Iconic Restaurant Shutters

Iconic restaurant shutters after 50 years: Are old time diners endangered in Houston's trendy foodie world?

Another iconic Houston restaurant has shuttered. Texas Cafeteria, a Heights staple for 50 years, closed for good on Monday.

Owner Alex Koumonduros confirmed to CultureMap on phone that the restaurant is shuttered, but declined to go into the reason.

Part of Houston's tradition of Greek-owned diners like Biba's Ones a Meal, Dot Coffee Shop and Harry's, patrons looked to Texas Cafeteria for inexpensive breakfasts of properly cooked eggs and buttered toast as well as Southern classics like chicken and dumplings. The diner's Facebook page has already begun to fill up with comments from people who will miss it.

"They don't make 'em like that anymore. Fifty years is a long time. I'm 35. I can't imagine that."

One fan is Pi Pizza Truck owner Anthony Calleo, who grew up in the area. He recalls childhood trips to Texas Cafeteria with his grandmother and then walking to the nearby Fiesta to buy an apple for dessert.

"They don't make 'em like that anymore," Calleo notes. "Fifty years is a long time. I'm 35. I can't imagine that."

The area of Shepherd that Texas Cafeteria occupies is rapidly changing. Down the street, the Treadsack group is building Hunky Dory and Bernadine's. Nearby, former Underbelly sous chef Lyle Bento and Liberty Station founder Charles Bishop are working on Southern Goods. KA Restaurant, a sushi concept from the owners of Fat Bao, will also soon join the neighborhood.

Calleo says he realizes that change is inevitable, but he hopes the neighborhood might still have a place for a restaurant like Texas Cafeteria.

"I don't know if places like that will ever be around again," Calleo says. "It was good. Good enough. It served its purpose."

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better than blini

Houston pizzeria unveils indulgent caviar pizza for the holiday season

Courtesy of Pizaro's Pizza

Get the Holiday Decadence pizza through the end of December.

One of Houston’s most well-regarded pizzerias is giving diners a way to splurge this holiday season. For a limited time only, Pizaro’s Pizza is topping one of its Neapolitan-style pies with caviar.

Called the Holiday Decadence, it’s a personal-sized, 8-inch, Neapolitan-style pizza topped simply with Pizaro’s housemade mozzarella cheese and seasoned with a little furikake. Alongside, the restaurant provides diners with lemon zest crème fraîche, a small bottle of prosecco, and a one-ounce jar of paddlefish caviar from Houston’s DR Delicacy. Priced at $59, it’s either an indulgent treat for one person or an extravagant appetizer for two.

Pizaro’s co-owner Nicole Bean tells CultureMap she sees the new pizza as an improvement on the caviar special the restaurant tried two years ago, which used its thicker, Detroit-style pizza.

“This year, we simplified things,” she says. “We made it more affordable. We added more caviar. The feature is the caviar, focusing on having a whole, one-ounce container either for yourself or to share with one other person.”

In this configuration, the pizza crust essentially serves as an oversized blini, with the furikake boosting the caviar’s oceanic flavors. Serving the caviar in the jar allows diners to add as much or as little to the pizza as they want. Introduced last week, Bean says the restaurant hasn’t sold that many caviar pizzas yet, but that doesn’t surprise her.

“People are a little hesitant with it being caviar and the $60 price point,” she says. “It’s not for everybody. It’s for people who are curious and want to try it or really love caviar and want to try it every way they can.”

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The restaurant always uses its monthly specials to experiment beyond familiar toppings like pepperoni and mushroom. Next month, Bean and her brother, co-owner Matt Hutchinson, will present dueling pies — his topped with crispy prosciutto, sautéed onions, and balsamic drizzle and hers a simple tomato pie, anchovies optional but strongly encouraged.

“The fun thing about pizza is you can literally do anything with it,” Bean says. “I want people to try different things on pizza. It can be decadent. It can be upscale. It can be fresh and new.”

The Holiday Decadence is available at both Pizaro’s locations through December 31. Find more details at the Pizaro’s Pizza website.

news-you-can-eat pizza caviar