now serving

Dozens of Houston restaurants return to service after the winter storm

Hundreds are restaurants are reopening today.

Photo by Shannon O'Hara

With power mostly restored and water pressure returning, Houston restaurants are returning to service. Given the number of establishments represented below, we’ve grouped this list by neighborhood.

Expect limited menus and staff at places offering dine-in. Boil water orders may restrict beverage choices. Patience and understanding are strongly encouraged.

Montrose/Midtown/Museum District

Avondale Food & Wine
Brasil
Bludorn (limited menu, 5-8:30 pm)
The Burger Joint (limited menu, to-go only)
Café Poêtes (to-go only)
Candente (limited menu, to-go only, 2-6 pm)
Damian’s (curbside only)
The Fish (to-go only)
Ginger Kale (12-5 pm)
Good Times Cafe (limited menu, 12 pm - sold out)
The Hay Merchant (to-go only, limited menu, 3-7 pm)
Holman Draft Hall
Kau Ba (to-go only)
La Grange (limited menu, 4-10 pm)
Love Buzz
Lucille’s (limited menu, 1 pm - sold out)
Miss Saigon Cafe
Montrose Cheese and Wine (to-go only)
Nobie’s (to-go only, limited menu, 5 pm - sell out)
Oporto (to-go only, 3-9 pm)
Paulie’s
The Pit Room (to-go only, 11 am - sold out)
Revelry on Richmond (Limited menu, 2-8 pm)
Riel (to-go only, limited menu, 2 pm - sold out)
Rosie Cannonball (dine-in and to-go, 5-9 pm)
Rudyard’s
Sixes and Sevens
Tacos A Go Go (to-go and delivery only)
The Toasted Coconut (to-go only, limited menu, 5 pm - sell out)
Tres Tacos
UB Preserv (to-go only, limited menu, 3-7 pm)
Wooster’s Garden

The Heights and surrounding neighborhoods

Antone’s Famous Po ‘Boys
B&B Butchers & Restaurant (limited menu, to-go and delivery only, 4-8 pm)
B.B. Lemon (to-go and delivery only, 4-8 pm)
Be More Pacific (to-go only)
Blk Mkt Birria
The Burger Joint (limited menu, to-go only)
Cactus Cove (to-go only, 12 pm - sold out)
Cafe Luxor (to-go only)
Cedar Creek (to-go only, 12 pm - sold out)
Click Virtual Food Hall
Dish Society (limited menu, to-go only)
Dumpling Haus
Fat Cat Creamery (retail items only, 1-6 pm)
Gabby’s BBQ
The Halal Guys
Harold's in the Heights (limited menu, to-go only)
Johnny’s Gold Brick (to-go only)
Maison Pucha Bistro
Ninja Ramen (tacos only, 1 pm - sold out)
Onion Creek (to-go only, 12 pm - sold out)
Rainbow Lodge (to-go only)
Red Dessert Dive
Robot Noodle (to-go only, limited menu)
Savoir (to-go only, limited menu, 3 pm - sold out)
Spaghetti Western (Shepherd only, 11 am - sold out)
Spanish Flowers
Studewood Cantine (dine-in and to-go, 4 pm - close)
Tacos A Go Go (to-go and delivery only)
The Taco Stand (limited menu, drive-thru only)
Taqo Mexican Kitchen
Twisted Grilled Cheese (limited menu, 11 am - sold out)
Urban Eats
Verdine
The Waffle Bus (11 am - 10 pm)
Xin Chao (limited menu, 4:30-9 pm)

Downtown/EaDo/East End

Bovine & Barley (open until 1 am)
Bravery Chef Hall (4-10 pm)
El Big Bad (limited menu, 6 pm - sold out)
The Flying Saucer
Grotto (limited menu)
Indianola (limited menu, delivery and to-go only, 3 pm - sold out)
La Calle
McCormick & Schmick's
OMG Seafood To-Go
Roots (limited menu, 4-10)
Southside Flying Pizza
Tacos A Go Go (to-go and delivery only)
Underground Hall (limited menus, 2 pm - sold out)
Xochi (limited menu, 4 pm - sold out)

