brewing up good eats

3 buzzy Houston breweries can now resume their restaurant operations

Saint Arnold has resumed dine-in service at its outdoor beer garden.

Courtesy of Saint Arnold Brewing Company

TABC has relented in its efforts to shutter the restaurants operated at Texas breweries. In a decision announced late Friday, July 24, the commission revised its opinion that Gov. Greg Abbott's order restriction dine-in operations to restaurants — defined as a business that makes less than 51 percent of its revenue from alcohol sales — does not include alcohol sold either for to-go or via a distributor for off-premise consumption/purchase (at a bar, restaurant, grocery store, etc.).

Locally, the change means that Saint Arnold, Karbach, and Buffalo Bayou may resume operating their restaurants. Both Buffalo Bayou and Saint Arnold resumed operations on Saturday, July 25, but Karbach remains closed.

Previously, the commission stated that sales for off-premise consumption did count towards a brewery restaurant's revenue, which prompted their closure. At the time, Saint Arnold founder Brock Wagner said the decision "defies common sense" and called on Abbott to reverse it, which he did after two weeks.

Lennie Ambrose, the company's chief marketing officer, stated on last week's episode of CultureMap's "What's Eric Eating" podcast that Saint Arnold has received broad support in the community in its effort to encourage Abbott to relent, including from Silver Eagle Distributors. In a press release, Wagner thanked all those who lobbied the Governor to change the ruling.

"We cannot express how much we appreciate the massive outpouring of support we received from the community with so many people reaching out to the Governor’s office about this issue. Also, the coverage from the media on this topic helped the Governor become aware of the profound negative consequences of the previous interpretation of his order," Wagner said. "We also want to thank the Governor and the TABC for taking the time to reexamine the rule and amend it in a way that has a positive impact and follows the original intent and purpose of the order."

Breweries with tap rooms that do not serve remain closed, as do tasting rooms at wineries and bars statewide. Currently, those breweries are only allowed to sell beer to-go to consumers who visit the their facilities. Wagner supports a petition being circulated by the Texas Craft Brewers Guild that would allow breweries to deliver or ship their beer to customers. The Guild estimates that as many as a third of Texas breweries could close if they are limited to direct to-go sales.

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bring on the Bacalhau

Michelin-starred Houston restaurant heads to Portugal for new season

Photo by Zach Horst

No conversation about Houston’s best restaurants would be complete without mentioning March, Goodnight Hospitality’s Mediterranean-inspired, fine dining, tasting menu restaurant in Montrose.

For its 12th season, which begins this Friday, August 7, March will take a broad look at Portugal. Over the course of pre-dinner snacks in its lounge, seven courses in its dining room, and take away desserts, chef-partner Felipe Riccio and his team will guide diners through all aspects of Portuguese cuisine, including its trade routes with China, India, and North Africa.

Riccio tells CultureMap that Portugal was the logical follow up to March’s 11th season, which examined northern Spain. He began the research process a few months ago, drawing upon published literature, cookbooks, and his own experiences as a stage at a restaurant in Lisbon. More than a menu update, seasons at March also include changes to the beverage offerings and creating service touches that enhance the experience.

Photo by Zach Horst

Rabbit cozido.

“Portugal is so close geographically to the north of Spain, and there’s a lot of similarities,” he says. “The menu really explores a lot of places outside of the Mediterranean where the Portuguese had influence and were influenced by. It’s all these trade routes.”

Priced at $230 plus drinks, tax, and gratuity, a meal at March begins in the lounge with four snacks, including a peri peri-spiced duck rillette, a delicate tart with lobster and caviar, a tempura-fried fish (peixinhos da horta) and the Macau-inspired porcho balichao made with manilla clams.

As always, March brings premium ingredients to its take on classic dishes. For example, it sources Japanese Almaco Jack for a crudo that’s inspired by Portuguese salt cod (bacalahua). Cozido, a slow-cooked stew that’s a staple of Portuguese cooking, gets reinterpreted as a house made rabbit sauce with foie gras. Riccio acknowledges that diners expect a certain level of luxury at this price point, but diners may not always realize how valuable properly-sourced ingredients are.

“I don’t think it always has to be so overt. I think the majority of people, the experience as a whole delivers that value,” Riccio says.

Similarly, the Portugal menu continues March’s move to a set, seven-course menu instead of giving diners the choice of either six or nine courses. Riccio see that as another sign of the restaurant’s maturity.

“A tasting menu is restrictive. We needed to earn that trust and give people options. I felt like people trust us and we’ve proved we can create an experience,” he says.

Since part of the criteria for a Michelin star is consistency across visits, March’s ability to hold its star while still changing its menu twice a year is a testament to the kitchen’s skill. Add in the server’s deep knowledge of every dish on the menu, its comprehensive beverage offerings, and a dining room that features museum- quality art, and it’s reasonable to think that March might become Texas’ first restaurant to earn a two-star rating. For his part, Riccio would welcome the recognition.

“I think March as an entire experience, as a restaurant day-in and day-out, we can be at that level. We strive to give people that experience to where they have that menu and feel it’s well worth it,” he says. “That recognition. I’ve seen what it means for the team, for the guests, and for the validation of the experience, and, obviously, for my career and the restaurant as a business.”

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