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    Oporto's Pastry Pop-Up

    Ex-Common Bond baker takes Midtown restaurant to the next level with weekend pastry pop-up

    Eric Sandler
    Oct 20, 2016 | 10:18 am

    One of Midtown’s best restaurants has a new addition that makes it even more appealing — a weekend pastry pop-up inspired by Lisbon’s sidewalk cafes. No surprise that Oporto Fooding House has stepped things up again; its newly launched NATAS bakery pop-up makes a really good restaurant even better.

    “It was always intended to be part of the concept as a fooding house . . . the bakery aspect of it,” chef-owner Rick Di Virgilio tells CultureMap. “It just so happens it took about a year-and-a-half to get it launched. I was looking for the right person to complement us and share the same type of vision that my wife and I have to implement this sort of Portuguese-interpreted bakery shop.”

    Di Virgilio found the right person in head baker-pastry chef Tony Stein, who comes to Oporto after working at Common Bond. Stein brings French training to the role, and, more importantly, an affection for the Indian flavors that Di Virgilio and his wife Shiva incorporate into all of their restaurants (Oporto in Greenway Plaza and The Queen Vic Pub & Kitchen).

    “It’s just such an inspiring palette of ingredients and an inspiring concept. To be able to leave Common Bond and start here on something totally different has been really fun,” Stein says. “It’s always a European-style pastries have the French influence. To be able to work with Indian spice and traditional Portuguese ideas has been really cool.”

    Those influences come together in a range of sweet and savory pastries that blend classic Portuguese items with Stein’s careful preparations. The namesake pastel de natas, a lemon tart baked in a pastry shell, is a good place to start. American-style sweets like cookies and blondies share counter space with French croissants and baba au plum. Savory items include cod fritters and beef empanadas. Even though the pop-up has only been happening for a week, Stein already has some ambitious goals in mind.

    “I’d like for us to offer the best croissant in town. I think that’s within our reach,” he says. “And just rotating the other things, introducing Indian and Portuguese ideas in with French execution. Doing a pistachio brioche or a baba inspired by Indian flavors. That’s how I’d like to see it grow.”

    While taking the pastries to go is always an option, staying provides the opportunity to linger on Oporto’s patio and enjoy beverage director Samantha Porter’s offerings like a passion fruit lassi and a Chai-spiced horchata — adding a shot of rum is strictly optional, but encouraged. A full selection of coffee, fresh juices, and organic teas are also available.

    NATAS happens every Saturday and Sunday from 8 am until 11 am. Although it’s billed as a pop-up, Di Virgilio says it will being going on for the foreseeable future and could even become a permanent addition.

    “We have an adjacent space that’s available if we decide to move that route and expand it to next door,” he says. “It would be an easy expansion. That’s sort in the back of our minds; it’s always been part of the idea. We’re going to launch this and see how it goes.”

    Rick Di Virgilio has hired Tony Stein as Oporto's head baker and pastry chef.

    Oporto Midtown Natas pop-up
      
    Photo by Eric Sandler
    Rick Di Virgilio has hired Tony Stein as Oporto's head baker and pastry chef.
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    where to drink now

    16 Houston establishments churning out refreshing frozen cocktails

    Brianna Griff
    Jun 10, 2025 | 3:06 pm
    Solarium Frozen Cocktails
    Photo by Swiggard Creative
    The newly opened Solarium serves up racketball games and four frozen cocktails to sip on.

    If we’re going to endure another scorching Houston summer, we might as well do it with a frozen cocktail in hand. Fortunately, the city’s bartenders know how to keep us cool, serving up an impressive array of boozy adult slushies. Go ahead and bookmark this list—you’re going to need it.

    Brennan’s
    The most elaborate drink on this list, the Bananas Faster at Brennan’s is an ode to the original bananas Foster at Mr. B’s Bistro in NOLA. Bartenders sauté bananas in butter and sugar, then flambé them with rum and cinnamon before blending with Bacardi rum and soft serve. It’s topped with a banana slice, cinnamon, and an optional Mount Gay Dark Rum floater.

    Confessions
    Pair a bowl of hookah with Sweet Surrender, an adults-only take on the Dreamsicle, at Confessions. The new South American-inspired spot in Upper Kirby swirls vanilla and whipped vodka with oranges, evoking the childhood treat.

    Grand Prize
    Ease up to the downstairs bar of this Montrose haunt for the 20th Century, a frosty concoction of gin, lemon, Lillet, and crème de cacao. Upstairs, the Frozen Miami Vice is on tap: a half-strawberry daiquiri and half-pina colada, which can also be served separately if desired.

    Happy Go Lucky
    The team behind The Burger Joint opened its new shaved ice and frozen cocktail concept just as Houstonians begin to melt. Here, patrons can find more than 20 frozens, from tart palomas to zesty mules. Order the Espresso and Cream — an espresso martini meets a scoop of vanilla ice cream — for a decadent treat.