Upper Kirby/West University/River Oaks

Cleburne Cafeteria (11 am - 7:30 pm)
Common Bond (limited menu, 9 am - sold out)
Dish Society (limited menu)
Eighteen36
The Halal Guys
Hobbit Cafe
Hungry’s (to-go and delivery only, 12-8 pm)
Izakaya Wa (to-go only)
Liberty Kitchen (to-go only, 12 pm - sold out)
McGonigel’s Mucky Duck
100% Taquito (limited menu)
Picos (to-go and delivery only)
Qin Dynasty (to-go only)
Simone on Sunset (open until 1 am)
Tony’s (to-go only, online ordering available beginning at 4 pm)

The Galleria and surrounding neighborhoods

The Annie Café & Bar (4-9 pm)
Antone’s Famous Po ‘Boys
Bosscat Kitchen (limited menu)
The Brisket House (limited menu, 12 pm - sold out)
Cyclone Anaya’s (limited menu, 11 am - 8 pm)
Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse (limited menu)
Dish Society (limited menu)
El Patio (food truck menu, 1-6 pm)
Jenni’s Noodle House
Kenny & Ziggy’s (to-go only)
McCormick & Schmick's
Musaafer (5-9 pm)
The Original Ninfa’s (to-go only, 11 am - close)
Pappadeaux (Westheimer location)
Tribute at the Houstonian
Velvet Taco (Galleria location, 12-10 pm)
Willie G’s (limited menu)

Memorial/Spring Branch/West Houston/Katy

Alicia’s Mexican Grille
B.B. Italia (to-go and delivery only, 4-8 pm)
BuffBurger
Chef Kenny’s Vegan Cuisine
Chick Houz (to-go and delivery)
Craft Burger
Dish Society (limited menu)
Green Garden Chinese Restaurant
Gringo’s Mexican Kitchen (various locations, see social media for details)
The Halal Guys
Hungry’s (to-go and delivery only, 12-8 pm)
Izakaya Wa
Jimmy Changes (to-go only)
Jinya Ramen Bar
Miyazaki (to-go only)
Orleans Seafood Kitchen (to-go only)
Phat Eatery (to-go only)
Slowpokes (12 - 6 pm)
Treebeards (12 pm - sold out)

Southwest Houston/Chinatown/Sugar Land

Aki Steak & Sushi
Alicia’s Mexican Grille
Dandelion Cafe
Fernando’s
Gringo’s Mexican Kitchen (various locations, see social media for details)
Jinya Ramen Bar
Harlem Road Texas BBQ
OMG Seafood To-Go
Shri Balaji Bhavan
Sit Lo (limited menu, to-go only, 12-5 pm)
Spanky’s Pizza
State Fare (limited menu, 12 pm - sold out)
Watershed

Cypress/Spring/The Woodlands/Kingwood

Airi Ramen
Alicia’s Mexican Grille
Beltway Burgers and Bites
The Brisket House (limited menu, 12 pm - sold out)
Common Bond (limited menu, 9 am - sold out)
Cyclone Anaya’s (limited menu, 11 am - 8 pm)
Duck N Bao
Fielding's Local
Fielding's Wood Grill
Galiana’s Tex Mex & Agave Bar
Gringo’s Mexican Kitchen (various locations, see social media for details)
Hearsay on the Waterway
Houwei Chinese Restaurant
Hunan Garden (to-go only)
Ichigo Curry and Ramen
Iza Robata
Jinya Ramen Bar
LA Crawfish
Peli Peli (to-go and delivery only)
Plum Coffee Shop

Clear Lake/Webster/Friendswood/Pearland

Gringo’s Mexican Kitchen (various locations, see social media for details)
Jimmy Changes (to-go only)
Magnolia Cajun Comfort
Pier 6 Seafood (limited menu, to-go encouraged)
Spanky’s Pizza

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he finished the job

Houston chef Tristen Epps dishes on his Top Chef victory — and what's next

Photo by David Moir/Bravo

Kristen Kish, Tristen Epps, Gail Simmons, and Tom Colicchio.

