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    Doin' it in Texas

    New wine shop and tasting room uncorks boho charm and eclectic pours in The Heights

    Eric Sandler
    Jun 28, 2022 | 2:17 pm

    The Heights will soon welcome a new wine shop and tasting room. Reata Cellars will open July 6 at 633 West 19th St.

    A Spanish word that refers to the leather rope carried by Mexican vaqueros — and also the name of the ranch in the classic film Giant — Reata unites wine industry veteran Mary Dodson with Sandy Epps, a former music industry star who also operated a wine bar in Columbus, Texas. Together, they’ve transformed a former insurance office into an intimate space where people can experience wine — primarily through drinking it, of course, but also by talking about it.

    “We wanted to make it more like if you were walking into a Spanish winery, but when we gutted it and discovered the bohemian, ’70s industrial vibe, we decided to go with it,” Epps says about the space, which has exposed brick walls and concrete floors. “It gives it a charm.”

    Adding to that charm are furniture pieces built by Epps’ daughter Allison and art that both women have collected over the years. Epps’ history in the music business also gets a nod courtesy of the framed gold and platinum records she earned as the manger for legendary Texas bands the Butthole Surfers and the Toadies.

    Dodson assembled the opening selection of approximately 60 bottles by selecting wines she knows well from her time as a wine distributor. The list is on smaller producers that customers won’t find at any of the nearby grocery stores. It comes everything from Italian sparkling wine to domestic producers and the wine produced by Houston master sommelier Guy Stout.

    “The wine selection is playful. It’s supposed to not have one direction,” Dodson says. “It’s going to come from my past and the people we love. The people who bring us what we’re looking for, which is [wines] that aren’t everywhere, that we can support.”

    “My philosophy is there’s a story in every bottle of wine,” Epps adds. “That’s our tagline. I wanted a space that was small and intimate, where we could talk about wine, share stories, and become friends.”

    Reata holds a winery license, which allows it to both import wines and make its own vintages. Those plans are still a little fluid, but Dodson sees the potential to use grapes from both Texas and other parts of the world, adorned with labels designed by Epps’ artist friends. “Any person or estate that’s affected us over the years that we’re able to be part of, we will be,” she says.

    For now, Reata plans to be open Wednesday through Saturday. With a rotating selection of five wines by-the-glass, it's an ideal pre-dinner option for people heading to nearby restaurants like Squable, Harold's, and La Lucha. Customers may snack on cheeses from Houston Dairymaids or charcuterie boards from Gourmet Foods. Over time, they plan to hold tasting events with visiting winemakers and create a buyers club for regulars.

    “Hopefully people want to hang out with us,” Dodson muses. “Other than that, it’s being playful. It’s having fun with what you’re doing. Understanding that working hard dosen’t mean not having fun. It means understanding what you’re doing and being passionate about it.”

    Reata will open with approximately 60 wines.

    Reata Cellars interior
      
    Photo by Brittney Ellaway
    Reata will open with approximately 60 wines.
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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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