• Home
  • popular
  • EVENTS
  • submit-new-event
  • CHARITY GUIDE
  • Children
  • Education
  • Health
  • Veterans
  • Social Services
  • Arts + Culture
  • Animals
  • LGBTQ
  • New Charity
  • TRENDING NEWS
  • News
  • City Life
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • Home + Design
  • Travel
  • Real Estate
  • Restaurants + Bars
  • Arts
  • Society
  • Innovation
  • Fashion + Beauty
  • subscribe
  • about
  • series
  • Embracing Your Inner Cowboy
  • Green Living
  • Summer Fun
  • Real Estate Confidential
  • RX In the City
  • State of the Arts
  • Fall For Fashion
  • Cai's Odyssey
  • Comforts of Home
  • Good Eats
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2010
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2
  • Good Eats 2
  • HMNS Pirates
  • The Future of Houston
  • We Heart Hou 2
  • Music Inspires
  • True Grit
  • Hoops City
  • Green Living 2011
  • Cruizin for a Cure
  • Summer Fun 2011
  • Just Beat It
  • Real Estate 2011
  • Shelby on the Seine
  • Rx in the City 2011
  • Entrepreneur Video Series
  • Going Wild Zoo
  • State of the Arts 2011
  • Fall for Fashion 2011
  • Elaine Turner 2011
  • Comforts of Home 2011
  • King Tut
  • Chevy Girls
  • Good Eats 2011
  • Ready to Jingle
  • Houston at 175
  • The Love Month
  • Clifford on The Catwalk Htx
  • Let's Go Rodeo 2012
  • King's Harbor
  • FotoFest 2012
  • City Centre
  • Hidden Houston
  • Green Living 2012
  • Summer Fun 2012
  • Bookmark
  • 1987: The year that changed Houston
  • Best of Everything 2012
  • Real Estate 2012
  • Rx in the City 2012
  • Lost Pines Road Trip Houston
  • London Dreams
  • State of the Arts 2012
  • HTX Fall For Fashion 2012
  • HTX Good Eats 2012
  • HTX Contemporary Arts 2012
  • HCC 2012
  • Dine to Donate
  • Tasting Room
  • HTX Comforts of Home 2012
  • Charming Charlie
  • Asia Society
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2012
  • HTX Mistletoe on the go
  • HTX Sun and Ski
  • HTX Cars in Lifestyle
  • HTX New Beginnings
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2013
  • Zadok Sparkle into Spring
  • HTX Let's Go Rodeo 2013
  • HCC Passion for Fashion
  • BCAF 2013
  • HTX Best of 2013
  • HTX City Centre 2013
  • HTX Real Estate 2013
  • HTX France 2013
  • Driving in Style
  • HTX Island Time
  • HTX Super Season 2013
  • HTX Music Scene 2013
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2013 2
  • HTX Baker Institute
  • HTX Comforts of Home 2013
  • Mothers Day Gift Guide 2021 Houston
  • Staying Ahead of the Game
  • Wrangler Houston
  • First-time Homebuyers Guide Houston 2021
  • Visit Frisco Houston
  • promoted
  • eventdetail
  • Greystar Novel River Oaks
  • Thirdhome Go Houston
  • Dogfish Head Houston
  • LovBe Houston
  • Claire St Amant podcast Houston
  • The Listing Firm Houston
  • South Padre Houston
  • NextGen Real Estate Houston
  • Pioneer Houston
  • Collaborative for Children
  • Decorum
  • Bold Rock Cider
  • Nasher Houston
  • Houston Tastemaker Awards 2021
  • CityNorth
  • Urban Office
  • Villa Cotton
