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    h-town bound

    Star chef bolts New York City and plots new Houston restaurant

    Eric Sandler
    Jun 3, 2019 | 3:20 pm
    Aaron Bludorn
    Chef Aaron Bludorn is coming to Houston.
    aaronbludorn.com

    A talented chef is bringing his Michelin-star resume to Houston from New York. Aaron Bludorn announced that he's leaving his position to as executive chef at Café Boulud to open a restaurant in Houston.

     

     

     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     
     
     
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     Yep, cats out of the bag, I’m leaving @cafebouludny after 10 years, Friday will be my last service as the executive chef. Thank you to the incredible @danielboulud, you’re our link to the legacy of French cuisine, our inspiration to travel the world without ever leaving our kitchen and most of all an amazing mentor who dares us to be better than we could have imagined possible. I like to think we stand on the shoulders of giants and this is nothing short of the truth. As I move to this next chapter in my life, I reflect fondly on the times I have had in this kitchen. It truly has been an amazing experience and one that has changed me forever. Thank you to @gavinkaysen for believing in me the same way that I believe in @jerrodzif and how he will bring this restaurant into its next phase. My wife @vpbludorn and I will be moving to Houston, TX. I couldn’t be more excited for the new adventures we will have. As I like to tell cooks who move on, “Never forget where you’ve been, always know where you’re going” See y’all in Texas! 📸 @pierrotinnyc

     

    A post shared by Aaron Bludorn (@aaronbludorn) on

     

    May 29, 2019 at 1:08pm PDT

     
     
     

     

     

    Bludorn tells CultureMap that the new restaurant will be "a modern French-American restaurant in a polished and charismatic setting." The chef added that he's targeting 2020 for the opening but is keeping details such as the name and location under wraps for now.

     

    Superstar chef Daniel Boulud paid tribute to Bludorn in an Instagram post of his own, writing "I’m so proud of how he has grown into his position with focus, ambition and confidence, always keeping a positive attitude, and with incredible respect to me, our team at Café, and our community for whom he participated in many fundraising events."

     

    Considering his professional experience includes 10 years working at Café Boulud for superstar chef Daniel Boulud — including six as executive chef — that's reason enough for excitement, but his wife, Victoria Pappas Bludorn, brings significant experience to the project, too.

     

    In addition to being the daughter of Pappas Restaurants co-owner Chris Pappas, she worked as an "operations assistant at the Dinex Group, which is the New York management company for the restaurants of Daniel Boulud," according to the couple's wedding announcement in the New York Times. Just to be clear, the restaurant won't be affiliated with Pappas Restaurants, per a representative, but it certainly can't hurt to have grown up in such a successful family.

     

    Reality TV watchers may recognize Bludorn's name from his time on Netflix's cooking competition show The Final Table. Paired with Scottish chef Graham Campbell, the chef demonstrated an ability to blend French technique with a number of international cuisines. In the Japan episode, Yoshihiro Narisawa called Bludorn's uni panna cotta "perfect" but eliminated the duo for making the portion too large.

     

    Needless to say, Houstonians are unlikely to complain about "too much" uni. They'll certainly want to keep their eyes on Bludorn's progress as he moves toward opening his Houston restaurant.

     
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    welcome to paradise

    Veteran Houston bartender shakes up the Heights with new tropical bar

    Eric Sandler
    Jul 8, 2025 | 1:12 pm
    Berwick's Birds of Paradise bar exterior
    Photo by Eric Sandler
    Berwick's Birds of Paradise opened on July 4.

    The woman behind your favorite bartender’s favorite bar has quietly opened a new cocktail spot in the Heights. Called Berwick’s Birds of Paradise, it’s the latest project from Double Trouble owner Robin Berwick.

    Berwick tells CultureMap that she began looking for a new project about a year ago. Double Trouble, a coffee and cocktail bar that opened in late 2011, no longer required her full attention. She found an ideal space with the former La Coqueta at 2020 Studewood Street, a standalone building in a prime area of the Heights. Similar to Double Trouble, Berwick took inspiration from tropical destinations for BBOP's (pronounced “be bop”) drinks and design — with some additional flair from the only kind of bar she’s never worked at.

    “I might be embarrassed if you print this, but it’s the truth. I have bartended in just about every category of bar: restaurant bar, nightclub, dance club, strip club, dive bar, and Anvil and Poison Girl, the cocktail bars that people knew me from before Double Trouble,” she says.

    “The only place I didn’t work that I wanted to was a resort hotel bar. I never want to be responsible for running a hotel, but I wanted to open a bar that felt like it was once attached to a hotel.”

    Patrons will notice a screen printed portrait of a woman hanging on one of the bar’s walls. Berwick has decided that it depicts the mythical owner of the non-existent hotel that BBOP is attached to.

    “I don’t know her name, but she’s a little spooky and she’s blue. I just look at her and ask her what would she do,” Berwick says.

    Berwick worked with Jarred Pruitt and Eli Ashby at Houston builder Pruitt Structures to renovate the space with everything from new plumbing and HVAC systems to a vintage-inspired tile floor and an all-new ceiling treatment. The costs ran a little higher than expected, but Berwick cites her “fantastic investors” who raised the money required to build the bar she envisioned.

     Berwick's Birds of Paradise bar interior The building received a comprehensive renovation to become Berwick's Birds of Paraidse.Photo by Eric Sandler

    The cocktail menu takes a similarly tropical (not to be confused with tiki) theme. For example, the bar’s frozen cocktail is called La Bruha, after a nickname Berwick received from the tradesmen who helped renovate the bar. “It’s a riff on an El Diablo,” she explains, “Tequila, fresh lime juice, spicy ginger beer, habanero tincture, topped with a layer of elderberry liqueur. The ginger surprises people. It’s got a little punch to it.”

    Similarly, the Crocodile Tears Martini gets a little island flavor courtesy of Strange Water, a coconut water created by former Houstonian Yael Vengroff, and Grey Goose Citra vodka. “Everybody’s been saying it’s ‘dangerously drinkable,’” Berwick adds.

    BBOP’s tidy food menu is overseen by veteran Houston chef Jacob Pate, whose resume includes Coltivare, Good Dog Houston, and the recently-closed Savoir. Current offerings include chicken wings, a smash burger, and a Bikini Sandwich — similar to a Cubano, Pate gives the traditional Catalan-inspired pressed ham and cheese sandwich a Houston twist courtesy of muffaletta compound butter and tomato condiment.

    “On the horizon is a house made sausage dog that I’m excited about,” Pate writes in an email. “At Savoir, we had some fun butchery projects that I would like to build upon where it makes sense. Beyond that, the first priority is figuring out how it all fits in our small kitchen and having fun.”

    In addition to food and drinks, Berwick is working with Heights cigar bar Nice Ash to stock a humidor for BBOP. Patrons will be able to smoke a cigar on the bar’s patio. Because people will be smoking (among other reasons), BBOP is strictly 21-plus.

    The bar opened quietly on July 4. So far, its customers has been a mix of curious neighbors, Double Trouble regulars, and Berwick’s friends in the service industry. After spending so much time on renovations, she says she’s happy to focus on operating her bar.

    “I had been used to this high stress level, waiting for the bottom to drop out [during the renovations],” she says. “When the first guests came in, I relaxed. We know how to make drinks.”

    Currently, the bar is open Wednesday-Sunday from 4pm - midnight. Days of service and hours of operation will expand once additional employees have been hired.

    Berwick's Birds of Paradise bar exterior
      
    Photo by Eric Sandler
    Berwick's Birds of Paradise opened on July 4.
    news/restaurants-bars

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