dine out and do good

These Houston restaurants and bakeries are standing with Ukraine

Riel restaurant potato leek truffle pierogi

Riel is donating pierogi proceeds to World Central Kitchen.

Photo by Bradford Eu

Houston restaurants are raising money for organizations that are providing assistance to the people of Ukraine. The efforts benefit a range of organizations that are assisting refugees in both Ukraine and Poland along with other relief efforts.

Underbelly Hospitality has already stepped up. Last week, Chris Shepherd’s three restaurants raised $9,846 for celebrity chef Jose Andres’ World Central Kitchen. In addition, the company’s operations director Nina Quincy has spent the last week in Poland feeding refugees.

The list below includes everything from cookies to cocktails to Houston best pierogies. In other words, Houstonians have lots of delicious ways to #standwithUkraine.

Georgia James
The luxurious steakhouse will donate 20 percent of sales from a special wine list created by sommelier Matthew Pridgen. This special will run for as long as the restaurant is operating out of 1658 Westheimer Rd. (approximately two months).

Dessert Gallery
The Upper Kirby bakery will donate 100 percent of proceeds from sales of its Ukrainian-inspired butter cookies to World Central Kitchen.

Kenny & Ziggy’s
The Galleria-area deli has always sold Ukrainian meatballs. It will donate $2 from every meatball appetizer and $4 from every meatball entree to Razom for Ukraine, a non-profit dedicated to building a more prosperous and democratic Ukraine.

Phat Eatery
Katy’s favorite Malaysian restaurant will donate 100-percent of proceeds from its signature roti canai, an Indian-style flatbread, through the end of March.

Pier 6 Seafood & Oyster Bar
San Leon’s seaside seafood restaurant has created a special cocktail in support of World Central Kitchen. It will donate 100 percent of proceeds from the Kyiv cocktail (Blue Chair rum, peach schnapps, Blue Curacao, and pineapple juice) to the organization. It aims to raise $10,000 with the effort.

Riel
Chef-owner Ryan Lachaine, whose mother is of Ukrainian heritage, will do his part for World Central Kitchen by donating 100 percent of pierogi sales in March to World Central Kitchen. The Montrose restaurant offers both a regular potato and cheese pierogi as well as a more decadent truffle and caviar version.

Rustika Café and Bakery
The Jewish-Mexican bakery will donate a portion of proceeds from items on its dessert happy hour menu (Monday-Saturday, 2 pm to close) to the International Rescue Committee. Items include specially priced coffee and desserts, including espresso drinks, cookies, pies, and more.

Three Brothers Bakery
Opened by three brothers who survived the Holocaust, this staple of the Jewish community has created a heart-shaped sugar cookie decorated with the colors of the Ukrainian flag. Three Brothers will donate $2.50 per cookie to a fundraiser organized by the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston. In addition, it will donate $30 per dozen sold for shipment to destinations throughout America. The bakery aspires to sell at least 1,000 cookies.

news-you-can-eat fundraisers

the more things change

Houston's essential Jewish diner looks better than ever after refresh

Photo by Sergio Trevino

The dining room has more light than ever.

It’s tricky to renovate a restaurant that’s as essential to its community as New York Deli. A staple of Houston’s Jewish community for almost 50 years, the tiny restaurant near Meyerland will serve as many as 400 people during a busy Sunday brunch.

Still, the time had come, as the tape on the deteriorating banquettes and peeling wallpaper illustrated. With the restaurant’s lease up for renewal, co-owner Michael Saghian saw an opportunity for some updates.

“I couldn’t be the new guy who ruined the place by moving it,” he tells CultureMap. “We worked out a deal with the landlord [to stay] and did a big refresh.”

The most noticeable change is the removal of the restaurant’s front door and vestibule. Instead, diners enter through the restaurant’s companion bagel shop. Separate entrances made sense when the bagel shop was certified kosher by local religious authorities, but now that designation only applies to the Bellaire location that opened in 2020. Not only is the new setup easier for people with mobility issues to navigate, it allows more light into the dining room, brightening the place considerably..

Saghian and co-owner Riana Sherman worked with interior designer Erin Hicks on the refresh. Tables, chairs, and banquettes are all new, but the color scheme remains the same. The process yielded 10 more seats, and the furniture is a little more durable, too.

“People have flipped chairs because they’re so lightweight,” Sherman says. “We got a sturdier chair.”

Behind the scenes, an expanded kitchen allows for the restaurant’s cooks to work faster and more efficiently. An additional egg cooker should cut down the amount of time people wait for their food to arrive.

“The kitchen had one of everything. Now we have two of everything. We can pump out a lot more food,” Saghian says.

Photographs on the walls honor longtime customers such as the “bagel girls,” a group of woman who’ve eaten breakfast at the restaurant since the ‘80s. A piece of old wallpaper has been framed and hung on the wall, too, as a nod to the space’s history.

New York Deli interior changes Photographs on the walls honor longtime customers.Photo by Sergio Trevino

Photo by Sergio Trevino

The dining room has more light than ever.

Saghian says he suffered from sleepless nights as he worried about people’s reactions to the changes, but so far his customers have been effusive.

“It still feels like an old school diner,” Saghian says. “It has pieces you remember. Even the new stuff is old school.”

While the physical environment is new, the staff remains the same. To ensure he kept the same team of cooks and servers, Saghian paid their wages for the two weeks the restaurant was closed for renovations.

Even more importantly, the prices are the same. That’s something that will make even the oldest regulars happy.

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