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    New Montrose Steakhouse

    Familiar faces bring under-the-radar Italian steakhouse to Houston's top dining neighborhood

    Eric Sandler
    Oct 19, 2015 | 11:55 am

    For as many changes as Houston's dining scene has gone through over the past few years, Montrose remains the undisputed center of the city's restaurant universe. From big names like Underbelly, Uchi and Hugo's to more recent arrivals like BCN and Pax Americana, Montrose remains home to the city's highest-profile, most-talked-about restaurants.

    New openings on lower Westheimer are so rare that they're obsessed over from the moment construction begins until the doors open, when they're eagerly dissected by a frenzied mob of foodies.

    Except when they're not.

    For the last several months, construction has quietly been taking place at 224 Westheimer to convert a former flower shop into an upscale, Italian steakhouse called Bistecca. Beyond a brief mention on Swamplot, no one has added Bistecca to a list of anticipated restaurants or tracked its progress, but, by bringing together Sorrento owner Abbas Hussein with well-regarded Italian chef Alberto Baffoni, the restaurant, which will begin its soft opening this week, features some serious star power.

    Hussein tells CultureMap that he isn't concerned about the lack of press. He prefers to avoid attracting too much attention.

    "We don’t want people coming in with high expectations and we fall short. I hate when that happens," he says "I’ve been in the restaurant business for 43 years, and the worst thing you can do is create a big hype and fall short."

    It will be up to Baffoni and general manager Trey Brezina to get Bistecca off to a good start. As Hussein explains, he's been waiting almost 20 years to work with Baffoni, who's known for his work at Simposio and recently helped Mascalzone refine its menu.

    "In 1997, I had the opportunity to meet with Alberto. I tried his risotto. I thought, 'oh my God.' We became friends, because I thought he was one of the best Italian chefs in Houston," Hussein says. "He was in the wrong spot last time. They were paying him well, but it’s not all about money. They had a different concept, pizzas and pastas and that kind of thing. But this guy can make an octopus carpaccio that is out of this world."

    Las Vegas inspiration

    While Hussein acknowledges that Bistecca takes some of its inspiration from celebrity chef Mario Battali's Las Vegas steakhouse Carnevino, he thinks Bistecca will be a little different. "We might not go all out what they’ve done, just because we are probably one-tenth of the space," he says of the intimate, 100-seat space that features an elegant, Mediterranean-inspired look.

    Asked about what makes Bistecca both Italian and a steakhouse, Baffoni explains that his Northern Italian menu will feature his well-regarded handmade pastas, dishes like that octopus carpaccio and homemade burrata, as well as entrees like osso bucco for two and grilled whole branzino. Of course, the signature dish will be the Bistecca Fiorentina, a massive, USDA Prime porterhouse available in 24-ounce, 36-ounce and 60-ounce portions.

    "It’s known that Italy’s not just famous for pasta," Baffoni explains. "(Bistecca) is Italian in the way we’re marinating our meat, the garnish that we put on it."

    He says the first time he prepared the 60-ounce Fiorentina that it was "exciting cooking that size steak . . . It will be carved tableside. We keep it simply marinated with rosemary, garlic, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper."

    They're also pricing the steak at a relatively affordable $150, which reflects the restaurant's decision to serve Certified Angus Prime beef, rather than something more exotic like wagyu. That philosophy of delivering good value extends to the whole menu.

    "We’re going to keep prices reasonable; because we own the property, the rent is a little lower," Hussein says with a laugh.

    Pastas run from $18 to $24, and small plates with four to six ounce portions of meat like lamb T-bone with with eggplant and couscous and grilled salmon with quinoa cost $24 to $28. A la carte sides include the expected steakhouse favorites mashed potatoes and haricot vert as well as Italian-influenced dishes like soft polenta with marscapone cheese.

    Plans for lunch

    Plans for lunch are currently under development, with Baffoni testing various burger ideas that include ground veal patties and pancetta and provolone instead of bacon and cheddar. Beverage options will include an Italian and Californian-oriented wine list selected by longtime Sorrento employee Pedro Castro, as well as Italian-inspired cocktails from bartender Bro Peters.

    Taken together, Bistecca has the pedigree of a restaurant that deserves more attention than it has received. With a well-regarded chef, prime location and elegant design, don't expect it to stay under the radar for long.

    Bistecca opens this week.

