13 things to know

13 things to know in Houston food right now: Openings, closings, and an epic burger battle

Editor’s note: Houston’s restaurant scene moves pretty fast. In order to prevent CultureMap readers from missing anything, let’s stop to look around at all the latest news to know.

Openings, closings, and coming attractions

David Buehrer and the Greenway Coffee family have opened a new all-day cafe in the northeast Houston suburb of Dayton, TX. Little Liberty serves Blacksmith’s signature biscuits, alongside breakfast tacos, croissants, and plates at breakfast and lunch. Dinner options include grilled chicken, fajitas (beef or chicken), and chicken fried steak, plus wine and beer. (Tuesday - Sunday 7 am - 9 pm; 606 W. Highway 90)

Portland’s Voodoo Doughnut will open its second Texas location in the former Sammy’s Wild Game Grill space at 3715 Washington Ave., the company announced. Known for treats like the Voodoo Doll with raspberry jelly filling, the Diablos Rex with a vanilla frost pentagram, and the bacon maple bar, Houston’s Voodoo will be open 24/7 when it arrives this summer. Best of all, the Houston location will be the company’s first with a drive-thru.

Spring Branch barbecue joint Beef N Bun closed at the end of February, according to a post on Facebook. The restaurant is looking for a new home on the north side. Braun Enterprises leasing director Zach Wolf tells CultureMap that the developer is already negotiating with a new operator to claim the space in the company’s Spring Branch Village shopping center.

Speaking of Spring Branch, W Grill Margaritas to-go has closed. “We want to thank everyone for the past 3 years (sic) for allowing us to serve you,” the restaurant writes on Facebook. Fans of the cafe’s burgers, tacos, and margaritas can satiate their cravings at the original location on Washington Avenue.

Flip ‘n Patties will join Mama Ninfa’s Tacos y Tortas, Boomtown Coffee, Mona Fresh Italian Food, and East Hampton Sandwich Company is downtown’s Understory food hall, real estate developer Skanska announced. Known for its Filipino street food and decadent burgers, the food truck-turned-restaurant opened its first location in the Energy Corridor is 2018. Understory is expected to open this summer.

The former Mascalzone in West Houston is now known as Creed Italian Restaurant and Bar. Although the restaurant has a new name, it retains Mascalzone’s signature rotating-deck pizza oven and many of the same staff. New owner Alireza Delavari is a member of the family who owns two locaitons of Kasra Persian Grill, the Houston Press reports.

Big City Wings will open its eighth Houston-area location in Spring (3555 Rayford Rd.). Known for its eclectic flavors that utilize housemade sauces — the Gold Fever, Mango Habanero, and Garlic Parmesan are particularly strong — as well as over-the-top burgers and loaded baked potatoes, the restaurant has become a popular game-watching destination. Expect it to open in the next couple of weeks.

Astros fans have a new option for dining in Minute Maid Park. Austin-based wing joint Pluckers will join Torchy’s Tacos and Shake Shack as well-known restaurants from out of town that are designed to appeal to park patrons whether they’re rooting for the good guys or the visiting team. Look for it behind center field.

Sawyer Yards has a new option for coffee. Located within Toros Lifestyle Soccer facility, Calcio Cafe serves coffee, tea, juices, and smoothies. The dog-friendly patio and free wi-fi help make it appealing place to watch soccer matches.

Here’s hoping Cypress residents like stinky cheese. Edelweiss Stube, a new Swiss restaurant, will open soon at Bridgeland’s Lakeland Village Center. Chef and co-owner Markus Klauser’s menu will focus on raclette, which will be served tableside and scraped onto diners plates. Swiss specialities like Älplermagronen, penne pasta with potato cubes in a creamy cheese sauce, and Zürcher Geschnetzeltes mit Rösti, beef and mushrooms in gravy with shredded, roasted potatoes, will also help bring the spirits of the Alps to the northwest Houston suburb.

Other news and notes

Houston chefs Kevin Naderi (Roost) and Ben McPheron (BOH Pasta at Bravery Chef Hall) are squaring off in a burger battle at Rodeo Goat. Naderi’s Shrimp Creole Burger features a spiced Gulf shrimp patty, ravigote sauce, fried green tomatoes, and crunchy chayote slaw; McPherson’s “It’s all Bologna” combines a bolognese patty with mortadella, Parmesan, and pistachio mustard. Ordering either donates $1 to the Rescued Pets Movement (Naderi) or Recipe for Success (McPherson). A winner will be declared April 9.

Naderi isn’t the only chef supporting the Rescued Pets Movement. Etoile, the French restaurant in Uptown Park, is serving a four-course, $65 dinner menu and a three-course, $34 brunch menu that yield $7 and $4 donations, respectively, to the popular 501(c)3. Since 2013, the organization has saved over 35,000 dogs and cats.

