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    Chicken parm you taste so good

    Ben Berg's casual Italian restaurant swaps the Energy Corridor for charming Sugar Land spot

    Eric Sandler
    Mar 2, 2022 | 10:30 am
    BB Italia mixed food shot
    B.B. Italia is coming to Sugar Land.
    Photo by Kirsten Gilliam

    Houston restaurateur Ben Berg has found a new home for B.B. Italia Bistro & Bar. The casual Italian-American restaurant will reopen later this spring in the Sugar Land Town Square mixed-use development.

    Originally opened in 2019 in the former Carmelo's space in the Energy Corridor, B.B. Italia serves classic Italian-American fare like chicken parmesan, spaghetti and meatballs, lasagna, and pizza. The original location closed in February 2021 due to diminished business as office workers stayed home during the pandemic. At the time, Berg Hospitality indicated it would find a new location nearby, but those plans have changed.

    Instead, the restaurant will reemerge in a former Charming Charlie's at 16250 City Walk Drive. The approximately 6,700-square-foot restaurant will have plenty of room for area families.

    “We’re thrilled to be a part of the transformation of Sugar Land Town Square, which is fast becoming a destination for eclectic dining offerings in the Houston area,” Berg said in a statement. “This bustling, mixed-use development is a great fit for us, offering great walkability, retail, entertainment, and events that add to the experience and ambiance our guests want before or after a meal.”

    The new B.B. Italia will join Berg Hospitality concepts such as B&B Butchers, B.B. Lemon, Turner's, and Trattoria Sofia. Later this year, the rapidly-growing hospitality company will add two more restaurants at the Autry Park mixed-use development: all-day brasserie Annabelle's and luxurious steakhouse Turner's Cut. A still unnamed live fire restaurant is in the works for the Lazybrook/Timbergrove neighborhood.

    Despite the challenges of the pandemic, the past couple of years have been a dynamic time for Sugar Land Town Square. The 1.4 million square foot mixed-use development has also welcomed Texas comfort food restaurant State Fare, crepe favorite Sweet Paris, and Mahesh's Kitchen, a sophisticated Indian restaurant.

    “We are so excited to have one of the most exciting and dynamic restaurateurs in Texas coming to Sugar Land Town Square," added Matt Ragan, director of retail programming and operations for Rebees. "The opening of B.B. Italia will kick off the complete reimagining of that entire part of the square. We are proud and honored to be working with the Berg Hospitality Group to bring this wonderful concept to our community.”

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    fit to print

    New York Times critic awards Houston restaurant 2 stars in glowing review

    Eric Sandler
    Dec 16, 2025 | 5:15 pm
    Chopnblok food spread
    Courtesy of ChòpnBlọk
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    Let’s just call 2025 the year of ChòpnBlọk. In a review published Tuesday, December 16, the New York Times has awarded the Houston restaurant two stars (“very good”).

    Written by chief restaurant critic Tejal Rao, the review touts many of the same qualities that the Times already praised when it included ChòpnBlọk on its list of America’s 50 best restaurants.

    Rao writes that she usually avoids restaurants that serve food in bowls, but she’s impressed by the way that chef-owner Ope Amosu has put a West African spin on the concept.

    “For inspiration, Ope Amosu looked to the kind of chain restaurants that were built to scale, where flavors are often subdued to appeal to the broadest possible audience, focus-grouped to death. But the delight of ChòpnBlok is in its sure sense of self, its lively, multidimensional cooking and clear, delicious vision for modern food from the Black diaspora,” Rao writes.

    She singles out specific dishes, including the Nigerian red stew with short rib, the Black Star bowl with shrimp, and the signature Motherland, made with chicken, greens, and plantains. “It’s utterly simple, but draws you in for more with the mouthwatering twang of not-too-much MSG — an international shortcut to building umami that tends to be used carefully, and layered with other forms,” she writes.

    The review also touches on the way Amosu switched the restaurant from counter service to full service — described as “warm, informal, and quick with the jokes” — and his time working at Chipotle to learn the basics of the restaurant operations.

    A two-star review is only the latest instance of ChòpnBlọk receiving national attention. In addition to the Times 50 best list, Esquire recently named it one of America’s best new restaurants. The Michelin Guide awarded it a Bib Gourmand designation for 2025. Amosu earned a semifinalist nomination for Best Chef: Texas in the 2025 James Beard Awards.

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