Just in time for crawfish season

H-E-B spices up Houston with opening of new seafood boil house

H-E-B is stepping up its seafood offerings just in time for crawfish season. The San Antonio-based grocer will open a new seafood restaurant at its Chinatown-area store (10100 Beechnut St.) on Saturday, January 26.

Dubbed the True Texas Boil House, the restaurant serves boiled seafood (crawfish, shrimp, and crab legs), fried seafood (shrimp and catfish), and sides (potatoes, fries, hushpuppies, etc). Prices are reasonable, too; a pound of crawfish costs $6.97 or $5.97 when a person orders five pounds or more. A fried seafood basket with catfish and shrimp comes in at $8.97.

As H-E-B Beechnut perishable leader Chavel Melchor explains, the store’s shoppers are evenly split between African-American, Latino, and Asian customers. They’ve all developed a taste for the boiled crawfish that H-E-B has been selling for years at approximately 30 of its Houston-area stores. Creating a dedicated facility provides a new outlet for those efforts and allows for the menu to be expanded.

“We’re taking it to the next level for the growing customer demand,” Melchor tells CultureMap. "It’s really to help maximize the potential we have to provide the best boil house to the Houston community.”

Just like The Roastery, the coffee shop H-E-B developed in conjunction with four New York chefs that opened last year at the Bellaire location, the True Texas Boil House will expand to other stores once its procedures have been refined and customers demonstrate sufficient interest. Apparently, Houstonians of just about every creed and country of origin are united in crawfish appreciation.

“Even our Latino customers have grown in what they enjoy when it comes to crawfish and fried food,” Melchor says. “This is something we’re really proud to give to our customers.”

For those who take advantage of this weekend’s good weather to visit, he recommends starting with the spicy crawfish and an order of corn and red potatoes.

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H-E-B True Texas Boil House; 10100 Beechnut St.; Friday - Sunday 11 am to 9 pm, Monday 3 pm to 9 pm

Spicy boiled seafood has come to H-E-B.

H-E-B True Texas Boil House seafood medley

Courtesy of H-E-B

Spicy boiled seafood has come to H-E-B.

news-you-can-eat

Gourmet Grocer Debuts

Houston entrepreneur serves up Italian-inspired market in Rice Village

Rice Village shoppers have a new option for wine, coffee, and gourmet gifts — with a restaurant to follow soon. Mercato and Company will open this Saturday, December 14.

Located at 3642 University Blvd., founder Arlene Ventura created Mercato as a combination of the New York City bodegas she grew up with and the markets she experiences while living in Milan for eight years. After a trial run in Brownsville, she’s brought Mercato to her adopted hometown of Houston.

“The Brownsville location was our first opportunity to test the Mercato and Company concept, though it was tailored to that market as a convenience store,” Ventura tells CultureMap in an email. “While it carried the same name, it was more of a stepping stone toward realizing our larger vision. About a year ago, we closed that location because we recognized that to bring Mercato and Company to its full potential, it needed to be in Houston, the city we call home. Our new West University location represents the culmination of this journey — a space that combines authentic, gourmet products with a welcoming community atmosphere.”

The store offers a variety of gourmet products, including:

Coffees from Ella Coffee, a Houston-based, Italian-inspired roaster
Pastries, panini, and other food items prepared in-house
Cheese and charcuterie
Italian wines
European grocery items such as olive oil, chocolate, spices, and more

Mercato will host cooking classes, wine tastings, and other events to bolster shoppers' connection to the store.

Ventura recruited chef-partner Tatiana Perna to create Mercato’s menu. Perna, who is the chef at Podere 1384, a resort in Tuscany, is also creating the menu for Osteria di Mercato, an Italian restaurant and wine bar that’s scheduled to open in early 2025.

“An osteria is by definition a place that brings people together over good food and wine,” Perna said. “At Osteria di Mercato, that’s exactly what we intend to do. We’re using high-quality ingredients and traditional Italian recipes and practices to create meals that are simple and authentically delicious, all in an intimate, welcoming space.”

Mercato and Company’s hours of operation are 7 am to 9 pm daily.

Courtesy of Mercato and Company

Shoppers will find a selection of cheese and charcuterie.

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