  • Luck Springs Houston
  • EightyTwo
  • Rectanglo.com
  • Silver Eagle Karbach
  • Mirador Group
  • Nirmanz
  • Bandera Houston
  • Milan Laser
  • Lafayette Travel
  • Highland Park Village Houston
  • Proximo Spirits
  • Douglas Elliman Harris Benson
  • Original ChopShop
  • Bordeaux Houston
  • Strike Marketing
  • Rice Village Gift Guide 2021
  • Downtown District
  • Broadstone Memorial Park
  • Gift Guide
  • Music Lane
  • Blue Circle Foods
  • Houston Tastemaker Awards 2022
  • True Rest
  • Lone Star Sports
  • Silver Eagle Hard Soda
  • Modelo recipes
  • Modelo Fighting Spirit
  • Athletic Brewing
  • Rodeo Houston
  • Silver Eagle Bud Light Next
  • Waco CVB
  • EnerGenie
  • HLSR Wine Committee
  • All Hands
  • El Paso
  • Houston First
  • Visit Lubbock Houston
  • JW Marriott San Antonio
  • Silver Eagle Tupps
  • Space Center Houston
  • Central Market Houston
  • Boulevard Realty
  • Travel Texas Houston
  • Alliantgroup
  • Golf Live
  • DC Partners
  • Under the Influencer
  • Blossom Hotel
  • San Marcos Houston
  • Photo Essay: Holiday Gift Guide 2009
  • We Heart Hou
  • Walker House
  • HTX Good Eats 2013
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2013
  • HTX Culture Motive
  • HTX Auto Awards
  • HTX Ski Magic
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings 2014
  • HTX Texas Traveler
  • HTX Cifford on the Catwalk 2014
  • HTX United Way 2014
  • HTX Up to Speed
  • HTX Rodeo 2014
  • HTX City Centre 2014
  • HTX Dos Equis
  • HTX Tastemakers 2014
  • HTX Reliant
  • HTX Houston Symphony
  • HTX Trailblazers
  • HTX_RealEstateConfidential_2014
  • HTX_IW_Marks_FashionSeries
  • HTX_Green_Street
  • Dating 101
  • HTX_Clifford_on_the_Catwalk_2014
  • FIVE CultureMap 5th Birthday Bash
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2014 TEST
  • HTX Texans
  • Bergner and Johnson
  • HTX Good Eats 2014
  • United Way 2014-15_Single Promoted Articles
  • Holiday Pop Up Shop Houston
  • Where to Eat Houston
  • Copious Row Single Promoted Articles
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2014
  • htx woodford reserve manhattans
  • Zadok Swiss Watches
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings 2015
  • HTX Charity Challenge 2015
  • United Way Helpline Promoted Article
  • Boulevard Realty
  • Fusion Academy Promoted Article
  • Clifford on the Catwalk Fall 2015
  • United Way Book Power Promoted Article
  • Jameson HTX
  • Primavera 2015
  • Promenade Place
  • Hotel Galvez
  • Tremont House
  • HTX Tastemakers 2015
  • HTX Digital Graffiti/Alys Beach
  • MD Anderson Breast Cancer Promoted Article
  • HTX RealEstateConfidential 2015
  • HTX Vargos on the Lake
  • Omni Hotel HTX
  • Undies for Everyone
  • Reliant Bright Ideas Houston
  • 2015 Houston Stylemaker
  • HTX Renewable You
  • Urban Flats Builder
  • Urban Flats Builder
  • HTX New York Fashion Week spring 2016
  • Kyrie Massage
  • Red Bull Flying Bach
  • Hotze Health and Wellness
  • ReadFest 2015
  • Alzheimer's Promoted Article
  • Formula 1 Giveaway
  • Professional Skin Treatments by NuMe Express

