Two top Texas restaurants are teaming up for a one-night-only pop-up that will feature creative cooking and thoughtful wine pairings. Houston’s Rosie Cannonball and Austin’s Birdie’s are uniting on Monday, September 14 for an evening they’re calling Birdie’s Cannonball.
Held at Rosie Cannonball, the event will feature a menu created by Birdie’s chef Tracy Malechek-Ezekiel and Goodnight Hospitality partner Felipe Riccio, who created many of Rosie Cannonball’s signature dishes and leads the kitchen at March, Rosie Cannonball’s Michelin-starred sister concept. Arjav Ezekiel, Birdie’s co-owner and a James Beard Award winner for Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service, will team up with Goodnight Hospitality partner and master sommelier June Rodil to select wine pairings for the night.
“This collaboration came together the way the best restaurant ideas usually do: over years of eating, drinking, traveling, talking shop, and saying, ‘We should really do something together,’” Rodil said in response to CultureMap’s request for comment on the collaboration.
“All of the Goodnight partners make a point of going to Birdie’s whenever we’re in Austin, because we genuinely love what Tracy and Arjav have built: the food, the people, and their fiercely independent spirit. Bringing our teams together feels less like a formal collaboration and more like finally hosting the dinner party we’ve all been meaning to throw,” she added.
Both restaurants have earned plenty of acclaim. In addition to Ezekiel’s Beard Award, Birdie’s has earned a Best New Restaurant award from Bon Appetit, been named Food & Wine magazine’s Restaurant of the Year in 2023, holds a spot on the New York Times’ list of “The 25 Best Restaurants in Austin Right Now,” and earned a Recommended designation from the Michelin Guide.
For its part, Rosie Cannonball and Goodnight Hospitality have earned their fair share of national attention, including a James Beard Award finalist nomination for Rodil, a Michelin Bib Gourmand designation for Rosie Cannonball, and Best New Restaurant awards from Esquire and Robb Report for March.
The evening will also serve as a homecoming for Malechek-Ezekiel, a native Houstonian and a graduate of the UH Conrad N. Hilton College of Global Hospitality Leadership. The meal will be her first time cooking professionally at a restaurant in her hometown.
Seats are priced at $200 per person, which includes food, tax, and tip. Reservations are only available to Sapphire Reserve credit card holders, as it is presented as part of Birdie’s sponsorship by Chase Sapphire. Find more details on OpenTable.
Birdie's is coming to Houston.
