Lucky me, I have a sister who lives in Marathon. Wilma’s life in this tiny, remote, quiet town near Big Bend mesmerizes me.
Out there in nowhere, she can throw a hell of a party—both professionally as the manager of the historic Gage Hotel and personally in her fabulous custom-built home that sits on the western edge of town, with little but cacti between her and the majestic mountains.
Wilma casts her net far and wide when inviting guests. (And lucky me, I got an invitation.)
On New Year’s Eve, the Gage’s White Buffalo bar was hopping and the adjacent renowned Café Cenzio served a meal comparable to any of Houston’s white tablecloth restaurants but with an atmosphere that was pure West Texas. Our party, too large to fit inside, ate al fresco in front of the massive courtyard fireplace. The winds blew in from the frigid north, and between courses of a blessedly warm chipotle-sparked tomato bisque and tender Wagyu beef, the crowd fought off the bitter 26-degree chill with comical runs into the warm bar.
Afterwards it was party time at the Ritchey Building, across the lonesome Highway 90 (and Marathon’s main street) and just behind the railroad tracks. The Gage-sponsored party had secured Austin’s Freddie Steady 5 to rock the house. Under an enormous mural of General Custer’s last battle and numerous framed land grants, local ranch hands and their mighty handlebar moustaches cut a mean swing on the shiny wooden floor, while out-of-towners did their gyrating best to keep up.
But the real gem of the weekend was New Year’s Day at Wilma’s home. Here, on what feels like the desolate edge of civilization, the true and honest feeling of heartfelt hospitality and community blossomed. No pretense. No baloney. No adjustments made for photo shoots, no food stylist present. Just honest, down home, West Texas, fringed-suede-jacket-and-boot-wearing fun, food and music.
Late afternoon the eclectic assortment of guests began to arrive, with pickup trucks and four-wheel drive SUVs lining the gravel drive, passengers emerging with pots of home-cooked wonders to share.
Guitar picking Cam King (and vocalist for Freddie Steady 5) toted his annual pot of pozole and fixin's all the way from New Mexico. Marfa psychic Darrel Holzer and artist husband John brought one of three versions of black-eyed peas that appeared on the table. Ann Urban, owner of the contemporary Western wear shop of Pitaya Verde in Marathon, offered up a big pot of greens and ham hock; her husband, Mark, his still-warm version of red chile sauce and another one of tomatillos. Marathon-based artist Mimi Litschauer thoughtfully cooked a superb sun-dried tomato and gluten-free pasta salad for my gluten-intolerant sister.
LA-based film producer Tobias Wilson, principle of Papoose Moose Productions manned the grill for endless hours, cooking scrumptious medallions of twice-marinated venison backstrap wrapped in bacon, blue cheese-stuffed venison burgers topped with red onion balsamic marmalade and a few venison steaks. Tamales, a cheese board and assorted other pots and dishes filled the buffet table. For dessert: Homemade lemon meringue pie, a whopping bowl of chocolate mousse and a bounty of Christmas cookies.
Those from out of town and with no kitchen access, like Mr. Astros Larry Dierker, Houstonian Captain Dave Smith and landscape photographer John Smith of Midland (no relation to Dave) brought their appetites, while Houston music lawyer Al Staehely and son Christian, a pitcher for the Seattle Mariners organization, arrived with acoustic guitars.
First it was all about the food and the long necks, and then as the darkness settled in, the focus turned to music. Like the food it was an unrehearsed, impromptu affair. Texas Music Hall of Famer Freddie Krc (the Freddie of Freddie Steady 5) and Cam King turned it way down from the electric guitar-driven previous evening. Al and Christian joined in with blues singer/saxophone player extraordinaire Evelyn Rubio of Mexico City.
Party-goers rotated between the music session inside under Wilma’s localized Christmas tree of decorated tumbleweed and the endless silence of the outdoors illuminated by the blazing fire pit and the New Year’s full moon.
The evening was nothing fancy. But it was everything. Wilma’s magic was subtle. Strangers, neighbors, big city folks and townies—by night’s end, all friends. Simple, unpretentious home-cooked foods, a gracious hostess, endless long necks, a shaggy dog, great music, soft lights and that crisp, clean, mind-blowing desert air.
What a way to welcome 2010. Who knows what the year will hold? But from this windblown, post-party perspective, I am feeling luckier than ever. Thanks, Wilma.
