it's fry time

State of Grace owner's highly anticipated Heights Tex-Mex and seafood spots set opening date

Two of this year's most eagerly anticipated restaurants finally have their opening date. Superica and La Lucha, the new concepts from State of Grace owner Ford Fry, will debut on September 10 (Update: The opening has been rescheduled to September 17).

Superica will be the fourth location of the Tex-Mex concept Fry launched in Atlanta in 2015. The menu runs the full gamut of Tex-Mex history, from vintage tacos and enchiladas to fajitas and mixta plates; interior Mexican dishes like menudo and pozole are also included. Kevin Maxey, a native Texan and Fry's "vice president of Tex-Mex," will lead the kitchen while former Bernadine's general manager Glenn Johnson will return to the space in the same role.

Open for lunch, brunch, and dinner seven days a week, Superica also offers a full spectrum of wine, beer, and cocktails. Specifically, margaritas are available in "frozen, slushie, and shaken varieties," which should suit Houstonians just fine.

Whereas Superica is tried-and-true, La Lucha is a new concept that takes its inspiration from Fry's childhood visits to the legendary San Jacinto Inn. The menu features burgers, fried chicken, and a wide range of seafood that includes raw, fried, and grilled oysters, peel-and-eat shrimp, and a decadent crawfish toast. As at Superica, beverage options will be extensive, with special attention paid to sparkling wines, craft beers, and agave spirits — apparently, mezcal pairs well with oysters.

State of Grace executive chef Bobby Matos and general manager Matt Crawford will fill the same roles at La Lucha, which will be open for dinner during the week and brunch and dinner on the weekends.

To convert the former Hunky Dory and Bernadine's spaces into La Lucha and Superica, Fry turned to Austin's Michael Hsu Office of Architecture, the company that originally designed the spaces. At Superica, that means channeling a little bit of Austin with vintage schoolhouse chairs, painted brick walls, and limestone accents. At La Lucha, the design will feature antique church pew banquettes, '70s-inspired elements, and an outdoor gaming area with lawn bowling.

With a restaurant mini-empire in Atlanta and the success of State of Grace, Fry has certainly proved he knows how to create food people want to eat. Given Houstonians' seemingly limitless appetites for Tex-Mex and oysters, both Superica and La Lucha seem poised to continue that winning streak.

Fried chicken and biscuits will be on the menu at La Lucha.

Photo by Jessica Matos

Fried chicken and biscuits will be on the menu at La Lucha.

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a CultureMap Exclusive

Houston's 'Chinese takeout bar from the future' touches down in Webster

Courtesy of The Rice Box

A rendering previews The Rice Box's new location in Webster.

Houston’s Chinese takeout bar from the future is coming to the Bay Area. The sixth location of The Rice Box will open in Webster later this summer.

Located at 114 El Dorado Blvd, the new location will be called Rice Box Space Center after NASA’s headquarters at the nearby Johnson Space Center. Founder John Peterson tells CultureMap that it’s a bit of a homecoming for him and his wife/business partner, Jenny Vo, as they grew up in the area. As with every new location, the restaurant created a movie-style poster to announce its opening.

Rice Box Webster movie poster The Rice Box Space Center is expected to open later this summer.Courtesy of The Rice Box

For its first truly suburban location, Peterson plans to offer a more efficient pickup system for to-go orders. Dubbed The Rice Box Pickup Reactors, the system applies Rice Box’s sci-fi aesthetic to curbside ordering. As seen in the rendering above, the building will have six slots that drivers will pull into to get their orders.

“The goal is to have guests in and out with food in hand in around 90 seconds,” Peterson writes in an email. “It’s still pickup, but we’re trying to make that moment feel more intentional and more connected to the digital side of Rice Box instead of treating it like an afterthought. We’re looking at this opening as both a new store and a prototype for how Rice Box can work in more suburban markets without losing the part of the brand that makes it feel like us.”

Bay Area-area diners can expect the same menu as the Rice Box’s other locations. That includes staples such as General Tso’s chicken, sesame chicken, beef with broccoli, and orange peel beef. The restaurant also serves traditional Chinese-inspired fare such as Chongqing chicken, cumin beef, mapo tofu, and chow fun noodles.

Recently, Peterson rolled out a new version of Rice Box’s dumplings. Available in chicken, pork, or vegetable, each style of dumpling comes with a different wrapper that enhances the filling’s flavor. They’re also available either steamed or fried.

The Rice Box started as a food truck in the early 2010s. After moving to a permanent location in the Greenway Plaza food court, it has opened brick-and-mortar locations in the Heights, River Oaks, Rice Village, and Memorial.

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