a winner in our hearts

Blooming Bellaire cafe gets edged out by Philly eatery on Good Morning America's big breakfast battle finale

A Bellaire restaurant came up a little short in its quest to serve America’s best breakfast. Although Good Morning America did not select Dandelion Cafe’s chicken and waffle as the winner of its United States of Breakfast competition, the restaurant stood tall on the national stage.

A panel of celebrity judges — consisting of lifestyle expert Carson Kressley, Shark Tank’s Barbara Corcoran, chef Leah Cohen, and TV food personality Adam Richman — awarded the title, and a check for $10,000, to the pastrami, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwich prepared by Philadelphia restaurant Middle Child.

Represented by its owners, husband-and-wife chef JC Ricks and founder Sarah Lieberman, Dandelion earned a vote from Corcoran. Richman waffled (sorry) between Dandelion and Middle Child before siding with Kressley and voting for the pastrami sandwich.

“I’m a Brooklyn guy. I practice the Jew-craft. I’m telling you, the pastrami — for me to give Philly love on pastrami, it’s remarkable,” Richman said during the segment.

Boston’s North Street Grill earned Cohen’s vote for its Banana Bourbon French Toast. Cleveland’s Grumpy’s Cafe served a breakfast hash.

As a reminder, Dandelion advanced to the competition’s finals by besting Midtown favorite The Breakfast Klub in a chicken and waffle battle. Chef Ricks tells CultureMap that he created his recipe — a cornbread-buttermilk waffle that’s topped with a spicy maple butter and paired with a 24-hour marinated chicken that’s breaded in a mix of rice and all-purpose flour — specifically for the show. Dandelion has been serving (and selling out of) its chicken and waffle all week.

"We may not have taken home the grand prize, but we still consider this journey and surreal experience to be a huge win for us," Ricks said in a statement "We are extremely proud to represent our city in front of the country and hold the title of best breakfast in Houston, and it's absolutely a win in our book to be in the top four breakfast spots in America. We can't wait to get back to Houston to serve you all."

Dandelion is poised to build on the momentum of this week's media attention. The restaurant has identified a location in the Heights that will allow it to expand to a second location. Details on the address and timing will be released in the coming weeks.

Photo by Pop Studios PR

Owners JC Ricks and Sarah Lieberman represented Dandelion Cafe.

Watch the whole segment in the clip below:

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Anthony's song

Prolific Houston pizza chef fires up a new Italian restaurant in River Oaks

Courtesy of Anthony's New York Italian

Anthony's New York Italian is now open near Central Market.

One of Houston’s most prolific pizzaiolos has quietly opened a new restaurant in River Oaks. Anthony Russo, founder of Russo’s New York Pizzeria, has opened Anthony’s New York Italian in the former Pie Tap Pizza space at 3748 Westheimer.

While Russo is known primarily for his fast casual restaurants that sling New York-style pies, Anthony’s New York Italian is both more personal and more upscale. It takes inspiration from his Italian heritage — his father grew up in Naples and his mother grew up in Sicily — as well as Russo’s Italian Restaurant, the Galveston eatery his parents operated for almost 20 years.

“We had veal, lobster, Gulf snapper, a lot of nice, classic dishes. There’s where I grew up in the kitchen,” Russo tells CultureMap. “I was always around fine dining restaurants. My mom and dad used to bring in chefs from Italy. They were excellent chefs. That’s what we had in Galveston for 18 years.”

With Russo’s at more than 50 locations, the time felt right to open a more upscale concept. Partially inspired by New York restaurants such as Carbone and Quality Italian, Russo thinks Houstonians will appreciate his high-end take on Italian American fare.

The menu includes lobster fra diavolo, a 24-ounce prime porterhouse, bone-in veal parmesan, frutti di mare (shellfish with tomato sauce over pappardelle), and more. In addition, the dish utilize Italian olive oil that’s pressed by one of the chef’s friends. Anthony’s also makes all of its doughs, sauces, and sausage in house.

Of course, Russo is making pizza, too. They’re baked in imported Italian ovens using slightly different dough and sauce recipes — along with imported mozzarella and burrata — than his more casual restaurants.

And, no, Russo isn’t concerned that a pizzeria lasted less than a year in the space.

“I feel confident this location is going to be a killer for us. We make homemade pasta on site here, fresh from scratch.” he says. “We're bringing fresh lobster. We're bringing fresh clams. We got a nice veal chop. I mean, these are all chef-selected ingredients. I don't think anybody's doing that in town right now.”

The restaurant is still in such early days that it doesn’t have its own website or social media pages yet. For now, diners can follow Russo on Instagram for updates.

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Anthony's New York Italian is open for dinner Monday-Thursday beginning at 4 pm. It’s open for lunch and dinner on Friday and Saturday beginning at 11 am. Reservations are available on OpenTable.

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