    Bistecca Ristorante
      
    Photo by Eric Sandler
    Bistecca opens this week.
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    he finished the job

    Houston chef Tristen Epps dishes on his Top Chef victory — and what's next

    Eric Sandler
    Jun 13, 2025 | 9:05 am
    Top Chef Tristen Epps
    Photo by David Moir/Bravo
    Kristen Kish, Tristen Epps, Gail Simmons, and Tom Colicchio.

    Houston has played a leading role in America’s culinary scene, but the city has never been home to a Top Chef winner — until last night. In the final episode of season 22, chef Tristen Epps earned the title and a $250,000 cash prize.

    Epps secured his victory by remaining true to the Afro-Caribbean cuisine that helped him secured an impressive four Elimination Challenge wins and $35,000 in additional prize money from two Quickfire wins and as a member of the team that won the show’s signature Restaurant Wars challenge. His four-course menu took a panel of celebrity judges on a journey that also referenced the finale location of Milan, Italy.

    In particular, Epps wowed the panel with his second course — Chicken “Durango” with injera shrimp toast and shellfish jus — that referenced both the Ethiopian chicken stew doro wat and the Italian dish pollo durango, a sly nod to the history of imperialism between the two countries. He finished his savory offerings with Oxtail Milanese Crepinette with Carolina Gold rice grits, curry butter, and bone marrow gremolata, which earned praised from the panel.

    “Historically, we’ve been underserved oxtail,” Top Chef alum and James Beard Award winner Gregory Gourdet said during the episode. “Tristen took the time to pull it, create that beautiful, huge, maybe too big, portion of oxtail. And cover it with that gremolata. He did not forget the bone marrow. That’s very, very smart.”

    Throughout Top Chef’s run, Epps has been holding a series of pop-ups devoted to everything from hot dogs to steakhouses. Now, he can turn his attention to Buboy, a tasting menu concept that will celebrate the Afro-Caribbean cuisine he championed throughout his time on the show.

    CultureMap caught up with Epps on Friday morning for a brief chat about his victory and what’s next.

    CultureMap: What do you remember from the day you cooked that final dinner?
    Tristen Epps: It was an extreme amount of focus. A lot of writing in my notebook. I didn’t want to laugh. I didn’t want to cry or do anything except finish the job, regardless of whatever the outcome would have been. I remember wanting to call my mom. I really wanted to talk things out so I could calm myself down and stay within my focus. Once I got into cooking, I felt so much at ease. It’s my happy place. It’s my serenity.

    CM: How did you feel when you saw Gregory Gourdet on the panel? Did you feel like you had an advocate in the room?
    TE: I’ve cooked with gregory before, a long time ago. It was really fun. I loved what he was doing.

    I felt like I had kind of an advocate. I was worried my food wold be too spicy or too overpowering [for the European chefs]. Seeing Gregory was really good, especially with what I was doing.

    CM: Other chefs, including Gregory Gourdet and Houston chef Dawn Burrell, have done well on the show with Afro-Caribbean cuisine but they didn’t win. How important was it to you to finish the job and use those flavors to win the title?
    TE: To me that was super important. There’s adventurous people who make phenomenal food. They’ll go once because it’s interesting, bu they’re usually skeptical. When you don’t nail it, they say, that’s why I go to the regular places that are familiar.

    Finishing the job was really important to me. People have come up short on this. I wanted to get this right for everyone who’s made that step forward and created the ladder.

    CM: What have your last 12 hours been like since the episode aired? Have any celebrities reached out to you?
    TE: A lot of calls, a lot of good luck. A lot of everything. It’s been amazing.

    A lot of past Top Chef winners reached out to me, giving me a lot of support and telling me what they did after they won.

    [ESPN football commentator] Mina Kimes did, which was really cool.

    CM: What are your plans for the prize money?
    TE: It’s going to go to Buboy. Now that the cat’s out of the bag, it can go a little faster.

    CM: You’ve been holding a series of pop-ups that range from tasting menus to hot dogs? What’s next?
    TE: Part of getting the restaurant open has been introducing myself to all of Houston. These pop-ups represent my interests and my fun. They’re the things that Buboy is going to represent. It can be fun, it can be a conversation, it can be educational, it can push the limits of cuisines we know. It’s an expression of culture in whatever way I see fit that day.

    The hot dog concept will probably be a separate venture, but who’s to say there’s not a hot dog at the end of that meal?

    Top Chef Tristen Epps
      

    Photo by David Moir/Bravo

    Kristen Kish, Tristen Epps, Gail Simmons, and Tom Colicchio.

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