GTT expands
Houston's smash hit Detroit pizzeria shines with new Bellaire location
It’s been less than a year since chef Anthony Calleo opened Gold Tooth Tony’s, his Detroit-style pizzeria in the Heights, but he tells CultureMap he’s ready to grow. New locations and a major menu overhaul are setting Gold Tooth Tony’s on a path for sustained success.
Calleo and Blake Harris, his business partner in both Gold Tooth Tony’s and Montrose staple Rudyard’s, recently signed a lease for a second location in Bellaire. Slated to open later this summer, Gold Tooth Tony’s has claimed the former Pink’s Pizza space at 5225 Bellaire Blvd. Opening in Bellaire makes practical business sense. It has both a good daytime population of office workers who might like having pizza for lunch and a strong population of families who will definitely like having pizza for dinner.
But Calleo has an emotional tie to Bellaire, too. Pi Pizza, the food truck where he established his reputation as one of Houston’s most innovative pizza makers, used to park in Bellaire. He’s also seen friends like former Bernie’s Burger Bus owner Justin Turner and Blood Bros. BBQ — the current creators of Gold Tooth Tony’s pizza of the month special — achieve success in the neighborhood. He thinks Bellaire will embrace the restaurant just as strongly as the Heights has.
“It’s one of the best markets in the city. They’re underserved for pizza, and they’re absolutely underserved for what we do,” Calleo says. “We’ve done really well here in the Heights with all the families. The kiddos love the food. We have a ton of regulars. We know a ton of people by name. I think Bellaire is a good neighborhood to grow that same kind of thing.”
The Bellaire restaurant won’t serve wings, because it doesn’t have the necessary hardware for a fryer. To make up for it — and to better appeal to office workers looking for lunch options — the location will serve an expanded menu of sandwiches and add a new selection of salads.
“Salads are really about the ingredients you put on them. We use a lot of really great ingredients to make our pizza,” he says. “The salads we’ll offer will not be boring. We’ll be able to do better than tomatoes, mushrooms, and spring mix.”
Rudyard's now serves pizzas by Gold Tooth Tony's.Courtesy of Gold Tooth Tony's
In addition to Bellaire, Gold Tooth Tony’s has expanded to Montrose via the kitchen at Rudyard’s. Available for both dine-in and delivery via third party apps, the menu includes several of the restaurant’s most popular pizzas along with the pizza of the month. Patrons will notice a Gold Tooth Tony’s neon sign at Rudyard’s along with a section of the menu dedicated to its pizzas.
For Calleo, linking up to two businesses makes sense. It ties them together in people’s minds, and it saves him and Harris the cost of building a dedicated Montrose location.
“People have said they’d eat with us more often if they didn’t have to cross I-10,” Calleo explains. “Montrose is a very aggressive real estate market. Rudyard’s lets us increase our market share there and get to our customers without having to find a lot of money.”
To go along with the growth, Calleo will implement a major menu overhaul. A couple of underperforming pies, the veggie sandwich, and the lasagna are coming off the menu. They’re being replaced by a chicken parm — an updated version of the sandwich Calleo created for his Sandy Witch Sandwich Company concept that operated inside Montrose bar Grand Prize several years ago — along with a reworked build-your-own pizza section. As much as it pained him to move on from pies like the Outy 5 that harkens back to the Pi Pizza days, his customers weren’t buying them.
“The stuff without sauce on top wasn’t selling as much as the stuff with sauce on top. I thought about all the conversations I’d had working the front counter. People want something saucier, cheesier, ‘pizza-ier,’” he says.
Calleo is particularly excited about the BYO pies, which will allow diners to choose any four toppings for $20. When Gold Tooth Tony’s opened, it didn’t offer popular pizza toppings such as mushrooms or peppers. That’s been changed. Those ingredients are now available on the BYO menu and are part of two new pies — a Detroit-style supreme pizza and a Detroit-style veggie supreme pizza.
“The supreme is kind of my favorite thing we’ve done,” Calleo says. “I’ve been chasing the way Showbiz Pizza smelled in, like, 1988 when I had my birthday there. I think that supreme pizza is it. That is pizza.”
Guiding customers to four toppings means that no pizza will be completely overwhelmed. It’s also a good deal.
“It sets up everyone for success, and lets people pick and choose what they want. We’ve also given people a better selection of things to build their own pizza with,” he says.