Meet the Tastemakers

9 best Houston bars for 2023 mix legendary local faves with must-visit newcomers

The time has come to profile the nominees for Bar of the Year in the 2023 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards. Our panel of local restaurant industry experts selected these establishments for a range of reasons.

Some have been on the scene for more than a decade. Others opened in 2022. Of course, they’re united by serving excellent drinks, but lots of bars meet the minimum standard of using recognizable spirits, fresh juices, and other components of modern cocktail culture.

Standing out requires consistently excellent hospitality that makes customers feel welcome. These bars also demonstrate creativity through menu updates and seasonal specials. When they’re really locked in, a customer may taste something they’ve never experienced before.

Who will win? Find out April 13 at our Tastemaker Awards ceremony. Dine on bites from this year’s nominees, sip cocktails from our sponsors, and witness as our emcee Bun B reveals the winners. Buy your tickets before they sell out.

Anvil
This pioneering Houston cocktail bar remains one of the city’s most satisfying places to get a drink. The extensive back bar rewards those looking to try spirits from around the world, including the “break even bottle” that offers a pricey sip at cost. While the extensively trained bartenders can make any classic a patron might request, the seasonal menu allows the staff to showcase its creativity. While specific bartenders come and go, longtime general manager Tommy Ho helps provide consistency from year to year.

Captain Foxheart's Bad News Bar & Spirit Lodge
As it prepares to celebrate its 11th anniversary, give Bad News Bar credit for its longevity. All of the other establishments that opened around the same time it did have faded away, but Bad News endures. Part of the credit probably goes to the thrill of discovery that comes from the unmarked location, but it’s more about the impressive spirit selection, consistently well executed cocktails, and extremely knowledgeable staff. Just don’t touch the lamps.

Clarkwood
Since it opened at the very end of 2021, this bar near Allen Parkway has been one of Houston’s premier party spots. On any given night, the dimly lit room might host an appearance by the likes of Eva Longoria or Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston to promote their spirits brands. While customers come back for the bar’s signature espresso martini, regulars know that owners Mason Clark and Army Sadeghi devote just as much attention to the well-curated wine list. With a new patio expected to open soon, Clarkwood will be even more popular in the months to come.

Double Trouble
This Midtown staple has new energy courtesy of a recent remodel by Houston’s Gin Design Group. While the look may be new, the bar remains devoted to serving both top-notch coffee and expertly crafted drinks — some of which incorporate coffee, of course. More than the drinks, the bar prides itself on the hospitality shown to regulars and newcomers alike. Keep in mind that Double Trouble signatures like the frozen Suffering Bastard and Captain’s Orders (a Manhattan riff) are available beginning at 11 am daily, making it the perfect place to spend a lazy afternoon.

EZ's Liquor Lounge
Agricole Hospitality’s newest bar takes its inspiration from the sort of casual, neighborhood hangouts that thrived in the era when it was still legal to smoke indoors. Partner Matt Tanner scoured Texas and beyond for the right vintage neon, advertisements, and taxidermy to capture the retro look.

Just don’t call it a “dive bar.” First, the concept of a “new dive bar” is absurd. More importantly, the expertly prepared drinks are made with an attention to detail that far exceeds the places that inspired EZ’s decor.

Grand Prize
This restaurant industry favorite keeps going as it always has, serving tasty cocktails — don’t skip the rotating frozen special — at reasonable prices. The come-as-you-are attitude makes it welcoming for people of all ages and stations in life, whether that’s students catching up over Lone Stars or well-dressed society types grabbing a nightcap after a gala. While consistency is a Grand Prize hallmark, the creativity of the Trophy Case Kitchen and the return of the backyard patio have given it a bit of new life. Special events upstairs keep things fresh.

Johnny's Gold Brick
When this bar opened in 2015, it seemed destined to be known for its menu of $8 house cocktails (now $9.99, still quite a deal) that are painted on the wall. Instead, Johnny’s has emerged as the home to a wildly talented staff that creates a new cocktail menu every month. That relentless creativity draws a talented staff who, after honing their skills at Johnny's for a few years, can then go off and spread the gospel of good cocktails to other projects around town. The staff ensures everyone gets top notch service — whether they're indulging in one of the menus latest creations or enjoying a delicious, $10 Old Fashioned.

Quiote
Hidden inside The Toasted Coconut, this intimate, dimly lit bar offers a very different atmosphere than the tropical environment that surrounds itself. As loud rock ‘n roll booms over the vintage stereo, customers sip thoughtfully prepared drinks made with a variety of Mexican spirits. They’re paired with a tidy menu of hot and cold dishes that utilize Mexican techniques and ingredients. Quiote’s overall experience is so thoughtfully presented that it’s recognized in two other Tastemaker Awards categories — Bartender of the Year and Rising Star Chef of the Year.

Refuge
When Anvil owner Bobby Heugel called Refuge his “best bar yet,” cocktail-obsessed Houstonians immediately took notice. Essentially, it blends the lessons of operating establishments such as Anvil, Tongue-cut Sparrow, and the Pastry War with Heugel’s visits to bars all over the world. The result is a bar that’s dark, loud, and energetic with cocktails that incorporate premium spirits and service that balances friendliness and formality. In other words, it’s a whole lot of fun.

Photo by Eric Sandler

Quiote.

tastemakers

eat real food

Houston DJ-turned-TikTok star cooks up a cult following one recipe at a time

Courtesy of Uncle Dibbz

Uncle Dibbz, a.k.a. A.H. Bowden, has built a devoted following for his viral recipes.

For the past month, Uncle Dibbz has been, shall we say, going ham on social media with the myriad videos of alternative Thanksgiving dishes. He’s dropped how-to clips for such recipes as Cajun-roasted turkey, honey-baked ham/hens, oven-bag turkey, and six-piece fried turkey (to go). Basically, if you don’t want to cook a bland ol’ Butterball this Turkey Day, Dibbz has you covered.

