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    Where to eat on New Year's Eve

    Where to dine and drink in Houston on New Year's Eve

    Holly Beretto
    Dec 24, 2019 | 10:01 am
    Benjy's interior bar
    Ring in the New Year at Benjy's.
    Photo by Shannon O’Hara

    The debate might rage on about whether or not a new decade begins on January 1, 2020, but one thing is not up for debate at all: all over Houston, there are parties aplenty to ring in the new year.

    Backstreet Cafe
    The River Oaks restaurant has a four-course dinner, plus complimentary midnight sparkling cocktail toast, as well as live music by Bob Chadwick. Guests can choose from selections such as Gulf Coast Beignets with shrimp, crab, andouille sausage, corn, and roasted red pepper remoulade; red pear salad; lobster salad; New York Strip with truffled potatoes and mushroom stew; pan-seared grouper with charred Meyer lemon and leek puree; and lemon poppy seed cake.
    Cost: $79 per person, plus tax and gratuity
    Hours: 4 to 9 pm. Call 713-521-2239 to reserve a spot.

    Benjy's
    The Rice Village restaurant offers a social tasting menu for New Year's Eve, with five shareable plates, as well as a complimentary glass of champagne upon arrival. Selections include baked oysters with nori-chili butter, smashed cucumber salad with house pita, feta, and pecans; tuna poke with crispy shallots and coconut sauce; a crispy rice bowl with roasted vegetables and pickled mushrooms; and chess pie.
    Cost: $50 per person, plus tax and gratuity
    Hours: 5 to 10 pm. Reservations highly encouraged, although walk-ins are welcome

    Bistro Provence
    Put some French flair into New Year's Eve celebrations as the Memorial restaurant offers a four-course menu served across two hours. Selections include smoked salmon salad, lobster bisque, slow-roasted lamb shank, tournedos with potato gratin, and a chocolate and Bailey's mousse. Dessert comes with a complimentary glass of Champagne Voirin Jumel.
    Cost: $85 per person, plus tax, drinks, and gratuity
    Hours: 6 pm, 6:30 pm, 8 pm, and 8:30 pm. Call 713-827-8008 to reserve; a $40 deposit is required with reservation

    Bosskat Kitchen and Libations
    The Galleria-area bar and restaurant will serve a four-course dinner on New Year's Eve, and guests can select from appetizers, soups and salads, entrees, and desserts, along with a beverage. Options include Baja shrimp ceviche, Beyond Dirty Rice Cajun Arancini, bourbon butternut squash bisque, kale and radicchio salad, beef Wellington, blackened swordfish, and Mama Reed's Toffee Cake. Guests can select from Chardonnay, Cabernet, rosé, an Old Fashioned, a 38 Special, and Glenmorangie Original on the rocks or neat for a libation.
    Cost: $75 for seatings between 5 and 9 pm; $100 for seatings between 9 and 11 pm (the late seating includes a Champagne toast).

    Broken Barrel
    A three-course dinner awaits guests looking for a way to ring in the new year. Start with a glass of bubbles, and choose from selections such as red cabbage carpaccio, roasted tomato soup, salmon al pastor, braised short ribs, and molten lava cake. Two seating options are available and reservations must be secured with a credit card.
    Cost: $85 per person, plus tax and gratuity
    Hours: 5 to 7 pm and 9 to 11pm. Call 713-389-5628 to reserve.

