Foodie News
Farewell to a game-changer: Américas Post Oak closing to make room for BLVDPlace
It's the end of an era in dining — the original Américas on Post Oak Boulevard is closing for good on August 20.
Executive chef David Cordúa, son of owner and original chef Michael Cordúa, says the closure is a decision a longtime in the making and necessary due to the Pavilion on Post Oak being torn down to make way for BLVD Place.
The company is currently planning a new Churrasco's in Sugar Land, but Cordúa tells CultureMap there are currently no plans to find a new home in the Galleria area.
"The West Gray location was basically our move," Cordúa says. "It was a good deal, we have about eight months of overlap and we get to say good-bye to a special place."
Américas opened with a splash in 1993, bringing Latin cuisine to the forefront when influential restaurant critic John Mariani named it the best new restaurant in America the same year. The spectacular Gaudí-like interior decór by architect Jordan Mozer got as much attention as the food, designed to mimic a tropical rainforest. Cordúa says he started working in the Américas kitchen when he was 15, manning the dishwasher.
"A lot of people don't know that when we opened in '93, the build out was so expensive that when we were finishing, our church came and helped us finished — all the tiles and the little details on the walls were worked on by friends and family."
Américas as a concept isn't going anywhere, of course — in addition to the new River Oaks location, there's a Woodlands version as well. But to say farewell to "la gran dama," Cordúa is putting together a tasting menu called The Last Supper that will be served from July 25 to August 20.
It's a greatest hits from the entire Américas tenure plus pairings from Cousiño Macul, including totopos de pez espada (grilled swordfish nachos), tallarines (achiote grilled shrimp, smoked crab fingers, and corn fettuccine in lobster sauce), plantain-crusted chicken with a bacon-wrapped quail taquito, a churrasco steak and a dessert trio that includes Américas famous tres leches.
Do you have memories of Américas? What location is your favorite?
