Foodie News

Finally, a Houston restaurant takes wines by the glass seriously: More than 80choices at redone lounge

Philippe's bar space has undergone a bit of an update, but the pumped-up winemenu is the real difference.
Philippe Houston
You need something to nosh on with that wine — and Philippe delivers there aswell.
Vanessa Boyd
Photo by Melissa Quo

Most restaurants have a wines by the glass list so short you could try everything on it and still drive home safely. (Just kidding! Do not try this.)

Then there's the wines by the glass list at Phil's Wine Lounge, the newly revamped bar area downstairs in Philippe Restaurant + Lounge. The space has gotten a little bit of an update, with new wallpaper and a new exposed wine rack area to one side of the bar, but most of the changes at Phil's are on the menu, the greatest of them being a list of more than 80 wines by the glass —starting at $7 each — created by sommelier and wine director Vanessa Treviño Boyd.

The breadth of the list is possible because of an argon-based preservation system, which isolates the wine from the oxygen that degrades it, allowing bottles to stay fresh for up to four days.

"The argon lays like a blanket over the wine," Treviño Boyd tells CultureMap. "It's not like a pump where you are removing all the aroma along with the air."

The breadth of the list is possible because of an argon-based preservation system, which allows bottles to stay fresh for up to four days.

Treviño Boyd hopes the new system will allow guests to try new varietals and producers — from a crisp Basque white to a Shiraz blend from South Africa — without the commitment of ordering a bottle. She's also offering wine courses on Mondays at the new Phil's community table to further introduce guests to what the extensive list has to offer.

While I might never spring for a bottle of Vincent Girardin Chambolle-Musigny from Burgundy (the wine list prices it at $98), tasting a glass for $33 feels like an accessible indulgence. Even better: Stop by during happy hour from 4 to 6:30 p.m. on weekdays and all opened bottles of wine are half off, meaning the same fancy Burgundy could start for under $17.

While the wine by the glass list downstairs has multiplied, the food portion of the menu has shrunk significantly. Gone is the mish-mash of small plates that ranged from the classically French (escargot, croque monsieur) to typical American bar bites (calamari and sliders). Instead chef/owner Philippe Schmit is paring down to some cheese and charcuterie plates and a menu of thin crust pizzas designed to complement the drinks.

The Riviera, a mix of gruyere, arugula, ham, figs and wine vinegar, isn't the first pizza in town to balance bitter and salty flavors against the rich sweetness of fig (Alto and Saint Genevieve offer other versions), but that doesn't make me any less in love with the combo, though Phil's version was a bit more spare in the toppings. I also tried the Castilian (Schmit's professed favorite), in which the dense blanket of mussels, shrimp, chorizo and chicken is spiced up by some bell peppers.

Overall the theme downstairs feels more cohesive, more French (well, except for the name Phil's — I'm not used to that yet) and more focused on wine as the centerpiece of a relaxed good time.

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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.

openings news-you-can-eat the rice box