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Houston's totally rad new '80s diner rocks out opening date

Hungry Like the Wolf opens next week.

Courtesy of Hungry like the Wolf

The wait for Houston's ’80s-themed diner ends next week. Hungry Like the Wolf will open Monday, March 15, a representative tells CultureMap.

“Instead of it being a ’50s diner, which is passé, it's an ’80s diner,” proprietor Andrew Adams told CultureMap in October. “The environment, the music, the decor, the outfits, the neon [will be ‘80s themed], and the menu will have an influence of names. It's basically a love affair with the ’80s.”

Located in the former Beer Market Co. space at 920 Studemont St., Hungry Like the Wolf will offer diners a nostalgic atmosphere to the days of arcade games, breakdancing, and MTV actually playing music videos. The restaurant offered a sneak peek at its interior on Instagram.

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Dishes on the menu reference cultural artifacts from the era that will surely appeal to anyone who remembers Max Headroom. Consider the Where's the Beef burger with its vegetarian patty or the "Paul Reuben." Start with a Motley Crudité Platter or an Our House In The Middle of the Street salad.

Breakfast items include the Purple Rain pancakes and the Pretty in Pink (Texas toast stuffed with strawberries and cream cheese). Of course, those items are available all day or, in the menu's parlance, "as you wish."

Other details, such as operating hours, drinks, and theme nights will be announced as the restaurant gets settled in. Adams said he plans to be open late to capture those looking for sustenance after a night of partying at the nearby bars.

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head east

Eagerly-anticipated Houston barbecue joint hosts weekend preview pop-ups

Courtesy of Eastbound Barbecue

Get a first taste of Eastbound Barbecue this weekend.

One of Houston’s most eagerly anticipated new barbecue joints is giving diners a preview of what’s to come. Eastbound Barbecue will host “Sneak Peak Weekends” every Saturday and Sunday beginning this Saturday, December 20, until the restaurant opens in early 2026.

Held at the restaurant’s location in the East End (1105 Sampson Street) from 12-4 pm (or sold out), the weekend service gives diners their first chance to try Eastbound Barbecue’s smoked meats, sides, and desserts. That includes, smoked brisket, baby back ribs, jalapeno & cheese sausage, hatch chili lasagna mac & cheese, herbed potato salad, and more. Save room for the two dessert offerings, salted caramel banana pudding and cookie butter cake.

To distinguish Eastbound’s barbecue, chefs Lopez and Granville use different seasonings than other restaurants, such as rosemary salt in the brisket rub and a miso-caramel sauce that gives its ribs a sweet and savory bite. During the preview, Eastbound’s prices are noticeably lower than many other Houston barbecue joints, with brisket priced at $29 per pound, ribs at $26 per pound, and pulled pork at $22 per pound.

As CultureMap reported in August, Eastbound unites four friends, Ryan Penn, Ryan Powell, Luis Lopez, and Jake Granville, who also held senior roles at various restaurants owned by prominent Houston chef Ronnie Killen. Since then, the four partners have finished many of the improvements they needed to make prior to opening, including closing in the patio and installing offset smokers on the property.

For Penn, leaving the Killen’s organization after almost 20 years was a difficult decision, but one he felt he had to make. “I could have worked for [Killen] forever and been happy. It was more along the lines of, if I don’t do this now, I don’t want to be 70 and wish that I had,” he said at the time.

Courtesy of Eastbound Barbecue

Get a first taste of Eastbound Barbecue this weekend.

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