Local Table, 4223 Research Forest, will open July 24 in The Woodlands. It's the fifth location for the local brand from the family-owned hospitality group Eat Local Concepts. Led by a mix of brothers and cousins that include Ashkan Nowamooz, Arash Noamouz, Alex Nowamooz, Shervin Sharifi and Neima Sharifi, it also has Sue Nowamooz as executive chef and Lindsey Martin as beverage director.
The Woodlands location will have an inviting 3,700 square-foot patio and 7,000 square feet of interior space. There is also a private event space that can accommodate 40 guests.
The menu offers a vibrant array of from-scratch dishes including a number of plant-based options as well as seafood, wood-stone pizzas, wraps, tacos and sandwiches. There are Mediterranean-inspired eats such as the Falafel Bowl, Homemade Hummus, Gyros Plate and Lemon Pasta as well as classic American fare like burgers and Southern fried chicken. Vegan items such as the Honey Ginger-Roasted Brussels Sprouts Salad and Southwest Bowl offer choices for all dietary needs.
It offers brunch on Saturday and Sunday with traditional breakfast dishes such as omelets and scrambled eggs, Croissant Egg Sandwich, Migas and Prosciutto Eggs Benedict along with lunch items. Its Liquid Brunch menu offers the Bigmosa, Ultimate Bloody Mary, Sangria and its Spicy Pineapple Margarita.
Sugar FRK, 314 Gray, is in soft opening mode with a grand opening planned for this weekend July 14 through July 16. The dessert cafe and bar comes from chef and restaurateur Don Bowie, known for his waffle-centric concept Taste Kitchen + Bar. He has recruited pastry chef Tramaine Covington to help create the menu at Sugar FRK and the two have collaborated on items like fresh baked doughnuts, uniquely-flavored cookies and made in-house marshmallows.
Some of the doughnut options include Filled Chocolate Cheesecake, Orange Creamsicle and Filled Lemon Meringue. The cookie flavors are no less interesting with choices such as Key Lime Pie, Banana Pudding and a chocolate-dipped S'mores version using its house-made marshmallow cream.
The bar portion of the concept offers boozy frozen drinks like Espresso Martini and Frappuccino plus daiquiris in flavors such as Banana Pudding and Strawberry Cheesecake.
And now, we will have a Rick James earworm for the rest of the day. "She's a sugar freak, sugar freak, she's sugar-freaky, yow."
Common Bond On-The-Go, 9755 Katy Freeway, opened July 12 on The Lawn, the 30,000 square-foot green space outside Hotel ZaZa Houston Memorial City. The grab and go version of the locally-owned bistro and bakery brand offers guests convenient options for coffee drinks, breakfast pastries and tasty sandwiches and salad bowls. The company opened another Memorial City Common Bond On-The-Go in the 18-story office tower at 820 Gessner in early May of this year.
Some of its scratch-made pastries include its popular croissants, the hard-to-find-elsewhere kouign-amann, kugelhopfs, macarons and scones. Lunch is easy on-the-go with sandwiches such as The Lemongrass Pork, Chicken Salad Croissant, Ham & Cheese and the Texas Club Croissant. Breakfast runs from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. with items like its Breakfast Bites (mini quiches with no pastry) and its Egg and Cheese Croissant.
In addition to a variety of coffee drinks and juices, the Common Bond on The Lawn will also offer adult beverages including frose and an array of mimosas available by the glass or carafe. There is wine and beer for purchase at the new location as well.
Margaux's Oyster Bar will participate in Bravery Chef Hall's Summer Chef's Tasting Series July 24.
Photo by Leo Spin
C 3 Cafe is the first of the new concepts to arrive at the downtown food hall. It's being called a coffee, cocktail and cultivar lounge with licensed cannabis products being the "cultivar" part of the concept. Joining the team is beverage expert Sean Beck who many Houstonians will recognize from his previous days at H Town Restaurant Group's Caracol, Hugo's and Backstreet Cafe.
Beck said of the partnership, "I'm delighted to be consulting for the passionate group of folks behind C3, They have a clear-cut goal for crafting a concept that takes a thoughtful, high standard of approach to providing top-notch coffee, mocktails and cocktails while making an environment where they can provide real information and access to quality, licensed cannabis products."
The cannabis education is set to begin sometime in July.
Bahn Bahn Thai Food comes from chef Sam Mangkalee and owner Steve Weng. Bahn means "home" in Thai and that's the feeling the duo wants to give guests with authentic Thai dishes such as coconut shrimp salad, pad Thai and drunken noodles. It's shooting to open in August 2023 at Bravery Chef Hall.
Florence and a Machine is the upcoming (and cleverly named) deli concept from chef Erik Cruz. Freshly-baked focaccia will be the base for its Florentine-style sandwiches which will have a selection of high-quality deli meats and cheeses. It will also have specially-curated charcuterie boards for sharing. It's also slated for this August at Bravery Chef Hall.
Bravery Chef Hall has also launched its Summer Chef's Tasting Series, a special one-night only ticketed event with seatings at 7 p.m. First up is Figo Sugo with its All-American dinner July 17 with chef Chris Zettlemoyer offering his take on classic American cuisine. It's followed by Margaux's Oyster Bar July 24 with chefs John Kincaid and Choey Dang hosting a "Pool Party" dinner. Tickets are available here. Check out Bravery Chef Hall's website for the full summer lineup.
