Sangria and Sliders at Open City

A half an hour after we ordered, our food still hadn't arrived. There were only four or five other customers, so it wasn't like the kitchen was slammed. While we sat there drumming our fingers, Bebout started getting grouchy. He pointed out the fact that the waitress had dirty fingernails, he complained about the profusion of flies buzzing around our table and he got really pissed when a panhandler on the sidewalk started bothering people seated on the patio.

His mood changed entirely when our lunch arrived and he finally bit into his first slider. The mini-patties were uneven, loosely-formed and perfectly cooked to a juicy medium. They were placed on dinner roll-size buns and secured with garnish-decorated skewers that stood straight up from the sandwiches like pickled plumes.

Troy Fields

The sliders are the way to go.

Location Info

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Open City

2416 Brazos
Houston, TX 77006

Category: Restaurant > Southern

Region: Montrose

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Details

Lunch hours: 11:30 a.m. to2:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays. Dinner hours: 5 to 10 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, and 5 to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

Sliders (2): $6-$8

Bacon cheeseburger: $12

Philly cheesesteak: $16

Lamb shank: $16

Mac and cheese: $8

2416 Brazos (entrance on Bagby), 713-522-0118.

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More About

• John Bebout
• Mendocino
• Kraft Cheez Whiz
• Eating Out
• Main Dish Recipes

My favorites, the Tex-Mex sliders, were topped with a black bean pico de gallo and avocado slices. Bebout's favorites, the A-1 steakhouse sliders, were topped with a fried onion ring and some steak sauce. The steakhouse slider I ate was so juicy, it gushed all over the front on my shirt when I took a bite. (That's a virtue in my book.) The barbecue bacon sliders, which were topped with applewood-smoked bacon and barbecue sauce, were flawed only by the fact that the bacon was undercooked.

The rest of the slider section on the menu included the lamb version I liked so much on my first visit, a chili-rubbed steak slider and some unusual beefless versions. There were Asian-seasoned and honey mustard chicken sliders, and cheese-only sliders. There were also grilled salmon sliders with citrus raisin sauce and mini-crab cake sliders with chipotle tartar sauce.

I think it's fair to say that Open City has found its culinary niche. Sliders are just the sort of thing you want to eat in a bar. And the imaginative seasonings and pres­entations make them interesting complements to a glass of wine or sangria.

Check out Open City for lunch or happy hour. But forget about the out-of-place comfort foods and the overpriced Philly cheesesteaks. Instead, get a choice seat and order a glass of sangria or a half-price bottle of Zig Zag Zin and a couple plates of their juicy little sliders.