fourth feasts

15 hot Houston restaurants serve up Fourth of July feasts to-go

The Fourth of July isn’t a restaurant holiday. Like Memorial Day, Independence Day is best celebrated by staying home and firing up the grill.

Usually, celebrating America’s independence might involve going to watch fireworks, but this year that means watching Houston’s annual Freedom Over Texas celebration on TV.

Thankfully, Houston’s restaurants are here to help with a number of options for those who want to dine at home. Our roundup includes both prepared, ready-to-eat items and some DIY meal kits.

El Topo
The restaurant’s carnitas pack features pork shoulder that’s brined in adobo before being fried twice, plus street corn, pinwheel duros, queso, four different sauces, and a 12-pack of housemade corn tortillas. To order, call 832-795-7251.

Fajitas A Go Go
The restaurant’s DIY Fourth of July Grill Pack contains all of the ingredients necessary to make fajitas at home, including 2-pounds of angus sirloin flap steak, 1-pound each of shrimp and boar sausage, all the relevant trimmings, and chips with queso and guacamole. It also includes a copy of the book Serial Griller that features the restaurant’s recipes and a liter of margarita mix. Available from July 1 - 8 for $100.

Feges BBQ
The barbecue joint will have two specials for the weekend: half smoked brisket (3-5 pounds, $50) and a dozen wings with choice of sauce ($15). Pickup at either their location in Greenway Plaza from July 1-3 or on July 4 at the Urban Harvest Farmers Market.

Goode Company Grocers
The 4th of July Grilling Kit ($125) includes 1/3-pound burger patties (plus cheese, buns, and toppings), queso, guacamole with bacon, queso, tortilla chips, and potato salad, or step up to steak with the Grilling the Goode Way ($150) kit that includes marinated skirt steak, Southwestern panzanella salad, potato salad, and more. Add a cocktail kit to enhance the festive spirit. Pickup at Armadillo Palace or get free delivery with orders of $150.

Jonathan’s the Rub
Both locations of the Memorial-area favorite will be serving two chicken dinners beginning at 5 pm on July 4: fried or barbecued (both served with mashed potatoes and cole slaw) for $17.76 each. Add watermelon salad for $4.

Loch Bar
UPDATE: Loch Bar has cancelled its 4th of July promotion.

Moxie’s
The Galleria-area sports bar is offering a burger kit that includes 10 certified angus beef burger patties, 10 brioche buns, and all of the trimmings (lettuce, tomato, red onion, cheddar cheese, sliced dill pickle and Moxie’s burger sauce). Order 24 hours in advance, $75.

Phat Eatery
The Malaysian restaurant in Katy will feature its rendang curry beef ribs starting July 1. Available for $35, they’re served with potato and steamed rice. To-go and delivery only.

Southside Flying Pizza
The Austin-based pizzeria celebrates the Fourth with a special “red, white, and blue” pizza that’s topped with tomatoes, mozzarella, feta, and savory sausage. Available for pick-up or delivery ($15).

Sweet Tea Supper Club
Chefs Dawn Burrell (Kulture) and Dominick Lee (formerly of Poitín) have created a barbecue-themed menu that features sweet tea-brined BBQ chicken, confit pork ribs, creole mac & cheese, plum hand cobbler, and more. Order online for pickup Saturday between 12 and 6 pm at Broham Grocer/Restaurant Indigo.

Sylvia’s Enchilada Kitchen
The South Texas-inspired restaurant’s 4th of July Picnic Pack includes mesquite-grilled whole chicken, mesquite-grilled baby back ribs, potato salad, Mexican rice, charro beans, guacamole, corn tortillas, sopapillas and chips and salsa. Available for two or four people for $27.50 or $55 plus tax and gratuity.

Underbelly Hospitality
Chris Shepherd’s restaurants have a variety of options for those looking to celebrate the fourth.

