Recent restaurant openings around Houston indicate that seafood and the seashore are the buzzwords of the day.
Several new restaurants have cropped up in Galveston, among them Boudreaux's on the Bayou (6310 Heards Lane), Chopin Mon Ami Restaurant (1508 39th Street) and Gumbo Bar (2105 Post Office). Down the street from Gumbo Bar, 901 Postoffice continues the island's culinary revitalization as an old house has been transformed into a cozy contemporary fusion restaurant that, for now, is only open Thursday through Saturday.
Folks further north have two new seafood options, too, as Cajun Boiled Crawfish (19640 Kuykendahl) and Hebert's Hot Tails Crawfish Boil & Geaux (5025 Louetta) have opened in Spring. And in town, Off the Hook Seafood (16203 Westheimer #105) and The Original Louisana Kitchen (10400 S Post Oak #E) have both chosen names that will be challenging to live up to.
For another kind of seafood, there are two new sushi joints to try: Sushi Choo Choo (12149 FM 1960) - which will be a disappointment if it doesn't somehow prominently feature trains and engineers - and Kata Robata Sushi & Grill (3600 Kirby) - which will be a disappointment if it doesn't somehow feature Styx music. Kata opened up in the lonely spot once occupied by Hue, and remains the solitary tenant of the oddly-empty strip mall off Richmond.
Thankfully, closings have been few and far between.
Two Hawaiian barbecue restaurants in Katy closed, Aloha Hawaiian BBQ (1803 N Fry) and Big Island Hawaiian BBQ (2150 S Highway 6), leading to the question: Who thought that one Hawaiian BBQ restaurant in Katy was a good idea, let alone two? Katy also saw eight other closures over the past few weeks, among them Los Cucos Seafood and Steaks (811 Avenue D) and The Wine Spot (937 S Mason).
Chocolate and gelato-lovers are mourning the closing of RainDrop Chocolates (810 Waugh), as owner and head sweetmaker Don Burke decided to move on to other activities amidst the recession. And fans of Mak Chin's (1511 Shepherd) Chinese food were surprised to turn up one day and find it shuttered, but the new tenant -- Shuck Daddy's, an oyster bar -- is scheduled to open soon.