Houston has played a leading role in America’s culinary scene, but the city has never been home to a Top Chef winner — until last night. In the final episode of season 22, chef Tristen Epps earned the title and a $250,000 cash prize.

Epps secured his victory by remaining true to the Afro-Caribbean cuisine that helped him secured an impressive four Elimination Challenge wins and $35,000 in additional prize money from two Quickfire wins and as a member of the team that won the show’s signature Restaurant Wars challenge. His four-course menu took a panel of celebrity judges on a journey that also referenced the finale location of Milan, Italy.

In particular, Epps wowed the panel with his second course — Chicken “Durango” with injera shrimp toast and shellfish jus — that referenced both the Ethiopian chicken stew doro wat and the Italian dish pollo durango, a sly nod to the history of imperialism between the two countries. He finished his savory offerings with Oxtail Milanese Crepinette with Carolina Gold rice grits, curry butter, and bone marrow gremolata, which earned praised from the panel.

“Historically, we’ve been underserved oxtail,” Top Chef alum and James Beard Award winner Gregory Gourdet said during the episode. “Tristen took the time to pull it, create that beautiful, huge, maybe too big, portion of oxtail. And cover it with that gremolata. He did not forget the bone marrow. That’s very, very smart.”

Throughout Top Chef’s run, Epps has been holding a series of pop-ups devoted to everything from hot dogs to steakhouses. Now, he can turn his attention to Buboy, a tasting menu concept that will celebrate the Afro-Caribbean cuisine he championed throughout his time on the show.

CultureMap caught up with Epps on Friday morning for a brief chat about his victory and what’s next.

CultureMap: What do you remember from the day you cooked that final dinner?
Tristen Epps: It was an extreme amount of focus. A lot of writing in my notebook. I didn’t want to laugh. I didn’t want to cry or do anything except finish the job, regardless of whatever the outcome would have been. I remember wanting to call my mom. I really wanted to talk things out so I could calm myself down and stay within my focus. Once I got into cooking, I felt so much at ease. It’s my happy place. It’s my serenity.

CM: How did you feel when you saw Gregory Gourdet on the panel? Did you feel like you had an advocate in the room?
TE: I’ve cooked with gregory before, a long time ago. It was really fun. I loved what he was doing.

I felt like I had kind of an advocate. I was worried my food wold be too spicy or too overpowering [for the European chefs]. Seeing Gregory was really good, especially with what I was doing.

CM: Other chefs, including Gregory Gourdet and Houston chef Dawn Burrell, have done well on the show with Afro-Caribbean cuisine but they didn’t win. How important was it to you to finish the job and use those flavors to win the title?
TE: To me that was super important. There’s adventurous people who make phenomenal food. They’ll go once because it’s interesting, bu they’re usually skeptical. When you don’t nail it, they say, that’s why I go to the regular places that are familiar.

Finishing the job was really important to me. People have come up short on this. I wanted to get this right for everyone who’s made that step forward and created the ladder.

CM: What have your last 12 hours been like since the episode aired? Have any celebrities reached out to you?
TE: A lot of calls, a lot of good luck. A lot of everything. It’s been amazing.

A lot of past Top Chef winners reached out to me, giving me a lot of support and telling me what they did after they won.

[ESPN football commentator] Mina Kimes did, which was really cool.

CM: What are your plans for the prize money?
TE: It’s going to go to Buboy. Now that the cat’s out of the bag, it can go a little faster.

CM: You’ve been holding a series of pop-ups that range from tasting menus to hot dogs? What’s next?
TE: Part of getting the restaurant open has been introducing myself to all of Houston. These pop-ups represent my interests and my fun. They’re the things that Buboy is going to represent. It can be fun, it can be a conversation, it can be educational, it can push the limits of cuisines we know. It’s an expression of culture in whatever way I see fit that day.

The hot dog concept will probably be a separate venture, but who’s to say there’s not a hot dog at the end of that meal?

Photo by David Moir/Bravo

Kristen Kish, Tristen Epps, Gail Simmons, and Tom Colicchio.

chefs interview q&a top chef tristen epps

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Dozens of Houston restaurants return to service after the winter storm

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