Who is Dibbz, you say? Well, he’s a North Jersey-born, Georgia-bred, Houston-based chef who’s been building quite the foodie rep online. Several videos across his TikTok, Instagram and YouTube pages, from his Cajun-boiled fried chicken (2 million on IG) to his “Propose to Me Pasta” (12.3 million on TikTok), has amassed millions of views. But Dibbz (government name: A.H. Bowden) wasn’t always a culinary content creator. He used to spin music back in Atlanta as DJ DiBiase, named after retired wrestler Ted “The Million Dollar Man” DiBiase. “DiBiase is a mouthful to say, so people just always call me ‘D’ or ‘Dibbz’ for short,” says Bowden, 37, during a Zoom interview.

@uncledibbz PROPOSE To Me PASTA 💍 🍝 Trust your Uncle! This SEAFOOD Pasta will seal the deal 👌🏽 Get my recipe below ⬇️ or on uncledibbz.com [@uncledibbz Link in Bio] 🌐 **Ingredients:** - 8 ounces spaghetti - 1 lb mixed seafood (shrimp, scallops, crab meat, etc.) - 2 tablespoons olive oil - Fresh chopped basil - 2 cloves garlic, minced - 1/2 cup white wine - 1/4 cup heavy cream - 2 tablespoons unsalted butter - Salt and pepper to taste - Uncle Dibbz Delta Dust [link in bio] - Fresh parsley, chopped (for garnish) - Grated Parmesan cheese (for garnish) **Instructions:** 1. Cook the spaghetti pasta according to the package instructions until al dente. Drain and set aside. 2. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the minced garlic, chopped basil and sauté for about 1 minute until fragrant. 3. Add the mixed seafood to the skillet. Season with Uncle Dibbz Delta Dust to taste and cook for 2-3 minutes until cooked through. Remove the seafood from the skillet and set aside. 4. Pour in the white wine to the skillet and let it simmer for 2 minutes, allowing the alcohol to cook off. 5. Stir in the heavy cream, butter, Uncle Dibbz Delta Dust seasoning, salt, and pepper. Cook for another 2-3 minutes until the sauce thickens slightly. 6. Add the cooked spaghetti and cooked mixed seafood to the skillet. Toss everything together until well coated with the sauce. 7. Remove from heat and garnish with fresh parsley and grated Parmesan cheese. 8. Serve hot and enjoy the flavorful Seafood Spaghetti. That's good Shawty! #UncleDibbz #ThatsGoodShawty #Pasta #marryme #proposal #bride #wife #husband #relationshipgoals #datenight #easyrecipe #seafood #cajun #cooking #fyp #foryou #viral #houston ♬ original sound - Uncle Dibbz 🍴

He was making a nice living as a DJ, even serving as rapper Big K.R.I.T.’s touring DJ for a while. But when the pandemic hit, the gigs obviously dried up.

“I was living in Miami at the time,” he says. “And, you know, when you have a lot of time on your hands to think – but also need to figure out a way to, you know, sustain an income and everything like that – the ideas start coming,”

Like most DJs at that time, he was doing live mixes on Instagram. But his days throwing cookout parties in Atlanta inspired him to start doing his cooking videos, where he used his very own seasoning. Of course, he had a lemon pepper blend, which he used in a lemon pepper hot wings video that currently has over a half-million views on TikTok.

“I'm about to go live to DJ later that night, and my phone was just going off with orders,” he recalls. “So I'm like, where are these orders coming from? And it's not from my friends. I'm seeing the cities and the states. I don't know these people.”

Thanks to his videos, which usually end with him saying his signature line “That’s good shawty!” (that’s also the name of his cookbook he released last year), Dibbz went into the seasoning business full time. He eventually hired another person to help send out the piles of orders he was receiving.

He even got an order from former Dallas Cowboy Emmitt Smith, one of his favorite athletes. “I remember doing a book report on him when I was in fourth grade,” he boasts.

Although Dibbz has a flair for making meals that border on decadent, he’s an ardent practitioner of cooking with natural ingredients, especially in his seasoning. He has several low-sodium seasoning, including Bebe’s Salt Free – named after his mother, who had open-heart surgery a few weeks before the pandemic started.

“I don't think a lot of people understand the amount of toxins and chemicals that go into a lot of these seasonings,” he says. “You're starting to see it in the news now. A lot of the foods with certain dyes are being taken off the shelves and things like that.’

Soon, Dibbz moved himself and his new business to Houston, a favorite place to perform as well as a town whose hip-hop got him into music. He cites local chopped-and-screwed gods DJ Screw, Michael 5000 Watts, and OG Ron C as his holy trinity of influences. To give props to the music of his new home, he created a hot sauce – called HXT Sauce – whose uncharacteristically large bottle resembles Promethazine cough syrup (aka the key ingredient in lean, the preferred purple cocktail for the city’s rap community).

“It's not necessarily about promoting that usage,” he says. “But, at the same time, it’s just a homage to one of the factors and influences of screwed-and-chopped music.”

Dibbz still indulges in spinning records from time to time. The Waxaholics’ DJ Big Reeks has gotten him to break out the vinyl a few times during his Thursday-night sets at Alley Kat Bar & Lounge in Midtown. But creating new recipes, dropping delicious content and proving you can eat and live in a hearty, healthy fashion still remains his full-time mission.

“I’m not just talking about eating cauliflower rice all day and every day, but just eat real food,” he says. “We're eating fake food. That's the bottom line. We're eating fake food and my whole purpose is to inspire people to eat real food and that starts with real ingredients, real herbs, you know – real natural seasonings.”

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