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Washington corridor gets a boost with London-based Italian restaurant featuring seasoned Houston chef

The middle of January may be a little too soon to start looking for the trends that will drive Houston's restaurant scene in 2015, but one theme that's becoming increasingly clear is that restaurateurs are betting big that Washington Ave is poised for a major comeback. Both Urban Eats and Big Eyed Fish opened in December, and Commonwealth should open in the next week or so.

In between, Il Mascalzone, the London-based Italian restaurant owned by former Olympic boxer Andrea Magi has opened its second location in the former Solea space on Shepherd. The first location opened in west Houston in September.

Since Magi and his family live in Miami, they have turned to a familiar face to help them maintain quality at both locations.

Since Magi and his family live in Miami, they have turned to a familiar face to help them maintain quality at both locations. Diners may recognize Alberto Baffoni from his former restaurant Simposio. Back in the late '90s and early '00s, Simposio was widely considered one of Houston's best Italian restaurants. After Simposio closed, Baffoni has worked at a number of places, including a stint at Mezzanotte in Cypress.

He seems to have found a home at Mascalzone, because he and Magi attended culinary school in Italy together. Baffoni spent time training on Mascalzone's menu with Magi in London prior to moving into this role. He reports that the recipes are essentially the same, but some menu items have different names to account for the differences between British and American English.

Having a chef of Baffoni's caliber in the kitchen seems to have stabilized Mascalzone's cooking, which produced excellent pizzas and so-so pastas on my only visit to the original location prior to his hiring; this week's was mostly excellent across a variety of dishes. Admittedly, it's also possible that arranging an interview with the chef in advance results in better food than an anonymous visit on a weekday night.

Those making a first visit to Mascalzone will want to try the restaurant's namesake: A half calzone-half pizza that's available in both carnivore and vegetarian versions. Baffoni has expanded the restaurant's selection of housemade pastas; his strozzapreti with sausage and broccoli is another must-try.

To further enhance Mascalzone's appeal in its neighborhood, the restaurant will offer a late night, tapas-style menu and serve pizza until 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. Giving the neighborhood another evening destination and keeping an eye on quality should bode well for its future.

Mascalzone has transformed the former Solea space with an Italian flair.

Il Mascalzone on Shepherd January 2015 Interior Shot_Wine Room_Private Dining

Photo by Chris Brown

Mascalzone has transformed the former Solea space with an Italian flair.

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Houston's 'Chinese takeout bar from the future' touches down in Webster

Rice Box Webster rendering

Courtesy of The Rice Box

A rendering previews The Rice Box's new location in Webster.

Houston’s Chinese takeout bar from the future is coming to the Bay Area. The sixth location of The Rice Box will open in Webster later this summer.

Located at 114 El Dorado Blvd, the new location will be called Rice Box Space Center after NASA’s headquarters at the nearby Johnson Space Center. Founder John Peterson tells CultureMap that it’s a bit of a homecoming for him and his wife/business partner, Jenny Vo, as they grew up in the area. As with every new location, the restaurant created a movie-style poster to announce its opening.

Rice Box Webster movie poster The Rice Box Space Center is expected to open later this summer.Courtesy of The Rice Box

For its first truly suburban location, Peterson plans to offer a more efficient pickup system for to-go orders. Dubbed The Rice Box Pickup Reactors, the system applies Rice Box’s sci-fi aesthetic to curbside ordering. As seen in the rendering above, the building will have six slots that drivers will pull into to get their orders.

“The goal is to have guests in and out with food in hand in around 90 seconds,” Peterson writes in an email. “It’s still pickup, but we’re trying to make that moment feel more intentional and more connected to the digital side of Rice Box instead of treating it like an afterthought. We’re looking at this opening as both a new store and a prototype for how Rice Box can work in more suburban markets without losing the part of the brand that makes it feel like us.”

Bay Area-area diners can expect the same menu as the Rice Box’s other locations. That includes staples such as General Tso’s chicken, sesame chicken, beef with broccoli, and orange peel beef. The restaurant also serves traditional Chinese-inspired fare such as Chongqing chicken, cumin beef, mapo tofu, and chow fun noodles.

Recently, Peterson rolled out a new version of Rice Box’s dumplings. Available in chicken, pork, or vegetable, each style of dumpling comes with a different wrapper that enhances the filling’s flavor. They’re also available either steamed or fried.

The Rice Box started as a food truck in the early 2010s. After moving to a permanent location in the Greenway Plaza food court, it has opened brick-and-mortar locations in the Heights, River Oaks, Rice Village, and Memorial.

openings news-you-can-eat the rice box

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