Lick Honest Ice Creams, 3821 Bellaire Boulevard, opened softly this week and will have a grand opening July 16 which just happens to be National Ice Cream Day. For the grand opening day, Lick will offer free scoops of ice cream from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
The ice cream brand was founded in Austin in 2011 by co-owners Chad Palmatier and Anthony Sobotik. The couple met in New York City in 2005 eventually landing in Austin. The duo were committed to creating ice creams that were "honest" using pure ingredients while rejecting artificial colors, preservatives and high fructose corn syrup.
One of those pure ingredients is the dairy that goes into the ice cream. The milk and cream are sourced from single herd, family-owned farms where the welfare of the grass-fed cows is a priority. Its sauces, cookie crumbles and other inclusions are hand-crafted in-house. Even the waffle cones are homemade and rolled in-shop. Lick Honest also uses many local vendors and producers for its ingredients such as Navarro Pecans and Gundermann Acres.
Its Everyday Flavors includes Caramel Salt Lick, Fresh Mint and Chocolate Chunk, Goat Cheese, Thyme and Honey and Texas Sheet Cake. Seasonal Flavors such as Honeyed Peaches with Rosemary and Blueberry Crumble have to be enjoyed while they last because Lick Honest abides by a strict code when it comes to seasonal produce. There are dairy-free and vegan options including Peach Oat Crisp and Watermelon Swirl.
Topping choices include caramel sauce, chocolate sauce, toasted Texas pecans and chocolate cookie crumble. It also offers ice cream sandwiches, craft sodas and canned cold coffee brews.
Another Houston location is slated to open in August at 3737 Cogdell at Autry Park.
Twisted Grilled Cheese, 401 Franklin, opened July 8 at POST Houston. Located inside the food hall area, it makes the fourth location for the locally-owned gourmet sandwich concept. It began as a food truck in 2019 before opening its first brick and mortar on Washington in late 2020. It followed with a location in Katy in March 2022. More recently, it opened its third spot at Memorial City Mall this past April. People are digging the ooey-gooey cheese.
The TGC menu at POST will include its 5 Cheese Classic Grilled Cheese, Halal Philly Cheesesteak and Smokehouse Brisket. It will also debut some new items like the Texas Classic, a grilled cheese made with turkey and ham and the Twisted Pig, a cheesy sandwich loaded with ham, bacon and pepperoni.
Other faves will be available including Mac & Cheese Balls, Tomato Basil Soup and sweets such as Funnel Cake fries and Cheesecake Donut Holes.
1817 Fine Waterfront Dining, 12 Evia Main, is shooting to open by the end of 2023 in Galveston. The new concept comes from John and Jessica McAleer, owners of Buffalo Grille, with two Houston locations, and Lil' Buffalo Grille in Galveston which is located across the street from the spot planned for 1817.
The new restaurant will have indoor and outdoor seating with lake views as John McAleer told the Galveston County Daily News. Chef Salvador Castro, currently a chef at Lil' Buffalo Grille, will lead the kitchen with Jason Jackson serving as director of operations. There will be lunch and dinner service along with a weekend brunch. Guests can expect items like charcuterie boards, pizzas and high-quality burgers on the lunch menu while dinner entrees will include fresh seafood and prime steaks. There will also be a full bar and curated wine list.
Captain D's, 5902 N. Fry, opened July 12 in Katy. It's the second Captain D's restaurant of the 10 planned from the team at Checkout Food Stores which includes business partners Irfan Ibrahim and Salman Iqbal along with development president Uzair Ibrahim and director of operations Furquan Ibrahim. The group opened its first Captain D's in Humble in November 2022.
Furqan Ibrahim said of the venture, "Our team invested in Captain D's because we saw a lot of opportunity and growth for the brand in the Houston metro. The seafood menu offers something different from the typical fast food choices and the quality is superior."
The new Katy store will have seating for 44 guests along with a double drive-thru. carry out and call-ahead ordering is also available.
Barnaby's Cafe, 8155 Long Point, opened July 1 in Spring Branch. The local chain is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and the patio is dog-friendly in keeping with its puppy-loving reputation.
Breakfast dishes include French Toast, Falafel Scramble, Corn Beef Hash and Eggs along with Houston's favorite morning pick-you-ups like Migas con Huevos and Chicken Fried Steak and Eggs. The lunch and dinner menu is filled with options such as its large entree salads, a dozen burger choices and a variety of sandwiches including its French Dip, Pesto Chicken Salad and Meatloaf Bruschetta. There are entree plates like Ribeye Steak and Fries, Grilled Salmon Filet and Hawaiian Pork Chops.
A selection of sweets includes Big Carrot Cake, Chocolate Addiction Cake and Apple Pie a la Mode.
Graze Craze, 23227 Gosling, opened June 26 in the Gosling Green shopping center. The charcuterie concept specializes in creating charcuterie boards and boxes for catering, dinner parties, office meetings or just on-the go snacks. The charcuterie is handcrafted by a trained expert called a Grazologist using gourmet meats, cheeses, fruits and vegetables, house-made jams and artisanal sweets. Customers can choose from its menu of Char-Cutie Cups and Picnic Boxes or elevated boards for larger gatherings.
The Spring franchise location is owned by Manual and Ellie Zaragoza. It is open for pick-up and local delivery Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Coltivare, 3320 White Oak, partnered with H-E-B grocery stores in 2020 to sell pre-packaged meals from its menu. It has since expanded all over the city. From July 12 through July 25, H-E-B customers who purchase a Coltivare Meal will receive a free single-serving Meal Simple Salad. There are six dishes to choose from including Rigatoni Bolognese, Pepper Chicken Penne, Braised Beef Lasagna, Chicken Parmesan, Chicken Piccata and Sausage Cannelloni.
