that's fat

'World's biggest pizza slice' restaurant headed to Houston area from Louisiana

Fat Boy's Pizza is coming to Houston.

Courtesy of Fat Boy's Pizza

A Louisiana restaurant that claims to serve the “World's Biggest Pizza Slice” has set its sights on Houston. Fat Boy's Pizza will open its first Houston-area location in Richmond at The Grand at Aliana, a development at the intersection of W. Airport Boulevard and the Grand Parkway.

Scheduled to open by the end of 2022, the 4,800-square-foot restaurant will also offer a 1,500-square-foot patio adjacent to the development's green space. Offering outdoor seating is important to Fat Boy's Houston expansion plans, local real estate broker Thomas Nguyen tells CultureMap in an email.

“The Houston locations we are selecting also feature massive patio spaces," Nguyen writes. “While Houston is full of pizza QSRs and delivery concepts, surprisingly there aren't that many pizza concepts that have huge patios and bars.”

To Nguyen’s point, Fat Boy’s offers a full selection of beer, wine, and cocktails, including its signature daiquiris by the gallon.

Turning to the food, the vaunted slices come from Fat Boy's namesake 30-inch pizzas. The restaurant offers all the usual combos (pepperoni, meat lovers, veggie, supreme, etc.) as well barbecue chicken, Buffalo chicken, calzone, and stromboli. Appetizers such as wings, meatballs, and fried mozzarella sticks join salads as non-pizza options.

“Our pizza is unique and our restaurant is unique,” director of Texas operations George Malek said in a statement. “A visit to Fat Boy’s Pizza is an experience you’ll talk about with your friends and one you will look forward to repeating.”

To bring the Metairie-based restaurant to Houston, founder Gabe Corchiani partnered with businessman Shane Guidry. Known for his work as the CEO of marine transportation company Harvey Gulf International Marine, Guidry attracted some media attention last year when he put his approximately 15,000-square-foot mansion on the market for almost $17 million, but we digress. Clearly, he brings substantial resources to Fat Boy's plans for Houston.

“We look forward to bringing a family dining experience that will add to everything Houston has to offer,” Guidry added. “Fat Boy’s entrance into this area is exciting and our partnership with the Corchiani family is equally as exciting.”

The Richmond location join Fat Boy's original restaurant in Metairie along with Louisiana stores in Baton Rouge, Covington, and the French Quarter in New Orleans. It opened its first out-of-state location this March in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

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inspired by Houston's

Houston steakhouse reboots as a more affordable neighborhood restaurant

Michael Sambrooks is ready to unveil the refreshed Andiron. Beginning this Monday, November 25, the fine dining steakhouse will begin operating as the more affordable Andiron Grille & Patio.

“We looked at more neighborhood restaurants [like] Nancy’s Hustle and Nobie’s,” Sambrooks tells CultureMap. “We wanted to fall into that neighborhood restaurant category instead of fine dining and steakhouses. With the patio opening, we wanted to turn it into an eating and drinking place that’s more casual. Seemed like the vibe that would work for the neighborhood.”

To get that everyday appeal, Sambrooks and chef Michael O’Connor worked to decrease the restaurant’s prices by removing luxurious items such as caviar and truffles. Andiron still serves imported Japanese wagyu, but now it’s the chuck instead of strip or ribeye. Overall, diners can expect to spend about $100 per person, which is down from the $150 per person or more of Andiron’s original iteration.

Similar to a restaurant like Hillstone (formerly Houston’s), diners will find steaks at Andiron, but they have other options, too. The restaurant’s prime rib sandwich and decadent wagyu burger both appear on the new menu. They’re joined by a roasted half chicken, pork steak, and Gulf fish with Thai curry.

“People seem to really enjoy [the new menu],” Sambrooks says. “A lot of our neighborhood folks and regulars have come in. They appreciate the value-driven options. A lot of people say they can come more often.”

Another reason they’ll come more often is to enjoy the restaurant’s new patio. Part of the 2,800-square-foot space features lounge-style seating designed for people who want to devote most of their attention to bartender Angel Bautista’s refreshed cocktail offerings. Inspired by his time working at Mexico City’s Handshake Speakeasy — ranked No. 1 in the world by the World’s 50 Best organization — the menu includes a selection of carbonated cocktails that are both refreshing and able to be served quickly.

“We’ve got 75 seats. Some of those are for dining, some are for lounging and cocktailing. About 20 seats are love seats for lounging with a place to put your drink,” Sambrooks says.

“We’re pitching it as a cocktail garden. We want people to walk in, get a seat on the patio, order a couple of cocktails, order a snack or don’t. Just a really great additional space to sit and have a drink.”

The wine list is cheaper, too. Inspired by his time working for restaurateur Bill Floyd at Reef, Sambrooks is selling wine at a much lower markup than before. “We get a deal, we pass that along, even if it’s something we can only get one time,” he says.

Photo by Michael Anthony

Find a steak frites on the new menu at Andiron.

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