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    New Summer Menus

    Houston chefs shake up regular menus with summer specials & collaborative dinners

    Jodie Eisenhardt
    Jun 30, 2013 | 3:00 pm

    Hot fun in the summertime means plenty of special dining options — and from new menu items to unique, collaborative chef dinners, it's worth getting out in the heat for.

    Chef Philippe Schmidt has some fantastic new menu offerings for Summer at Philippe on Post Oak. Grilled calamari stuffed with spring vegetables, served on a confit of tomato and olive nicoise is unique and simply delightful. The haricot vert salad with baby artichoke and foie gras shavings tossed with a pungent sherry vinaigrette is both hearty and light, while a peppery arugula salad with tangy goat cheese wrapped in crispy phyllo served on a carpaccio of pears, toasted hazelnuts and sherry vinaigrette would make for a deliciously light dinner on its own.

    New entrees include the "Long Island Duo" of duck: Crispy duck breast with a Texas grapefruit sauce is served alongside duck leg confit bread pudding, yellow baby beets and red beet puree with ginger. The duck breast is served deliciously rare and the combination of flavors and textures is a winner.

    Another notable newbie is the Black Sea Bass — slices of seared wild bass with crispy skin served with soft grits, little stacks of grilled corn and a Pernod demi-glace. There's also a fabulous $20 "Master Chef" three-course lunch special during the week.

    Chef Kevin Naderi at Roost just launched his latest menu, which features a number of perfect-for-summer items including Gazpacho Shrimp — plump, perfectly cooked shrimp atop marinated vegetables and queso fresco. A great vegetarian option is the toothsome casarecci pasta (house made at Paulie's down the street), served with eggplant caponata and oven-roasted tomato sauce.

    From new menu items to unique, collaborative chef dinners, it's worth getting out in the heat for.

    I love a refreshing summer dessert and Roost offers two that I'm becoming fast-obsessed with: Cloud 10 Creamery watermelon and tomato sorbet, served with tart feta and balsamic syrup, and a Black Sesame "cheese cake" (the texture is more akin to panna cotta), served with a strawberry-celery compote and house granola. Yum.

    Chef Philippe Verpiand at Étoile in Uptown Park is featuring several new entrées including a steak tartare with cornichons, capers an fresh herbs, served with toasted ciabatta and crispy frites, and a decadent chicken confit served with pommes de terre a la sarladaises (potatoes cooked in duck fat), mushrooms, caramelized onions and arugula.

    A new dessert standout is the Raspberry-Pistachio Napoleon. With its luscious cream filling and crispy tuiles, along with house made pistachio ice cream, it's a refreshingly delectable summer treat.

    Damian's Cucina Italiana on Smith Street is celebrating 30 years with all kinds of fun and scrumptious specials that will run throughout the year. That includes their awesome "Momma's" fried chicken, served alongside spaghetti and meatballs and green beans — for lunch only through July. Don't miss it.

    Chef collaborations and series

    I love that chef Ryan Hildebrand of Triniti hosts such great collaborative culinary events in the lovely restaurant. The Guest Chef series runs through the end of July with multiple courses and pairings featuring folks like Gabriel Medina of Soma and Richard Knight, formerly of Feast.

    Landry's Signature Chef Series dinners are taking place on select Wednesday evenings through August, with Vic & Anthony's, Brenner's Steakhouse, Brenner's on the Bayou, Grotto, La Griglia, Oceanaire, Morton's The Steakhouse, McCormick and Schmick's and Willie G's Seafood and Steak House all part of the action.

    Each event features a special, chef-driven, multi-course menu along with wine pairings. Guests are able to engage one-on-one with the chef and their teams. On Aug. 7, all nine Signature Group Chefs will be featured in a finale dinner featuring hand-crafted cocktails and live music at Vic & Anthony's.

    The grilled calamari at Philippe

    Philippe's Grilled Calamari
      
    Photo by Kim Garver
    The grilled calamari at Philippe
    unspecified
    news/restaurants-bars

    Immersive, speakeasy-style tiki bar brings the underworld to Montrose

    Eric Sandler
    Jun 24, 2025 | 6:00 am
    Endless Bummer tiki bar
    Photo by Sergio Trevino
    Houston artist Neon Thrash (Brian Dibala) created the bar's interior.

    This year has already been a good one for Houstonians who enjoy well made cocktails, as new bars such as Starduster Lounge, The Kid, and Augustine Lounge have given the city some intriguing new drinking dens. Other recent openings, ranging from Brennan’s refreshed bar to Latin American-inspired Botonica, demonstrate that the trend won’t be slowing down any time soon.

    Add veteran Houston restaurateur Chris Cusack to the list. Known as a co-founder of the late, lamented Heights restaurant Down House and for his intergalactic pizza and cocktail spot Betelgeuse Betelgeuse, Cusack is preparing to unleash a speakeasy-style, immersive tiki bar on Montrose.

    Called Endless Bummer, it’s currently in a quiet soft opening ahead of a grand opening on Wednesday. July 2. Cusack collaborated with Houston artist Brian Dibala (aka Neon Thrash) to transform a 700-square-foot room at Betelgeuse’s Montrose location into a 50-person space that’s equally inspired by tropical destinations and purgatory.

    “Our original thought was along the lines of, ‘How can we make this special?’ and ‘What unique experience can we create that will be unlike other places in Houston?” Cusack said in a statement. “I had known Brian a little bit from mutual friends, his work at Meow Wolf, and a design project we worked on several years before. I reached out and it was really an instant click where our ideas lined up and he really took it from there.”

    Fittingly for an experiential bar, patrons enter through an unmarked entrance that’s accessed by using a code they’ll receive when booking a reservation on Resy (limited walk-ins are also available). Once inside, people will sit at either one of the cozy booths or the 10-seat bar. Either way, they’ll be surrounded by vignettes and other artifacts curated by Dibala. Just like Meow Wolf, the room has a few easter eggs for those will to explore.

    “I was so lucky to get a chance to bring one of my dream bars to life, and even luckier to get to include several other Houston artists to really make it magical,” Diabala added. “Houston is having a big art moment and hopefully, with this project, we're able to show people what the artists in this city are capable of creating.”

    Just as the decor is anything but traditional, Endless Bummer puts its own spin on familiar tiki drinks and other classic cocktails. The drinks have a strong emphasis on presentation, as in the Pistachio Mai Tai, which is flamed tableside, or the Silver Surfer, which has a LED light dropped in that sparkles like a star (please don’t drink it). Other options include a Brown Butter Rum Old Fashioned and the This Sunset Should be Illegal, a mezcal-based riff on the Tequila Sunrise.

    Endless Bummer will be open from 5 pm-12 am Wednesday through Saturday. As noted above, reservations are recommended but not required.

    Endless Bummer tiki bar
      

    Photo by Sergio Trevino

    Houston artist Neon Thrash (Brian Dibala) created the bar's interior.

    openingsendless bummer tiki barnightlifecocktails
    news/restaurants-bars
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