Fast Food

New Moon Tower Inn makes foodie hot dogs; Carlos Mencia plots a second MaggieRita's

Moon Tower Inn
Pink's Pizza
Carlos Mencia's original Maggie Rita's in Galveston

- Word has leaked that comedian Carlos Mencia and his partners in the Restaurant Resources Management Group are opening a second Maggie Rita's on Shepherd in the former 1400 Bar & Grill space. Mencia opened his first Maggie Rita's in Galveston over the summer. (Fans of 1400 can always head to 6th St. Bar & Grill, which is owned by the same folks.)

- West U. just got a little bit better. Heights pizza favorite Pink's Pizza continues its march southward with their third location on Bissonnet west of Kirby.

Pink's is known for their ambitious toppings — we like the This Guy, with prosciutto, Italian sausage, rosemary chicken, goat cheese, mozzarella, spinach, mushroom, tomato and roasted garlic. Or try the flavor-rich Santa Monica, with gorgonzola, mozzarella, prosciutto, eggplant, marinated artichoke, sun-dried tomato, cranberry, and garlic-infused olive oil.

- Moon Tower Inn in EaDo already has the attention of Houston's hipsters (open land = cheap beer), but we're impressed by the gourmet wild game hot dogs, made from venison, rabbit and the like and served on pretzel buns from Slow Dough Bread Co. Don't try stopping by for lunch. This is a bar, remember?

Moon Tower opens weeknights at 5 p.m. and weekends at 2 p.m. and stays open late.

- Swamplot is reporting that the seemingly cursed space on Shepherd that last housed Shuck Daddy's is becoming a Lupe Tortilla. Can the local Mexican chain make the spot work? Richard Head's, Mak Chin's and Shuck Daddy's all tried and failed

- A new Toyama Japanese Restaurant has been flying up on S. Shepherd and it looks about ready to open.

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Farewell, ElRo

Creative Montrose pizzeria will shutter after only a year-and-a-half

Photo by Julie Soefer

ElRo Pizza & Crudo

An acclaimed Houston pizzeria will soon serve its final pies. ElRo Pizza & Crudo will close after service on December 31.

In a post on Instagram, chef-owner Terrence Gallivan thanks his staff for their dedication and his customers for their support. “We hope to see you all over the next couple weeks. Come celebrate with us,” he writes.

Open since June 2023, ElRo intrigued diners who enjoyed Gallivan’s work at pioneering Houston restaurant The Pass & Provisions. At ElRo, the chef served a modified version of the Provisions pizza recipe alongside crudos and shareable small plates such as arancini and housemade sausage. It earned four nominations in this year’s CultureMap Tastemaker Awards, including Best New Restaurant and Chef of the Year.

Sadly, Gallivan tells CultureMap that business has seen “a steady decline in business for many months.” Recently, the restaurant had tried a number of initiatives to draw in diners, such as steak night on Tuesday and fried chicken on Saturday.

The early announcement gives diners two weeks to make one more visit (or two) to the restaurant before it closes. Customers may want to time their visit for happy hour, which takes places from 3-6 pm Tuesday-Friday. It includes half-off glasses of wine, $4 draft beers, $9 select cocktails, and food specials.

Gallivan adds that he doesn’t know yet what his next move will be. Hopefully, he’s got one more comeback in him. Houston is a more fun town to dine in when Gallivan is cooking in it.

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