Best New Bar
America's 5 Best New Cocktail Bars includes Houston favorite with Southern hospitality
Bon Appetit magazine may not have found any Houston restaurants worthy of its list of the country's best new restaurants, but the city has proven itself as a cocktail hotspot. On Tuesday, the magazine named Julep, the Southern-inspired cocktail bar from the Anvil team and bartender Alba Huerta, as one of America's five best new cocktail bars.
Restaurant and drinks editor Andrew Knowlton writes that Julep serves "his three favorite things" (bourbon, mint and crushed ice) and embodies "Southern hospitality at its finest." The news should come as no surprise to CultureMap readers; after all, Julep earned the award for Favorite Bar in this year's CultureMap Tastemaker Awards.
"It's a great honor to be included in Bon Appetit's Best New Cocktail Bars in the Country," writes Huerta in an email. "It's a labor of love, dedication, and I'm incredibly proud of the staff and all of their hard work. This has really got everyone excited for the anniversary party coming up on August 30! Now back to work!"
Midnight Rambler, described by CultureMap Dallas as a "rock-and-roll salon, with arching wood buttresses and chromed globe lighting" also earned a spot on the list.
After three years of landing spots on the magazine's list of the countries 50 best new restaurants — including highly coveted top 10 finishes for Oxheart in 2012 and The Pass & Provisions in 2013 — Houston was shut out in 2015, but Texas did well overall. Dallas and Austin each scored two spots on the top 50, with Austin's Dai Due placing sixth overall.