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    Food for Thought

    Brooklyn Athletic Club turns out to be a good neighbor: New hip restaurant playground pitches in

    Marene Gustin
    Marene Gustin
    Feb 5, 2013 | 11:24 am

    I hate my best friends.

    OK, that’s a little strong but I am really, really jealous of Jennifer Olin and her partner Dr. Emelike Agomo.

    I went over to see their new house the other day. It is an amazing 1925 home with a fireplace, big picture windows, original hardwood floors and all kinds of nooks and crannies that you would expect to find in a wonderful old home.

    It’s absolutely beautiful. But that’s not why I’m jealous.

    After the house tour we walked across the street, say, about 50 paces, and there we were on the patio of Brooklyn Athletic Club. Yes, the cool, hip new place the regulars call BAC with a mini croquet court, tables and fire pits out front and horseshoe, badminton, bocce courts, picnic tables and a new food truck out back.

    How cool is that to be able to walk out your front door and into a restaurant/bar/playground?

    “We love our neighbors,” chef Jeff Axline says. “We have regulars who just walk over here all the time. They bring the kids during the day on weekends and at night it turns into an adult playground.”

    We copped a table on the front patio and dived into the menu. Olin insisted we try the sweet potato gnocchi with caramelized mushrooms and apples, which was a great call. Then it was on to the humongous sandwiches with everyone sharing.

    "We have regulars who just walk over here all the time. They bring the kids during the day on weekends and at night it turns into an adult playground.”

    The Clubhouse burger is a two-hander with a little heat from a smear of jalapeno jam on a Slow Dough bun. Then there’s the smoked turkey breast sandwich with Brie and a green apple mayo and my personal favorite the FBLT. That’s a BLT where the T is a fried green tomato with a slathering of mayo that tastes like deviled eggs on toasted sourdough.

    All of which come with a cone of hand-cut fries perfectly seasoned. And there was a lovely bottle of wine involved in lunch. And lots of leftovers.

    All of this while watching a little child toss croquet balls on the court and, even though it was a sunny day, people huddled around a fire pit roasting marshmallows for s’mores.

    And conversation about how BAC is a real neighbor in this ‘hood.

    “We were starting to move in while they were getting the restaurant ready to open,” Olin says. “The motor on our gate wasn’t working yet and one day I came over to bring some things in and was struggling with the gate. All of a sudden this guy comes running over from the restaurant and helps haul it open. Then he introduces himself as Chef Jeff.”

    And that was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

    “It’s so funny” Olin says. “Even recently, when BAC was up and running and they had customers, I was bringing in groceries and Chef Jeff came running over to help out. I just love him.”

    As lunch was wrapping up, Dr. Agomo showed up to join us. He settled in to eat the leftovers and get a fresh order of those fries. And both chef and partner Shepard Ross came over with salutations of “Hey, Doc!”

    Dr. Agomo is a big guy, with a big appetite. And he loves the food here.

    It will likely only get busier once the big luxury apartment complex going up across the street opens.

    “We eat here at least once a week,” he says.

    “Actually,” Olin adds, “I was out of town for a week and when I got back Ross told me Eme had eaten here every single night while I was gone.”

    But the bond goes beyond food. Both neighbors look out for each other, both places have multiple security cameras some of which point at each other. And then there’s the fact that Olin and Agomo weren’t aware of a homeless guy living behind their house until BAC’s valets told them about him.

    “His name is Shaggy Dog,” Axline says. “He’s harmless but we keep an eye on him since they moved into the house.”

    Apparently BAC has fit right into the neighborhood, becoming a good neighbor as well as a destination for drinks, food and fun. And it will likely only get busier once the big luxury apartment complex going up across the street opens.

    So maybe you should visit now, before it gets too crowded. Wait, it already is packed. But there’s always a little room in the BACyard at a picnic table even on the busiest nights.

    So even if you don’t live next door, get on over there and check this place out.

    Brooklyn Athletic Club. Yes, the cool, hip new place the regulars call BAC with a mini croquet court, tables and fire pits out front and horseshoe, badminton, bocce courts, picnic tables and a new food truck out back.

    Brooklyn Athletic Club, Houston Chapter, sign
      
    Brooklyn Athletic Club Facebook
    Brooklyn Athletic Club. Yes, the cool, hip new place the regulars call BAC with a mini croquet court, tables and fire pits out front and horseshoe, badminton, bocce courts, picnic tables and a new food truck out back.
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    and the winner is...

