Royal Oak Company

First Look at Pistolero's, Mexican Pop Cuisine Restaurant and Newest Addition to an Empire

Shawn Bermudez has slowly and steadily amassed a small real estate empire along Lower Westheimer to rival that of longtime restaurateur Marco Wiles and recent upstart Bobby Heugel. Wiles owns three spots, Heugel four. But Bermudez -- he now owns five. In addition to Pistolero's, a tacos and tequila ... More >>

The Pho-ndamentals

A beginner's guide to Vietnamese cuisine.

Openings & Closings: Renovated Restaurants and Born-Again Bars

It was a busy week for openings, so we'll kick things off this Friday with some happy news. Eleven XI, the new restaurant helmed by chef Kevin Bryant, opened this past Tuesday night...and it already has three Yelp reviews. The location at 607 West Gray had to be extensively renovated to turn the f ... More >>

Houston Getting Two More Tacos y Tequila Joints

Fresh off the news from earlier this week that El Gran Malo is opening a second location downtown comes word that Pistolero's -- the restaurant replacing Nabi on Lower Westheimer -- celebrated its grand opening last night. Owner Shawn Bermudez is best known for his other Montrose-based projects such ... More >>

Here, Eat This

A beginner's guide to Argentine cuisine.

Top 10 Bars, Clubs & Ice Houses In Montrose

As our sister blog Eating...Our Words does, from time to time Rocks Off will be giving your our picks for the top taverns in various Houston-area neighborhoods. Of course, the lines can be porous, but here anything with a TABC license that cannot reasonably be considered either a restaurant, coffeeh ... More >>

Where To Brunch: $7 Mimosa Pitchers and More at Royal Oaks Bar & Grill

Sundays are made for mimosas. The weekend is nearly over and you can feel your freedom fading faster than a Houston winter. It all seems to be going downhill. That is, until you remember you have the holy grail of weekend activities summoning you from the cocoon of blankets you've so delicately wrap ... More >>

The Rocks Off 100: Jason Puffer, Your Psychedelic Sex Panther

Welcome to the Rocks Off 100, our portrait gallery of the most compelling profiles and personalities in the far-flung Houston music community -- a lot more than just musicians, but of course they're in there too. See the entire Rocks Off 100 at this link. Who? Jason Puffer prowls some of Houston's ... More >>

Dinner and a Show

Houston's 10 best restaurants for pre-theater dining.

Openings & Closings: More Americana, Headed Your Way

Intercontinental Airport must have finally gotten the memo that its dining options were sorely limited considering Houston's rich culinary offerings, because it looks like something's finally being done about it. Earlier this month, there was the news that chef Johnny Hernandez is opening The Frute ... More >>

Are We There Yet? Restaurants We're Excited About for 2013

Last year -- at the tail-end of 2011 -- it seemed as if half the restaurants we were excited about in 2010 for the upcoming year still hadn't opened yet: Uchi, Triniti, Underbelly and The Hay Merchant were all a very long time in the making, but finally opened this past year to great acclaim all aro ... More >>

Rest(aurants) In Peace: Notable Closings of 2012

Some restaurants just couldn't wait for the Mayan apocalypse on December 21, 2012 and decided to implode all on their own, while other restaurants simply expired of old age and waning interest in a city that's constantly chasing after the next big thing. Instead of a toast to the restaurants we'll ... More >>

Bayou City Boo

This year's best Halloween parties.

Bayou City Boo!

2012 Houston Press Halloween Guide

Bayou City Boo!

Where to celebrate everyone's favorite holiday.

The Rest of the Best

Houston's top 10 pizzas.

100 Favorite Dishes 2012

No. 1, Korean Braised Goat and Dumplings at Underbelly.

Berryhill Baja Grill Food Truck Hitting the Streets, But Not Without a Few Bumps in the Road

Walter Berryhill was a mobile food pioneer in Houston, walking the streets of River Oaks and selling 200 dozen tamales from his little push-cart every week along with his wife, Billie, for nearly 40 years. A lit Coleman lantern hanging from the side of the cart let people know that Berryhill's tamal ... More >>

Openings & Closings: September 2012, Plus Picking a New Name for Calliope's Po-Boy

After a supremely busy seven days for restaurant news last week, this week let up a little bit -- but not by much. Starting off the week was news that chef Erin Smith is leaving Plonk. Her last day will be October 13 and after a brief trip to visit family, Smith will be back in Houston looking for h ... More >>

Looking for Bill

Rumors of a Ghostbusters actor's "party crashing" tour touch off a night of revelry.

Top 5 Acts to Catch at Pride Weekend

See many more events this weekend in the Houston Press' 2012 Pride Guide. This Saturday, the streets around Westheimer and Montrose will be swamped with people for the 34th annual Houston LGBT Pride Celebration, one of the oldest and largest events of its kind in the South. Started to commemorate t ... More >>

6th Annual Montrose Crawl

Houston's Cryptic New Noise Ordinance

Confusing new law has bar and club owners screaming.

