Escape

The Texas Caribbean: Sleek new island hideaway is full of Houston connections — and NASA architect power

The tony gathering in the private room at Americas River Oaks was all ears as architect Gui Trotti, a former University of Houston architecture professor, made his presentation on Las Verandas Hotel & Villas, a new resort on the tiny island of Roatán, off the Caribbean coast of Honduras.

Temptations to hop the next plane to Honduras ran high as slides of a white sandy beach, azure waters and palm trees blowing in a warm breeze beckoned on this particularly cold night. The spectacular Caribbean design and furnishings pictured were enough to convince anyone with beach fever to sign up. With non-stop flights between Houston and Honduras, flying time is less than three hours.

Trotti's early career in Houston included working with NASA on lunar bases, Mars vehicles and the Space Station.

Through his architecture firm based in Cambridge, Mass., Trotti designed the luxury project that stretches across 400 acres and includes an 18-hole golf course. Trotti and Bill Sharman, chairman and CEO of the Houston-based Lancaster Group, headed up the gathering aimed at encouraging investment in one of the private villas and/or reservations in one of Las Verandas' hotel rooms. The project is being developed by Houston-based Pan Caribbean Capital Partners.

Sale of the two- and three-bedroom villas is being handled by Sudhoff Properties and Jacob Sudhoff was among the small group that was wined and dined in style.

Trotti's early career in Houston included working with NASA on lunar bases, Mars vehicles and the Space Station. He designed the Challenger Learning Center for the Houston Museum of Natural Science. He later spent two years traveling the world on a sailboat, studying various regions and environments. The wisdom gained from that experience, he told the gathering, was instrumental in his design of Las Verandas.

The half-moon private beach leading to clear Caribbean waters is one of the top selling points of Las Verandas.

Photo by © Al Arqueta

The half-moon private beach leading to clear Caribbean waters is one of the top selling points of Las Verandas.

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8 miles high

Houston chef's menu takes off on United's premium business class offering

Courtesy of United

Justin Yu, far left, is one of 11 participating chefs.

United Airlines has shared more details about its new partnership with Chef’s Table, the acclaimed Netflix documentary series, including the menus created by the 11 participating chefs for travelers flying its premium Polaris business class seating.

For flights departing from Houston, United and Chef’s Table recruited Justin Yu, the James Beard Award-winning chef behind Theodore Rex, a fine dining restaurant in downtown that holds a Bib Gourmand designation in the Michelin Guide. In addition, Yu and his business partner Bobby Heugel own Houston hospitality group Thorough Fare, which operates bars and restaurants including Anvil, Better Luck Tomorrow, Squable, Donna’s, and a new, still-unnamed restaurant in Montrose that’s slated to open later this year.

Beginning August 1, people departing from George Bush Intercontinental Airport will be able to dine on Yu’s three-course menu that consists of:

Appetizer: Deviled eggs with white soy, aged cheddar, and chives
Salad: Chicory salad with spiced bacon, chickpeas, cucumber, onion, and oregano mustard vinaigrette
Entrée: Braised Texas short rib with ragout of mushrooms, red miso, and black eyed peas

“I wanted that slightly Texan touch,” Yu told CultureMap in March. “To me, the Houston part of it is the most important. There’s such a level of diversity. Introducing light touches of that to the meal was something I considered.”

Other participating chefs include Nancy Silverton (Osteria Mozza in Los Angeles), whose menu includes an appetizer of burrata with braised leeks, shaved Brussels sprouts salad, and beef brasato with garlic mashed potatoes; Jenner Tomaska (Esmé, Petite Edith, and The Alston in Chicago), who has created a braised leeks appetizer, an arugula salad, and halibut with sauce matelote; Tomos Parry (Mountain and Brat in London), whose menu includes an appetizer of grilled beef filet, lobster salad with grilled peach, and slow-roasted lamb with smoked potatoes.

Chefs representing United’s destinations in Newark, Denver, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., São Paulo, and Tokyo are also participating. The menus will be available through September 2026. They’ll be updated with new seasonal items beginning in October. Customers may opt for the Chef's Table meals beginning five days and up to 24 hours prior to departure.

"At its core, this collaboration with Chef's Table is rooted in a shared ambition to redefine what inflight dining can be," said Aaron McMillan, United's Managing Director of Hospitality Programs, in a statement. "Because our leading global network reaches into the world's greatest food cities, we're able to work hand-in-hand with world-class chefs and translate their points of view into dishes intentionally designed for the realities of travel and inspired by destinations we serve."

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