season's eatings

8 Houston restaurants serving comforting Thanksgiving sandwiches

One of the great Thanksgiving traditions is making a sandwich with the leftovers. Thankfully (sorry), Houstonians don't need to wait until Black Friday to get their fix of this comforting creation.

These Houston restaurants understand that sometimes all anyone wants are the flavors of Turkey Day sandwiched between two slices of bread (or packed into a wrap).

Craft Pita
Both Craft Pita locations are giving the classic leftover sandwich a Lebanese twist this month with the Turkey Shawarma Sandwich ($15). The thinly sliced turkey is marinated for more than 24 hours, slowly roasted, and layered with creamy garlic aioli, lettuce, tomato, red cabbage, and pickles. A homemade cranberry sauce and baked pita chips complete the plate. Craft Pita will be closed on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday.

Fielding’s Wood Grill
In The Woodlands, this casual family spot is offering two Thanksgiving-inspired sandos: a turkey burger and a “leftover” turkey club. The Thanksgiving burger features a 6-ounce patty topped with curry madras, cranberry-ginger relish, double cream brie, and creamed spinach on a pumpkin bun, served with garlic sweet potato fries ($19). The turkey club stacks roasted turkey breast with bacon, avocado, lettuce, tomato, herb dijonnaise, and cranberry chutney on toasted brioche, with spicy honey sweet potatoes on the side. The burger is available now through November 26, while the club runs November 28–December 10.

Kenny & Ziggy’s
The name is a mouthful, and so is the sandwich. “It’s the Great Holiday Sandwich, Charlie Brown” layers turkey, sage and chestnut stuffing, and cranberry sauce between grilled challah for a taste of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Chanukah in one bite. It’s on the menu through the end of December. Kenny & Ziggy’s closes at 2 pm on Wednesday, November 26, and is closed Thanksgiving Day.

Local Foods
A Thanksgiving turkey wrap ($21) is now on the menu at Local Foods’ Rice Village location. Executive chef Geoff Hundt’s lighter take on the holiday classic folds smoked turkey breast, root vegetable stuffing, cranberry aioli, baby arugula, and Brussels sprouts into a spinach tortilla. A turkey gravy jus is served on the side for dipping, along with two sides such as potato salad or chips. Available while supplies last at the Rice Village location.

Pinkerton’s
The Michelin Bib Gourmand barbecue joint is serving Thanksgiving on a Bun: thick slices of turkey, cranberry chutney, and pumpkin aioli stuffed into a toasted jalapeño-cheese bun. Available through the end of November.

Stuffed Belly
MasterChef winner Christine Ha’s sandwich shop is offering a “Friends”-inspired special. The Moist Maker Turkey-wich ($11) tucks a gravy-soaked slice of Texas toast into the center — just as Ross Geller would want — then layers in roasted turkey, sage stuffing, cranberry sauce, melted provolone, and fried onions. The sandwich is available through November 26.

Winnie’s
At Winnie’s, the beloved po’ boy gets the holiday treatment. A French roll is packed with oven-roasted turkey breast, homemade stuffing, crispy chicken shallots, cranberry sauce, turkey gravy, and mayo for a rich, crusty bite. The Thanksgiving Po’Boy is available while supplies last.

Honorable Mention: Arby's
As everyone knows, this fast food restaurant "has the meats," and that includes a Thanksgiving sandwich. The Deep Fried Turkey Gobbler is a quarter pound of deep fried turkey topped with crispy onions, Swiss, stuffing, "cranberry spread," and mayo on a toasted sub bun. Those considering eating this sandwich probably shouldn't click the link above, which contains the nutrition information (written by CultureMap editor Eric Sandler).

Photo by Michael Ma

Craft Pita has a wrap version of the beloved Thanksgiving leftover sandwich, featuring 24-hour marinated turkey shawarma.

news-you-can-eat holidays

Houston's smallest restaurant?

Michelin-recognized Houston sushi chef fires up 4-seat Japanese skewer spot

Courtesy of Sip & Skewer

Diners sit in front of chefs cooking on a grill.

The team behind one of Houston’s Michelin-recognized sushi restaurants is opening an intimate new izakaya. Sip & Skewer is the newest concept from Hidden Omakase owner Tuan Tran and chef Marcos Juarez.

Opening Friday, February 13, Sip & Skewer is a four-seat restaurant devoted to skewered meats that’s located within Sushi by Hidden, the group’s affordable omakase restaurant in Rice Village. At Sip & Skewer, diners sit across from the chefs as they cook a 10-course, $90 meal on a Japanese binchotan grill.

“Sip & Skewer is small, loud, and intentional. The kind of hidden experience you’d find in Tokyo,” Tran said. “And with Chef Marcos guiding the team at Sushi by Hidden, this space is getting new energy from every angle.”

A four-seat restaurant within a 10-seat restaurant might seem kind of superfluous, but Tran explains that it’s part of a larger plan for his group of restaurants, which also includes West U. hand roll restaurant Norigami. It also builds on the success of Hidden Omakase, the Galleria-area sushi counter that earned a Recommended designation in the Michelin Guide.

“Sip & Skewer is part of a larger vision. It’s designed as a stepping stone toward our next concept, Kōri, a new hand roll and craft cocktail bar opening in the Heights. Our plan is to open Sip & Skewer directly next to our hand roll spot, creating a small alley of Japanese concepts that feed into one another,” Tran explains.

“This allows us to build awareness, train our team in a new format, and introduce guests to Japanese charcoal grilling in a very personal way before we scale the idea into a larger setting with Kōri. The four-seat format keeps overhead extremely low while serving as a live test kitchen and brand builder for what’s coming next,” he adds.

On a related note, Juarez and the other chefs at Hidden Omakase are dividing their time between all three restaurants. Tuam explains that it’s a deliberate strategy to ensure a consistent customer experience.

“The same team that works Michelin-recognized omakase service also runs the grill here, which keeps quality and execution consistent while allowing the chefs a creative outlet in a very different format,” Tran said. “Because Sip & Skewer is only four seats and reservations only, it does not require a dedicated full-time staff. It’s an extension of the team rather than a separate operation.”