Big Steakhouse Change

Restaurateur hires top chef to return steakhouse to former glory as Houston's best

Ronnie Killen is different from most chefs. Whereas most restaurant owners would be happy to have placed two establishments in the top 25 of Chronicle restaurant critic Alison Cook's top 100 Houston restaurants, Killen was so disappointed that his eponymous Pearland steakhouse slipped from number eight in 2013 to 22 he couldn't fully enjoy that his six month-old barbecue joint ranked as the third best restaurant in Houston.

To get the restaurant back on track, Killen has hired Brennan's of Houston sous chef Joe Cervantez to be the new executive chef of Killen's Steakhouse. Cervantez replaces chef de cuisine Teddy Lopez, who recently transitioned to a part-time role to spend more time with his family.

"I wanted to give him a title worthy of the money he's making," Killen tells CultureMap.

Asked about giving up the title of executive chef of the restaurant that made him a local star, Killen has a simple explanation. "I wanted to give him a title worthy of the money he's making," Killen tells CultureMap. Cervantez will also have the authority to make changes to the menu that Killen has never granted anyone else before.

"My dad asked me why the steakhouse slipped," Killen tells CultureMap. While that sounds like a tiger mom-style scolding from a parent who equates a 93 to a C-plus, the criticism hit home with Killen. As he's shifted his focus to the barbecue restaurant and contemplated opening a burger joint, Killen hasn't spent as much time at the steakhouse as he once did.

"(Cervantez) is definitely going to help us and get us back on track," Killen says. The new chef comes highly recommended by Killen's Barbecue chef Patrick Feges, who worked with Cervantez at Brennan's before he moved to Underbelly. "I interviewed him for two hours. I've never interviewed anybody for two hours before," he adds.

Deciding Cervantez was his man, they came to an agreement Saturday night. He'll take over in then next month or so once Brennan's can hire and train his replacement.

The incoming chef has a history with the restaurant; he worked there as a server before using his culinary school degree at the new closed Spencer's Steaks and Chops in the Hilton Americas hotel. He's also a Pearland resident who's looking forward to a shorter commute. "He's eager to do what we do," Killen adds.

Of course, Cervantez will enjoy one other benefit of his new position.

"No more Sunday brunches," Killen says with a laugh.

Ronnie Killen couldn't fully enjoy his barbecue restaurant's third place finish because his steakhouse slipped from eight to 22.

Ronnie Killen barbecue steakhouse Patrick Feges Alison 100

Photo by Eric Sandler

Ronnie Killen couldn't fully enjoy his barbecue restaurant's third place finish because his steakhouse slipped from eight to 22.

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New York Times critic awards Houston restaurant 2 stars in glowing review

Courtesy of ChòpnBlọk

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Let’s just call 2025 the year of ChòpnBlọk. In a review published Tuesday, December 16, the New York Times has awarded the Houston restaurant two stars (“very good”).

Written by chief restaurant critic Tejal Rao, the review touts many of the same qualities that the Times already praised when it included ChòpnBlọk on its list of America’s 50 best restaurants.

Rao writes that she usually avoids restaurants that serve food in bowls, but she’s impressed by the way that chef-owner Ope Amosu has put a West African spin on the concept.

“For inspiration, Ope Amosu looked to the kind of chain restaurants that were built to scale, where flavors are often subdued to appeal to the broadest possible audience, focus-grouped to death. But the delight of ChòpnBlok is in its sure sense of self, its lively, multidimensional cooking and clear, delicious vision for modern food from the Black diaspora,” Rao writes.

She singles out specific dishes, including the Nigerian red stew with short rib, the Black Star bowl with shrimp, and the signature Motherland, made with chicken, greens, and plantains. “It’s utterly simple, but draws you in for more with the mouthwatering twang of not-too-much MSG — an international shortcut to building umami that tends to be used carefully, and layered with other forms,” she writes.

The review also touches on the way Amosu switched the restaurant from counter service to full service — described as “warm, informal, and quick with the jokes” — and his time working at Chipotle to learn the basics of the restaurant operations.

A two-star review is only the latest instance of ChòpnBlọk receiving national attention. In addition to the Times 50 best list, Esquire recently named it one of America’s best new restaurants. The Michelin Guide awarded it a Bib Gourmand designation for 2025. Amosu earned a semifinalist nomination for Best Chef: Texas in the 2025 James Beard Awards.

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