Antone's expands

Houston's most famous po'boy sandwiches unwrap in Dallas-Fort Worth

They even have "famous" right in their name.

Courtesy photo

A sandwich maker beloved to Houston is coming to Dallas-Fort Worth: Antone's Famous Po' Boys, known for its cold, grab-and-go sandwiches wrapped in trademark white paper, has expanded its footprint to more than 100 supermarkets in North Texas and East Louisiana.

According to a release, their sandwiches can now be found at select Kroger, Tom Thumb, Albertsons, and Market Street Stores across DFW and Shreveport.

Signature sandwiches include:

The Original: Ham, Salami, Provolone, chow chow relish, mayo, and pickles
Super Original: Same as original but with extra meat and cheese
The Piggy: A blend of chopped ham, salami, pepper jack, and provolone with mayo, pickapeppa sauce, and dill pickles
Tuna: House-made tuna salad, provolone, and pickles
Turkey & Swiss: Oven roasted turkey, swiss cheese, mayo, and sweet & spicy pickles
Premium Roast Beef: Roast beef, sharp white cheddar, creamy horseradish, and sweet and spicy pickles

The po' boy brand has been a Houston institution since it opened in 1962. The expansion comes on the cusp of the company's 60th anniversary.

"We are excited to finally make our po' boys available to folks in North Texas," says Antone's CEO Craig Lieberman in a statement. "It's been a matter of expanding our production facility, which gives us the ability to deliver a consistent, fresh product daily — one that Texans in other parts of the state have come to enjoy."

"We are hoping to provide Antone's to more locations in the Dallas Fort Worth metroplex by the end of 2022," Leiberman says.

The company was founded as Antone's Import Company by Jalal Antone, the son of Lebanese immigrants, and began as a fast-casual sandwich concept known for po' boys, gumbos, and sides made daily. Everyone knows that when it comes to great food, Lebanese people know what they're doing.

In addition to po' boys, their menu includes deli-style sandwiches, seafood platters, and salads.

Antone's has two full-service locations in Houston: near the Galleria at 4520 San Felipe St. and in Shepherd Forest at 2724 W TC Jester. They expanded distribution to Central Texas in 2018. Dallas-Fort Worth is their third major market in Texas.

The sandwiches are sold in grocery stores across Houston and Central Texas including H-E-B, Randall's, Kroger, Brookshire Brothers, and airports including Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and George Bush Intercontinental Airport.

Plus food service outlets in Houston and beyond such as Texas Children's Hospital, MD Anderson's Rotary House, Kyle Field at Texas A&M, and in Austin at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, and Antone's Nightclub.

So they're currently available in Houston, Austin, Dallas, and Fort Worth, which is four out of the five cities where CultureMap has a bureau. (The only CultureMap city they're missing is San Antonio.) They obviously know what's up.

To find the closest Antone's Famous Po' Boy, consult their Po' Boy Tracker.

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Houston's smallest restaurant?

Michelin-recognized Houston sushi chef fires up 4-seat Japanese skewer spot

Courtesy of Sip & Skewer

Diners sit in front of chefs cooking on a grill.

The team behind one of Houston’s Michelin-recognized sushi restaurants is opening an intimate new izakaya. Sip & Skewer is the newest concept from Hidden Omakase owner Tuan Tran and chef Marcos Juarez.

Opening Friday, February 13, Sip & Skewer is a four-seat restaurant devoted to skewered meats that’s located within Sushi by Hidden, the group’s affordable omakase restaurant in Rice Village. At Sip & Skewer, diners sit across from the chefs as they cook a 10-course, $90 meal on a Japanese binchotan grill.

“Sip & Skewer is small, loud, and intentional. The kind of hidden experience you’d find in Tokyo,” Tran said. “And with Chef Marcos guiding the team at Sushi by Hidden, this space is getting new energy from every angle.”

A four-seat restaurant within a 10-seat restaurant might seem kind of superfluous, but Tran explains that it’s part of a larger plan for his group of restaurants, which also includes West U. hand roll restaurant Norigami. It also builds on the success of Hidden Omakase, the Galleria-area sushi counter that earned a Recommended designation in the Michelin Guide.

“Sip & Skewer is part of a larger vision. It’s designed as a stepping stone toward our next concept, Kōri, a new hand roll and craft cocktail bar opening in the Heights. Our plan is to open Sip & Skewer directly next to our hand roll spot, creating a small alley of Japanese concepts that feed into one another,” Tran explains.

“This allows us to build awareness, train our team in a new format, and introduce guests to Japanese charcoal grilling in a very personal way before we scale the idea into a larger setting with Kōri. The four-seat format keeps overhead extremely low while serving as a live test kitchen and brand builder for what’s coming next,” he adds.

On a related note, Juarez and the other chefs at Hidden Omakase are dividing their time between all three restaurants. Tuam explains that it’s a deliberate strategy to ensure a consistent customer experience.

“The same team that works Michelin-recognized omakase service also runs the grill here, which keeps quality and execution consistent while allowing the chefs a creative outlet in a very different format,” Tran said. “Because Sip & Skewer is only four seats and reservations only, it does not require a dedicated full-time staff. It’s an extension of the team rather than a separate operation.”

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