lombardy Family Concepts
Polestar: a showroom for Volvo’s electric car brand
GLOSSLAB: a nail salon known for “waterless nail services”
Kindbody: a fertility clinic that aims to make treatments available at a lower cost than other providers

Lombardi Cucina Italiana will occupy over 9,000-square-feet in the former Tasting Room space. It will be the company’s second Houston-area restaurant, joining Toulouse in River Oaks District.

Assuming it’s similar to the location that exists at The Star in Frisco, Texas, diners can expect a modern, luxurious Italian restaurant centered around freshly made pastas alongside shareables like fried calamari, meatballs, and wood-grilled octopus and center of plate entrees that include whole branzino, steaks, and osso bucco. Beverage options include Italian-inspired cocktails and an extensive wine list.

Both the Polestar showroom and Glosslab salon will be their brands second Texas locations. Together with Rocambolesc, an ice cream shop by world-renown pastry Jordi Roca, the new additions give Uptown Park five new concepts to open this year, joining staples such as Etoile, Urbe, and Flower Child.

“The addition of these five concepts to Uptown Park continues to provide our guests with the most sought-after brands and experiences,” EDENS vice president Michael Hale said in a statement. “Paired with our commitment to enriching our neighborhood, we are excited to continue introducing new shopping and dining experiences that enhance the surrounding community.”

news-you-can-eat openings

H-Town's Moo Deng

Houston Zoo welcomes Akobi, an adorable pygmy hippopotamus

Akobi is Houston Zoo's newest pygmy hippoptamus

Photo by Jackelin Reyna/Houston Zoo

Houston Zoo welcomes itOH MY THAT IS ADORABLE

The Houston Zoo welcomes Akobi, its newest pygmy hippopotamus right as the species is having a massive resurgence in popularity.

Thanks to Moo Deng, a baby pygmy hippo born Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Si Racha, Chonburi, Thailand this summer, pygmy hippopotami are more popular than ever. Moo Deng became a viral sensation thanks to cute videos of him playing and drinking from a spraying hose. He was even parodied on Saturday Night Live, where he was played by Bowen Yang.

Akobi is a four-and-a-half-year-old, 477-pound male pygmy hippopotamus who recently moved from San Francisco to Houston as part of an Association of Zoos and Aquarium (AZA) Species Survival Plan (SSP) Program. His name means “first born” in Yoruba. This is definitely one California transplant all Texans can agree on.

As their name suggests, pygmy hippos are quite a bit smaller than their more famous counterparts. Common hippos can weigh up to 4,000 pounds and are among the most dangerous megafauna in the world because of their fierce territoriality. By contrast, pygmy hippos rarely get above 500 pounds and are comparatively docile.

Unlike their larger cousins, pygmy hippos spend most of their time on dry land and live solitary lives rather than in large herds. Akobi is the first pygmy hippo in the Houston Zoo since the death of Silas, their previous pygmy hippo. Acquired in 2020, Silas quickly became a favorite of zoo visitors. He died in 2022 after a short illness.

Akobi comes at a time of massive expansion and progress for the Houston Zoo. The 55-acre zoological garden just opened its massive Birds of the World exhibit, featuring bird species across three continents. It also swept a series of industry awards for its innovative Galapagos Island area, which introduced penguins to the zoo among a host of other species. These were all part of the Houston Zoo’s centennial celebration.

Hopefully, Akobi will have an easier time than Moo Deng. Visitors to the viral star’s enclosure would sometimes spray water or throw items at the hippo, leading to the zoo having to build more security to protect Moo Deng. Houston Zoo visitors should remember that pygmy hippos (and all zoo animals) should not be disturbed or molested for their health and the visitor’s safety.

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