HRW 2021

Houston Restaurant Weeks 2021 heats up with 10 exciting new options

Happy reservation day, Houston. The Houston Restaurant Weeks website has officially gone live, which means people across the city are scoping out menus and making their plans for August.

To refresh, Houston Restaurant Weeks is a month-long charity dining event that takes places from August 1-September 6 (Labor Day). Participating restaurants serve prix fixe menus at set price points — $35 or $49 for dinner, $20 for lunch or brunch — and donate a corresponding amount of money per meal sold to the Houston Food Bank. As with last year, many participants are also offering to-go options.

The event has been wildly successfully, raising over $16 million for the charity since 2003, and turning August from a restaurant’s slowest month into one of its busiest. Participants run the gamut from Houston institutions like Brennan’s of Houston and Tony’s to top steakhouses like B&B Butchers and Vic & Anthony’s to more humble, family-owned operations aiming for attention from the HRW crowds.

Ultimately, over 250 individual locations will participate in the event, but today’s website launch doesn’t have the full roster; expect more to be added through August 1. For today, let’s look at some of the restaurants participating in the event for the first time.

Casa do Brasil
At dinner, the Galleria-area restaurant’s full menu of unlimited rodizio meats —including picanha, bottom sirloin, leg of lamb, and South American-style sausage — and expansive salad bar are available for $49. The three-course lunch gives diners access to the salad bar, side dishes, and choice of dessert.

Craft Pita
The Yelp favorite has both lunch and a $35, three-course dinner menu available. Both offer many of the restaurant’s signature items, including hummus, labneh, pita sandwiches, bowls, and a half rotisserie chicken. Dinner adds a choice of dessert.

Fegen’s
Chef Lance Fegen’s restaurant in the Heights has opened to raves from the neighborhood. At lunch, choose from dishes such as clam chowder, deviled eggs, grilled salmon, and a meatball and sausage sandwich. The $35 dinner menu includes beef carpaccio, chicken parmesan, chicken and portobello mushroom ravioli, and choice of dessert.

King Ranch Texas Cuisine
This casual steakhouse from Landry’s Restaurants has two things that are always good to see on a HRW menu: three courses at lunch and a steak option on a $35 dinner menu. Choices on the lunch menu include brisket queso, beef taquitos, a two-meat barbecue plates, and, of course, King Ranch chicken. At dinner, Kingsville chicken recreates the casserole’s signature components, but the eight-ounce sirloin will be hard to resist.

KP’s Kitchen
HRW provides an opportunity for more diners to learn why Kerry Pauly’s neighborhood restaurant has been earning raves on the Memorial Area Eats Facebook group. Lunch options include crispy Brussels sprouts, roasted barbecue chicken, crab cake salad, and bistro filet with salsa verde. At dinner, entree choices includes roasted chicken, baby back ribs, and the restaurant’s signature crab cake.

The Nash
This downtown restaurant's $49, threee-course dinner menu begins with choices such as French lentil soup, wild mushroom toast, and yellowfin tuna crudo. Choose from five entrees, including seared snapper with parsnip puree, bucatini with shrimp, and an eight ounce filet with mashed potatoes ($10 supplement). Finish the meal with lemon olive oil cake, cheesecake, or chocolate banana cake.

NoPo Cafe, Market & Bar
As with its sister concepts such as B&B Butchers and B.B. Lemon, this new all-day cafe from Berg Hospitality Group offers diners an extensive selection of dishes on its HRW menu. Lunch options include six different starters as well as eight entrees such as Cobb salad, a cheeseburger, and four different pizzas. At dinner, choose from 10 different starters (soup, salad, pizza, and raw oysters all available) as well as 10 entrees that range from salads to pasta to steak frites ($5 supplement) and a choice of dessert.

White Elm Cafe
The West Houston restaurant’s three-course, $35 dinner menu starts with a choice of cheese fritters, sweet corn bisque, or heirloom tomato and watermelon salad. Pork ribeye, salmon with coconut rice, or an intriguing vegetarian dish make for appealing entree choices. Finish the meal with strawberry shortcake, lemon tart, or chocolate cake.

Xin Chào
The Vietnamese restaurant’s three-course, $35 dinner menu includes some of the most popular dishes. Start with soft shell crab with tamarind gastrique reduction, “Not Our Ma’s Eggrolls,” or a salad. Entree choices include the restaurant’s take on classic bo luc lac, braised pork belly with crispy rice, and five mushroom congi. Xin Chào offers three desserts, but choose chef-owner Christine Ha’s signature “rubbish” apple pie that charmed Masterchef judge Gordon Ramsay.