Bartender Chat: Rex of Boondocks

Sometimes, when you have a rough week that just so happens to fall between pay periods, you need a really cheap drink.That's when happy hour at Boondocks comes to the rescue. The vibe was pretty laid-back recently at 5 p.m., which was a major contrast with some of the rowdier nights I've spent at ... More >>

Boondocks Owner Arrested Saturday For Noise Violation

Boondocks owner Shawn Bermudez was arrested and booked at the central jail Saturday night when Houston Police Department officers responded to another noise complaint at the popular Montrose nightspot. Tuesday afternoon, Houston Police Department Public Information Officer Jodi Silva confirmed to ... More >>

Bartender Chat: Brant Miller of Royal Oak

This week, I stopped into Royal Oak to chat with Brant, a.k.a. "The Marshall." Inspired by some Civil War documentaries he had been watching a few weeks ago, Brant cultivated a mustache and chops, adorned his vest with a badge, and got behind the bar. He said that as the night wore on, folks started ... More >>

The Rest of the Best: Houston's Top 5 Bar Food

The "best cheap burgers in town" at our No. 3 pick.​For the next 20 weeks, we'll be rounding up the runners-up to our 2011 Best of Houston® winners. In many categories, picking each year's winner is no easy task. We'll be spotlighting 20 of those categories, in which the winner had hefty comp ... More >>

Brunch in the 'Burbs: Crab Cake Benedict at Merche in Cypress

Crab cake Benedict​I pass Merche, which specializes in Spanish-Italian fusion and is located on the campus of the North Cypress Medical Center, every time I drive out to my parents' house in Fairfield, but had never stopped in until this past Sunday. I had heard Dana Tyson talk about it on Sun ... More >>

A Scary Good Time

The Houston Press Guide to What's Happening This Hallowen

A Scary Good Time

The Houston Press Guide to Halloween

A Scary Good Time

The Houston Press Guide to Halloween

Fifth Annual Montrose Halloween Crawl

Chef Chat, Part 2: Grant Gordon of Tony's

Mai PhamExecutive Chef Grant Gordon of Tony's​Yesterday, we chatted with Grant Gordon about his road to becoming a Executive Chef at Tony's. See our chat here. Today, we talk about his role at Tony's and some of of his favorite things about Houston. EOW: So what do you do here at Tony's? G ... More >>

Tuesday April 19, 2011 Deals of the Day

​Hey Houston! Here's where you can save on food and drink today: VOICE deal of the day at Houstonpress.com: 50 percent off at Auntie Chang's Dumpling House: ($10 for $20). Steamed or fried, meaty or veggie, Auntie Chang's Dumpling House has a dumpling for you. Don't feel like dining in? Thi ... More >>

Happy Hour Scene: Royal Oak Bar & Grill

​ The Place: Royal Oak Bar & Grill 1318 Westheimer 281-974-4752 The Hours: 4 to 8 p.m. Mondays through Fridays The Deals:$2 domestics, $3 house wine, $4 martinis, $1 off drafts, $10 select bottles of wine The Scene: My friend Ethan has trouble turning down free food. He says it's because he ... More >>

Women of Rock

Readers discuss Slutwave genre.

This Week in Deliciousness

Note: Beef jerky is best enjoyed in a t-top Firebird with .38 Special blasting from your stereo and your majestic mullet trailing behind you in the breeze.​Welcome back to the weekly roundup here at Eating Our Words, where we've never yet pegged a rude waiter with a saltshaker from across the ... More >>

First Look at Royal Oak Bar & Grill

This did not take place at Royal Oak. I did not do this on Friday night (and never would), but you have to admire the creativity in some small way.​When a friend wanted to meet for a late-evening bite to eat and some beers in the neighborhood last Friday night, I immediately suggested Royal Oa ... More >>

Comments of the Day

​Katharine Shilcutt had a bad experience at Royal Oak Bar & Grill this weekend and told us all about it. Lots of readers were outraged on her behalf, while others already had an issue with this place: the name. Said Montrosian: I'm surprised no one has commented on the name. I think it's awf ... More >>

Notable Bar & Venue Closures Of 2010

Craig HlavatyAgora: Not reopening for a while.​Houston had quite a few bars close down in 2010. They were your favorite places to drink, mingle, talk to a conquest, bum a cigarette, and spend money you didn't have, and they all mostly left with whimper, or in one bar's case, about a dozen fire ... More >>

A Fire, Karaoke Or Ex-Brothel: Where Were We In Drag?

Pull up a chair, start a tab and order a round of shots, because this is Rocks Off's weekly roundup of the goings-on in the Houston bar scene. Ups and downs, openings and closings, we will cover it all. Hit us up with any hot tips at craig.hlavaty@houstonpress.com. Photos by Craig Hlavaty​Op ... More >>

Let's Get Spooky

Here's our guide to what's happening this Halloween.

Let's Get Spooky

Our guide to Houston's best Halloween haunts.

Head Out

Our guide to Halloween's best haunts

Fourth Annual Montrose Pub Crawl

Prowl lower Westheimer bars in your costume

Openings and Closings

Photos by Katharine ShilcuttThe soon-to-be-open Zelko Bistro in the Heights.​Although it's been a while since our last roundup of restaurant openings and closings around here, that doesn't mean that Houston's culinary community hasn't been busy in the meantime. We have a feast of new places fo ... More >>