Slowpokes Coffee, 6725 Stella Link, will open November 28 in West University Place. It’s the fourth location for the coffee shop which opened its first location at ? in 2016. The three other stores are located in Kirby Grove, Garden Oaks/Oak Forest and Spring Branch, the flagship location where all of the beans are roasted in-house and the cold brew is bottled. The brand is owned and operated by Houstonian Mazen Baltagi who is also involved in other restaurant-related business ventures in the city.
In addition to its coffee bar, it offers specialty teas, local draft beers and a selection of American wines. It also has a food menu of breakfast sandwiches and pastries and lunch items like flatbreads “Paninos” and salads. For snacks, there are Meat & Cheese Boards, Churro Donuts and Pretzels from Slow Dough Bakery. With a mission to support other local businesses, it features treats and products from other local vendors such as Michael’s Cookie Jar and Walking Stick Brewing Co.
For its coffee bar, Slowpokes offers espresso, latte, macchiato, flat white, Americano and house brews. With the holiday season upon us, it has seasonal treats such as the Punkin’ Pie Latte, the Snickerdoodle Latte and a tasty Caramel Apple Cider. Upcoming holiday brews include the Peppermint Mocha Latte and the Campfire Latte.
Patrons looking for a cozy happy hour with friends will find $4 drafts, $5 glasses of wine, $10 flatbreads, $15 Meat & Cheese Boards and $4 Pretzel with Dips, Monday through Friday from 4 p.m. to close. The rotating draft list includes local beers from Saint Arnold, Eureka Heights, 8th Wonder, Buffalo Bayou Brewing Co. and other Houston breweries.
The West U location is a cozy 50-seat coffee shop with over 2,000 square feet. It also offers dog-lovers a pooch-friendly patio.
Baltagi said in a press release, “We’re genuinely so grateful for the communities that have embraced us. We hope we’ve been able to better our regulars’ lives as much as they have ours and we’re looking forward to expanding our reach in Houston.”
Urban Bird Hot Chicken, 2162 Spring Stuebner, is set to open in January 2023 at The Market within City Place. The rapidly growing brand just opened its fourth location in Fulshear November 10. The upcoming location in Spring will be 2, 169 square feet and will join several other restaurants in the lifestyle destination including a Kroger grocery store. The team at Urban Bird were drawn to City Place, formerly Springwoods Village, because of the high volume of traffic due to its proximity to the Grand Parkway, Hardy Toll Road and Interstate 45.
The menu at Urban Bird centers around jumbo chicken tenders and customers can choose their spice level from No Spice to Nashville Hot or take it to the next level with Fire in the Hole. The tenders are available by the piece and basket. There’s also the Tender Sando which is a chicken tender sandwich topped with kale slaw. It has its own version of Chicken & Waffles, too. There are crinkle cut fries, sweet potato fries and seasoned street corn for sides. The Urban Fries are a shareable snack of fries piled up with chicken tender pieces, hot mac & cheese, the signature Bird Sauce and pickles. Diners can add on bacon and jalapenos, too.
The restaurant offers selections for kids plus shakes and frozen custard.
Captain D’s, 8408 FM 1960 Bypass, opened November 22 in Humble. The new franchised location is owned and operated by business partners Salman Iqbal and Irfan Ibrahim of Checkout Food Stores with Uzair Ibrahim as development president and Furqan Ibrahim as director of operations. The group currently has 41 convenience stores throughout south Texas and western Louisiana. The new Captain D’s is the first foray into the casual seafood business for the group with a signed agreement to bring nine more to the Greater Houston area including a Katy location within the next six months.
The Humble location is only the third location to feature a double drive-thru. The dining room, decorated in a vibrant coastal design, seats 44 guests. There are also carry-out and call-ahead options.
Captain D’s was founded in 1969 and has more than 530 restaurants in 23 states.
Savoir, 1344 Yale, has made some major changes to its executive team. Owners Haig and Hien Papaian of The Papaian Group have chosen Chef Eric Johnson as culinary director, Lexey Davis Johnson as director of operations and Toby Schwebel as general manager.
Eric Johnson has been with Savoir for three years, leading its culinary concepts as executive chef for both Savoir and its speakeasy steakhouse, Patton’s. During that time, he has introduced over a hundred new menu items inspired by his travels. As culinary director, The Papaian Group will rely on his talents for some upcoming projects planned for the Heights and the Garden Oaks/Oak Forest areas.
Davis Johnson has over 20 years experience in the hospitality industry including stints as wine director and sommelier at such acclaimed Houston restaurants like Doris Metropolitan and Berg Hospitalty’s B&B Butchers. Shwebel joined Savoir in January 2022 to lead the launch of Patton’s in March. For the past decade, he has gained experience as a wine buyer, restaurant designer and operations leader.
