Halloween is sneaking up on us as quickly as Michael Myers on the teenagers of Haddonfield. Houston, however, is already rolling out the thrills and chills. Bars are hosting seasonal pop-ups and restaurants are creating horror-themed cocktails and devilishly-delicious desserts.
We were invited recently to a media preview to check out the Spookeasy pop-up at HiFi at The Finn, a downtown Houston food hall on Main. Here’s a look at some of the haunted decor and potent potions that the listening lounge has to offer this month.
I took my husband, Classic Rock Bob, as my companion since music is his thing and a listening lounge seemed right up his alley. He’s also a little devil, so the theme was appropriate as well.
We parked at the 803 Fannin garage which is listed as being next door to The Finn. “Next door” seemed a bit of a stretch as we found ourselves walking at least a city block. It was a Thursday and downtown Houston seemed rather quiet. Even the food hall itself had a sparse number of diners.
Passing the variety of food stands, we walked up the stairs to HiFi. Immediately, I loved the style. It’s retro, but still a little traditional with red leather half-circle booths and a number of tables centered around a DJ stand filled with albums. There’s no doubt that this is a music-centric venue.
We were shown to a reserved area with a window overlooking downtown and a ceiling blanketed with vinyl albums. We scored a booth which would comfortably seat four but we were fortunate enough to not have to share. Several other pairs, much younger than ourselves, were already enjoying cocktails from a handy menu of five themed drinks and a couple of shots. As well as having the limited-time drink menu, there was a list of featured beer and wine, plus classic quaffs such as an espresso martini and French 75.
We put in our drink order with a friendly, if slightly frazzled, server and checked out the decor. It’s rather dark in the back bar and sitting area at HiFi, so it was a little difficult to see the Halloween decorations. In fact, we had to take the black lace scarf off of our table lamp to read the menu.
There were lighted ghosts, hanging skeletons and a wall of fake newspaper clippings about famous serial murderers and monsters, mostly cinematic horror stories. A projection of the Cheshire Cat smiled eerily from a wall above a small stage but the decor was friendly-scary, which was cool by me. That’s how I decorate my own house for Halloween, with smiling ghosts and happy Jack-o-lanterns. CRB says we have the least frightening house on the street.
The drinks arrived, one at a time. Methinks the number of ingredients in the cocktails may contribute to a little bit of a wait. CRB’s Elixir of the Bride came in an awesome black tiki cup, while my Scream-sicle arrived in a milkshake glass, befitting the boozy ice cream inside. Mine was delicious with the sweet flavor of candy corn that still allowed the hint of vodka to come through. CRB’s drink sounded amazing on paper but the mezcal overpowered the coconut rum, lime and kiwi. A little restraint with the smoky spirit would allow more of the tropical flavors to come through.
When several dishes arrived at the table, we were sorry that we had eaten dinner beforehand. Thinking it was only a sneak peek at the Spookeasy, we didn’t expect any food. We sampled what we could, but weren’t overly impressed by anything other than the bulgogi fries. Though the bulgogi glaze itself was a little salty, we loved the sidewinder-style fries. They stayed amazingly crisp under the pile of beef and sauce.
While my Scream-sicle won the first round of drinks, it was CRB’s chosen cocktail that took the honors on the second round. His Boozlebub was a blend of Corralejo tequila, jalapeno, lime, creme de cassis and agave with touches of rosemary and jasmine. He liked that it was a tad spicy but not burning. It’s garnished with pepper devil horns if you need some extra heat.
My Devil’s Soul was robust to say the least. With Wild Turkey 101 rye as its base, it had a lot of other ingredients including Cynar, lemon juice, Aperol, blackberry and elderflower. And mezcal. Again, the mezcal overpowered the other flavors and this is coming from a gal who really likes mezcal.
The lounge is an intimate spot that works for both date nights and hangs with friends. The crowd skewed on the younger side but we didn’t feel uncomfortable being the oldies. It was also heavily female so it seems a comfortable space for young women to meet up with pals.
We decided to try the limited-time shots before we left, although we sipped them rather than downed them, which I think makes more sense anyway. The Jal-O-Ween was a potent mix of Hornitos Reposado tequila, creme de cassis, cranberry, lime and rosemary agave. It is definitely meant to be nursed. She Came Down in a Bubble was actually my favorite concoction of the evening. Made with Tito’s vodka, ginger, peach and champagne foam, it strangely tasted more like vanilla candy.
Despite being a hip downtown hangout, the special cocktails were decently priced at $13 and the two Spookeasy shots were $8 each. House wine is also $8 along with a selection of autumnal beer like Saint Arnold Oktoberfest and a City Orchard Harvest Spice cider.
While some Halloween pop-ups are over-the-top creepy, HiFi’s Spookeasy is more about unique cocktails and a relaxed vibe. The music was primarily Afrobeats that evening, but there are often DJs making appearances as well as live jazz performances.
For the rest of October, HiFi will have a calendar of events in conjunction with its Spookeasy menu including a Halloween-themed musical bingo, two Spookeasy burlesque shows and Records Beyond the Grave, a bring-your-own-vinyl night.
HiFi at The Finn
712 Main
