After a relatively quiet January for restaurant openings, one of this year's most eagerly-anticipated new projects will makes it debut on Wednesday, February 7. BCK: Kitchen & Cocktail Adventures, the new project from the team behind Galleria-area bar and restaurant Bosscat Kitchen & Libations, announced it's ready to open.
The former Glass Wall space has been transformed with new booths, steel-wrapped bench seating, and shelves made from hand-stitched luggage. Antiques sourced from a store on 19th Street add to the decor. Photos of the owners as children complete the retro look.
“We’ve really infused the personalities of all of our owners into this one,” co-owner John Reed said in a statement. “We came up with this concept three years ago when we were still living in California. When we came to Houston and discovered the Heights, we knew we found the perfect place to put it. This city has embraced us, and the culture that we’ve developed has brought us a lot of good people from word of mouth in the industry. We can’t wait to open our doors.”
While Bosscat serves an eclectic mix of bar bites and comfort food, BCK takes a different approach by drawing inspiration from the owners' childhoods. Head chef Jeff Fernandez and partner Peter Petro collaborated to develop dishes like a familiar-sounding two-patty cheeseburger with pickles and onions on a sesame seed bun, "Pasghettios" pasta in tomato sauce with 44 Farms beef sausage, and Backhand Shrimp — a riff on shrimp and grits that incorporates the Korean flavors Fernandez experienced in Southern California.
Diners are invited to share their own favorite recipes on a large piece of butcher's paper dubbed the "Local's Board." (The chefs may consider this article a request for a riff on a certain popular brand of canned ravioli. Just saying.)
Bar director Matt Sharp's cocktails take a similar tack with options that includes the Dr. Feelgood (a rye whiskey-based drink served in a Dr Pepper can) and the Berry Crunch Milk Punch, featuring Buffalo Trace bourbon and Cap’n Crunch Crunch Berries. Joining Sharp behind the bar will be two familiar faces, Crisia Araujo, who moves over from Bosscat, and CultureMap Tastemaker Awards Bartender of the Year winner Leslie Krockenberger (Reserve 101, Canard, etc).
The restaurant considers these first two weeks to be a soft opening where the menu will change daily as the kitchen responds to feedback from customers; its full menu will launch February 21. Brunch will follow in March.
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BCK Kitchen & Cocktail Adventures, 933 Studewood St; 832-831-7155; Monday through Saturday 3 pm to 10 pm (bar open late)
Co-owner John Reed and the BCK team.
A vintage picture of chefs EJ Miller and Ryan Lachaine. Photo by 