Foodie News

En Vivo: Rock star chef Paul Petersen drums to Houston to join the Tex-Mexrevolution

With Jonathan Jones directing the menu at the rebranded Xuco Xicana and Bryan Caswell opening El Real, it looks like chefs are taking Tex-Mex seriously.

And a new contender is joining the mix. Austin-import Vivo has been anticipated for months on the north side of River Oaks, and now it's announced a May opening — and a chef.

Paul Petersen gets dubbed the "rock star chef" because of his background as a drummer growing up in San Antonio, but he's also a Culinary Institute of America graduate and a James Beard Foundation Best New Chef: Southwest semifinalist from his time at the Gage Hotel's Café Cenizo in Marathon, Texas.

Though the menu at the new Vivo is still a work in progress, Petersen is known for taking classics and putting his own twist on them. He's also something of a barbecue star, with an appearance on TLC's BBQ Pitmasters; a steak specialist, with a stint at Rick's Chophouse in the Dallas suburb of McKinney; and he's been christened the future of "new Texas cuisine" by Esquire, so we're interested to see how all these inspirations — plus Tex-Mex — come together.

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Farewell, ElRo

Creative Montrose pizzeria will shutter after only a year-and-a-half

Photo by Julie Soefer

ElRo Pizza & Crudo

An acclaimed Houston pizzeria will soon serve its final pies. ElRo Pizza & Crudo will close after service on December 31.

In a post on Instagram, chef-owner Terrence Gallivan thanks his staff for their dedication and his customers for their support. “We hope to see you all over the next couple weeks. Come celebrate with us,” he writes.

Open since June 2023, ElRo intrigued diners who enjoyed Gallivan’s work at pioneering Houston restaurant The Pass & Provisions. At ElRo, the chef served a modified version of the Provisions pizza recipe alongside crudos and shareable small plates such as arancini and housemade sausage. It earned four nominations in this year’s CultureMap Tastemaker Awards, including Best New Restaurant and Chef of the Year.

Sadly, Gallivan tells CultureMap that business has seen “a steady decline in business for many months.” Recently, the restaurant had tried a number of initiatives to draw in diners, such as steak night on Tuesday and fried chicken on Saturday.

The early announcement gives diners two weeks to make one more visit (or two) to the restaurant before it closes. Customers may want to time their visit for happy hour, which takes places from 3-6 pm Tuesday-Friday. It includes half-off glasses of wine, $4 draft beers, $9 select cocktails, and food specials.

Gallivan adds that he doesn’t know yet what his next move will be. Hopefully, he’s got one more comeback in him. Houston is a more fun town to dine in when Gallivan is cooking in it.

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