Yi Peng Thai Dining
Located in CityCentre, this sophisticated Thai restaurant will serve a three-course, $35 dinner menu. Start with open-faced shrimp dumplings, chicken and vermicelli wraps, or crispy soft shell crab. Entree options consist of Bangkok-style grilled chicken, panang curry with sizzling shrimp, and baked garlic scallops. For dessert, choose from sticky rice with taro and coconut syrup, a chocolate mousse pyramid, or a baked apple crumble.

Get baby back ribs at KP's Kitchen.

Photo by Emily Loving

Get baby back ribs at KP's Kitchen.

news-you-can-eat fundraisers

Oh, Donna

New Houston cocktail bar serves up a house party fueled by music and martinis

Courtesy of Donna's

People are flocking to Donna's.

It hasn’t taken long for Houston cocktail fans to discover Donna’s. Ever since it opened Thanksgiving weekend, the new cocktail bar in the Heights has been packed with people eager to check out the new project from Anvil owner Bobby Heugel and veteran Houston bartender Jacki Schromm.

Named for Schromm’s grandmother, both partners use the word “house party” to describe the kind of atmosphere they want to create at Donna’s. That party can be very energetic on busy weekend nights and a little quieter and more intimate during the week — allowing patrons to choose what kind of experience they want to have.

Heugel and Schromm worked with collaborators on the design, music, and art for Donna’s. So far, people seem to be enjoying themselves.

“It’s really f---ing awesome,” Schromm tells CultureMap. “It has been really remarkable to have people in this building. To see the room full is a rewarding experience. The feedback we’ve received has just been really positive.”

To transform the former Ready Room into Donna’s, the partners collaborated with Brittany Vaughn of Garnish Design. Known for her work at establishments such as Tiny Champions, Maximo, and Milton’s, Vaughn helped divide the retro-styled cocktail bar into two distinct interior spaces. The main bar area is defined by high-top, organically-shaped tables that allow large groups to congregate or smaller groups to share without being on top of each other. The more intimate living room section features a large couch and a spacious booth.

“There’s a lot of smart utility in the space,” Heugel explains. “We kept talking about how it’s a small space. We want to find a seat for everybody as much as possible.”

To honor the space’s history of hosting live music, the partners worked with Chicago-based firm Uncanned on a powerful vintage stereo that includes both a reel-to-reel tape deck and a turntable. Known locally for their work at restaurants such as Nancy’s Hustle and Nobie’s, the Uncanned team gave Donna’s the ability to kick out the jams with ultra-clear sound while not being so loud that people can’t talk to each other. It also opens up the possibility of people playing their favorite albums on select nights.

“Jacki and I both had the bold opinion when we started talking about Donna’s that cocktail bars were boring. We wanted to add more layers to the onion,” Heugel says. “Having music be here as an additional component to the bar makes the room feel really good. That’s important to us, and we’ll have some programming related to that.”

Keli Hogsett of Austin’s CoCollect helped Schromm and Heugel select the room’s distinctive art on its walls. Heugel describes the works as museum-quality, contemporary pieces from regional artists that are a cut above what’s usually seen in bars. Hogsett will also source the art for the new restaurant Heugel and chef Justin Yu are opening next year in the former Vibrant space.

Schromm, who partnered with Heugel after working at Anvil and Reserve 101, created the opening cocktail menu herself. One highlight is the Jacki’s Martini, a nod to the “Bobby’s Martini” served at Refuge and the “Terry’s Martini” served at Squable. It’s a 50-50 mix of gin with Cocchi Americano and Dolin Blanc vermouth. She describes it as more “sessionable” than a traditional martini.

“I think this cocktail menu has a lot of personality,” she says. “Some of my flair, whether it’s a spirit I chose or a flavor I like.”

Although parking on the property is limited, Heugel notes that street parking on White Oak is relatively plentiful. A nearby pay lot is available, or people can skip the issue altogether by using their favorite rideshare service.

Of course, the adjacent restaurant space won’t stay empty for long. As CultureMap has previously reported, Austin-based pizzeria Home Slice has claimed the building for its second Houston location that will open in fall 2026.

-----

Donna's, 2626 White Oak Drive. Open daily from 2 pm-2 am

Courtesy of Donna's

People are flocking to Donna's.

openings nightlife cocktails the-heights