    7 things to know

    7 things to know in Houston food right now: Openings, closings, and cream puffs

    Eric Sandler
    Apr 7, 2021 | 3:30 pm

    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.

    Houston’s second Voodoo Doughnut opened in Montrose last week. Although it lacks the convenience of the drive-thru found at Voodoo’s Washington Avenue location, it is open 24/7, making it an equally appealing option for those seeking a morning treat and people leaving the area’s many bars after last call.

    Voodoo Doughnut has earned wide acclaim for its creative doughnuts such as the signature Voodoo Doll with raspberry jelly filling and the Diablos Rex with a vanilla frost pentagram. Some of its more scandalous offerings include the Maple Blazer Blunt and the Cock-N-Balls doughnuts, both of which are shaped to resemble their names.

    Dish Society has opened its new Katy location. Still located at LaCenterra, the new restaurant offers twice the capacity — 100 inside plus an 80-seat patio — as Dish’s original Katy outpost, with a design that features many of the same elements as the recently-opened Southside Commons location.

    “I love the way it came together - the size, the openness, the brightness, the airiness, plus the patio is literally on the green – parents can eat while watching their kids play,” Dish Society founder and CEO Aaron Lyons said in a statement. “Pride is one of our core values and we are proud of this place. Our staff who transitioned over from our original Katy location are standing taller; they’re proud and it’s showing up in our service. It’s very cool to see.”

    Speaking of Katy, the western suburb is also home to a new location of Gloria's Latin Cuisine (23333 Grand Circle Blvd.). Known for its Salvadoran and Tex-Mex fare, the new Gloria’s is the restaurant’s 22nd location in Texas and third in the Houston area, joining siblings in Midtown and at Baybrook Mall. The restaurant opens daily at 11 am.

    “We're very excited to make our Katy debut,” founder Gloria Fuentes-Rubio said in a release. “We have an amazing location and we've hired an exceptional staff. We look forward to sharing the Gloria’s experience with our neighbors in Katy and throughout the Houston area.”

    Greenway Coffee has opened its new location in downtown’s Finn Hall food hall. The shop serves all the familiar brewed and espresso beverages, as well as signature items like the Texas Honey and Cinnamon Latte, made with locally-sourced Bee2Bee Honey and the Birds of Paradise, an ice matcha latte with a guava cloud on top. Hours of operation are 8 am-1 pm Monday-Friday.

    “We are thrilled to open our new location at Finn Hall and bring our caffeine haven to downtown Houston,” co-owner Niken Prabanto said in a statement. “Coffee culture is all about bringing the community together, so it’s exciting to join a group of dynamic concepts that offer unique and different flavors to Houstonians all in one spot.”

    Old Town Spring favorite Wunsche Bros. quietly reopened in February, but it’s really official now, according to a press release. The restaurant closed in 2015 after being damaged by a fire. Known for comfort food favorites like chicken fried steak and burgers, the restaurant has new owners but managed to rehire some of its old staff. Wunsche Bros. is open daily beginning at 11 am.

    Montrose favorite Inversion Coffee has closed, Eater Houston reports. Open since 2005, the coffee shop opted not to renew its lease, but a representative for Art League Houston stated a replacement concept will be announced soon.

    Japanese cream puff purveyor Beard Papa's will open in Spingwoods Village on April 17. It will be the company's fourth Houston-area location, joining Katy, Chinatown, and Sugar Land.

    On opening day, the first 100 customers to purchase five dozen or more cream puffs will receive a special Beard Papa’s mug, and dragon and lion dance show will be performed at 11:30 am. In addition, customers will receive one free cream puff for every five purchased, while supplies last.

    Gloria's has opened in Katy.

    Gloria's Latin Cuisine Katy patio
    Courtesy of Gloria's Latin Cuisine
    Gloria's has opened in Katy.
    closingsopeningscoffeenews-you-can-eat
    news/restaurants-bars

    most read posts

    New Houston cocktail bar serves up a house party fueled by music and martinis

    Houston Mediterranean restaurant makes NY Times' best desserts list

    Beyoncé-loved Houston brunch spot expands and more popular stories

    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
    undefined

    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.

    news-you-can-eatmedia
    news/restaurants-bars
    CULTUREMAP EMAILS ARE AWESOME
    Get Houston intel delivered daily.
    Loading...