surf's up(town)

New seafood restaurant freshens up familiar Uptown space with light, coastal fare and expansive patio

The owners of Galleria Italian restaurant il Bracco have more plans for Houston. Balboa Surf Club, a new seafood restaurant from the Dallas-based Western Addition Restaurant Group, will open later this spring.

Described as a Pacific-inspired seafood restaurant, Balboa will occupy the former Masraff’s space that’s also located in the Post Oak Plaza shopping center that’s already home to il Bracco. Western Addition is working with the Michael Hsu Office of Architecture (Uchi, Da Gama) on the design, which will feature an expansive, 1,200-square-foot covered patio that includes a water feature. Other design details include an open fireplace and artwork collected by Western Addition CEO Robert Quick and his wife Mary, Western Addition’s vice president of design.

Western Addition COO Matt Gottlieb tells CultureMap that the company sees an opportunity for a restaurant that’s a little different from the steakhouses and other fine dining restaurants that are popular in the Galleria area. A seafood restaurant will appeal to diners looking for a lighter option for both lunch and dinner, he explains.

“We love seafood,” Gottlieb says. “Balboa is a little different style than we’re seeing done anywhere else. The seafood restaurants we find in Houston are great, but I think our style is a little bit different, a little bit fresher.”

While he isn’t ready to share specific dishes until the menu is finalized, dishes will be influenced by California and Mexico's Pacific coast. A selection of different kinds of sushi will help provide the lighter, fresher options that the restaurant aims to serve. Diners can also expect entree-sized salads, sandwiches that utilized bread baked on-site, and Prime steaks.

Courtesy of Western Addition

Balboa Surf Club will open this spring.

Since Balboa will do all of its butchering in-house, it will be able to serve different preparations of fish, such as a “baseball cut” swordfish that will be cooked medium rare. Gottlieb says he’s working with the restaurant’s seafood purveyors to supply fresh Pacific swordfish at least six months out of the year.

Some of the lessons learned from opening il Bracco will be applied to Balboa. Known for its elegant, midcentury-inspired dining room and dishes such as spicy gemelli pasta and chicken piccata, the Italian restaurant has been bustling since its August opening. Gottlieb acknowledges that the extent to which Houstonians have embraced the restaurant being open all day has been a pleasant surprise.

“We really enjoy the different times people like to dine and the business throughout the evening,” he says.

openings news-you-can-eat

what's on tap

Dough-obsessed pizzeria picks River Oaks for first Houston location

Courtesy of Pie Tap

A Dallas pizzeria known for its artisanal dough is coming to Houston. Pie Tap will open its first Bayou City outpost in June.

Located next to Fielding’s River Oaks in the Novel Residences luxury apartment building, Pie Tap is an endeavor from Dallas restaurateur Rich Hicks and Italian chef Giovanni Mauro. The chef is responsible for the restaurant’s pizza dough, which uses a mother starter and a 96-hour fermentation process that uses natural yeast to achieve a good balance of crunch and chew.

"Without great dough, you can't have great pizza," Mauro told CultureMap Dallas when the first location opened in 2016. "The idea that the crust is simply a vehicle for toppings is the wrong approach. There has to be a perfect balance of sauce and topping, but you have to have a commitment to the dough. If dough is everything it should be, the pizza is stellar."

Using Italian flour and natural yeast are essential components of the dough’s flavor, Mauro added.

"It's the kind of dough our great-grandparents used to eat," he says. "It's a very natural, slow process. We don't use any commercial yeasts. We started a 'mother dough' with a starter that's proprietary to us. It's a five-day process, an absolute minimum of 96 hours, from when we start to when we put the pizza on the plate."

The restaurant uses that dough to create pizzas that include classics like a margherita, pepperoni, and veggie. Some of the more creative options include the Prosciutto (topped with dates, pistachio, arugula, cheese, and balsamic) and the Salami (calabrese salami, fennel sausage, pepperoni, bacon, and mozzarella).

In addition to pizza, the restaurant touts its rotisserie chicken, which is served both as a half bird with mashed cauliflower and vegetables and as part of sandwiches, pastas, and salads. Other pastas include pappardelle bolognese, ricotta gnocchi, and the on-trend rigatoni in spicy vodka sauce.

Having covered “pie,” let’s turn to the “tap” portion of the restaurant’s name. The bar program starts with 30 beers and wines on tap. They’re joined by cocktails, more wines by-the-glass, and non-alcoholic options. Taken together, it’s a compelling package that earned Best New Restaurant in the 2017 CultureMap Dallas Tastemaker Awards.

“Our talented and dedicated team has been anxiously awaiting this exciting entrance to the Houston market as it is the epitome of all things interesting in food and culture and one of the friendliest and most diverse cities in the U.S. When it comes to our brand, if it is not exceptional, it is unacceptable,” Hicks said in a statement. “We are proud that we have one of the most clean, healthy, and delicious artisan pizzas you can enjoy out there because it has no preservatives, fillers, or additives.”

Pie Tap will be open for lunch, dinner, happy hour, and weekend brunch.

Courtesy of Pie Tap

That's what crust looks like when its dough is fermented for 96 hours.

pizza openings news-you-can-eat pie tap