Houston Culinary Awards 2015

Houston restaurant world's big night: Vallone's vow, award surprises and a few choice words

Sunday may have been the night when Houston's restaurant community gathered to celebrate Donna and Tony Vallone's 50 years in business, but some more recent arrivals made the biggest splash at My Table Magazine's 2015 Houston Culinary Awards.

My Table selected the Vallones as the winner of the prestigious Legends of Houston Restaurants Award. In a short speech, Tony Vallone thanked people for their support and also acknowledged the presence of others at the ceremony who helped shaped dining in Houston such as Master Sommelier Guy Stout and El Meson chef/owner Peter Garcia.

As for questions about whether he'll retire, "I want them to carry me out with a fish in one hand and pasta in the other," Vallone declared to thunderous applause.

A portion of the evening’s proceeds benefited the Grant Gordon Foundation, which addresses issues in the medical field that further suicide prevention among those suffering from neurological diseases such as MS. Gordon served as executive chef at both Tony's and Vallone's prior to his death in 2014.

Midtown hotspot Weights + Measures took home three awards: Favorite Late Night Spot, Best Interior Design and Outstanding Bar Service. Expressing her excitement, bar manager Judith Piotrowski's acceptance speech including a couple of well-chosen expletives that had host St. John Flynn joking about two bleeps if the event were being broadcast by his employer Houston Public Media.

Elsewhere, Ronnie Killen added Restaurateur of the Year to the Chef of the Year and Favorite Barbecue honors he took home in 2014. Ryan Pera, the culinary force behind Coltivare, Revival Market and the upcoming 8-Row Flint icehouse, won Chef of the Year.

Holley's Seafood Restaurant and Oyster Bar won Best New Restaurant in a crowded field that included BCN Taste & Tradition, Pax Americana and Peska Seafood Culture.

As always, the awards' finalists are selected by a committee of writers (including this author) and sponsors, but winners are selected by My Table readers in an online vote.

The nature of the categories sometimes produces some surprising results, as in The Pass & Provisions chef/owners Seth Siegel-Gardner and Terrence Gallivan winning Up-and-Coming Chef of the Year two years after they won Restaurateur of the Year and less than two weeks after the duo landed the top spot on Chronicle critic Alison Cook's 100 favorite restaurants list.

However, both chefs meet the category's requirement of being 35 or younger.

While some will always quibble with specific results, the awards are always an entertaining evening that allows the hard working people in the restaurant industry to dress up and celebrate their accomplishments. Let's do it again next year.

The full list of Sunday night's winners follows:

Houston Culinary Awards

Restaurateur Of The Year: Ronnie Killen, Killen's Barbecue/Killen's Steakhouse
Chef Of The Year: Ryan Pera, Coltivare/Revival Market
Up-And-Coming Chef Of The Year: Terrance Gallivan & Seth Siegel-Gardner, The Pass & Provisions
Outstanding Wine Service: Underbelly
Pastry Chef Of The Year: Rebecca Masson, Fluff Bake Bar
Outstanding Bar Service: Weights + Measures
Service Person Of The Year: Steven McDonald, Pappas Bros. Steakhouse
Houston Classic: Backstreet Cafe
Best Interior Design: Weights + Measures
Best New Restaurant: Holley’s Seafood Restaurant & Oyster Bar

Houston Foodie Star Awards

Favorite Bakery: Petite Sweets
Favorite Barbecue: Jackson Street BBQ
Favorite Bartender: Terry Williams, Anvil Bar & Refuge
Favorite Breakfast: La Guadalupana
Favorite Burger: Pappas Burger
Favorite Coffeehouse: Common Bond
Favorite Farmer’s Market Vendor: Blue Heron Farm
Favorite Food Truck: Tacos Tierra Caliente
Favorite Late Night Spot: Weights + Measures
Favorite Mom & Pop Ethnic: Arnaldo Richards’ Picos
Favorite Outdoor Dining: The Grove
Favorite Pub Or Bar: Julep
Favorite Supermarket: Sprouts Farmers Market
Favorite Sweets/Ice Cream: Cloud 10 Creamery
Favorite Wine Seller: Richard’s Liquors & Fine Wines

Mark Holley hugs sous chef Kenten Marin.

Houston Culinary Awards 2015 Mark Holley

Photo by Kim Coffman

Mark Holley hugs sous chef Kenten Marin.

awards

Coming soon to Fredericksburg

Houston restaurant vet serves up Roman-style eatery in the Hill Country

Photo courtesy of Bottega Salaria

Valerio Lombardozzi is opening Bottega Salaria in the former home of La Bergerie.

Valerio Lombardozzi’s culinary career has taken him to the world’s finest kitchens, including restaurants owned by icons like Alain Ducasse, Giorgio Locatelli, and Joël Robuchon. In Houston, he led La Table and Tavola, where he earned a reputation for being one of the city's most engaging front of the house personalities.

But his latest project might be his biggest accomplishment yet. The hospitality veteran is opening Bottega Salaria, a homey Italian osteria and artisan market, in the former home of La Bergerie at 312 E Austin St in his adopted home of Fredericksburg.

Lombardozzi says the restaurant, expected to arrive in winter 2026, fills a gap in the Hill Country dining scene, but, more importantly, it's a reflection of his personal history and time spent working at his family’s restaurant in Rome.

“[It’s about] where I grew up, how I grew up, and how I eat,” he shares.

The three-concept experience is inspired by Italy’s Via Salaria, the ancient route Italians used to transport salt from the Adriatic Sea to Rome. The menu acts as a sort of travelogue, borrowing from the different cultures along the road, and the way village fishermen and shepherds ate.

Lombardozzi is quick to say he didn’t want to open a chef-driven restaurant. Instead, the osteria will serve traditional Roman staples such as cacio e pepe, amatriciana, carbonara, saltimbocca with sage and prosciutto, and branzino carved tableside.

“I was one of the last to be exposed to the old generation of professionals who knew how to carve elegantly for the guests,” he says.

The adjacent bottega will stay open during restaurant hours, offering fresh pasta made on-site, house-made sauces, imported Italian pantry items, cheeses, salumi, breads, and biscotti. Patrons will be able to shop for individual items or put together custom gift baskets.

Outdoors, La Fraschetteria will debut a new hospitality experience in the U.S. The self-guided experience invites diners to grab wine directly from garden shelves, gather a spread of meats, cheeses, bread, or pasta, and linger around long communal tables lit by string lights.

Keeping the chit-chat going will be a thoughtful beverage program anchored by a primarily Italian wine list and imported beer. Lombardozzi says the cocktail menu might be a surprise, offering only gin and tonics, spritzes, and negronis. The latter has been made into a game where diners roll dice to determine the evening's combination of gin, vermouth, and bitters.

After dinner, guests can select an amaro from a rolling cart, sip grappa and limoncello, or sip a neat whiskey.

Lombardozzi shares that he wants Bottega Salaria to be just as comfortable for Fredericksburg locals as it is for destination travelers. Beyond daily service, Bottega Salaria plans community events such as garden wine nights with live music, Sunday movie nights, and hands-on cooking classes.

The space is designed for ease with a warm palette combining olive green and pomegranate reds. The decor blends heritage and modernity, bringing in objects like antique mirrors, plates, custom-made lamps, and even old tablecloths and curtains for an Old World feel.

"We’re not just opening a restaurant,” Lombardozzi says. “We’re creating a gathering place. A home for everyone who loves Italian food, culture, and the joy of sharing a meal with others.”

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