This last item is for people in the restaurant industry who need help controlling costs. Joshua Santana, an accountant and tax specialist, has joined forces with Maria Degaine (Cafe Azur, Mona Italian) to form Cerboni Financial Solutions and Accounting. The new company provides a “proprietary organization system to handle invoicing and billing, tip management, tax services, benefits and more,” according to a press release. Learn more at www.cerboniservices.com.

Pluckers wings are coming to Minute Maid Park.

Photo by Melissa Skorpil

Pluckers wings are coming to Minute Maid Park.

news-you-can-eat openings closings

Roll With It

9 Houston restaurants luring diners with fluffy, buttery dinner rolls

Photo by Bear Media Co

At the Green Room, diners can opt for a side of caviar to elevate the dinner rolls.

Dinner rolls are having a moment in Houston.

Perhaps it's because comfort food is necessary when life can feel so chaotic, or that ordering a basket of rolls for the table is more financially approachable than, say, a seafood tower — whatever the reason, rolls are back on the menu at some of the city's most exciting restaurants.

At Latuli, the Memorial restaurant by chef Bryan Caswell and Allison Knight, the bread service consists of house yeast rolls with jalapeño and roasted poblano jelly, alongside a gruyère corn bread with whipped sorghum butter.

“It’s our No. 1 seller every day, which is surprising given all the gluten-free diets and GLP-1 trends right now—it’s almost like its power is trend-immune,” Caswell tells CultureMap.

The same is true at Fielding’s Steak, where the restaurant’s in-house bakery delivers brioche dinner rolls served with cultured butter, honey, and sea salt from Galveston.

“Guests have always loved fresh-baked bread, even during the time when it was frowned upon,” CEO Cary Attar says.

Dustin Teague, executive chef and co-owner of Relish Restaurant & Bar, recalls when free bread service was a constant on tables around town throughout the majority of his industry experience.

“That was back in the good old days when rent, insurance, labor, and cost of goods were at reasonable numbers,” Teague says. “Now we don’t have any room for anything free but we still want to have it available for guests.”

The Parker House rolls at Relish are accompanied by compound butters, with the current creation featuring a garlic confit, fresh herbs, and red pepper flakes.

“Serving bread signifies welcoming guests into a home or establishment, hence the term ‘breaking bread.’ So it’s a must for any upscale dining experience,” Teague says.

The cowboy butter rolls at western-themed restaurant Long Weekend are a no-brainer pairing on a menu with hearty fare like hickory-smoked quail and a 24-ounce porterhouse. It’s also an easy order for the family-focused restaurant that is likely to have tiny, pickier eaters as patrons.

"We took a Texas staple and elevated it with duck fat, our house sourdough starter, and locally sourced Kelley’s Honey,” executive chef German Mosquera says.

At Star Rover, every entree is served with a basket of milk rolls, along with salad, fries, and onion rings. Diners who want to participate in the “I Ate the 76'er” challenge have to consume a 76-ounce steak and the sides — yes, including rolls — in under an hour.

“They are your fairly standard buttermilk yeast rolls,” executive chef Bobby Matos says. “We serve them because they’re delicious and a bit of a nod to Texas Roadhouse and that kind of vibe.”

Speaking of Texas Roadhouse, the chain restaurant's complimentary rolls helped propel its rise to America's highest-grossing casual dining restaurant. The fluffy buns are baked every five minutes, enticing diners with shiny butter-basted tops and cinnamon butter that's made in house.

The dinner rolls at surf-and-turf destination Truluck’s emerge from the kitchen as pull-aparts — brushed with butter and finished with a hefty dusting of parmesan.

The dinner rolls at The Green Room undergo an overnight bulk fermentation process. The next day, the dough is rolled and portioned by hand before resting and proofing at room temperature for four hours, then slid into the oven.

The newly opened 26-seat restaurant adds daily butters to the experience, with both a sorghum-and-sea salt butter, and a charred scallion butter currently in rotation. To make the dish even more luxurious, diners can add a caviar supplement to the bread service.

Chef and owner Shawn Gawle offers another elevated version of the dinner roll at Camaraderie. Here, the 2026 James Beard semifinalist for Best Chef: Texas has put his pastry expertise on display with pain au lait, which involves laminating together a regular Japanese milk bread with a purple sweet potato variation into a delicate, colorful roll.

“We wanted something where we could show value, substance and technique, but it also completes the meal,” Gawle says. “To share a meal with warm bread and butter is a universal, comforting experience.”

Photo by Bear Media Co

At the Green Room, diners can opt for a side of caviar to elevate the dinner rolls.

news-you-can-eat dinner rolls houston restaurants anderson