Fortunate Son

2 new Memorial restaurants open with fire-roasted fare and classic cocktails

The wait is almost over for the restaurants Levi Goode describes as his first solo album. Best known as the president of Goode Company Restaurants, the veteran Houston chef and restaurateur will unveil Credence and Sidebar, the first two establishments under his own name, on Tuesday, August 20.

Briefly, the two restaurants are described as follows:

Credence: a South Texas ranch-inspired upscale restaurant devoted to regional American fare prepared with live fire
Sidebar: a reservation-only, retro-inspired cocktail bar and restaurant that will serve steaks, caviar, and other classic American fare.

Photo by Brian Kennedy

Credence's design features arches, brass inlays, and penny tile.

At Credence, diners may look for dishes such as a fire-roasted seafood tower and Gulf snapper with trout roe that’s cooked on the restaurant’s hearth. An extensive raw bar will feature dishes such as crab claws and tuna tartare. At brunch, look for Southern classics like shrimp and grits.

Credence restaurant crab claws Gulf crab claws will be on the menu at Credence.Photo by Brian Kennedy

Sidebar will feature classic cocktails such as a martini with a sidecar (naturally), multiple variations on the Old Fashioned, and a seasonal Pimm’s Cup. It will pair those drinks with steak, caviar, oysters, and other luxurious bites.

Both restaurants will feature tableside service for salads, entrees, and desserts, joining a new trend that’s on display at establishments such as Toca Madera, Turner’s Cut, and The Marigold Club.

Credence restaurant food Tableside duck, anyone?Photo by Brian Kennedy

Located at The McKinley at Memorial City luxury high-rise, the two new establishments are a step up in luxury, refinement, and price from the mostly family friendly offerings Goode Co is known for with concepts such as Goode Co. Kitchen & Cantina, Goode Co. Barbeque, and Goode Co. Seafood — all of which have Memorial-area locations. Press materials go into extensive detail about each restaurant’s design, which was led by the Houston office of global architecture and design firm Gensler.

For example, Credence is defined by the arches that form its double barrel-vaulted ceiling. Details include penny tile, brass inlays, wood floors, antique rugs, and locally made table tops. Sidebar is described as “edgy yet intimate” (seriously) with artwork from photographer Patty Carroll’s “Anonymous Woman” series.

Sidebar restaurant dining room The "edgy yet intimate" dining room of Sidebar.Photo by Brian Kennedy

“The design of Credence and Sidebar is inspired by Levi Goode’s storytelling abilities,” Gensler’s Doug Detiveaux said in a statement. “As we listened to him recount his experiences, we intentionally crafted each space with a specific purpose and personality that is reflective of Levi’s refined tastes and adventurous spirit. The spaces showcase his desire to create a comfortable and down-to-earth experience accented by high design and luxurious materials.”

When Goode announced the concepts last year, he explained the difference between his personal brand and the restaurants established by his father, legendary Houston restaurateur Jim Goode.

“The key difference is the Levi Goode brand is filtered through my personal tastes, travels, experiences, memories — as a fifth-generation Texan, an outdoorsman, a chef, a lover of people coming together around good food, drink and music,” he wrote in an email. “It’s a way for me to flex my creative muscle and take the Goode Co. mission and values into the wild and off the beaten path. We’re both headed the same direction, but if Goode Co.’s route is a paved highway, mine’s a dirt road — expect a few more bumps, turns, and surprises along the way.”

While the idea of a dirt road seems somewhat incongruous as the inspiration for a restaurant that touts its selection of allocated champagnes, Credence and Sidebar should be a welcome addition to the Memorial area’s recent boom of new restaurants. In the last several months, the area has welcomed a wide array of new concepts, including a second location of Montrose barbecue favorite The Pit Room, Texas comfort food restaurant Haywire, an outpost of Austin-based pizzeria Via 313, and, most prominently, Aaron Bludorn’s tavern-inspired restaurant Bar Bludorn.

Reservations for both establishments will go live on Thursday, August 8 via Open Table.

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perfectly paired

2 Michelin-rated Houston restaurants teamed up for taco-fueled fundraiser

Big Brothers Big Sisters Houston Perfect Pairing Pit Room Tatemo

Courtesy of Big Brothers Big Sisters Houston

Michael Sambrooks, Emmanuel Chavez, Humberto Celis, Alexia Ramirez, Matt Harris, and Amber Kelusky.

A chef who leads a Michelin-starred restaurant teamed up with a Michelin-rated Houston barbecue joint to raise money for a local nonprofit that helps young people reach their potential.

Held Sunday, August 30, the Perfect Pairing event united Tatemó chef-owner Emmanuel Chavez with The Pit Room’s Memorial location for an epic evening of tacos, margaritas, and community. Both restaurants are included in the Michelin Guide, with Tatemó holding one star and The Pit Room holding a Bib Gourmand desgination. Michael Sambrooks, founder of The Pit Room’s parent company Sambrooks Hospitality, credits BBBS volunteer and event chair Matt Harris for the original idea behind the event.

“The idea is to have guest chefs, do something lowkey that’s more like a fun party than a big gala,” Sambrooks says. “All the proceeds go to Big Brothers Big Sisters — 100 percent of the ticket sales. We donate all the costs of the space, food, and drinks.”

Harris proposed two styles of ribeye tacos to Chavez that have become trendy in both Texas and Mexico — gaoneras and cachetadas — both wrapped in Tatemó’s signature nixtamalized corn tortillas. The Pit Room’s staff served them to diners alongside papas fritas and smoked corn elotes. Chavez’s signature tuna tostada and huitlacoche quesadilla kicked off the meal, while jackfruit tres leches with Altima caviar ended the night on a sweet note.

“Part of the event is we want people to have fun. We don’t want it to be too fussy, but the food has to be good,” Harris says. “Talking to people in the crowd last night, a lot of people were intrigued and excited because it’s a pretty high level taco. To be able to present them tableside, it just felt right.”

“We were just there with a flat top trying to bust out tacos as fast as we could,” Chavez says. “I felt like I was on Top Chef. There were 30 minutes, you have x amount of people, go.”

Harris credits Sambrooks for providing the organization with such generous support.

“What people saw on the plate was great, but the number of moving parts that it took to make that happen was not small. None of that would be possible without Michael,” Harris says. “It’s very humbling to have someone be that generous and not just open the doors but provide service, provide product, open his relationships with vendors — it doesn’t stop.”

Sambrooks explains that he’s decided to support both Communities in School and Big Brothers Big Sisters with larger events, which allows his company to have a greater impact than if it spread its contributions around more broadly.

“Restaurants always get asked for donations. You’ve got to pick who you want to work with,” Sambrooks says.

Overall, the sold-out crowd of 120 people raised over $12,000 to support Big Brothers Big Sisters mentorship programs. Seen in the crowd were Burger Bodega chef-owner Abbas Dhanani and his wife Nida; Craft Pita chef-owner Raffi Nasr and his wife Brittney, commercial real estate developer John Andell, Leaf & Grain founder Deets Hoffman, former Masterchef contestant Cesar Cano, Houston Business Journal 40 under 40 recipient Chassidy Deckhard, and Houston Chronicle food critic Bao Ong.

Courtesy of Big Brothers Big Sisters Houston

Michael Sambrooks, Emmanuel Chavez, Humberto Celis, Alexia Ramirez, Matt Harris, and Amber Kelusky.

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