Ninfaritas in the galleria

The Original Ninfa's sets opening date for highly anticipated Galleria-area location

Galleria-area diners will soon be feasting on fajitas and drinking Ninfaritas. The Original Ninfa's Uptown Houston will open June 10, owner Legacy Restaurants announced.

Most Houstonians need little introduction to Ninfa's. Founded in 1973 by "Mama Ninfa" Laurenzo, the restaurant is credited with turning fajitas — tacos al carbon served on a sizzling comal alongside flour tortillas — into a global phenomenon. In a city obsessed with Tex-Mex, it remains a vital member of the culinary community, as demonstrated by its James Beard Award semifinalist nomination for Outstanding Restaurant earlier this year.

Although other, licensed Ninfa's locations continue to operate in Houston and points beyond, the Uptown restaurant is the first expansion owned by Legacy and overseen by its corporate executive chef Alex Padilla.

Located in the former Peska space at the BLVD Place mixed-use development, Legacy worked with Austin architect Michael Hsu and Houston’s Studio Red Architects to recreate the look of the original Ninfa's location on Navigation. That means a tortilla station at the entrance and photographs of founder Ninfa Lorenzo on the walls, among other design elements. All told, the restaurant will seat 280 people, including a 50-seat private dining room.

Similarly, the menu at the new location matches the original, and the prices will be the same, too. The addition of both a wood-burning oven and a wood-burning grill means that the flavors of Padilla's recipes should be the same, too. Chef Jason Gould (Cyclone Anaya's, Gravitas) will oversee the kitchen, while general manager Ashley Clark will run the dining room. Ninfa's Uptown will be open for lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch. Plans include the possibility of weekday breakfast service.

Legacy recruited beverage consultant Linda Salinas (Jonathan's the Rub at Memorial Green, Hungry's) to create new cocktails that will join the classic Ninfarita as drink options. For now, Salinas' creations are exclusive to the Uptown location, but they'll make their way to Navigation, too.

For a city obsessed with Tex-Mex, the Galleria area offers relatively few options. Expect Ninfa's to be busy from day one.

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The Original Ninfa's Uptown; 1700 Post Oak Blvd.; Monday-Thursday from 11 am to 10 pm, Friday 11 am to 11 pm, Saturday 10 am to 11 pm, Sunday 10 am to 10 pm.

Ninfa's Uptown opens June 10.

Photo by Becca Wright

Ninfa's Uptown opens June 10.

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truffle shuffle

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

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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