cheap beer, good booze

Celebrated Austin-based neighborhood bar finally opens in Houston's East End

The East End’s new neighborhood bar is finally ready to open its doors.

Houston’s outpost of acclaimed Austin-based bar Nickel City will begin its soft opening Friday, March 8 with a grand opening to follow on Friday, March 15.

Courtesy of Nickel City

Get Buffalo wings and beer at Nickel City.

Owner Travis Tober tells CultureMap that he sees Houston as the logical next location to join Nickel City’s existing locations in Austin and Fort Worth.

“In my opinion, Houston is not only the best food city but the best service city, the best cocktail city — not just in Texas but in America. To us, it’s the big leagues,” Tober says.

“You gotta bring it all. You have every type of cuisine, every type of bar, dive bar heaven. It’s the show, as far as I’m concerned, in Texas.”

What he’s bringing is an homage to the bars he grew up going to in Buffalo, New York — “Nickel City” is a nickname for Buffalo. That means a come-as-you-are establishment that’s open daily from noon until 2 am, even on Thanksgiving and Christmas.

“We say it’s the any time, everyone bar. We have regulars from 21 to 91,” Tober says. “It’s important to me that someone can get a beer, a shot of whiskey, and something to eat for under $20. That’s a really good feeling.”

Tober describes the food as “bad for you good food” that’s centered around a Detroit-style slider made with two smashed burger patties and topped with onions, pickles, and mustard. Of course, the Buffalo native has to serve wings; Nickel City’s are brined for 24 hours and tossed in a rotating roster of sauces. Detroit-style coney dogs and fries round out the offerings.

On the cocktail side, the menu starts with “Well Known,” which are the bar’s take on classics like the Old Fashioned or negroni. “Lesser Known” cocktails are recipes sourced from, and credited to, Tober’s favorite bars around the world. Highballs, tiki-inspired tropical drinks, and “Unknowns,” which are more obscure house originals, are also available. Critically, none of them cost more than $13. Then there’s the signature frozen Irish coffee, which can be ordered in a collector’s cup.

“It’s my homage to Erin Rose, which is my favorite bar in New Orleans,” Tober says. “We make our own coffee liqueur [and add] Tullamore Dew Irish whiskey and cream. It comes out perfect.”

Located at 2910 McKinney St., the space has been divided into different rooms, including a covered patio made by removing part of the exterior wall. Tober refers to his interior design aesthetic as “Rust Belt Chic.”

“My grandfather often hung out at these type of bars. He would take me in there. Grab a beer and give me a roll of quarters to play pinball in the corner,” Tober says.

Each Nickel City location has one unique feature. In Austin, it’s a cash-only charity bar. Fort Worth has a second bar with an extensive selection of tequila and mezcal.

For Houston, Tober created the Florida Room, a second bar in the space devoted to rum-based and tiki cocktails. It’s still under construction, but will eventually be open on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Expect to see a retro, ‘80s-style design along with plenty of the pink flamingos that Tober says he saw everywhere while growing up in the Buffalo suburb of Cheektowaga.

Nickel City will celebrate its grand opening with a 99-cent Jim Beam highball for each patron. That promotion will continue during baseball season, when anyone wearing Astros gear or holding a ticket to the day’s game will be rewarded with the same special.

“I’m a Bills fan, but Buffalo doesn’t have a baseball team. I love the Astros. It’s gonna be a good season,” Tober says.

east end openings

a CultureMap Exclusive

Houston's 'Chinese takeout bar from the future' touches down in Webster

Courtesy of The Rice Box

A rendering previews The Rice Box's new location in Webster.

Houston’s Chinese takeout bar from the future is coming to the Bay Area. The sixth location of The Rice Box will open in Webster later this summer.

Located at 114 El Dorado Blvd, the new location will be called Rice Box Space Center after NASA’s headquarters at the nearby Johnson Space Center. Founder John Peterson tells CultureMap that it’s a bit of a homecoming for him and his wife/business partner, Jenny Vo, as they grew up in the area. As with every new location, the restaurant created a movie-style poster to announce its opening.

Rice Box Webster movie poster The Rice Box Space Center is expected to open later this summer.Courtesy of The Rice Box

For its first truly suburban location, Peterson plans to offer a more efficient pickup system for to-go orders. Dubbed The Rice Box Pickup Reactors, the system applies Rice Box’s sci-fi aesthetic to curbside ordering. As seen in the rendering above, the building will have six slots that drivers will pull into to get their orders.

“The goal is to have guests in and out with food in hand in around 90 seconds,” Peterson writes in an email. “It’s still pickup, but we’re trying to make that moment feel more intentional and more connected to the digital side of Rice Box instead of treating it like an afterthought. We’re looking at this opening as both a new store and a prototype for how Rice Box can work in more suburban markets without losing the part of the brand that makes it feel like us.”

Bay Area-area diners can expect the same menu as the Rice Box’s other locations. That includes staples such as General Tso’s chicken, sesame chicken, beef with broccoli, and orange peel beef. The restaurant also serves traditional Chinese-inspired fare such as Chongqing chicken, cumin beef, mapo tofu, and chow fun noodles.

Recently, Peterson rolled out a new version of Rice Box’s dumplings. Available in chicken, pork, or vegetable, each style of dumpling comes with a different wrapper that enhances the filling’s flavor. They’re also available either steamed or fried.

The Rice Box started as a food truck in the early 2010s. After moving to a permanent location in the Greenway Plaza food court, it has opened brick-and-mortar locations in the Heights, River Oaks, Rice Village, and Memorial.

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