Foodie News

RDG, Valentino and Poscol in Texas Monthly Top 10

RDG+Bar Annie chef Robert Del Grande
RDG is at the top of Texas Monthly's list of best new restaurants.
The interior of Valentino restaurant at the Hotel Derek. Texas Monthly placed itin its Top 10.

Gensler

The February issue of Texas Monthly features Patricia Sharpe's takedown of the top 10 new restaurants in Texas. To our total lack of surprise, Houston restos were well-represented, including at the top spot.

Grabbing No. 1 was no other than superchef Robert Del Grande's RDG + Bar Annie. Sharpe surmises:

"Del Grande is back in the game—and how. Smart and sexy, RDG pulses with an energy that its predecessor had not enjoyed in ages. The crowd, always a bit bipolar in its division between haute and hip, has definitely expanded in the direction of the latter, as young Turks, stiletto wobblers, and other scenesters pack in nightly for drinks and nibbles in Bar Annie.... You might start with a seared sea scallop appetizer from 1992 (menu descriptions tell when most dishes were introduced, tracing the arc of Del Grande’s cuisine through the years). The scallop’s interior is as smooth as butter, and it sits atop bacon-studded grits crowned with a poached egg. From there, it’s a giant leap forward to 2009’s Texas quail, a big bruiser of a bird accompanied by a dusky fig-and-foie-gras jam. There’s also a tempting selection of hors d’oeuvres, like the tasty Asian Nachos of yellowtail on jícama, that defy categorization, chronological or otherwise."

While numbers 2-8 on the list hail from other Texas cities (San Antonio's Il Sogno, Dallas's Samar by Stephan Pyles and Austin's Perla's and La Condesa round out the top five), Houston spots close out the list.

At No. 9 is Piero Selvaggio's sleek Valentino in Hotel Derek, lauded for its "sharp, sophisticated menu," followed by Marco Wiles's Vinoteca Poscol (at No. 10), where Sharpe says the salad and salumi are must-haves, but that the true specialties are "wine and good cheer."

Our hearty congrats to the winners, though we can't help but notice that some of the biggest openings—Stella Sola, Haven, and Branch Water Tavern, to name three—didn't make the Nov. 1, 2009 cut-off to be included. Look out, 2010!

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Kirby Ice House 5

Houston's modern ice house plans fall opening for new Clear Lake outpost

Courtesy of Kirby Ice House

A rendering previews Kirby Ice House's Clear Lake location.

Houston’s growing chain of modern ice houses is heading to the Bay Area. Kirby Ice House will open a Clear Lake outpost in September.

Located near the Johnson Space Center and Space Center Houston at open at 530 Bay Area Boulevard, the new Kirby Ice House will build on the brand’s winning formula — a huge indoor-outdoor bar with an extensive selection of beer and cocktails, lawn games, space for food trucks, and plenty of TVs for watching sports. The Clear Lake location will also offer Kirby Ice House’s daily specials and happy hour discounts.

The bar is customing its interior for Clear Lake. For example, the design will nod to NASA with a neon sign that depicts its signature cowgirl riding a rocket.

“One of the things we enjoy most is creating spaces that reflect the communities they serve,” co-owner Danny Evans said in a statement. “We never want our locations to feel copied and pasted. We want them to have their own personality, and we hope guests feel that from the moment they walk in.”

While the construction team is building the bar, Kirby Ice House has already begun recruiting the 100 or so employees who will be necessary at opening by setting up a hiring facility adjacent to the construction site.

Those employees will be pouring beers from dozens of taps alongside wines by-the-glass or bottle. Kirby Ice House also serves cocktails such as a cucumber-lime Moscow Mule, blood orange paloma, and lemonade Old Fashioned. A rotating roster of food trucks serves customers who want a bite with their beers. Taken together, the extensive selection and massive footprint have helped each location of Kirby Ice House rank among the highest’s grossing bars in Texas.

Over time, the concept has grown to four Houston-area locations in Upper Kirby, Memorial City, The Woodlands, and a Heights-adjacent location that opened last year.

“The Kirby Ice House team is excited to become part of Clear Lake’s vibrant, historic culture,” added vice president of operations Margo Axton. “We’re looking forward to being a neighborhood gathering place that supports local businesses, welcomes casual groups, and gives the community an easy place to meet up before, during, or after whatever the day has planned.”