Welcome to DiningOut’s Plate Full of News, where you’ll get a plateful of restaurant, bar, and chefs happenings each week.
The 411
Bunkhouse Hotels’ signature coffee shop, Jo’s Coffee, has opened its first Houston location — and first location outside of Austin — at 1023 Studewood Street at the corner of East 10½ Street in the Heights. Along with breakfast tacos and its robust beverage program, including coffee and soft liquors like craft beer and frosé, Jo’s will be serving up a beverage called the Bungalow, made exclusively for Heights customers, crafted with espresso, milk, vanilla, cayenne, and cinnamon. The opening comes on the heels of the hospitality brand launchin Hotel Saint Augustine, with its landmark restaurant Perseid led by Aaron Bludorn, in Montrose in January.
Beginning Monday, March 3, the Warwick will operate under its new name, Winsome Prime. The choice to rename the restaurant was made in an effort to match its new direction, which will combine its mashup of New American fare and Southern cuisine with prime steaks. Guests can still expect to see favorites like the Hawaiian ribeye, Snapper Orleans, and Chicken Royale, alongside new sushi offerings.
As part of Hotel Granduca’s long-anticipated renovation, the all-suite boutique hotel is debuting a new signature restaurant called Remi. Like the hotel itself, Remi’s menu will lean into European flavors with a Texas touch for its casual take on fine dining for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. An adjacent space, called Bar Remi, will serve as a lively gathering area featuring coffee by day and cocktails by evening. The new hotel restaurant, and the property’s renovations that include a refresh of the lobby and event spaces are set to be completed this year.
KWO (Kore Wa Oishidesu) Sushi is now open at POST Market, the sprawling food hall inside POST Houston. Led by Houston-based wife-duo, Fabi and Daniela Guevara, the concept features small plates like edamame and dumplings, both traditional and non-traditional sushi rolls, fresh nigiri, and rice bowls with proteins like chicken teriyaki, spicy tuna, and pork belly.
Iconic Houston hospitality group, Adair Concepts, has appointed Mexico City-born Diego Fernandez as its first-ever Culinary Director. Fernandez, a CIA grad who honed his chops at illustrious Michelin 3-star restaurants like Alinea in Chicago and Quince in San Francisco, will help the group put a spotlight on chef-driven offerings. He will oversee kitchen operations for all Adair restaurants, which include Los Tios, Skeeter’s Mesquite Grill, Bebidas, Buffalo Grille, and others. The menu at both Adair Kitchen locations has already had a major makeover, with 80 percent of the evening menu having been reimagined. Guests can look forward to dishes like citrus-cured snapper with watermelon aguachile; porchetta with salsa verde and braised collard; and gemelli pasta with Italian sausage, roasted fennel, peas and triple-cream cheese.
Happenings
Sylvia Casares, aka Houston’s “Enchilada Queen”, has announced a new schedule of Saturday cooking classes lasting through June 14. The classes are held from 1 to 4 p.m. at Sylvia’s Enchilada Kitchen’s Eldridge Parkway location, and cost $70 per person. Class types include Texas Mexican kitchen basics, backyard grilling, tamales, and border-style enchiladas. Registration can be done online or by calling 832-230-3842.
Burger Bodega’s Guest Chef series continues. On Thursday, February 27, for one day only, chef Abbas Dhanani of Burger Bodega is teaming up with chef Lucas McKinney of Josephine’s Gulf Coast Tradition to create a sandwich that combines the best of both restaurants. The Viet-Cajun crawfish patty melt layers two smashed crawfish cake patties, lettuce, tomato, pickles, and Viet-Cajun remoulade between Viet-Cajun buttered buns. The zesty handheld will be offered at Burger Bodega from 11 a.m. until sell-out.
On the Menu
This March, Little Rey is launching a guest chef taco collaboration series to benefit Southern Smoke Foundation. The restaurant will feature one special taco created by a local chef each month, with 100% of proceeds supporting the cause. Pitmaster Leonard Botello IV of Truth BBQ will kick things off with the March special, a smoked beef cheek taco with Pasilla Oaxaca sauce, and will be followed by chef Aaron Bludorn in April, who has created a pastrami birria taco as a nod to Bar Bludorn’s Reuben. Chef Rebecca Masson of Fluff Bake Bar will take the savory route in May with a choco-taco with vanilla ice cream in a chocolate-dipped waffle cone taco shell.
Executive chef Felipe Botero has debuted a new winter menu at Michelin-starred Le Jardinier. Guests can expect appetizers like heirloom roasted beets with shaved Brussels sprouts and warm foie gras with a royal port reduction, compressed figs, and toasted brioche; entrees like red wine braised short ribs with parsnip fondant and grilled chicories; and smoked salmon benedict brioche with bok choy and miso hollandaise, offered during weekend brunch.
State of Grace has reinstated its Chef’s Counter seven-course tasting menu ($145) with wine pairings ($65). The exclusive experience gives diners a more honed in look at the restaurant’s fresh offerings, with courses presented by the chefs who prepared them. Reservations can be made by calling the restaurant directly.
Michelin-starred restaurant, March has reopened with a focus on the city of Venice for its upcoming season. During this iteration, chef Felipe Riccio will showcase dishes that reflect the land and the sea, and which combine Venetian ingredients with the robust flavors of the Mediterranean. Wines are just as much a part of the journey, with Master Sommelier June Rodil curating the selection to include such gems as the Bisol Prosecco Valdobbiadene DOCG, a bubbly selection from the Veneto region; and the mineral-driven Hatzidakis ‘Familia’ Assyrtiko 2023 from Santorini.
