ten-hut

Intimate new fine dining restaurant marches into Montrose with Mediterranean flair

Goodnight Hospitality will open the doors to its newest concept this week. March, the company's fine dining restaurant, will offer diners a sneak peek with a menu for its 16-seat lounge and bar area beginning Thursday, November 19.

Originally, March had been expected to open earlier this year, but Goodnight opted to delay the restaurant due to COVID-19. Ultimately, March's full experience will be centered around a tasting menu created by CultureMap Tastemaker Awards Rising Star Chef of the Year Felipe Riccio. Ultimately, the lounge will be integrated into that experience. For now, this service provides diners with the opportunity to experience the space and sample a preview of the restaurant that describes itself as "exploring the evolution of the Mediterranean through food."

Reservations at the lounge will require a $48 per person deposit that comes with a half glass of champagne, a cocktail, and a selection of small bites. Non-drinkers will receive two, non-alcoholic cocktails and an extra small bite. From there, customers can choose to add one of three set menus — harvest, pasture, or tide — each comprised of four dishes of vegetables, meat, or seafood that utilize seasonal produce from the company's Good Thyme Farm. In addition, the March lounge will offer caviar service, cocktails, and access to its full, 11,000 bottle wine cellar.

For the lounge menu, Riccio and his team have chosen to present dishes inspired by The Levant or Eastern Mediterranean. The tide menu, pictured above, comes with cured mackerel, live scallops with "swordfish bacon," smoked mussels with tomato consommé, and grilled octopus, while the pasture menu includes lamb tartare, veal sweetbreads, grilled foie gras, and a chicken ballantine. Three desserts are also available.

“The food of the Mediterranean, specifically The Levant, is the food of the people,” Riccio said in a statement. “This food and these flavors are approachable and recognizable. Yet the format and intimacy of March allows us to take the time to show you a different part of ourselves and our cooking. Dining is a joyous affair, and we’re letting our inner nerds have some fun.”

Just as opening the lounge will provide diners with an introduction to Riccio's menu, they will also get the opportunity to meet its sommeliers, which consists of general manager Mark Sayre and sommeliers Skyler Ring, Christina Walther, and Alexandra Faulkner. They've been developing the restaurant's cellar that focuses on the "breadth of single producers' programs" by showcasing a wineries' full offerings from a number of different years. Wines may also be purchased to-go.

Bar manager Alex Negranza, best known for his time at Anvil and Better Luck Tomorrow, has created a six-drink menu that offers interpretations of classics. Rather than use artificial syrups or sweeteners, March's "Tini Apple" cocktail gets its apple flavor from Calvados and spiced apple syrup.

All of that eating and drinking will happen in an intimate, 700-square-foot setting that features a custom, Murano glass chandelier, a vintage champagne cart, and artwork by German artist Christoph Ruckhäberle and Texan Matt Kleberg.

March will be open from 5-10 pm Thursday-Saturday through January 9, 2021. Reservations required via the Resy app.

March's ornate private dining room is available for intimate parties.

Photo by Julie Soefer

March's ornate private dining room is available for intimate parties.

news-you-can-eat openings

they're back

2 treasured Houston Mexican restaurants reopen after brief closures

Courtesy of Picos

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Two staple Houston-area Mexican restaurants are making comebacks after brief closures. Picos has already returned to service, while El Tiempo Cantina’s Webster location isn’t far behind.

After closing its Upper Kirby location on August 30, Picos reopened Saturday, September 12 in the former Cyclone Anaya’s space in River Oaks (3736 Westheimer Rd.). The move is only about two miles from Picos’ former home at Kirby and Richmond.

Chef-owner Arnaldo Richards partnered with Cyclone Anaya’s owners The Dhanani Group to transform the space into Picos. It allows Richards to preserve Picos, which opened on Bellaire Blvd. in 1984 and operated on Kirby Dr. for 12 years. Last year, Richards announced Picos would close due to declining sales but later stated his intentions to find a new, slightly smaller home for the restaurant. That dream was realized via a “last-minute agreement” with Cyclone Anaya’s owners The Dhanani Group according to press materials.

“After spending the past year searching for a new home, it truly feels like the stars aligned,” Richards said in a statement. “We were willing to do anything we could to keep Picos, and we finally found the right space for this next-generation evolution of Picos.”

Picos Westheimer River Oaks interior The new Picos features an indoor-outdoor bar.Photo by Becca Wright

At over 6,000 square feet, the new Picos still offers a spacious environment that includes an indoor-outdoor bar. It will serve the same menu as the prior locations, including fan favorites such as moles from all seven regions on Mexico, enchiladas, and the signature shaker margaritas.

“As native Houstonians, we understand what Picos means to this city and the generations of Houstonians who have supported the restaurant for more than 40 years,” said Usman Dhanani of The Dhanani Group, which still operates five other locations of Cyclone Anaya’s across Houston. “We’re excited to partner with Arnaldo and his family to carry the Picos tradition forward and ensure that a restaurant so deeply rooted in Houston remains part of the city’s dining community for years to come.”

The Houston Chronicle was first to report that Picos had reopened.

El Tiempo Cantina Post Houston El Tiempo is returning to Webster. Courtesy of El Tiempo Cantina

As for El Tiempo, franchisee Liquid Gold Hospitality surprised Bay Area diners when it abruptly closed the location at 20237 Gulf Fwy at the end of August. In a Facebook post, El Tiempo announced the location will reopen under direct management of the Laurenzo family, which founded El Tiempo and operates most of its other locations.

Notably, the post did not specify an opening date, merely that the restaurant is “reopening soon.”

El Tiempo’s Webster location opened at the end of 2017 after significant delays, including a lawsuit between the Laurenzo family and Liquid Gold. Overall, Houston is home to 18 locations of El Tiempo, with its outpost at The Post in downtown Houston being the most recent to open.

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