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    doing gramma proud

    Nostalgic new bakery rises in Houston with Southern sweets and Grandma-approved treats

    Eric Sandler
    Jul 5, 2022 | 1:40 pm

    Houston restaurant insiders know Emily Durham and Ashley Rosenfeld for their day jobs as a commercial real estate broker and the principal of A La Carte Food Service Consulting Group, respectively, but residents of neighborhoods like Meyerland and Braes Heights are getting to know them as the proprietors of a new bakery that recently opened in their area.

     

    Meet Southern Sweets Bakehouse. Located at 4530 Beechnut St., Southern Sweets serves a diverse range of sweet and savory baked goods along with housemade ice cream and locally roasted Greenway Coffee. Both women live nearby and thought a new bakery would be a welcome addition to the area. They developed a concept built around nostalgic sweets, served with a twist, in a comfortable setting.

     

    “It’s not like anything else that we have in Houston,” Durham tells CultureMap. “We put a nostalgic twist on the recipes. It’s supposed to make you think of your grandmother.”

     

    Rosenfeld and her sister developed over 100 recipes for Southern Sweets, but not all of the items are available at once. For now, customers will find everything from chocolate chip cookies and salted butterscotch brownies to a cookie loaded with Fruity Pebbles and classic coffee crumb cake.

     

    Savory items include: cornbread, sausage, and cheddar muffins; sage, brown butter, and honeycomb biscuits; and quiche, which is listed on the menu as “Texas egg pie.” Three varieties of ice cream are currently available — chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry cake — with more to come soon. Weekend specials include challah, two varieties of babka, and five spice cinnamon rolls.

     

    Certain items, such as the apple cinnamon muffin and some of the egg pies, are gluten-free. Everything is sized to an individual serving, including items that normally come in larger sizes at other establishments such as fully frosted Texas sheet cake and mixed berry cobbler.

     

    Southern Sweets further distinguishes its offerings with little twists that enhance each item's flavors. For example, its banana pudding features a creme brûlée-style custard with whipped cream folded in, and the blueberry muffins have actual blueberries in the batter.

     

    “Everybody loves blueberry muffins, but it’s always a plain muffin with blueberries. That struck me as kind of sad,” Rosenfeld says. “It’s the first recipe I was determined to make: a blueberry-based blueberry muffin. This is the seventh or eighth version of this recipe.”

     

    Given their reputations, the owners know that Southern Sweets needs to bring that kind of attention to detail to all of its creations. Both women realize their colleagues and clients are watching them closely.

     

    “I invited all of my current clients to the opening. That was a proud moment,” Rosenfeld says. “They look up to both of us as the right way to do things. If we open a concept, it has to be pretty darn close to perfect.”

     

    Being “darn close to perfect” manifests itself in ways other than the food. The interior is comfortable and inviting, complete with an Instagram-worthy neon sign that reads “muffin compares to you.” The bakery’s cow’s head logo and other branding elements all show more care than a typical neighborhood spot. Needless to say, they’re already thinking about additional locations once the bakery's operations are fully dialed in.

     

    “We saw a need for the neighborhood, but it’s also about creating some amazing products,” Durham says. “One out of five people who walk in remark on how comfortable they feel. It could be anywhere.”

    Southern Sweets serves a nostalgic mix of sweet and savory baked goods.

    Southern Sweets Bakehouse food spread
      
    Photo by Becca Wright
    Southern Sweets serves a nostalgic mix of sweet and savory baked goods.
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    Matcha News

    TikTok star Keith Lee crafts matcha latte for Hill Country flood relief

    Teresa Gubbins
    Jul 11, 2025 | 9:30 am
    Keith Lee and matcha drink
    Instagram
    Keith Lee hoists his special matcha drink.

    The devastating floods that swept across Central Texas on July 4 are bringing out all kinds of charitable endeavors — and that includes a limited-edition beverage from Texas-based TikTok food influencer Keith Lee.

    Lee, a social media sensation whose online food reviews have benefited hundreds of small restaurants, is partnering with La La Land Kind Cafe on a special drink: Called the La La Land X Keith Lee Latte, it's a matcha drink in which 100 percent of the proceeds will go towards Kerr County flood relief.

    La La Land is the coffee chain founded in Dallas in 2019 with a mission to provide opportunities for fostering youth and individuals in need. It has three locations in Houston, along with 10 across Dallas-Fort Worth and six in Southern California.

    The new Keith Lee Latte will consist of double ceremonial matcha, with secret syrup, matcha cloud, a whole fresh strawberry, flaky salt, and matcha powder. (See Lee enjoy the latte in the video below.)


      
     
     
     
     
     
     
    View this post on Instagram
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    A post shared by Keith Lee (@keith_lee125)
     


    Matcha is the Japanese green tea powder that has experienced a surge in popularity, appearing in everything from drinks like the matcha latte to desserts like matcha mousse.

     Keith Lee Latte Keith Lee Latte is a matcha drink.Instagram 

    Lee, who relocated to Dallas in 2024, has been on a matcha kick ever since he tried it in Chicago, which he says "led me down a rabbit hole," and it has become his trademark drink. In May, he visited seven cafes across DFW in search of the perfect matcha in town, and that included La La Land, where he ordered a matcha with almond milk.

    He also has a charitable history, including a special visit he made to Taste Project in Fort Worth to donate $4,000 to support the nonprofit's mission to fight food insecurity.

    The Keith Lee Latte will be available at all La La Land cafes beginning Friday July 11, for a limited time only. From July 11-27, 100 percent of all proceeds will support flood relief efforts in Kerr County — "a community in our home state that’s hurting," La La Land Cafe says.

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