Chef Chris Williams is making big changes to Late August, his Michelin-recommended, Afro-Mexican restaurant in Midtown. After a two-week pause in September, the restaurant, which opened last spring in the Ion mixed-use development, will switch things up with a new menu and a modified design that are designed to turn it into a destination-worthy dining experience.
The biggest changes will be at dinner, where Late August will offer two distinct options — cocktails and shareable snacks in a renovated bar/lounge area and a seven to nine-course tasting menu in the main dining room. As Williams explains, replacing the dining room’s a la carte menu with a tasting will better showcase the talents of executive chef Sergio Hidalgo and the produce being grown at Lucille’s 1913, the restaurant’s affiliated farm in Kendleton, Texas.
“I want everyone to break bread together and have the same experience,” Williams tells CultureMap. “This is the best way to do it. I want to make it approachable. We’re not trying to get rich off this. We want to slow down and lean into who we are and what we believe in. Take the ride.”
Later, he adds, “It’s [also] a great opportunity to slow down and train our staff. They don’t have to sell. They have to hold [diners’] hands as they go through the experience. We’ve gotten enough feedback that we know it will be well received by our core audience.”
Popular dishes from the current a la carte menu, such as mustard green memelitas and 1913 salad, will be reworked for a tasting menu format, while dishes such as field pea hummus with fry bread will be served in the lounge. In addition, Hidalgo will introduce new, seasonally-inspired dishes for the tasting menu such as a tuna aguachile and stuffed okra with she-crab bisque. Pastry chef Jennifer Parsons, a cousin of Williams’ who recently moved to Houston, will contribute a banana pudding-stuffed churro (with more to come).
To keep things relatively affordable, the tasting menu will be priced at $95. An optional wine pairing will be $55.
“We want to give you everything in the way we like to eat,” Williams says. “I get bored with entrees. I like snacks. I like to keep it moving. It’s a way to force that experience at an accessible price point.”
As for the wine list, Late August will continue to feature wineries that are owned by women and minorities, as well as those using biodynamic and organic practices, but Williams wants to provide as much value in the wine pairings as the tasting menu does on the plate.
“I want to have a couple of bangers, some Old World juice that runs us $200 a bottle to give you something you’re familiar with,” he says. “Let’s give the people that know a really good return on their investment and deepen the experience.”
The interior changes to the bar and lounge are expected to take approximately 10 days. Late August is scheduled to reopen with its new tasting menu on September 17. Reservations will go live on OpenTable beginning September 5.
Photo by Rebekah Flores
Here's a sneak peek at the new dishes coming to Late August.
A to-go window will expedite orders for people in the Stomping Grounds' green space.Courtesy of Stomping Grounds