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New Houston restaurant with James Beard cred looks to break Galleria area jinx: Tempting fate with Italian?

The last couple of months haven't been kind to Italian restaurants near the Galleria. Osteria Mazzantini finally closed in January, and Arturo's Uptown Italiano will give way to upscale Tex-Mex restaurant Añejo after March 1.

But Sam Fox isn't worried.

Fox, the James Beard Award restaurateur of the year semifinalist, is in town this week to supervise the final steps in the opening of the newest outpost of North Italia, the Italian restaurant that's part of his company Fox Restaurant Concepts. After all, healthy-oriented True Food Kitchen is already a hit in the same BLVD Place development that North will call home.

"We have an organization that's good at figuring it out," Fox tells CultureMap. "Texas has been a great place for us to do business."

All pizza dough and pasta is made fresh daily — the pizza dough also turns into bread for the meatball sandwich.

Fox notes that the North's Austin location is the best-performing restaurant per seat in the entire company, which is why he's confident that Houston will be a good fit for North's first new location since 2011. North will also add two locations in California this year and expand to Dallas in 2016.

Fueling North's growth is its reputation for providing high-quality, from scratch Italian-American comfort food. All pizza dough and pasta is made fresh daily — the pizza dough also turns into bread for the meatball sandwich. North even makes it own ricotta cheese, which finds a use as ricotta dumplings in a gnocchi dish with braised short ribs.

According to executive chef Jonathan Willis, who joined the company last year after a 10-year stint in the Marriott organization, the only things North doesn't make itself are the ladyfinger cookies for its tiramisu, its gelato and the bread for the bruschetta, which is made by local artisan baker Kraftsmen using North's recipe.

Willis cites North's bolognese sauce as one of the prime examples of the approach. In addition to the usual beef, the sauce, which takes six hours to make, also gets a hit of extra flavor from leftover charcuterie trimmings. After all, prosciutto should never go to waste.

Other dishes to try include the meatball sandwich, which arrives extra gooey thanks to scamorza cheese, and classic arancini, which are made with mushroom risotto. The brunch menu features Italian egg dishes like a frittata and the nonna (fried eggs, red sauce, Italian sausage).

Beverage offering include a selection of reasonably-priced wines, five local craft beers and a dozen cocktails that range from a classic sangria to a Manhattan riff called the Quiet Italian Gentleman that mixes Bulleit rye, Carpano antica, Campari and Disaronno amaretto. Select bottles of wine get really cheap during happy hour, when they can be paired with a pizza, bruschetta or meat and cheese board for only $20.

Taken together, North's offerings should help it find an audience and break the recent string of ill fortune that's struck a couple of nearby Italian restaurants. It opens on Tuesday.

North's bolognese takes six hours to make.

North Italia bolognese

Photo by Eric Sandler

North's bolognese takes six hours to make.

One Day Only

Chef of Michelin-starred Texas BBQ joint pops up at Houston crawfish favorite

Josephine's crawfish Lucas McKinney

Photo by Quit Nguyen

Join Lucas McKinney for a crawfish pop-up this Sunday, May 17.

The pitmaster behind one of Texas’ Michelin-starred barbecue joints will be in Houston for a one-day-only crawfish boil. Evan LeRoy, chef and co-owner of Austin’s LeRoy and Lewis Barbecue, will be at Josephine’s this Sunday, May 17 from 2-6 pm.

Part of the restaurant’s Backyard Boil pop-up series, LeRoy and Josephine’s executive chef Lucas McKinney have collaborated on a four dishes that will be served at the pop-up, which will take place on Josephine’s patio. They are:

Smoked Crawfish Boil Sausage on a Stick: andouille flavored pork sausage with crawfish, corn, and potatoes
Brisket and Cheddar Croquettes: Chopped brisket and cheddar cheese in a creamy bechamel. Scooped, breaded in panko, and fried til crispy
Oysters on the Half Shell: Pickled Onion Mignonette, Smoked Jalapeno Salsa, Kimchi Elote
Smoked Salsa Macha with Beef Tallow: Guajillo, ancho, and arbol chiles, lime, soy, garlic, onion, pepitas, and pecans

The pop-up is part of LeRoy’s tour for his new book, New School Barbecue: Recipes for Next-Level Smoking and Grilling, which he co-wrote with Texas Monthly restaurant critic Paula Forbes. Released this week, the book contains almost 100 recipes for mains, sides, and desserts.

LeRoy & Lewis Evan Leroy ATX Evan LeRoy is coming to Houston this weekend. Photo by Briana Balducci

“Lucas asked me to participate in a crawfish boil this year, and it happened to line up with the release of the book, so I said yes,” LeRoy tells CultureMap. “The event format centers around a crawfish boil, along with some fried items and oysters, so it doesn't necessarily reflect the recipes in the book. Instead, we decided to bring a few dishes we’ve been working on over the past year or so, including the brisket and cheddar croquettes — which will definitely make it into my next cookbook.”

McKinney has already hosted pop-ups with the likes of ChòpnBlọk chef-owner Ope Amosu and Mike Pham of Trill Burgers.

“With these crawfish boils, I want each chef to bring their own perspective and let the menu reflect their personal style of cooking,” McKinney adds. “Events like this are really centered around community, collaboration, and introducing something fresh and exciting to Houston each time.”

LeRoy and Lewis has earned wide acclaim for its “new school” barbecue. In addition to being one of only four Texas barbecue joints to hold a Michelin star, it ranked No. 2 on Texas Monthly’s list of the state’s 50 best barbecue joints. McKinney began patronizing the restaurant when his friend, pitmaster Cole Parkman, worked there.

“It’s incredibly good,” McKinney says. “Eating there feels like they’re telling you, ‘I know you think you like brisket, but this is what you should really like.’ I really respect that they’ve planted their feet firmly in the ground and committed to doing things differently. It all makes so much sense — and it’s delicious.”

Reservations (free) are required to attend the Backyard Boil at Josephine’s; both 2 pm and 4 pm seatings are available. Attendees will purchase food and drinks a la carte. Josephine’s regular menu will not be available at the pop-up. Copies of New School Barbecue will also be available for purchase.

news-you-can-eat barbecue chefs

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