something wild

Hot Heights bagel bakery gets Wild with rising star chef

Golden Bagel has gone Wild.

Photo by Aleksandr Nicolai

Chef Jane Wild has found a new home. After being furloughed by The Dunlavy due to the coronavirus pandemic, Wild will now serve as both director of operations and executive chef for Golden Bagels & Coffee, the popular cafe on White Oak Drive in The Heights.

Wild tells CultureMap that she’s been a long time Golden customer, because her partner worked there previously as a barista and manager. When she heard owners Gregg Goldstein and Avi Katz were looking for a new chef, she approached them about the opportunity. They created a position that allows her to divide her time between working in the kitchen and being out front serving customers.

“When I was at The Dunlavy, I enjoyed every single minute of it. The one thing I missed was interacting with customers,” Wild says. “I’m back in that coffee shop/bakery that I had in Tomball, I can be the barista or counter person and loving on people or I can jump back there and support bagel production,” Wild says.

While Wild doesn’t have any direct experience making bagels, she notes that she can leverage the cafe’s current bakers to help her get up to speed. She plans to expand Golden’s offerings beyond the lox and nova it cures in-house by adding meats such as pastrami, roast beef, and sliced turkey. She’ll also add salads, vegan items (including sunflower seed cream cheese) and some gluten-free items to diversify the menu.

“I also love healthy eating as well,” Wild says. “We’ve got a really educated neighborhood. I’m excited to bring some of those nutrient dense foods and play with some holistic drinks.”

Expect Golden to be a more visible presence in the community, too. Wild plans to begin selling bagels at area farmers markets and hosting collaborative dinners with other area chefs, farmers, and wineries.

“If you know me, I’m not scared of anything,” Wild says. “I’ll be a student for little bit when it comes to this kind of baking, just growing as a chef.”

Golden remains a to-go only operation for now, but Wild says they plan to reopen the patio for dine-in service soon.

chefs the-heights

Kirby Ice House 5

Houston's modern ice house plans fall opening for new Clear Lake outpost

Courtesy of Kirby Ice House

A rendering previews Kirby Ice House's Clear Lake location.

Houston’s growing chain of modern ice houses is heading to the Bay Area. Kirby Ice House will open a Clear Lake outpost in September.

Located near the Johnson Space Center and Space Center Houston at open at 530 Bay Area Boulevard, the new Kirby Ice House will build on the brand’s winning formula — a huge indoor-outdoor bar with an extensive selection of beer and cocktails, lawn games, space for food trucks, and plenty of TVs for watching sports. The Clear Lake location will also offer Kirby Ice House’s daily specials and happy hour discounts.

The bar is customing its interior for Clear Lake. For example, the design will nod to NASA with a neon sign that depicts its signature cowgirl riding a rocket.

“One of the things we enjoy most is creating spaces that reflect the communities they serve,” co-owner Danny Evans said in a statement. “We never want our locations to feel copied and pasted. We want them to have their own personality, and we hope guests feel that from the moment they walk in.”

While the construction team is building the bar, Kirby Ice House has already begun recruiting the 100 or so employees who will be necessary at opening by setting up a hiring facility adjacent to the construction site.

Those employees will be pouring beers from dozens of taps alongside wines by-the-glass or bottle. Kirby Ice House also serves cocktails such as a cucumber-lime Moscow Mule, blood orange paloma, and lemonade Old Fashioned. A rotating roster of food trucks serves customers who want a bite with their beers. Taken together, the extensive selection and massive footprint have helped each location of Kirby Ice House rank among the highest’s grossing bars in Texas.

Over time, the concept has grown to four Houston-area locations in Upper Kirby, Memorial City, The Woodlands, and a Heights-adjacent location that opened last year.

“The Kirby Ice House team is excited to become part of Clear Lake’s vibrant, historic culture,” added vice president of operations Margo Axton. “We’re looking forward to being a neighborhood gathering place that supports local businesses, welcomes casual groups, and gives the community an easy place to meet up before, during, or after whatever the day has planned.”