    Innovative Houston chef is the city's newest James Beard Award winner

    Eric Sandler
    Jun 17, 2025 | 6:00 am
    James Beard Awards 2025 Thomas Bille Belly of the Beast
    Photo by Getty Images for James Beard Foundation
    Thomas Bille is Houston's newest James Beard Award winner.

    Add another Houston chef to the city’s growing list of James Beard Award winners. Thomas Bille, chef-owner of Belly of the Beast in Spring, earned Best Chef: Texas at the James Beard Foundation’s Restaurant and Chef Awards ceremony.

    Held at the Lyric Opera of Chicago on Monday, June 16, Bille was one of five finalists for the award, along with fellow Houstonian Emmanuel Chavez (Tatemo), Emil Oliva (Leche de Tigre in San Antonio), Regino Rojas (Purépecha in Dallas), and Michael Anthony Serva, (Bordo in Marfa). Neither of Houston’s other finalists — Mexico City-inspired cafe Casaema (formerly known as Ema) for Best New Restaurant and fine dining tasting menu restaurant March for Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program — earned awards in their categories.

    A Los Angeles native who moved to the Houston area to be closer to his wife’s family, Bille took a winding path to his James Beard Award. He opened the first iteration of Belly of the Beast in 2020 as a chef-driven taqueria that was known for its ceviches and birria tacos. He then spent about a year at Chivos, an ambitious but short-lived Mexican-American restaurant in the Heights.

    In late 2023, he and his wife Elizabeth opened a new version of Belly of the Beast in a Spring shopping center. It showcased a broader array of Bille’s skills, with a wide-ranging menu that pulled from global flavors — lamb shank rendang, anyone? — that included meat, seafood, and pastas. The new restaurant quickly earned wide acclaim, including a Bib Gourmand in the 2024 Michelin Guide and CultureMap Tastemaker Award nominations for both Restaurant of the Year and Chef of the Year.

    “I feel a depth of gratitude,” Bille tells CultureMap in a text message. “Knowing that my wife and I were able to reopen on our own terms. Gratitude for my family, staff, and guests to give us love and support. It is much appreciated.”

    In an interview from the ceremony shared by the James Beard Foundation, Bille paid tribute to his wife, Elizabeth, for her role in the restaurant’s success.

    “The risk that my wife and I took to open this restaurant is more than worth it. My wife left her industry, she was a national director for nonprofit organization,” he said. “I said, ‘We’re going to reopen Belly of the Beast. I need you with me side-by-side the whole time.’ The first iteration she held down her job and supported us. With her at my wide, I’m able to focus on the kitchen, on the food, and mentoring my cooks. Able to see the bigger picture instead of just being in the weeds all the time.”

    Bille is the second Houstonian to win Best Chef: Texas, joining Street to Kitchen chef-owner Benchawan Jabthong Painter, who won in 2023. Since the category of Best Chef: Texas has only been awarded since 2022, Bille is the first man to earn the title. Prior to being its own region, the James Beard Foundation included Texas in the Southwest, where chefs Robert Del Grande (Cafe Annie), Chris Shepherd (Underbelly), Justin Yu (Oxheart), and Hugo Ortega (Hugo’s) all won awards.

    The only other Texas finalist to win his category was Arjav Ezekiel of Birdie's in Austin, who became the first winner of Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service, one of three beverage-oriented categories the foundation added for 2025.

    In addition to Bille and Ezekiel, Texam Chad Houser, founder of Cafe Momentum in Dallas, received the Humanitarian of the Year Award. Toni Tipton-Martin, a Houston-based author, scholar, and journalist, received the Lifetime Achievement Award. Houstonian Alba Huerta, who won Outstanding Beverage Program for her bar Julep in 2022, presented one of the night’s awards.

    “It’s with deep celebration that we congratulate the 2025 Restaurant and Chef Award winners — distinguished culinary, beverage, and hospitality leaders whose talent and vision are shaping our dining landscape,” said Clare Reichenbach, CEO, James Beard Foundation, in a statement. “These outstanding professionals are the epitome of ‘Good Food for Good,’ elevating our industry’s standards and redefining what’s possible in American cuisine.”

    James Beard Awards 2025 Thomas Bille Belly of the Beast
      

    Photo by Getty Images for James Beard Foundation

    Thomas Bille is Houston's newest James Beard Award winner.

    awardsjames beard awardchefsthomas billebelly of the beast
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