Georgia James chef de cuisine Greg Peters will host a cooking class featuring beer can chicken and Shepherd’s signature bacon sausage ($175, feeds four).
One Fifth Mediterranean has a grill kit that includes hummus, pita, vegetables, four flat iron kebabs, four merguez kebabs, and dessert ($160, feeds four).
UB Preserv will feature a special menu that incudes whole racks of char siu pork ribs, pork belly kimchi fried rice, and wok-fried collard green egg rolls.

Weights + Measures
The Midtown restaurant’s 4th of July party park comes with fried chicken, corn on the cob, cole slaw, and a freshly baked loaf of bread. To order, call 713-654-1970.

The carnitas pack at El Topo.

Courtesy of El Topo

The carnitas pack at El Topo.

news-you-can-eat holidays

Coming soon to Fredericksburg

Houston restaurant vet serves up Roman-style eatery in the Hill Country

Photo courtesy of Bottega Salaria

Valerio Lombardozzi is opening Bottega Salaria in the former home of La Bergerie.

Valerio Lombardozzi’s culinary career has taken him to the world’s finest kitchens, including restaurants owned by icons like Alain Ducasse, Giorgio Locatelli, and Joël Robuchon. In Houston, he led La Table and Tavola, where he earned a reputation for being one of the city's most engaging front of the house personalities.

But his latest project might be his biggest accomplishment yet. The hospitality veteran is opening Bottega Salaria, a homey Italian osteria and artisan market, in the former home of La Bergerie at 312 E Austin St in his adopted home of Fredericksburg.

Lombardozzi says the restaurant, expected to arrive in winter 2026, fills a gap in the Hill Country dining scene, but, more importantly, it's a reflection of his personal history and time spent working at his family’s restaurant in Rome.

“[It’s about] where I grew up, how I grew up, and how I eat,” he shares.

The three-concept experience is inspired by Italy’s Via Salaria, the ancient route Italians used to transport salt from the Adriatic Sea to Rome. The menu acts as a sort of travelogue, borrowing from the different cultures along the road, and the way village fishermen and shepherds ate.

Lombardozzi is quick to say he didn’t want to open a chef-driven restaurant. Instead, the osteria will serve traditional Roman staples such as cacio e pepe, amatriciana, carbonara, saltimbocca with sage and prosciutto, and branzino carved tableside.

“I was one of the last to be exposed to the old generation of professionals who knew how to carve elegantly for the guests,” he says.

The adjacent bottega will stay open during restaurant hours, offering fresh pasta made on-site, house-made sauces, imported Italian pantry items, cheeses, salumi, breads, and biscotti. Patrons will be able to shop for individual items or put together custom gift baskets.

Outdoors, La Fraschetteria will debut a new hospitality experience in the U.S. The self-guided experience invites diners to grab wine directly from garden shelves, gather a spread of meats, cheeses, bread, or pasta, and linger around long communal tables lit by string lights.

Keeping the chit-chat going will be a thoughtful beverage program anchored by a primarily Italian wine list and imported beer. Lombardozzi says the cocktail menu might be a surprise, offering only gin and tonics, spritzes, and negronis. The latter has been made into a game where diners roll dice to determine the evening's combination of gin, vermouth, and bitters.

After dinner, guests can select an amaro from a rolling cart, sip grappa and limoncello, or sip a neat whiskey.

Lombardozzi shares that he wants Bottega Salaria to be just as comfortable for Fredericksburg locals as it is for destination travelers. Beyond daily service, Bottega Salaria plans community events such as garden wine nights with live music, Sunday movie nights, and hands-on cooking classes.

The space is designed for ease with a warm palette combining olive green and pomegranate reds. The decor blends heritage and modernity, bringing in objects like antique mirrors, plates, custom-made lamps, and even old tablecloths and curtains for an Old World feel.

"We’re not just opening a restaurant,” Lombardozzi says. “We’re creating a gathering place. A home for everyone who loves Italian food, culture, and the joy of sharing a meal with others.”

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