    C. Baldwin Hotel
    Downtown's newest boutique hotel makes New Year's Eve a one-stop shop for revelry. The Holiday Getaway Package offers guests a deluxe room (a complimentary upgrade will be provided if available), a $50 dining and beverage credit, a welcome amenity, complimentary valet parking for one car, and a 2 pm check-out on New Year's Day. Those wishing a more swish experience will love the "Suite" End to 2019 option, which comes with deluxe accommodations in one of the hotel's suites, an arrival amenity with a New Year's Eve theme, dinner for two at Rosalie Italian Soul, a reserved tabled in the lobby bar for up to four guests along with a bottle of Moet to ring in 2020, turndown service, complimentary valet parking for one car, and late checkout at 2 pm on New Year's Day.
    Cost: The Holiday Getaway starts at $159 (To reserve, call 713-759-0202 and reference offer code P5)
    "Suite" Ending to 2019 starts at $2,020 (NOTE: Only six are available; to reserve, call 713-351-5734)

    Emmaline
    Have a late dinner that include selections from a four-course prix fixe menu, a champagne toast at midnight, plus DJ, dancing, and party favors. Look for retro dishes such as Pigs in a Blanket, Waldorf Salad, chicken fried steak, and Spiced Cherries Jubilee reimagined with a modern touch. An early seating at 5:30 pm is also available for a reduced cost of $75.
    Cost: $125 per person, excluding tax and gratuity
    Hours: 8:30pm to midnight; to reserve call 713-523-3210

    Eugene's
    A three-course dinner is available, with selections such as a half dozen oysters on the half shell, a cup of gumbo, snapper meuniere, crab au gratin, pecan-crusted chicken, shrimp or chicken pasta, white chocolate bread pudding, or creme brulee. Complimentary beverages include a glass of Prosecco or Champagne, or non-alcoholic options such as iced tea, coffee, or soda.
    Cost: $79 per person
    Hours: 5 to 9 pm; for reservations call 713-807-8883

    Harold's Restaurant and Tap Room
    Get a complimentary glass of Prosecco on arrival to kick off this four-course dinner. Select from appetizers such as Burrata and heirloom tomato salad, lobster bisque with sherry, and a butterhead lettuce salad with cream cheese dressing, and entrees like peppercorn beef tenderloin, kimchi grits and scallops, or orzo pesto with zucchini, broccoli, and red bell peppers. Maple pana cotta and chocolate mousse are among the dessert options. After dinner, head down to the tap room for a night cap and a complimentary Champagne toast at midnight.
    Cost: $70 per person
    Hours: Reservations available between 5pm and 9pm

    Lei Low
    Continuing its New Year's Eve tradition of paying homage to classic tiki bars, this year the Heights spot transforms itself into one of owner Russell Theode's favorites, Los Angeles' Tiki Ti. Look for recreations of Tiki Ti drinks on the menu for this Nectar of the Gods celebration. Aloha wear is highly encouraged.
    Cost: No cover charge, drink prices vary
    Hours: 8 pm to 2 am

    Loch Bar
    Live music highlights the elevated tavern experience at this new River Oaks District hotspot. Seafood selections from the raw bar, along with chef and cocktail specials are available all evening long. Guests also get party favors and there's a balloon drop at midnight, and a champagne toast. Anyone wearing a tiara can drink from the legendary Loch Bar hoof.
    Cost: No cover charge
    Reservations can be made online or by calling 832-430-6601

    Miss Carousel
    DJ Izzy spins tunes so guests show off their moves on the dance floor, and there's a photo booth to capture the last moments of 2020. The EaDo favorite will air the New York City ball drop airing live, and do a balloon drop at midnight.
    Cost: $20 (For $60, guests can party admission and New Year's Day brunch at Indianola.
    Hours: 8 pm to 2 am

    Camerata at Paulie's
    Begin an evening of celebrating with a Champagne flight. The Montrose spot known for its dedication to wine offers guests a tasting tour of five different Champagnes, starting north in Montagne de Reims and finishing down south in the Cote des Bar. Along the way, learn about the past, present, and future of Champagne production as well as the differences between Premier Cru and Grand Cru.
    Cost: $75 per person, plus tax and gratuity
    Hours: 5 - 6 pm

