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    Food for Thought

    Fresh from the Ocean’s: A sneak taste in the saved Tudor home

    Marene Gustin
    May 11, 2010 | 4:10 pm
    • Jorge Alvarez of Ocean's
    • Ocean's is making waves at the former Bistro Vino location
      Photo by Clifford Pugh

    By now you know that a couple of brothers from Mexico City have rescued the old Bistro Vino from the wrecking ball.

    Isaac Alvarez, a chef, and Jorge Alvarez, a residential developer, have a lease to own contract on the property at 819 W. Alabama and are set to open Ocean’s in the charming 1930’s two-story Tudor-style home on May 21.

    Great news for preservationists, but what about foodies?

    No need to worry, it's all good news.

    I spent Cinco de Mayo basking in the warm sunshine on the garden patio of this once lovely establishment that is now being brought back to life, imbibing in ceviche and margaritas.

    The margaritas are divine, and they sneak up on you, so watch out: Tequila, lime and a touch of orange juice. No powdered mixes here. Possibly one of the best, freshest 'ritas in town.

    Once Ocean’s opens, this backyard paradise should be a popular spot for cocktails for the in crowd. Not that that includes me. Oh, and the upstairs will also be a bar, with tables downstairs — in the house that Jorge and his construction crew have renovated, while luckily keeping most of the wood beams and original fireplace.

    It will be wonderful to see this spot, once known as the place for wedding receptions, romantic dinners and special luncheons back in business. Although, I suspect it will be a younger, hipper crowd that comes for the cocktails and seafood.

    And, since this column is called Food for Thought let’s get down to the eats part.

    While there will be a full menu, including steak, pasta and community platters, the Alvarez boys really want to make a splash on the ceviche scene. In fact, they plan on having ten ceviches at the ceviche bar (and why hasn’t someone thought of that before?) all fresh and laid out in front of you.

    “But it’s a modern Mexican cuisine,” says consulting executive chef Rafael Corzo, a friend of the brothers and head chef at the NE Hotel Nueva Estancia in Leon, Mexico. “The dishes we are creating are fresh fusion like our Oriental ceviche with Asian flavors and the scallop carpaccio.”

    They’ve also created the Maximilian taco, a sort of shrimp fondue in a tortilla, and the delectable Sinaloa tostado topped with plump shrimp, red onion circles, avocado slices and chopped green olives. I don’t think I’ve ever paired shrimp with green olives before but the explosion of flavors is quite a kick. There are some Spanish tapas recipes for the combo, but I’m currently working on a pizza recipe for chipotle shrimp with green olives.

    I’ll let you know how that turns out. But I digress. Back to Ocean’s.

    Mexican, Spanish, Asian, Ocean’s fusion is a globe trotting experience in eating.

    “We’ve lived all over the world and we wanted to create our own concept in food that combines all of the flavors we love,” Jorge says. “There is not one place in the U.S. that serves this type of food.”

    From what I sampled, he may be right. The food is quite different from what you can get at Yelapa Playa Mexicana Restaurant where chef L. J. Wiley does some pretty creative things with coastal Mexican dishes (peanuts in the guacamole!) and from Hugo’s where chef Hugo Ortega whips out crunchy fried grasshoppers and a wicked duck with red mole.

    So, hopefully, there’s room on the Houston food scene for Ocean’s because, one, we can never have enough Mexican restaurants and, two, having seen this beautiful house and garden get saved from the wrecking ball, we really don’t want to see it in danger again.

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    news/restaurants-bars

    truffle shuffle

    Fine dining chef serves up casual sandwich shop in Houston suburb

    Eric Sandler
    Mar 25, 2026 | 5:15 pm
    Fine dining chef serves up casual sandwich shop in Houston suburb
    Photo by Hungry AF Media

    Richmond may not be top of mind among the Houston suburbs with destination-worthy restaurants — other than Larry’s Original Mexican, of course — but a new cafe could have sandwich lovers from across greater Houston contemplating a visit to Fort Bend County.

    Meet Truffle & Rye Market & Café. The new restaurant, which celebrated its grand opening earlier this month, serves breakfast and lunch Monday through Saturday. In the morning, look for freshly baked pastries such as muffins and banana bread alongside breakfast sandwiches that are made with organic sourdough bagels.

    Lunch is built around sandwiches made with freshly baked schiacciata bread, an Italian-style flatbread that’s similar to focaccia, that Truffle & Rye sources from Houston's Artisan Bread Gallery. They include The Pig (mortadella, stracciatella, pistachio, pesto, and pistachio crumble), The Boar (spicy salami, whipped ricotta cheese, Italian pepper spread, and arugula), and The Bird (roasted turkey, basil pesto, provolone, roasted tomato, and arugula). Three salads are also available.

    Beverage options include a full coffee program, including lattes made with Mill-King milk and house made syrups, as well as teas, lemonade, and bottles of wine.

    Truffle and Rye restaurant Kaitlyn Chavez and Joey Chavez Truffle and Rye owners Kaitlyn and Joey Chavez.Courtesy of Truffle & Rye Market & Café

    Truffle and Rye restaurant sandwich

    Photo by Hungry AF Media

    The Bird is made with turkey, pesto, provolone, and roasted tomatoes.

    Chef Joey Chavez and his wife Kaitlyn are the husband-and-wife duo behind Truffle & Rye. Prior to launching his private chef company The Hidden Truffle, chef Chavez worked at a number of notable restaurants, including The French Laundry, Thomas Keller’s legendary, three-star Michelin fine dining restaurant in California; the Caribou Club in Aspen; and Brennan’s of Houston, where he had a brief stint as executive chef. Kaitlyn Chavez also brings top-level hospitality experience, having worked for The Ritz Carlton luxury hotel chain.

    “We built The Hidden Truffle around private dining and elevated experiences,” Kaitlyn shares. “But we kept coming back to the idea of wanting something for our community, somewhere people could come in regularly, feel taken care of, and enjoy food that still holds that same level of quality.”

    While the restaurant won’t serve dinner daily, it will be open on select nights for wine tastings, sourdough classes, pop-up dinners, and other happenings.

    Although he has a fine dining background, chef Chavez said he’s excited to bring this more casual concept to Richmond. “We wanted to build something we would want to go to ourselves,” he said. “A place where the food is intentional, the ingredients matter, and people feel comfortable coming in multiple times a week.”

    Truffle & Rye is located in Richmond at 107 S. Third Street. It opens at 7 am Monday-Thursday and 8 am on Friday and Saturday.

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