    Hudson House
    It may claim to serve the “World’s Coldest Martini,” but for a truly shivering experience, order the frozen Bellini. This East Coast-esque establishment blends up “copious amounts of” vodka with fresh peach puree, before topping it with a Grand Marnier floater.

    Il Bracco
    The Post Oak Italian eatery is blending up The Bracco, a frozen greyhound of Aperol, New Amsterdam, and fresh grapefruit. Best of all, it's available to-go in half-gallon bottles.

    Johnny’s Gold Brick
    The Tastemaker Awards’ 2025 Bar of the Year winner offers a savory slushy sipper this summer with the Garden Party. Inspired by watermelon gazpacho, bartenders Ryan Suhl and Trent Lee created a refreshing gin-based blend of juniper-forward genever, watermelon, bell pepper, herbal liqueur, lime, salt, and lemon olive oil. Or, opt for the frozen margarita, a staple on the menu.

    Monkey’s Tail
    This tropical Linden Park spot features two frosty mainstays: Tommy’s Marg, built with blanco tequila, agave nectar, gomme syrup, and fresh lime, and the sweet-spicy Chile Mangonada, a rum-tequila combination with mango nectar, passion fruit, and a chamoy swirl. Current seasonal specials are the Northside (cucumber gin, tequila, mint syrup, lime, and firewater bitters) and the dessert-like combo, Banana Colada (Jamaican rums, pineapple, banana liqueur, banana pudding mix, coconut cream, and whipped cream) — but operating partner and frozen fan Lainey Collum reserves the right to switch things up at any time.

    Refuge
    The lively cocktail bar's Tropic Summer returns for 2025 with a fresh menu that includes the Blended Sling, a vibrant drink made with saffron-infused Vietnamese gin, pineapple sherbet, pomegranate, cherry liqueur, Curaçao, Benedictine, and a dash of Angostura.

    The Savoy
    This historic neighborhood bar in Third Ward features Sneaky Link, the locale’s rendition of a Branson Peach Sidecar, and the Emancipation, which blends the house frozen margarita with 818 Tequila Reposado, pineapple, and fresh strawberries.

    Solarium
    What’s a better pick-me-up after a sweltering game of pickleball than a frozen cocktail at Rex Hospitality’s latest addition to the racket sport craze? The stylish lounge offers four options worth sipping: the 820 Marg (blanco tequila, curaçao, lime, agave), El Mercado (a house take on a mangonada), Purple Drank (12-year aged rum, coconut, ube, pineapple, lime), and the Courtside Frosé, made with blood orange vodka, citrus, and rosé.

    Starduster Lounge
    The recently-opened, West Texas-inspired bar in the Heights serves an updated version of the Frozen Shandy that was a smash hit at D&T Drive-Inn. Now dubbed the Rio Red Shandy, the drink combines Lone Star beer, lemon, grapefruit, and vodka for a refreshing, citrus forward sip.

    Two Headed Dog
    This intimate Midtown dive always has four frozens on rotation. The current lineup includes the gin-based Blood of My Enemies, featuring pomegranate, hibiscus, and pineapple, and the Siren’s Drawl, a rum-based concoction with kiwi, mango, honey, and allspice, served with a flaming lime boat. Mezcal lovers will appreciate the Smoking Diablo, featuring crème de cassis, ginger, and lime, while the no-nonsense Big Ass Margarita rounds out the offerings.

    Under the Volcano
    The tiki bar offers two simple, yet delightful, frozen riffs on classics: the Screwdriver, where orange juice meets vodka, and a Cuba Libre, which is essentially a Coke Slurpee with the addition of rum and fresh lime juice.

    Voodoo Queen
    This daiquiri dive is a frozen fan’s paradise, with eight machines spinning boozy slushies at all times. Owner Brandon Young recommends the house-favorite The Bends, a banana daiquiri consisting of two rums, 151, and Everclear. Most of the bar's other creations are made with rum and 151, but the margarita keeps it classic with 100 percent blue agave tequila and orange liqueur.

    Still can’t decide? The bar will also combine its frozen creations to make over-the-top combos, such as the Caribbean Xanax, a crowd favorite that combines The Bends, Tropical Depression, Mango Larry, Pineapple Express, and a splash of Demerara 151. And don’t sleep on the hand-spun 151 daiquiris.

    Winnie's
    The Midtown bar has created a frozen version of the tiki favorite the Saturn that's made with gin, toasted almond orgeat, passion fruit, and lemon. Get it for $12 regularly, $6 during happy hour, or as part of a frozen flight with the bar's three other frozens — margarita, strawberry daiquiri, and peach bourbon iced tea.

    Happy Go Lucky frozen espresso martini
      

    Photo by Becca Wright

    Cool off with a frozen espresso martini at Happy Go Lucky.

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