Equal Parts Brewing, 3118 Harrisburg, is hosting a post-Thanksgiving pop-up November 27 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. with Bravo’s Top Chef finalist Dawn Burrell and Joseph Boudreaux, co-owner of The Tipping Point and founder of Boo’s Burger pop-up. The duo have titled the Thanksgiving-themed event ” The Leftovers”. The pop-up will offer a number of menu items inspired by holiday leftovers.
Burrell’s stamp on the pop-up includes her “Leftovers” Pocket ($16), stuffed with mac and cheese, braised collards, fried turkey, candied sweet potatoes and turkey skin crumble. It’s paired with cranberry sauce and Mom’s Gravy. There is a vegetarian version as well. Burrell will also have a Sweet Potato Pie Mochi Doughnut with Spiced Yam Caramel ($9).
On Boudreaux’s side there will be Cornbread Dressing Fritters ($12) served with Mushroom Gravy and, as a tribute to his Louisiana roots, Gumbo Z’Herbs ($16) made with braised greens, smoked turkey, Pail Oil Roux, dried shrimp and white rice.
The chefs collaborated on the final menu item, the Thanksgiving Hangover Burger, as a nod to Boo’s Burgers. The $20 burger is made with Boo’s signature smashed beef patty and topped with mac and cheese, ham and cranberry ketchup.
Maderas Kitchen & Cantina, 120 Westheimer, had its grand opening November 5. The Mexican restaurant serves dishes like fajitas, chicken mole negro, carne guisada, adobo de puerco (pork ribs) and enchiladas for lunch and dinner. There’s a selection of taco plates including trompo de pulpo (octopus), barbacoa birria and chicken tinga. There’s also Pozole Verde and Caldo de Pescado plus sides like elote and ensalada de nopales. Desserts include churros and sweet rice pudding.
The restaurant also serves brunch Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Guests will find breakfast dishes like chilaquiles and huevos divorciados plus flautas, menudo and shrimp ceviche. It also has a version of the popular fusion dish Birria Barbocoa Ramen.
There is a full bar with beer and wine plus a selection of margaritas and signature cocktails.
Brennan’s of Houston, 3300 Smith, is hosting a special two-night event with James Beard Award Winners Sarah Grueneberg and Chris Shepherd November 29 and November 30 as part of its Home & Away dinner series. It’s a homecoming of sorts for the superstar chefs, both of whom did stints at the restaurant in their early years under the guidance of Chef Carl Walker, who will be on hand, along with Chef Jose Arevalo, to share stories about their kitchen adventures.
The four-course dinner event coincides with the release of Grueneberg’s first cookbook Listen to Your Vegetables done with Kate Heddings, contributing editor to Food & Wine magazine. There will be a welcome reception at 6:30 p.m., followed by a four-course dinner at 7 p.m.. Shepherd, one of Houston’s most recognizable chefs/restaurateurs, left Underbelly Hospitality and his restaurant empire this past July to focus on his non-profit Southern Smoke Foundation. He recently took on the role of wine columnist with Culturemap Houston. His expertise will be matched by Brennan’s Wine Guy Rich Carter for the dinner’s wine pairings.
In addition to the dinner and wine, guests will receive a signed copy of Grueneberg’s new book and guests are welcome to bring their personal copies of Shepherd’s Cook Like a Local to have signed. Tickets are $200, plus tax and gratuity.
Flip N Dip Burger, 13203 Fry, opened November 8. The halal burger and chicken restaurant uses quality ingredients which is why customers have taken to social media to voice their praise. It has a number of burgers on the menu including a Cheese Burger, Mushroom Burger, F&D BBQ and the Fire me Up Burger garnished with pepper jack cheese, Iceberg lettuce, red onions, seasoned butter, tomato and sauteed jalapenos. It also sells sliders in a four-pack, served on Portuguese sweet bread.
The chicken side of the menu offers wings in flavors like garlic parmesan, Buffalo, bbq, mango habanero and lemon pepper. There is a 5-piece order of Tender Bites with choice of Secret Sauce, Buffalo, bbq or honey mustard sauce. Other chicken options include the Buffalo Chicken Sandwich or the F&D Chicken Sandwich. There is a kids menu and a small selection of loaded fries.
OMG Seafood To-Go, 2528 Calumet, is offering Black Friday deals on delicious seafood in partnership with Daiquiri Land right next door. Holiday shoppers and worn-out Thanksgiving cooks can take advantage of its special November 25 from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. with offers like Blue Crab for $2.99 and Catfish Nugget Baskets for $6.99. There’s a choice of Boudin Balls or Chicken Wings/Tenders Baskets for $5.99 or customers can take advantage of the colossal Seafood Lovers platter for $29.99.
After grabbing up some seafood goodies at OMG, customers can hop next door to its sister company, Daiquiri Land, and get a small daiquiri for just 99 cents. The medium is $3, the large $5 and the extra-large is $10. Why such great deals? Well, co-owner Crystal Solomon says, “The Black Friday specials are our way of giving thanks to our customers and this community, that we are so grateful to be a part of.”
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2022.
