down and out

Pioneering Heights restaurant and brunch hot spot shutters after 10-year run

Down House has closed.

Photo by Kirsten Gilliam

A pioneering Heights restaurant has served its last meal. Down House closed after service on Sunday, February 21, the restaurant announced on social media.

In the post, proprietor Chris Cusack thanked the restaurant’s staff for their hard work throughout the restaurant’s 10-year run and encouraged customers to post their favorite memories. Hundreds have responded on both Instagram and Facebook.

Cusack tells CultureMap the restaurant closed due to a decline in business brought about by the coronavirus pandemic. “The reality is it just didn’t work anymore in these circumstances,” he says.

Opened in the spring of 2011, Down House became a hit by combining many trends that had begun to emerge in Houston’s dining scene. It offered specialty coffees in the morning, cocktails and craft beer in the evenings, and utilized locally sourced ingredients in signature dishes like its Lone Star Burger and chicken and waffles. Originally opened as a breakfast and lunch concept, it quickly emerged as a brunch favorite at a time before The Heights had become one of Houston’s hottest dining neighborhoods.

That reputation for serving a great brunch got a boost in 2016 when then Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, dined at the restaurant while visiting Houston for the Final Four (both of their alma maters competed in the tournament). The couple dined on waffles and shrimp and grits and posed for pictures with patrons while the Secret Service kept a watchful eye on the property.

The restaurant even had a viral moment when a manager ejected a patron for tweeting a mild insult about a member of the staff while she was dining. Yes, Twitter was a much more benign place in 2011.

Cusack says he had the opportunity to speak with some of the restaurant’s former staff before announcing the closure publicly. They shared memories that allowed him to focus on positive experiences.

“It was a really good run,” Cusack adds. “10 years, so many places close before that. I think we got to have a great time and make an impact on The Heights.”

closings the-heights

What's Eric Eating Episodes 518 and 519

Meet the men behind River Oaks' new destination for bowls and broth

Photo by Becca Wright

Find Honest Mary's in the River Oaks Shopping Center.

On this week’s episode of “What’s Eric Eating,” Honest Mary’s founder Nelson Monteith and COO Andrew Wiseheart joined CultureMap editor Eric Sandler to discuss the Austin-based restaurant that just opened its first Houston location in the River Oaks Shopping Center (2047-A West Gray St).

Monteith shares that he started the restaurant in 2017 in order to fulfill his vision of a restaurant which could serve food that’s fast, fresh, and affordable. A trained chef who operated pioneering Austin restaurant Contigo, Wiseheart joined the group to bring both culinary expertise and operational acumen to the grouping company.

Part of what sets Honest Mary’s apart is that diners can add cooked vegetables to the rice and proteins at the heart of every bowl. The “Market Sides” section includes an array of roasted vegetables — including sweet potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, beets, and Brussels sprouts — as well as black beans, maple-glazed carrots, and green lentils. Bowls can be further enhanced with toppings such as Texas pecans, crispy chickpeas, goat cheese, avocado, and apples as well as sauces such as creamy poblano, cashew lime crema, sesame vinaigrette, spicy peanut, chimichurri and apple cider vinaigrette

Monteith explains that looking at the ingredients on display usually inspires him when he’s deciding what to eat at Honest Mary’s.

“I will almost always look at the line and see what looks fresh and good,” Monteith says. “Today, I got the salted kale with white rice. Then, I got garlic-pepper steak. I added on lentils — they’re my go-to in the winter. They blend everything together, and I love it Then Brussels sprouts looked green. I got some jalapenos. Avocados, cause that’s healthy. Then I got the chimichurri sauce.”

Honest Mary’s is also known for its hearty broths, a classic chicken and a vegetarian option made with seaweed and mushroom. Sandler raves about the chicken broth to Wiseheart, who shares how it’s made.

“We spent six or seven months testing recipes and drinking it ourselves to see if it’s a good idea,” Wiseheart says. “I talk about it as a great complement to the menu. It’s healthy. It’s really simple. Most of the kitchens I came up with were rooted in French cuisine. This is just chicken stock with salt in it.”

Listen to the full episode to hear more about Honest Mary’s plans for additional locations in Houston and Dallas. Then Monteith asks a Sandler a few questions about the Houston dining scene.

In this week’s other episode, Sandler and co-host Mary Clarkson discuss the news of the week. Their topics include Home Slice Pizza opening a new location in the Heights; the closures of Brett’s BBQ Shop in Katy and Killen’s Barbecue in The Woodlands; and Esquire including ChòpnBlok on its list of America’s best new restaurants.

In the restaurant of the week segment, the two friends discuss their recent meal at Hypsi, the Italian restaurant in the newly-opened Hotel Daphne. Listen to the episode to hear their favorite dishes and other thoughts on the meal.

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Subscribe to "What's Eric Eating" on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Hear it Sunday at 9 am on ESPN 97.5.

Photo by Becca Wright

Find Honest Mary's in the River Oaks Shopping Center.

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