    Tony's
    One of Houston's swankiest restaurants offers one of the city's swankiest New Year's Eve parties, complete with dinner and dancing to live music from Nick and the Hits. The first seating offers a four-course dinner and a Prosecco toast. The second seating comes with a four-course dinner and ringing in the new year.
    Cost: $95 per person, excluding tax and gratuity (first seating) and $195 per person, plus tax and gratuity (second seating)
    Hours: 6 to 8:45 pm (first seating), 9 pm to midnight (second seating)
    To reserve call 713-622-6778

    UB Preserv
    The theme for the restaurant's second-ever New Year's Eve party is a New Orleans Style Masquerade Ball. Dishes will be served family style and chef Nick Wong and his team offer selections such as caviar pani puri, crab egg foo yung, and wok-fried Szechuan gator. For dessert there's a Bananas Foster Surprise. Mysterious masks are highly encouraged and the soundtrack features tunes by Big Freedia and Preservation Hall Jazz Band. A champagne toast ushers in 2020.
    Cost: $150 per person plus gratuity and alcohol purchases
    Hours: Seatings available at 6 and 9:30 pm.

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    what's on tap

    Dough-obsessed pizzeria picks River Oaks for first Houston location

    Eric Sandler
    May 22, 2025 | 6:10 pm
    Dough-obsessed pizzeria picks River Oaks for first Houston location
    Courtesy of Pie Tap

    A Dallas pizzeria known for its artisanal dough is coming to Houston. Pie Tap will open its first Bayou City outpost in June.

    Located next to Fielding’s River Oaks in the Novel Residences luxury apartment building, Pie Tap is an endeavor from Dallas restaurateur Rich Hicks and Italian chef Giovanni Mauro. The chef is responsible for the restaurant’s pizza dough, which uses a mother starter and a 96-hour fermentation process that uses natural yeast to achieve a good balance of crunch and chew.

    "Without great dough, you can't have great pizza," Mauro told CultureMap Dallas when the first location opened in 2016. "The idea that the crust is simply a vehicle for toppings is the wrong approach. There has to be a perfect balance of sauce and topping, but you have to have a commitment to the dough. If dough is everything it should be, the pizza is stellar."

    Using Italian flour and natural yeast are essential components of the dough’s flavor, Mauro added.

    "It's the kind of dough our great-grandparents used to eat," he says. "It's a very natural, slow process. We don't use any commercial yeasts. We started a 'mother dough' with a starter that's proprietary to us. It's a five-day process, an absolute minimum of 96 hours, from when we start to when we put the pizza on the plate."

    The restaurant uses that dough to create pizzas that include classics like a margherita, pepperoni, and veggie. Some of the more creative options include the Prosciutto (topped with dates, pistachio, arugula, cheese, and balsamic) and the Salami (calabrese salami, fennel sausage, pepperoni, bacon, and mozzarella).

    In addition to pizza, the restaurant touts its rotisserie chicken, which is served both as a half bird with mashed cauliflower and vegetables and as part of sandwiches, pastas, and salads. Other pastas include pappardelle bolognese, ricotta gnocchi, and the on-trend rigatoni in spicy vodka sauce.

    Having covered “pie,” let’s turn to the “tap” portion of the restaurant’s name. The bar program starts with 30 beers and wines on tap. They’re joined by cocktails, more wines by-the-glass, and non-alcoholic options. Taken together, it’s a compelling package that earned Best New Restaurant in the 2017 CultureMap Dallas Tastemaker Awards.

    “Our talented and dedicated team has been anxiously awaiting this exciting entrance to the Houston market as it is the epitome of all things interesting in food and culture and one of the friendliest and most diverse cities in the U.S. When it comes to our brand, if it is not exceptional, it is unacceptable,” Hicks said in a statement. “We are proud that we have one of the most clean, healthy, and delicious artisan pizzas you can enjoy out there because it has no preservatives, fillers, or additives.”

    Pie Tap will be open for lunch, dinner, happy hour, and weekend brunch.

    Pie Tap Pizza
      

    Courtesy of Pie Tap

    That's what crust looks like when its dough is fermented for 96 hours.

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