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    A two-man show

    Craft beer mystery: Shrouded in secrecy, the new Buffalo Bayou Brewing Co. makesbold plans

    Caroline Gallay
    Sep 1, 2011 | 6:01 am

    It's a crazy time for craft beer in Houston. Although it failed to come to fruition, Freetail Brewing's interest in downtown as the site for its second Texas brewpub is promising, and there are enough new craft breweries opening to make your head spin, and not just from the higher alcohol by volume (ABV) you can count on in craft brews.

    Buffalo Bayou Brewing is one such brewery, soon to open near Petrol Station in Garden Oaks.

    Full disclosure: I've never seen the inside of Buffalo Bayou Brewing Co. (we had our interview in the offices of their PR rep) and I've never tasted their beer. So, what follows is speculative on my part, at best, but it's at least straight from the horse's mouth.

    "It's just me in the pickup truck delivering beer and Ryan brewing," Zarinfar says of the set up. And it should be noted that they have no intention of hiring a distributor.

    Maybe it's part of a marketing scheme to keep people guessing to keep them excited, but I could barely glean specifics from founder Rassul Zarinfar and brewmaster Ryan Robertson. Those I could get I'm not allowed to print as they are strictly off-the-record, which is a shame because there are some truly exciting things afoot at 5301 Nolda St.

    To name a few, Robertson, who seems to have an aversion to simplistic brews, will be experimenting with barrel aging. He'll be sourcing local Texas ingredients culled from our ample farmers markets and aims to work with Utility Research Garden and Knopp Branch Farm. We feel comfortable saying that Robertson will be drawing some inspiration from artisan teas. And in the spring, we can expect a serious Belgian with a high ABV — either a saison or a Belgian triple — but that's about all I've got for details.

    Zarinfar and Robertson are basically the only two full-time Buff Brew-ers, with a diverse group of 50-some investors backing them behind the scenes. (Many of the investors have beer-centric backgrounds themselves, and Zarinfar characterizes the group as being akin to "a banana company run by a bunch of monkeys.")

    "It's just me in the pickup truck delivering beer and Ryan brewing," Zarinfar says of the set up. And it should be noted that they have no intention of hiring a distributor. "It allows you to ensure the absolute highest quality product," says Zarinfar, who spent five years working in distribution. "We clean our own taps."

    Robertson says it's his mission to produce beer that can compete with import brews from out-of-state, and that means taking some risks outside of the standard IPA, Amber, Brown and Wheat offerings.

    The brewery's flagship beer is complete, and borrows victory malt from Flat Tire with a hoppier backbone that recalls Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. A Gingerbread Stout you may have read about — which Zarinfar describes as a big, dirty stout at 10 percent ABV — is the brand's first one-off.

    Robertson started his brewing career at a chain brewpub in Florida called Hops Grill and Brewery, where he trained on a commercial system but found little room for innovation. He began experimenting with small batches and secondary fermentation, and later put the results of his scientifically informed playtime to use at Uncle Buck's Brewery and Steakhouse in Grapevine.

    With an upper limit of 20 barrel-batches, Robertson says it's not intimidating at Buffalo Bayou Brewing to take risks. Those risks will likely include playing with color, experimenting with non-traditional ingredients and, Zarinfar says, challenging our notions of what beer even is.

    The guys wouldn't discuss specifics for future brews, but they did reveal the brew that got Robertson hired on as brewmaster: A saison that utilized caramel rye, Valencia orange peel, California lemon peel, black peppercorn and coriander, as well as Brettanomyces. "The longer I brew, the more I want to experiment," Robertson says, which was just the outlook that Zarinfar, whose brewmaster search had spanned the globe, was looking for.

    The guys have a cautiously optimistic target of early November for their brews to hit beer bars on draught, and say the brewery should be ready for visitors in October. Stay up-to-date in the meantime via the Buff Brew Twitter and Facebook feeds.

    unspecified
    news/restaurants-bars

    and the winner is...

    Innovative Houston chef is the city's newest James Beard Award winner

    Eric Sandler
    Jun 17, 2025 | 6:00 am
    James Beard Awards 2025 Thomas Bille Belly of the Beast
    Photo by Getty Images for James Beard Foundation
    Thomas Bille is Houston's newest James Beard Award winner.

