Burger Preserv

Chris Shepherd hosts Houston food influencer's hit smash burger pop-up

Burger Bodega is coming to Montrose.

Photo by Mir Anwar

One of Houston’s most prominent food influencers is borrowing one of the city’s best restaurants for a one night only burger pop-up. Abbas Dhanani, better known as houstoneatz, will host his next Burger Bodega event at UB Preserv on the evening of Monday, October 11 (6 pm until sold out).

Introduced earlier this month, Burger Bodega's previous two pop-ups have featured long lines that have sold out in a couple of hours. Instead of operating under a tent, Dhanani wants to test the concept in a restaurant setting.

When Dhanani, who has over 100,000 followers on TikTok and 25,000 followers on Instagram, told Underbelly Hospitality chef-owner Chris Shepherd and UB Preserv executive chef Nick Wong about his plans to start a burger business, they expressed an interest in providing him with a platform to grow the concept.

“He had come in for a few of our late night things when we were doing those Thursday one-offs. I met him. Seemed like a nice guy, very authentic, very genuine,” Wong says about Dhanani. When Wong heard about Burger Bodega, he told Dhanani, “If it’s something you’re interested in, I’d love to offer you our space.

So far, the pop-ups have happened on portable griddles, but Dhanani will get to test the concept at a larger scale in UB Preserv’s kitchen. Dhanani says he met with Wong and the UB Preserv team to work out the logistics. Wong will be on hand to assist the Burger Bodega team as required.

The success of the two pop-ups has convinced Dhanani that his basic formula is solid. Inspired by visits to New York and Los Angeles — two cities where smash burgers have become a popular trend — each Burger Bodega burger starts with two patties that are smashed extremely thin to get lots of maillard chard and crispy bits. They’re topped with cheese, grilled onions, pickles, and “bodega sauce” then served on a Martin’s potato bun. At $9, it’s an affordable treat.

Wong adds that next Monday’s pop-up marks a new direction for UB Preserv. He wants the restaurant to be a platform for the culinary community.

“All these folks that come up during covid with their popups, I was very inspired. I would love to offer them the resources we have,” he says. “‘Hey, we have a platform for you. We’d love for you to shine because that only makes our whole industry better.’”

He also acknowledges a more personal reason for wanting to host some new people in the UB Preserv kitchen. The chef, who moved to Houston from New York in 2018, has been so focused on his job that he still feels like he’s new in town.

“I don’t really know a lot of folks,” Wong says. “Selfishly, I’d like to have more friends and meet more people.”

burgers news-you-can-eat

what's on tap

Dough-obsessed pizzeria picks River Oaks for first Houston location

Courtesy of Pie Tap

A Dallas pizzeria known for its artisanal dough is coming to Houston. Pie Tap will open its first Bayou City outpost in June.

Located next to Fielding’s River Oaks in the Novel Residences luxury apartment building, Pie Tap is an endeavor from Dallas restaurateur Rich Hicks and Italian chef Giovanni Mauro. The chef is responsible for the restaurant’s pizza dough, which uses a mother starter and a 96-hour fermentation process that uses natural yeast to achieve a good balance of crunch and chew.

"Without great dough, you can't have great pizza," Mauro told CultureMap Dallas when the first location opened in 2016. "The idea that the crust is simply a vehicle for toppings is the wrong approach. There has to be a perfect balance of sauce and topping, but you have to have a commitment to the dough. If dough is everything it should be, the pizza is stellar."

Using Italian flour and natural yeast are essential components of the dough’s flavor, Mauro added.

"It's the kind of dough our great-grandparents used to eat," he says. "It's a very natural, slow process. We don't use any commercial yeasts. We started a 'mother dough' with a starter that's proprietary to us. It's a five-day process, an absolute minimum of 96 hours, from when we start to when we put the pizza on the plate."

The restaurant uses that dough to create pizzas that include classics like a margherita, pepperoni, and veggie. Some of the more creative options include the Prosciutto (topped with dates, pistachio, arugula, cheese, and balsamic) and the Salami (calabrese salami, fennel sausage, pepperoni, bacon, and mozzarella).

In addition to pizza, the restaurant touts its rotisserie chicken, which is served both as a half bird with mashed cauliflower and vegetables and as part of sandwiches, pastas, and salads. Other pastas include pappardelle bolognese, ricotta gnocchi, and the on-trend rigatoni in spicy vodka sauce.

Having covered “pie,” let’s turn to the “tap” portion of the restaurant’s name. The bar program starts with 30 beers and wines on tap. They’re joined by cocktails, more wines by-the-glass, and non-alcoholic options. Taken together, it’s a compelling package that earned Best New Restaurant in the 2017 CultureMap Dallas Tastemaker Awards.

“Our talented and dedicated team has been anxiously awaiting this exciting entrance to the Houston market as it is the epitome of all things interesting in food and culture and one of the friendliest and most diverse cities in the U.S. When it comes to our brand, if it is not exceptional, it is unacceptable,” Hicks said in a statement. “We are proud that we have one of the most clean, healthy, and delicious artisan pizzas you can enjoy out there because it has no preservatives, fillers, or additives.”

Pie Tap will be open for lunch, dinner, happy hour, and weekend brunch.

Courtesy of Pie Tap

That's what crust looks like when its dough is fermented for 96 hours.

pizza openings news-you-can-eat pie tap