Dining for a cause

Houston restaurants and bars think pink with cool cocktails and dishes for Breast Cancer Awareness Month

As we know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and restaurants and bars across the city are offering multiple ways diners can pay tribute to this important cause.

Proceeds from specialty dishes and cocktails will be donated to various breast cancer nonprofits (some listed below). Diners looking to support this important cause should check out these pink picks of fun dishes and drinks from a host of Houston restaurants, coffee bars, bars, and more below.

Amrina
The Woodlands hot spot is serving the Pink Ribbon cocktail this month. It's a blend of High West Double Rye, Amaro Nonino, fresh lime juice, and raspberry puree, topped off with a splash of lime-yuzu soda, making it a cool refresher for Houston's current patio weather. $1 from each drink will be donated to Houston Methodist Cancer Center.

Arnaldo Richards' Picos
The Upper Kirby Mexican favorite hosts a special Pink Ribbon Brunch on Sunday, October 15 from 9 am - 4 pm. The restaurant is donating $5 from every adult brunch and $2 from every child brunch to The Rose Breast Center of Excellence. The buffet includes options such as migas, ceviche, tamales, a carving station, and build-your-own waffle and omelet stations. The cost is $42 for adults and $30 for children. Learn more and make reservations online.

Can't make brunch? Stop in all month long for the signature Pico Rita and know that $1 from its sales are going to The Rose.

BB’s Tex-Orleans
All locations are taking part in supporting breast cancer awareness this month. Diners can purchase the Big Shrimpin' Platter, which includes a half pound of boiled shrimp, six fried shrimp, six grilled Creole lemon shrimp, shrimp and grits, shrimp cocktail, and corn and potatoes, for $34.99. BB's will donate $3 from every platter sold to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

Bread Zepplin
Stop in for the Pink Lady Salad, a special creation for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It's a combination of Pink Lady apples with candied pecans, creamy goat cheese, tangy red onions, and grilled chicken, tossed with Arcadian salad mix and spinach, and crowned with a Champagne vinaigrette. Proceeds from its sales will go to The Rose.

Dessert Gallery
This sweet spot has created special confections in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Choose form Raspberry Sugar Cookies or Pink Ribbon Cookies, available for $4.95 each. A portion of the sales from the treats will go to Metavivor, an organization dedicated to advancing metastatic breast cancer research, providing essential support, and raising awareness.

Etoile
Diners who opt for the four-course, pre-fixe menu this month will be helping the restaurant support The Nancy Owens Breast Cancer Foundation, a nonprofit service that provides financial support to charities that are in the fight against breast cancer. The menu includes selections of appetizers, entrees, and desserts, featuring classic French fare. The cost is $74 per person and $8 will be donated to the nonprofit. Diners opting for the three-course brunch menu, which is $38 per person, will see $4 of their purchase donated.

J-Bar-M Barbecue
Head downtown for the restaurant's Rose Cinnamon Roll, a giant, gooey confection smothered with strawberry icing and crowned with a sprinkle of freeze-dried strawberries for $18. A portion of proceeds from this month's sales of the themed twist on a menu signature will be donated to The Rose.

Los Tios
Stop by any of the six Los Tios locations across the city this month and sample the restaurant's strawberry margarita. Los Tios will donate $1 from the sale of each cocktail, available frozen or on the rocks, to The Rose.

Marmo
Drink pink at the Montrose Italian chophouse throughout October. The restaurant is donating $1 from every glass of rosé sold this month to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Whether sipping the Cesarini Sforza Brut Rosé ($18 a glass), made from Chardonnay and Pinot Nero, with its hints of bright red fruit and a zesty ting, or the Scaia Rondinella ($12 a glass) noted for its bright bang of strawberries and lemon, or any other specials on the wine list, the result is the same: drinkers get a great wine, and a great cause is supported.

Ojo de Agua
The Mexico City newcomer in River Oaks District donates $1 from every bright pink Pitaya Bowl to The Rose. The dish is sorbet served with banana, raspberry, blueberry, plum, and topping of coconut flakes that costs $16 for one scoop or $23 for two.