    Add another Houston chef to the city’s growing list of James Beard Award winners. Thomas Bille, chef-owner of Belly of the Beast in Spring, earned Best Chef: Texas at the James Beard Foundation’s Restaurant and Chef Awards ceremony.

    Held at the Lyric Opera of Chicago on Monday, June 16, Bille was one of five finalists for the award, along with fellow Houstonian Emmanuel Chavez (Tatemo), Emil Oliva (Leche de Tigre in San Antonio), Regino Rojas (Purépecha in Dallas), and Michael Anthony Serva, (Bordo in Marfa). Neither of Houston’s other finalists — Mexico City-inspired cafe Casaema (formerly known as Ema) for Best New Restaurant and fine dining tasting menu restaurant March for Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program — earned awards in their categories.

    A Los Angeles native who moved to the Houston area to be closer to his wife’s family, Bille took a winding path to his James Beard Award. He opened the first iteration of Belly of the Beast in 2020 as a chef-driven taqueria that was known for its ceviches and birria tacos. He then spent about a year at Chivos, an ambitious but short-lived Mexican-American restaurant in the Heights.

    In late 2023, he and his wife Elizabeth opened a new version of Belly of the Beast in a Spring shopping center. It showcased a broader array of Bille’s skills, with a wide-ranging menu that pulled from global flavors — lamb shank rendang, anyone? — that included meat, seafood, and pastas. The new restaurant quickly earned wide acclaim, including a Bib Gourmand in the 2024 Michelin Guide and CultureMap Tastemaker Award nominations for both Restaurant of the Year and Chef of the Year.

    “I feel a depth of gratitude,” Bille tells CultureMap in a text message. “Knowing that my wife and I were able to reopen on our own terms. Gratitude for my family, staff, and guests to give us love and support. It is much appreciated.”

    In an interview from the ceremony shared by the James Beard Foundation, Bille paid tribute to his wife, Elizabeth, for her role in the restaurant’s success.

    “The risk that my wife and I took to open this restaurant is more than worth it. My wife left her industry, she was a national director for nonprofit organization,” he said. “I said, ‘We’re going to reopen Belly of the Beast. I need you with me side-by-side the whole time.’ The first iteration she held down her job and supported us. With her at my wide, I’m able to focus on the kitchen, on the food, and mentoring my cooks. Able to see the bigger picture instead of just being in the weeds all the time.”

    Bille is the second Houstonian to win Best Chef: Texas, joining Street to Kitchen chef-owner Benchawan Jabthong Painter, who won in 2023. Since the category of Best Chef: Texas has only been awarded since 2022, Bille is the first man to earn the title. Prior to being its own region, the James Beard Foundation included Texas in the Southwest, where chefs Robert Del Grande (Cafe Annie), Chris Shepherd (Underbelly), Justin Yu (Oxheart), and Hugo Ortega (Hugo’s) all won awards.

    The only other Texas finalist to win his category was Arjav Ezekiel of Birdie's in Austin, who became the first winner of Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service, one of three beverage-oriented categories the foundation added for 2025.

    In addition to Bille and Ezekiel, Texam Chad Houser, founder of Cafe Momentum in Dallas, received the Humanitarian of the Year Award. Toni Tipton-Martin, a Houston-based author, scholar, and journalist, received the Lifetime Achievement Award. Houstonian Alba Huerta, who won Outstanding Beverage Program for her bar Julep in 2022, presented one of the night’s awards.

    “It’s with deep celebration that we congratulate the 2025 Restaurant and Chef Award winners — distinguished culinary, beverage, and hospitality leaders whose talent and vision are shaping our dining landscape,” said Clare Reichenbach, CEO, James Beard Foundation, in a statement. “These outstanding professionals are the epitome of ‘Good Food for Good,’ elevating our industry’s standards and redefining what’s possible in American cuisine.”

    James Beard Awards 2025 Thomas Bille Belly of the Beast
      

    Photo by Getty Images for James Beard Foundation

    Thomas Bille is Houston's newest James Beard Award winner.

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