Foodie News

Ruggles' Bruce Molzan scores for Houston at Taste of the NFL

Bruce Molzan
Photo by Michelle Watson/LastNightPics.com

Eighteen years ago, Bruce Molzan represented Houston alongside the Oilers in one of the first Taste of the NFL events on Super Bowl weekend.

This year Molzan, executive chef and co-owner of Ruggles Grill and Ruggles Green, is returning to the event for its 20th anniversary in Dallas. This time, Mozlan will join Houston Texans wide receiver David Anderson and represent H-Town cuisine with his Southwestern pistachio-crusted rack of lamb with grape ver jus and spicy apple mint salsa.

Taste of the NFL has become one of the premier events in the run up to the Super Bowl, gathering chefs and VIPs from across the country while raising money for local and national food banks. This year celebrity chefs Susan Spicer, Bobby Flay, Tom Colicchio, Vincent Guerithault, Susan Goss, Todd English, Rick Bayless, Stephen Pyles and "Cake Boss" Buddy Valastro will be on the scene, in addition to hosts Kent Rathbun and former Dallas Cowboy Chad Hennings, honorary chairs Darryl "Moose" Johnston and Miss America Teresa Scanlan, and entertainment from Martina McBride.

Want to join Molzan and mingle with the culinary and sports elite? There are still a few VIP tickets for sale for $600.

Or for less coin, you could check out Molzan's menu at Ruggles.

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Farewell, ElRo

Creative Montrose pizzeria will shutter after only a year-and-a-half

Photo by Julie Soefer

ElRo Pizza & Crudo

An acclaimed Houston pizzeria will soon serve its final pies. ElRo Pizza & Crudo will close after service on December 31.

In a post on Instagram, chef-owner Terrence Gallivan thanks his staff for their dedication and his customers for their support. “We hope to see you all over the next couple weeks. Come celebrate with us,” he writes.

Open since June 2023, ElRo intrigued diners who enjoyed Gallivan’s work at pioneering Houston restaurant The Pass & Provisions. At ElRo, the chef served a modified version of the Provisions pizza recipe alongside crudos and shareable small plates such as arancini and housemade sausage. It earned four nominations in this year’s CultureMap Tastemaker Awards, including Best New Restaurant and Chef of the Year.

Sadly, Gallivan tells CultureMap that business has seen “a steady decline in business for many months.” Recently, the restaurant had tried a number of initiatives to draw in diners, such as steak night on Tuesday and fried chicken on Saturday.

The early announcement gives diners two weeks to make one more visit (or two) to the restaurant before it closes. Customers may want to time their visit for happy hour, which takes places from 3-6 pm Tuesday-Friday. It includes half-off glasses of wine, $4 draft beers, $9 select cocktails, and food specials.

Gallivan adds that he doesn’t know yet what his next move will be. Hopefully, he’s got one more comeback in him. Houston is a more fun town to dine in when Gallivan is cooking in it.

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