Southside Sporting Club
The Stafford gathering spot offers a special Breast Cancer Awareness Month cocktail, the Drink Pink Rita. It's a frozen margarita infused with juicy watermelon and tropical pineapple. Proceeds from its sales will go to The Rose. The Sporting Club's sister establishments, KAMP Houston and Prospect Park, each have their own take on frose this month, and are also giving proceeds to The Rose.

Sugar Frk
The new dessert café in Midtown's Post Midtown Square development has two specials created to honor Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The Double Strawberry Glaze Donut is a strawberry glaze doughnut striped with strawberry caramel and strawberry buttercream sprinkles. The Frosé is a frozen, blended rosé wine concoction. Sugar Frk will donate a portion of the proceeds from sales of each to The Rose.

Tacos A Go Go
All locations of the fast casual favorite are serving up a special taco for the month of October. The Ta Ta Taco is served in a vibrant pink corn tortilla, colored with beet juice, and filled with shredded chicken, julienne carrots, crispy jicama, pickled onions and radish, and cilantro, then topped with xoconostle cactus fruit sauce. Proceeds from sales of the dish go to The Rose.

Taste Kitchen + Bar
The Blood Orange Lemon Drop Bold Martini was created in honor of the bold women and men battling and surviving breast cancer. Throughout Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Taste will donate a portion of the proceeds for every Bold Martini sold ito The Rose.

Three Brothers Bakery
Inspired by a family member's battle against breast cancer, all of the bakery's locations will donate 50 percent of the proceeds of its pink ribbon delicacies to Janice's Race for the Cure fundraising efforts on behalf of the Susan. G. Komen Foundation. Some of the options include a pink ribbon petit four pack of six for $15.99, a six pack of pink ribbon gingerbread men for $34.99, or a pink ribbon cake for $49.99.

Truluck's
The upscale seafood spot is partnering with winemaker J. Lohr this month for a program the restaurant is calling "parings with purpose." For each bottle of J. Lohr Carol’s Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon sold, Truluck's will donate $20 to the National Breast Cancer Foundation’s breast cancer education and early detection programs. Priced at $138 per bottle, the Napa wine has notes of dark berry and spice, according to Truluck's.

Wild
The Montrose coffee shop, bar, and dispensary has crafted a special cocktail for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It's the Wild Dragon, made with Diplomatico Mantuano, Cointreau, Falernum, "Dragon’s Blood," and lime and pineapple juices, creating a multilayered drink. Proceeds from the drink will benefit The Rose.

Courtesy of Adair Concepts

Los Tios will donate $1 from every strawberry margarita sold in October to The Rose.

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food news roundup

6 things to know in Houston food: Openings, a closing, and more

Photo by Madelynne Grace

Atlantic Ocean recently opened on Washington Avenue.

From an intimate new Italian restaurant in West U. to the surprise shutter of a Midtown pickleball venue, the Houston food scene moves pretty fast. Read on to find out how Winsome Prime is celebrating its anniversary, an Atlanta chef who just opened his first Houston restaurant, and an exciting new dinner series that’s bringing one of Austin’s best chefs to the Heights for a one-night-only meal.

Openings and closings

Osteria di Mercato has opened in West University Place. A sister concept to Mercato and Company, a gourmet grocer that opened last year, the 30-seat, dinner-only restaurant aims to serve traditional Italian fare in an intimate environment. The menu features dishes such as saffron arancini, tuna crudo with passion fruit chili sauce, fettuccine with braised rabbit, smoked ricotta and spinach agnoloti, swiss chard-stuffed quail.

Executive chef Mauricio Alvarado spent 16 years working for various Tony Vallone restaurants, including Ciao Bello, Vallone’s, and Tony’s. The Michelin Guide designated general manager Marco Thompson as Toronto’s sommelier of the year in 2023.

The restaurant is open Tuesday through Saturday from 5:30-9:30 pm. Reservations are available on Resy.

Atlantic Ocean has opened in the former Passerella space at 6011 Washington Ave. Open for dinner Wednesday through Sunday, the wide-ranging menu offers seafood dishes from around the globe.

