Hugo's next restaurant

Hugo Ortega and Tracy Vaught reveal exciting new concept for Uptown Park

James Beard Foundation dinner Tracy Vaught Hugo Ortega

Tracy Vaught and Hugo Ortega are planning a new restaurant.

Photo by Quy Tran

Hugo Ortega and Tracy Vaught are expanding their restaurant empire. Vaught confirmed that the couple's company, H-Town Restaurant Group, will open a new concept at Uptown Park in the recently shuttered Cafe Express space.

Vaught's statement, posted below, confirms rumors first circulated by the real estate super sleuths on the Houston Architecture Info Forum. It will be the couple's fifth Houston restaurant, joining Backstreet Cafe, Hugo's, Caracol, and Xochi. H-Town also operates Italian restaurant Prego in Rice Village, Third Coast in the Medical Center, and Origen in Oaxaca City.

Hugo and I are always thinking about new concepts and checking out spaces, and Uptown Park was a possibility for something new, but we didn’t finalize until recently. Like with all our other concepts, we prefer to keep the idea close to our chests, as we like to have the ability to plan, develop, and make changes at-will without being hindered by any previous announcements.

So, yes, we did sign with Eden to go into Uptown Park. Our plans are still fluid, and the opening is at least a year away. We have no further details at this time.

Regardless of whether or not the specific restaurant is the "more casual/budget-friendly" restaurant in the rumor or something more elevated that's in line with their other establishments, any new project from the James Beard Award-winning chef and his wife, a James Beard semifinalist for Outstanding Restaurateur, is worth getting excited about.

Adding a new restaurant from H-Town is only the latest change as Uptown Park seeks to update its mix of offerings. Over the last couple of years, the development has added healthy eating restaurant Flower Child and two long time tenants, McCormick & Schmick's (recently rebranded as M&S Seafood, Steaks & Oysters) and Uptown Sushi, have undergone extensive renovations.

More changes are coming. California-based sandwich shop Mendocino Farms will open its second Houston-area location on October 3. In addition, Merus Grill, a new concept from J. Alexander's, will open this fall, and a second location of The Rustic will open in early 2020.

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What's Eric Eating Episodes 518 and 519

Meet the men behind River Oaks' new destination for bowls and broth

Photo by Becca Wright

Find Honest Mary's in the River Oaks Shopping Center.

On this week’s episode of “What’s Eric Eating,” Honest Mary’s founder Nelson Monteith and COO Andrew Wiseheart joined CultureMap editor Eric Sandler to discuss the Austin-based restaurant that just opened its first Houston location in the River Oaks Shopping Center (2047-A West Gray St).

Monteith shares that he started the restaurant in 2017 in order to fulfill his vision of a restaurant which could serve food that’s fast, fresh, and affordable. A trained chef who operated pioneering Austin restaurant Contigo, Wiseheart joined the group to bring both culinary expertise and operational acumen to the grouping company.

Part of what sets Honest Mary’s apart is that diners can add cooked vegetables to the rice and proteins at the heart of every bowl. The “Market Sides” section includes an array of roasted vegetables — including sweet potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, beets, and Brussels sprouts — as well as black beans, maple-glazed carrots, and green lentils. Bowls can be further enhanced with toppings such as Texas pecans, crispy chickpeas, goat cheese, avocado, and apples as well as sauces such as creamy poblano, cashew lime crema, sesame vinaigrette, spicy peanut, chimichurri and apple cider vinaigrette

Monteith explains that looking at the ingredients on display usually inspires him when he’s deciding what to eat at Honest Mary’s.

“I will almost always look at the line and see what looks fresh and good,” Monteith says. “Today, I got the salted kale with white rice. Then, I got garlic-pepper steak. I added on lentils — they’re my go-to in the winter. They blend everything together, and I love it Then Brussels sprouts looked green. I got some jalapenos. Avocados, cause that’s healthy. Then I got the chimichurri sauce.”

Honest Mary’s is also known for its hearty broths, a classic chicken and a vegetarian option made with seaweed and mushroom. Sandler raves about the chicken broth to Wiseheart, who shares how it’s made.

“We spent six or seven months testing recipes and drinking it ourselves to see if it’s a good idea,” Wiseheart says. “I talk about it as a great complement to the menu. It’s healthy. It’s really simple. Most of the kitchens I came up with were rooted in French cuisine. This is just chicken stock with salt in it.”

Listen to the full episode to hear more about Honest Mary’s plans for additional locations in Houston and Dallas. Then Monteith asks a Sandler a few questions about the Houston dining scene.

In this week’s other episode, Sandler and co-host Mary Clarkson discuss the news of the week. Their topics include Home Slice Pizza opening a new location in the Heights; the closures of Brett’s BBQ Shop in Katy and Killen’s Barbecue in The Woodlands; and Esquire including ChòpnBlok on its list of America’s best new restaurants.

In the restaurant of the week segment, the two friends discuss their recent meal at Hypsi, the Italian restaurant in the newly-opened Hotel Daphne. Listen to the episode to hear their favorite dishes and other thoughts on the meal.

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Subscribe to "What's Eric Eating" on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Hear it Sunday at 9 am on ESPN 97.5.

Photo by Becca Wright

Find Honest Mary's in the River Oaks Shopping Center.

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