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    Just a tribute

    Rising star Houston chef honors New York culinary roots with special pop-up menu

    Eric Sandler
    Jun 2, 2020 | 1:31 pm
    Momofuku ssam bar tribute menu UB Preserv Nick Wong
    Order this entire meal for $85.
    Photo by Nick Fine

    Nick Wong is paying tribute to his roots. The chef de cuisine at UB Preserv will present a special menu in honor of New York restaurant Momofuku Ssäm Bar, an establishment he worked at for six years.

    For three days this week — Thursday, June 4 to Saturday, June 6 — UB Preserv will feature five dishes inspired by the groundbreaking establishment where chef David Chang earned a James Beard Award for Best Chef: New York in 2008. They are:

    • Steamed pork buns with cucumber, hoisin, and scallions, two for $13
    • Country ham with redeye gravy and baguette, $15
    • Apple kimchi with bacon and maple labne, $15
    • Fried Brussels sprouts with fish sauce vinaigrette and crispy rice, $15
    • Baby bo ssäm for two with lettuce, sauce, and toppings, $40

    UB Preserv's popular ca phe sua da carrot cake ($10) rounds out the offerings. Diners may also purchase the entire menu for $85.

    The timing of Wong's pop-up menu stems from Momofuku's decision to relocate Ssäm Bar as part of a number of operational changes the company made in response to the coronavirus pandemic. For Wong, relocating Ssäm Bar from the East Village to the South Street Seaport prompted him to reflect on his time at the restaurant. While he acknowledges that his six years there "turned me . . . into the chef I am now," he finds the change in venue to be bittersweet.

    View this post on Instagram

    This hit a little harder than I was expecting. Probably cause I wasn’t expecting Ssam to close, or that it would affect me the way it did. This was also hard to post, but mainly because I’m pretty sure I’m in a small minority when it comes to this unpopular opinion: I wish that Ssam Bar's closure was permanent instead of a relocation. I can’t begin to imagine what sorts of conversations were had to come to this decision, and I know it was not made lightly. So I absolutely respect the decision that was made. I obviously don’t understand all of the factors that went into it, and I have the privilege of both physical and emotional distance at this point, so it’s easy for me to not agree with it. I can’t fault the decision or the decision makers. But the Ssam Bar in my head and my heart will be a hard act to follow. It was the restaurant that thrived on hiring misfits in an industry already filled with outsiders. It was the kitchen where you could quack like the Mighty Ducks in an open kitchen while also getting demolished on a Saturday night. It was the place you could play the dumbest of all frat boy games so that people would feel like they were part of the kitchen. It was the bakery where if no one gave you a shot at making cookies filled with chips and coffee grounds, you could start there. It was the bar that was both the tech-geekiest and coolest low-key experience ever. It was the FOH that gave you a shot at being a captain on their side of the pass, even if you started in the kitchen with no English. It was the place where you learned that if you wanted to win both the trophies you had to do more than just show up to rehearsal. A crew where you could yell “two-oh” in a crowded room and bet that at least one person would call back “seven”. It was the stubborn mindset that took in cooks that would have been outright fired at nicer, better, more finesse restaurants within a month, but instead invested and built them up to be leaders in their own rights. It was the place that turned me, for better or worse, into the chef I am now. I didn’t mean to write a eulogy, but I guess I wasn’t expecting my heart to break either. 207 is dead. Long live 207.

    A post shared by Nick Wong (@_nickwong_) on

    May 19, 2020 at 5:53am PDT

    Those interested in trying the offerings should place their orders early. Quantities are limited, and last weekend's run sold out quickly. The pork belly buns have been copied endlessly, but the apple kimchi — an intriguing mix of sweet, tart, savory, and smokey — serves as a powerful reminder of the various ways Ssäm Bar shaped the way people eat today.

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    That's Amore!

    Pioneering Mexican chef and chic speakeasy popping up at Houston hotel

    Brianna Griff
    May 23, 2025 | 10:00 am
    Chef Alejandro Ruiz of Casa Oaxaca
    Photo courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel Houston
    Four Seasons Hotel Houston is hosting a two-night pop-up dinner featuring chef Alejandro Ruiz of Casa Oaxaca.

