take it slow

Favorite Houston coffee shop and cafe brews up fourth location in West U

Breakfast is available all day at Slowpokes.

Photo by Becca Wright

A growing Houston coffee shop and cafe will soon debut its fourth location. The newest Slowpokes will open Monday, November 28 in West University Place (6725 Stella Link Road).

Slowpokes has developed a devoted following thanks to its combination of coffee, beer, and wine that are paired with a diverse food menu built around sandwiches, flatbread pizzas, and breakfast items. Those three beverages are represented by three mascots: a turtle named Mash (beer), a snail named Tasker Alexander (wine), and a sloth named Patches (coffee).

First opened in Garden Oaks in 2016 by owner Mazen Baltagi — a Houstonian hospitality veteran who’s a partner in establishments such as Christian’s Tailgate and the Warwick — Slowpokes has grown to locations in Upper Kirby and Spring Branch.

“It’s been incredible to see how the local community has shaped each of our locations into something unique, and we’re really excited to see what that means for our friends here in West U,” Baltagi said in a statement.

The new location seats 50 people indoors and more on an outdoor patio. Slowpokes posted a sneak peek of the new location’s interior on Instagram.

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Slowpokes fans will find the same menu as the other three locations, which means favorites like the chicken pesto panino, salmon bagel, and brie and pear flatbread (known as the Let it Be) are all available. A rotating selection of pastries and baked goods come from a number of local purveyors, including Michael’s Cookie Jar, Sinfull Bakery, and Angela’s Oven.

On the beverage side, looks for a full coffee program that features seasonal specials such as the Punkin’ Pie Latte, the Snickerdoodle Latte, and the Peppermint Mocha Latte. Beers come from local breweries such as 8th Wonder, Eureka Heights, Saint Arnold and more. Slowpokes’ wine selection rotates regularly. Diners may grab-and-go or linger into happy hour that features $4 draft beers, $5 wines by-the-glass, and $10 flatbreads.

“We’re genuinely so grateful for the communities that have embraced us,” Baltagi added. “We hope we’ve been able to better our regulars’ lives as much as they have ours and we’re looking forward to expanding our reach in Houston.”

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truffle shuffle

Fine dining chef serves up casual sandwich shop in Houston suburb

Photo by Hungry AF Media

Richmond may not be top of mind among the Houston suburbs with destination-worthy restaurants — other than Larry’s Original Mexican, of course — but a new cafe could have sandwich lovers from across greater Houston contemplating a visit to Fort Bend County.

Meet Truffle & Rye Market & Café. The new restaurant, which celebrated its grand opening earlier this month, serves breakfast and lunch Monday through Saturday. In the morning, look for freshly baked pastries such as muffins and banana bread alongside breakfast sandwiches that are made with organic sourdough bagels.

Lunch is built around sandwiches made with freshly baked schiacciata bread, an Italian-style flatbread that’s similar to focaccia, that Truffle & Rye sources from Houston's Artisan Bread Gallery. They include The Pig (mortadella, stracciatella, pistachio, pesto, and pistachio crumble), The Boar (spicy salami, whipped ricotta cheese, Italian pepper spread, and arugula), and The Bird (roasted turkey, basil pesto, provolone, roasted tomato, and arugula). Three salads are also available.

Beverage options include a full coffee program, including lattes made with Mill-King milk and house made syrups, as well as teas, lemonade, and bottles of wine.

Truffle and Rye restaurant Kaitlyn Chavez and Joey Chavez Truffle and Rye owners Kaitlyn and Joey Chavez.Courtesy of Truffle & Rye Market & Café

Photo by Hungry AF Media

The Bird is made with turkey, pesto, provolone, and roasted tomatoes.

Chef Joey Chavez and his wife Kaitlyn are the husband-and-wife duo behind Truffle & Rye. Prior to launching his private chef company The Hidden Truffle, chef Chavez worked at a number of notable restaurants, including The French Laundry, Thomas Keller’s legendary, three-star Michelin fine dining restaurant in California; the Caribou Club in Aspen; and Brennan’s of Houston, where he had a brief stint as executive chef. Kaitlyn Chavez also brings top-level hospitality experience, having worked for The Ritz Carlton luxury hotel chain.

“We built The Hidden Truffle around private dining and elevated experiences,” Kaitlyn shares. “But we kept coming back to the idea of wanting something for our community, somewhere people could come in regularly, feel taken care of, and enjoy food that still holds that same level of quality.”

While the restaurant won’t serve dinner daily, it will be open on select nights for wine tastings, sourdough classes, pop-up dinners, and other happenings.

Although he has a fine dining background, chef Chavez said he’s excited to bring this more casual concept to Richmond. “We wanted to build something we would want to go to ourselves,” he said. “A place where the food is intentional, the ingredients matter, and people feel comfortable coming in multiple times a week.”

Truffle & Rye is located in Richmond at 107 S. Third Street. It opens at 7 am Monday-Thursday and 8 am on Friday and Saturday.

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