fins & feathers opening date

Star Houston pitmaster reveals opening date for highly anticipated new comfort food restaurant

The wait for one of this year's most eagerly anticipated restaurants end this week. Gatlin’s Fins & Feathers will open this Friday, July 15.

Developed by Gatlin's BBQ owner Greg Gatlin, executive chef Michelle Wallace, and chef de cuisine Darius King, Fins & Feathers features a menu of Southern-inspired comfort food built around fried chicken and seafood along with a healthy dash of inspiration from Houston's immigrant culinary traditions.

“Here on the Gulf Coast, it’s so nice to have somewhere in your neighborhood where you can get fresh, great seafood,” Gatlin said in a statement. “I also think everybody remembers who had the best fried chicken in their town when they were growing up — maybe it was their own grandma. We want to tap into that and make you feel the same way when you eat ours.”

The diverse menu covers a wide range of tastes. Meals could start with oysters raw or roasted. Other appetizer options include Mexican-inspired dishes such as shrimp and crab campechana or roasted duck with mole rojo as well as New Orleans BBQ shrimp, sweet and spicy miso wings, and the biscuits that have been a staple of the breakfast menu at Gatlin's BBQ. The restaurant puts a chicken spin on a traditional charcuterie board with the "Fins & Feathers Clucker," a board that includes Szechuan-spiced chicken cracklings, Southern-fried gizzards, chipotle-glazed crispy chicken feet, smoked chicken liver pate, and berbere-spiced quail, served with accoutrements.

Sandwich options include fried chicken or fish with Nashville-style hot sauce, fried seafood po' boys, and a turkey club made with smoked turkey from Gatlin's BBQ. Entrees include smoked or fried chicken, as well as fried or blackened catfish, smoked chicken enchiladas, and daily fish specials. Red beans and rice, mac and cheese, creamed corn, french fries, and more are available as sides.

Beer, wine, and champagne offer pairing possibilities.

Craig Schuster, lead architect for H3D Hospitality Group, designed the 3,000-square-foot space. It is expected to seat approximately 80 people.

A standout football player at both St. Thomas High School and Rice University, Greg Gatlin opened Gatlin's BBQ in 2010. It moved to its current location on Ella Boulevard. in 2015. Known for its well-executed brisket and ribs, Creole-inspired sides like dirty rice, and Wallace's creative sandwiches, the restaurant earned honorable mention status on Texas Monthly's 2021 list of the state's 50 best barbecue joints.

Gatlin's Fins & Feathers will be open for lunch and dinner Tuesday through Saturday beginning at 11 am. Sunday hours will be 10:30 am to 3:30 pm with a dedicated Sunday brunch menu to follow in September.

Gatlin's Fins & Feathers opens on Friday.

Photo by Becca Wright

Gatlin's Fins & Feathers opens on Friday.

news-you-can-eat openings

firing up Montrose

New Houston seafood restaurant adds live-fire flair to Japanese flavors

Photo by Becca Wright

Spanish sea bass, scallop crudo, nigiri, bluefin binchotan, and bluefin crudo.

An ambitious new seafood restaurant is coming to Montrose next week. Casa Kenji will open on Tuesday, December 9.

Located in the former Andiron space (3201 Allen Pkwy), Casa Kenji is the first Houston project for New Orleans restaurateur Malachi DuPre, a former LSU standout who played briefly in the NFL before establishing Kenji and Kenji Kazoku restaurants in New Orleans. Together with former LSU teammate John “B-John” Ballis and Houston chef Bigler “Biggie” Cruz, Casa Kenji will blend Latin and Japanese influences while also incorporating live-fire elements into the restaurant’s dishes. Cruz, whose resume includes a lengthy stint at Uchi as well as working at critically acclaimed Houston seafood restaurant Golfstrømmen, tells CultureMap that Casa Kenji’s approach is the first time he can be himself in the kitchen.

“My perfect restaurant was always based on the live fire and sushi combination,” Cruz says. “My mom cooked with wood for my entire life. The live fire creates completely different flavors. The smoky flavors, the sear from the charcoal — they create a different type of memory for me.”

The use of live fire techniques will permeate Casa Kenji’s menus in ways both big and small. For example, diners will be able to feast on prawns grilled directly on charcoal and served with yuzu chili garlic, or savor lightly seared Japanese wagyu tataki paired with mushrooms. Even raw dishes will benefit from the restaurant’s wood-burning grill and stove.

“Every vegetable we peel, we make into an ash that’s a topping for the dishes. It adds a different layer of flavor,” Cruz says. Look for it in the scallop aguachile, among others.

Even vegetables get a smoky component, as in a cabbage dish that’s braised with dashi and soy sauce before being roasted and served with an onion soubise that Cruz says he developed based on techniques he learned from Golfstrømmen chef Christopher Haatuft.

“It’s rich, super savory, with smoky layers, and you get brightness from the shiso gremolata. I think it will be a signature dish for us,” the chef says.

One change to the interior is the addition of a six-seat omakase counter that looks into the kitchen. Cruz promises those diners will have an even more elevated experience than the restaurant’s regular menu, including ingredients such as Japanese wagyu and premium fish flown in from Tokyo’s Toyosu fish market.

Beyond its cuisine, Casa Kenji hopes to stand out with its spacious outdoor patio. Since very few Japanese-inspired restaurants in Houston offer outdoor seating, it should appeal to diners who want a little vitamin D along with their tuna crudo.

“We’re proud to showcase the craft and creativity that defines Casa Kenji,” co-founders Cruz, Ballis, and DuPre said in a statement. “With chef Bigler Cruz at the helm — blending live-fire technique with the discipline of Japanese tradition — we’re equally honored and excited to share a unique concept that is truly rooted in passion, culture, and community.”

Casa Kenji will be open for dinner Tuesday through Sunday beginning at 4 pm. Reservations are available on Resy.

Photo by Becca Wright

Spanish sea bass, scallop crudo, nigiri, bluefin binchotan, and bluefin crudo.