Take some risks

First look video: Monica Pope dishes on Sparrow & her back-to-basics movement

Sparrow Bar + Cookshop has been open for a week but it was still in a state of flux when CultureMap sat down with chef/owner Monica Pope to talk about the restaurant's new name and direction.

Designer Jur van der Oord of installationsantiques was in to discuss some still-arriving details and fixtures as well as to saw down the massive L-shaped wooden community table, which was a bit too massive to allow room for both guests and passage.

The t'afia favorites are still there — Pope says her loyal customers would never let her get rid of them. But there are also some new directions, like a burrata with heirloom tomatoes, steamed mussels and tacos with beef tongue.

New light fixtures made of fused pizza screens crowded tabletops, waiting to be hung over tubular light bulbs, along with other curiosities like test tubes full of salt and pepper and the occasional antique book that lined shelves.

Pope attributes much of the new design to wanting to go back to basics, removing all the extras that get in the way and allowing guests to simply relax and focus on the food. The new tables, metal manipulated by van der Oord into a rough but fluid dark surface that Pope compares to leather, are designed to be solid and unique as well as to let the white dishes really pop in contrast.

That doesn't mean there aren't some personal — dare I say twee? — touches. Little hints of sparrows abound in text on tiny magnets attached to the central staircase, as well as in neon outside the restaurant's central window. The restrooms are also labeled with "Tod" and "Liv," the names of Pope's cats.

As for the menu, Pope insists its not about starting over as much as reframing the things that she and her kitchen do so well as well as playing with new flavors. An abbreviated menu consists simply of apps (Pope declines to call them small plates, preferring to label them as "shareable"), center-of-plate dishes and a selection of sides that can be ordered individually or in a trio.

The t'afia favorites are still there — Pope says her loyal customers would never let her get rid of them. But next to the tried-and-true shiitake mushroom dumplings, crisp chicken, milled potatoes and her famous mac' and cheese carbonara, there are also some new directions, like a burrata with heirloom tomatoes, steamed mussels and tacos with beef tongue.

Pope hopes the reasonable portions and prices (nothing on the menu is over $20) inspire guests to take some risks, trying veal sweetbreads and beef cheeks and crispy Brussels sprouts marinated in a caramel miso glaze.

It's the same elevated American food that Pope is known for, but modernized to reflect the more casual, flexible way people want to eat today.

the more things change

Houston's essential Jewish diner looks better than ever after refresh

New York Deli interior changes

Photo by Sergio Trevino

The dining room has more light than ever.

It’s tricky to renovate a restaurant that’s as essential to its community as New York Deli. A staple of Houston’s Jewish community for almost 50 years, the tiny restaurant near Meyerland will serve as many as 400 people during a busy Sunday brunch.

Still, the time had come, as the tape on the deteriorating banquettes and peeling wallpaper illustrated. With the restaurant’s lease up for renewal, co-owner Michael Saghian saw an opportunity for some updates.

“I couldn’t be the new guy who ruined the place by moving it,” he tells CultureMap. “We worked out a deal with the landlord [to stay] and did a big refresh.”

The most noticeable change is the removal of the restaurant’s front door and vestibule. Instead, diners enter through the restaurant’s companion bagel shop. Separate entrances made sense when the bagel shop was certified kosher by local religious authorities, but now that designation only applies to the Bellaire location that opened in 2020. Not only is the new setup easier for people with mobility issues to navigate, it allows more light into the dining room, brightening the place considerably..

Saghian and co-owner Riana Sherman worked with interior designer Erin Hicks on the refresh. Tables, chairs, and banquettes are all new, but the color scheme remains the same. The process yielded 10 more seats, and the furniture is a little more durable, too.

“People have flipped chairs because they’re so lightweight,” Sherman says. “We got a sturdier chair.”

Behind the scenes, an expanded kitchen allows for the restaurant’s cooks to work faster and more efficiently. An additional egg cooker should cut down the amount of time people wait for their food to arrive.

“The kitchen had one of everything. Now we have two of everything. We can pump out a lot more food,” Saghian says.

Photographs on the walls honor longtime customers such as the “bagel girls,” a group of woman who’ve eaten breakfast at the restaurant since the ‘80s. A piece of old wallpaper has been framed and hung on the wall, too, as a nod to the space’s history.

New York Deli interior changes Photographs on the walls honor longtime customers.Photo by Sergio Trevino

New York Deli interior changes

Photo by Sergio Trevino

The dining room has more light than ever.

Saghian says he suffered from sleepless nights as he worried about people’s reactions to the changes, but so far his customers have been effusive.

“It still feels like an old school diner,” Saghian says. “It has pieces you remember. Even the new stuff is old school.”

While the physical environment is new, the staff remains the same. To ensure he kept the same team of cooks and servers, Saghian paid their wages for the two weeks the restaurant was closed for renovations.

Even more importantly, the prices are the same. That’s something that will make even the oldest regulars happy.

news-you-can-eat openings

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