New HRW Options

Five late additions to Houston Restaurant Weeks you won't want to miss

Houston Restaurant Weeks has almost reached its halfway point, and diners all over the city are flocking to the participating restaurants. That’s a very good thing, since every meal sold raises money for the Houston Food Bank.

Since the initial lineup release on July 15, organizer Cleverley Stone has added a number of restaurants to the event, including the 2016 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards Restaurant of the Year. For those who made their reservations early and haven’t checked the HRW website in awhile, here are five late additions that people won’t want to miss.

Pax Americana
Rather than follow the typical HRW format of offering a three-course meal with three (or more) choices per course, this intimate Montrose restaurant offers a five-course prix fixe that includes some of chef Adam Dorris’s most popular dishes like smoked beef tartare and nine-spiced brisket. Thankfully, the $45 price offers a $5 discount over the meal’s regular price. It’s a great way to discover why Pax Americana earned the title of CultureMap Tastemaker Awards Restaurant of the Year.

Bernadine’s
Speaking of Tastemakers winners, Rising Star Chef of the Year Graham Laborde’s Gulf Coast restaurant is another late addition to HRW. The three-course, $35 menu contains many of the dishes that have earned the Heights spot such acclaim, including starters like chargrilled oysters and smoked ribs with sorghum “popcorn.” For pork lovers, the cochon de lait is the must order entree, but the fried catfish is a strong option, too. Finish up with rice beignets or oeufs a la neige, a version of the legendary floating island dessert.

Hubbell & Hudson Bistro
The best restaurant in the Woodlands is a first-time HRW participant. The three-course, $45 menu offers lots of tempting choices. Starters include a seasonally-appropriate heirloom tomato and watermelon salad and an inventive riff on shrimp toast on a housemade baguette. Entree options include a dry-aged, Texas wagyu sirloin flap, Alaskan halibut, and black truffle pasta ($5 supplement). The black out sponge cake would be my dessert choice, but all of pastry chef Erika Lucio’s desserts are winners.

Enoteca Rossa
This Italian restaurant has been a welcome addition to Bellaire, and its three-course, $35 menu offers some solid values. Starters options include salad, a cheese plate, and a selection of charcuterie. Asparagus risotto and tagliatelle with sausage lead the five entree choices. For dessert, it’s hard to pass on tiramisu.

Le Bistro
With the departure of chef Kris Jakobs, now the owner of Brasserie 1895 in Friendswood, the Culinary Institute LeNôtre has rebranded its in-house restaurant as Le Bistro. Thankfully, it’s still serving classic French fare prepared by the Institute’s students. Starter choices on the three-course, $45 menu include a crab and avocado salad and an heirloom tomato and goat cheese tarte. Both the sweet tea-brined pork chop and chicken chasseur are tempting entree options, but vegetarians will appreciate the Israeli couscous with portabello mushroom. A seven-layer opera cake looks like the top dessert choice, but creme brulee duo is also available.

HRW offers the chance to try Pax Americana's best dishes at a reduced cost.

Pax Americana/Facebook

HRW offers the chance to try Pax Americana's best dishes at a reduced cost.

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say hey to Hypsi

Houston chef's hip new Italian restaurant now open in Heights hotel

Photo by Julie Soefer

Hypsi serves pasta and other Itaian-inspired dishes.

A new Italian restaurant is now open in the Heights. Located within the newly opened Hotel Daphne, Hypsi marks chef Terrence Gallivan’s return to professional cooking in Houston.

Known for his time as the co-execuive chef of The Pass and Provisions and owner of ElRo Pizza and Crudo, Gallivan brings strong culinary credentials to Hypsi. Although he isn’t known explicitly for Italian fare, he has significant experience making pizza, pasts, and other Italian-inspired dishes. After closing ElRo last year, the chef says that working for Bunkhouse Hotels, the Austin-based company that operates the Daphne, had a lot of appeal.

“My wife and I always made it a point to stop at their places whenever we’re in Austin. They know how to make cool stuff,” Gallivan says.

Hypsi’s menu includes updated takes on Italian fare begins with starters such as lamb meatballs, black truffle arancini, and Caesar salad. A selection of house-made pastas include squid ink radiatori with rock shrimp, butternut squash tortellini, and lumache with vodka sauce that gets a little heat from nduja. Entree choices include a roast chicken, pork Milanese, and roasted snapper with salsa verde.

The restaurant is also open for breakfast during the week and brunch on the weekends with items such as a panatone waffle, frittata, and breakfast sandwich. Lunch will follow in January.

“We took inspiration from tradition without being traditional,” Gallivan says. Later, he adds, “For me, it’s about balance. You try to please everybody. I want my mom to enjoy herself as much as a 25-year-old foodie. It’s important to hit as many marks as you can.”

One of the restaurant’s signatures will be the mozzarella cart that rolls through its dining room. Gallivan says he’s sourcing a mix of both American and imported Italian cheeses that will rotate every week or two. The cheese is served with a range of pickled fruit and vegetables, olive oil, aged balsamic vinegar, focaccia, and more. Of course, seeing a cart immediately grabs diners’ attention, making them want whatever is on offer.

“That’s the beauty of carts,” Gallivan says. “It’s a fun thing to do. I think sometimes we get a little too serious in restaurants. It’s supposed to be fun. People are here to enjoy themselves.”

All that eating and drinking takes place in a dining room that’s inspired by Prohibition-era speakeasies, according to press materials. Details include blueberry lava stone on the bar, vintage velvet chairs, and custom Carimate dining chairs by Vico Magistretti. An outdoor patio features brick pavers, mosaic tables, and sculptures.

Photo by Julie Soefer

Hypsi serves pasta and other Itaian-inspired dishes.

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