The arrival of fall weather may be a little delayed, but the weekends are increasingly filling up with fun food events. While it might be fun to watch the Bears and Texans inch closer to a top draft pick, perhaps the time is better spent at a bar or restaurant consuming something delicious.
Kick things off Saturday, September 24 at Eight Row Flint in the Heights. The popular patio bar has invited Goode Co. to introduce its Tex-Mex restaurant Kitchen & Cantina to the neighborhood with a food and drink collaboration. Goode Co. plans to open the new restaurant in the former Down House space by the end of the October.
Inspired by the friendship between Goode Co. president Levi Goode and Eight Row co-owner Morgan Weber, the event will feature dishes such as carnitas prepared in a copper cazo, a whole roasted pig, and grilled items from the Kitchen & Cantina menu. Eight Row already serves its version of Goode Co.’s watermelon mezcal margarita — “It’s not easy for me to get over to east San Antonio or wherever that place is,” Weber quips — which it will serve alongside its other margaritas and ranch waters.
Eight Row serves a version of Goode Co.'s watermelon mezcal margarita.Courtesy of Agricole Hospitality.
“We’ve been looking at the Heights for the last five years, maybe longer,” Goode Co. president Levi Goode tells CultureMap. “Really like how its developed. It definitely still has the history and charm of what the Heights has always been. Lot of quality [restaurants] in the neighborhood, with Morgan and his group Agricole being the pioneers.”
“I’ve always appreciated there’s this genuine border culture nature to the menus that you don’t see at your normal enchilada, rice, and beans Tex-Mex joint,” Weber adds about Kitchen & Cantina. “I think the synergy of having Goode Co. and the ethos they have will be really fun. I think it will resonate with the neighborhood well.”
The event takes place from 2-6 pm. In addition to food and drinks, expect giveaways and music by Bo Bramble.
Turning to Sunday, Julep, Alba Huerta’s James Beard Award-winning cocktail bar on Washington Avenue, will observe national bourbon heritage month with its first ever Bourbon Fest. Held from 4-7 pm, the event will feature tastings, cocktail lessons, light bites, and live music.
Brands such as Old Forester, Bulleit, Dickel, and Wild Turkey will sample some of their signature sips. In addition, bartender Westin Galleymore will teach attendees how to make classic bourbon cocktails, and musician John Egan will perform.
Tickets, $20, are available here.
Midtown bar and sandwich shop Winnie’s will celebrate its first anniversary this Sunday with a drag brunch, 11 am-3 pm, followed by a kitchen and bar takeover from 5-10 pm with food by chef Chris Shepherd and former Underbelly Hospitality pastry director Victoria Dearmond and drinks by Reserve 101.
The drag brunch will feature performances by Queen Persephone and friends along with a raffle for a vintage 1971 Honda dirt bike customized by local artist Mac the Sign Painter. The bike features “hand-welded electrical conduit muffler, extensive black spray paint, and plenty of baling wire and electrical tape,” according to a release. Winnie’s co-owner Graham Laborde tells CultureMap that it’s a blast to ride.
We're told the winner will have to sign a liability waiver.Courtesy of Winnie's
Proceeds from the raffle tickets, $25, will benefit the Southern Smoke Foundation.
Shepherd and Dearmond will be making their first public appearances since their departures from Underbelly Hospitality earlier this summer. The menu includes a Smoked Bologna Sandwich with pickled onions, BBQ, and cheddar mayo on white bread; a Cha Ca “Taco” Salad with turmeric yogurt fish, herbs, and pickled onions in a sesame cracker bowl; and a Carrot Cake Fried Pie with carrot cake and cream cheese icing, wrapped in dough and fried.
“I’ve loved Winnie’s since they first opened and I’ve loved sandwiches my whole life,” Shepherd said in a statement. “When they approached me about doing their birthday as a benefit for Southern Smoke, of course I said HELL YEAH.”
The Reserve 101 team — bar manager Josh Alden, general manager Justin Ware, and co-owner Sean Fitzmaurice — will be serving a range of drinks that include a frozen penicillin and, for whiskey lovers, an ice luge for shooting high end, allocated bourbons.
“Winnie’s has always been about having fun with friends, so we couldn’t think of a better way to mark our first birthday than by inviting some of them in to help us celebrate,” Laborde added. “Not to mention that we have always been a huge supporter of Southern Smoke and everything they do, so it just made sense to tie the event into that.”