    Houston diners won’t need a passport to explore Mexico’s culinary capital next month. On June 16 and 17, Four Seasons Hotel Houston will host From Oaxaca, With Love, a five-course experience that teams celebrated chef Alejandro Ruiz of Casa Oaxaca with Oaxaca City cocktail bar Sabina Sabe and agave-spirits producer The Lost Explorer.

    The evening begins with Sabina Sabe bartender Mike Prado greeting diners with a cocktail in Bandista, the hotel’s speakeasy bar and lounge. The libations promise to be divine, with Sabine Sabe currently ranked No. 54 Best Bar in North America, and Bandista sitting at No. 59.

    From there, the party moves into a dining room filled with contemporary works supplied by Oaxaca Serrano Contemporary Art Gallery and underscored by live music.

    Ruiz, whose flagship Casa Oaxaca earned a spot in Mexico’s inaugural Michelin Guide, built his reputation by elevating the dishes he learned as a child cooking alongside his mother on the family farm.

    The chef stays close to his roots with recipes crafted using native ingredients such as chiles, corn, insects, and seeds purchased directly from local producers. Ruiz has long been considered an ambassador of the southern Mexican state — his enfrijoladas caused Noma’s famed Chef Rene Redzepi a moment of rapture.

    For his Houston appearance, diners can expect a true taste of Oaxaca: think a mini tostada topped with heirloom chapulines, chicatanas, and gusanos de maguey (grasshoppers, flying ants, and agave worms); red snapper cured in a bright tomatillo-rice-vinegar broth; and a slow-braised short rib finished in a fruit-laced mole.

    Prado will pair each course with cocktails such as the Pimiento Margarita, combining The Lost Explorer Tobalá mezcal with vermouth, peach, pimiento, cinnamon, and lime.

    “It is our great pleasure to welcome chef Alejandro Ruiz and Sabina Sabe to Houston, Texas,” Tom Segesta, Four Seasons Hotel Houston’s general manager, said in a statement. "These dinners, featuring these awarded ambassadors of Oaxacan food and drink, are sure to be enjoyed by our local community and guests from around the world.”

    The pop-up continues the hotel’s ongoing dinner-series format, which has previously spotlighted restaurants ranging from Emeril’s in New Orleans to Employees Only in New York and an Italian-American steakhouse from James Beard Award winner Chris Shepherd.

    From Oaxaca, With Love begins at 7 pm on Monday, June 16, and Tuesday, June 17. Seating is limited, with tickets priced at $250 per person plus tax and gratuity. Each reservation will receive a signed English-language copy of Ruiz’s cookbook The Food of Oaxaca: Recipes and Stories from Mexico's Culinary Capital. Reservations are available via OpenTable.

    Those who wish to linger can book the hotel’s Advance Purchase offer, which discounts room rates by up to 25 percent when reserved three or more days ahead.

    The menu features:

    Starter Trio

    • Mini tostada with heirloom insects
    • Zucchini blossom stuffed with ricotta and roasted banana purée
    • Hoja santa “taco” with quesillo, beans, and wild mushrooms

    Green Aguachile

    • Red snapper cured in tomatillo-rice-vinegar broth, Persian cucumber, red onion, cilantro, ginger-toasted peanuts
    • Cocktail: Pequeño Gigante – Madre Cuishe mezcal, hoja santa, ginger, lime, Oaxacan spices

    Tortilla Soup

    • Tomato-pasilla mixe broth, crispy tortillas, fresh cheese, cream, pork cracklings, mint-celery garnish
    • Cocktail: Pimiento Margarita – Tobalá mezcal, Mistela vermouth, peach, pimiento, cinnamon, lime

    Braised Short Rib

    • Anchamanteles mole, seasonal fruit relish, banana purée, crispy plantain
    • Cocktail: Agave Xerez – The Lost Explorer tequila, Palomino sherry, green apple, pear

    Textures of Oaxacan

    • Chocolate Mousse, sponge cake, ice cream, tuile, passion-fruit jelly, cacao nibs
    • Neat pour of Tobalá mezcal
    • Traditional water-based hot chocolate infused with cacao flower

    Chef Alejandro Ruiz of Casa Oaxaca
      

    Photo courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel Houston

    Four Seasons Hotel Houston is hosting a two-night pop-up dinner featuring chef Alejandro Ruiz of Casa Oaxaca.

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