Starters include cornmeal-crusted crab cake, chargrilled oysters, clams calabrese, and Moroccan lamb shots. Entrees offer similar diversity, ranging from blackened redfish and grilled branzino with chimichurri and citrus mojo to a soy-martinated ribeye and lobster pasta that’s made with butter-poached claw meat.

Chef-owner Virgil Harper is best known for Toast on Lenox, his acclaimed brunch concept in Atlanta. He’s joined in the kitchen by executive chef and partner Aliyah Watley.

"Atlantic Ocean was created to deliver a dining experience where every detail feels intentional, from the quality of the seafood to the warmth of the service and the atmosphere around you,” Harper said in a statement. “Houston’s dynamic food culture makes it the perfect home for this concept, and we’re excited to share a menu that respects seafood traditions while bringing a fresh, creative perspective."

Midtown pickleball bar Solarium has closed, according to its Instagram page. Opened in April 25, the bar transformed the former Holman Draft Hall space with six outdoor courts and five private rooms to watch the action.

Solarium was a joint venture between the Kirby Group and Rex Hospitality, the restaurant group owned by Astros pitcher Lance McCullers, Jr. and his business partners, Juan Carlos de Aldecoa and Jimmy Doan. Earlier this year, Rex closed its Maven Coffee location in Sawyer Yards to concentrate on its wholesale business that sells coffee products such as cold brew concentrate.

Other news and notes

Zaranda, Hugo Ortega’s California-inspired restaurant in downtown, is now open Sunday. It will serve an a la carte brunch from 11 am-3 pm. Options include cornbread with Mandarin-honey butter; tostada de campechana with octopus, shrimp, raw oysters, cucumber, avocado, ancho-morita purée, Clamato, Maggi, soy, and olive oil; steak and eggs with refried beans, guacamole, salsa, and flour tortillas; Baja breakfast burrito with bacon, chorizo, scrambled eggs, potato, onion, salsa roja y verde, avocado, and cheese-crusted sobaquera; chilaquiles with shredded chicken, sunny-side-up eggs, totopos, salsa verde, crema, and housemade queso fresco; and more. It will also be open for dinner from 4-9 pm.

Winsome Prime is celebrating its fifth anniversary with a limited time menu. The three-course, $50, prix fixe menu includes choices such as chili-glazed shrimp, crab beignets, spinach and artichoke dip, kung pao pasta, and chicken royale. Upgrade to the signature Hawaiian ribeye — a nod to the location once being home to Houston’s — for $10. Choose one of three desserts to complete the meal.

Food events

Doke concepts will host a series of guest chef dinners in April, May, and June. Each evening will begin with champagne and hors d’oeuvres at Lazy Land. Diners will then be driven to The Green Room for a three-course dinner, followed by dessert cocktails and s’mores at Heights & Co. The lineup includes chefs recognized by the Michelin Guide and the most recent winner of the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Texas.

April 15: Joseph Geiskopf, chef and co-owner of The On’ry, a traveling culinary concept based out of Houston, formerly of Ciel and Credence
April 29: Kevin Fink, chef and co-owner of Emmer and Rye Hospitality, which operates Michelin-recognized restaurants Emmer & Rye, Hestia, Isidore, and others.
May 13: Louis Maldonado, a former Top Chef contestant who held one Michelin star at Cortez restaurant in San Francisco.
May 26: Thomas Bille, chef-owner of Belly of the Beast in Spring and 2025 James Beard Award winner for Best Chef: Texas
June 10: To be announced
June 24: Ryan Lachine, executive chef of State of Grace, formerly chef-owner of Riel

Photo by Madelynne Grace

Atlantic Ocean recently opened on Washington Avenue.

“This dinner party series is designed to give our guests an upscale, unique dining experience while highlighting each of our restaurants' distinct personalities,” Doke Concepts owner Brian Doke said in a statement. “With the help of our incredible guest chefs, we’re confident we’re going to give our guests an unforgettable evening.

Tickets will be available via the Lazy Lane website.

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