Welcome to DiningOut’s Plate Full of News, where you’ll get a plateful of restaurant, bar, and chefs happenings each week.
The 411
HiFi, a new cocktail bar and listening lounge, is now open on the mezzanine level of the Finn (previously known as Finn Hall) in Downtown. While the Finn is a family-friendly destination, HiFi is limited to guests 21 and up, and features a cocktail menu developed by the Finn’s, Beverage and Food Director, Terra Velasquez, and a food menu of pan-Asian bites. Guests can look forward to live analog performance by rotating record selectors, theme nights, and secret menus.
Chef and pitmaster Greg Gatlin is competing in season six of Food Network’s BBQ Brawl: Flay v. Chauhan v. Lofaso, premiering on Sunday, June 1 at 8 p.m. The lauded chef, who runs Gatlin’s BBQ and Gatlin’s Fins & Feathers, is held in high regard among Houston’s barbecue community, and will now compete against pitmasters from around the nation at Star Hill Ranch in Austin for the title of Master of the ‘Cue.
MAVEN Coffee Company’s patented cold brew concentrate is now available in nine Central Market locations across Texas. Bottles of the 32-ounce concentrate are available in the grocer’s refrigerated cold brew and drink mixer section for $12.49. This step is yet another milestone for the budding Houston-based premium coffee brand, co-founded by Houston Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. and entrepreneurs Juan Carlos de Aldecoa and Blake Fertitta.
Arnaldo Richards, chef and owner of Picos Restaurant has launched fajitadelivery.com, an online platform designed to have individual and large-format meals delivered in Houston. Along with fajita feast packs in varieties like beef tenderloin and chicken and presented with fresh corn or flour tortillas, housemade chips, and rice and beans, customers may order soups, salads, quesadillas, burritos, and desserts including churros and dulce de leche cheesecake. Margaritas, both frozen and on the rocks, and beer can be delivered too.
In a partnership with dedicated non-alcoholic brewer Athletic Brewing Company, Chris Shepherd has joined forces with chefs Chris Cosentino, David Chang, Ashley Christensen, and Sarah Grueneberg to launch Aftershift, a limited-edition non-alcoholic brew being sold exclusively on athleticbrewing.com, while supplies last. $50,000 of Aftershift’s profits will benefit Southern Smoke Foundation, in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month.
The team behind luxe event spaces, the Astorian and Le Tesserae, have debuted Aperitivo, an Italian-inspired rooftop lounge in a fifth floor space at 2940 Riverby Road in Houston’s East River development, now open Wednesday through Saturday from 5 p.m. The Venetian-style design, with custom plaster walls, Murano glass lighting, and verdigris ceiling tiles, serves as a dramatic backdrop for guests to enjoy cocktails and a Mediterranean-inspired menu. Offerings include lamb sliders, foie gras-stuffed cannoli, and beef Wellington bites; heartier mains like pasta with vodka sauce and salmon with roasted cauliflower; and desserts like seasonal bread pudding and cafe au laid creme brulee.
Happenings
Bludorn’s Blu Bayou Chef Series, powered by Resy, continues on Thursday, May 8 with its third collaboration dinner featuring chef Sarah Grueneberg of Monteverde in Chicago. The restaurant will transform into a classic Italian red sauce joint for the evening, and guests will be treated to a special four course dinner with dishes like skirt steak giardiniera and aglio e olio with spring garlic. Reservations can be made via Resy.
Craft Pita is teaming up with Winnie’s to host its second annual Habibi Night at the Mid Main restaurant on Saturday, May 10 from 6 to 11 p.m. The celebration of Lebanese culture will feature a collaborative menu prepared by chef Rafael Nasr of Craft Pita and Winnie’s co-owners Graham Laborde and Benjy Mason, to include pomegranate molasses BBQ wings with labneh ranch, eggplant pirogues, and sandwiches with Lebanese flair like the lamb meatball grinder and a Za’atar Fried Chicken Sandwich. A menu of Arak cocktails and hookah will also be on offer.
8th Wonder Brewery is hosting its Heads and Tails Crawfish Boil on Saturday, May 17 from noon to 6 p.m. Bagzz of Bugzz will be selling mudbugs, and entertainment includes a live performance by Ruben Moreno’s Zydeco Re-Evolution at 3 p.m. and DJ Bassman from 2 to 6 p.m.
Hidden Omakase is hosting its next tuna breakdown dinner on Monday, May 19, with two seatings offered at 6:15 and 8:30 p.m. The one-of-a-kind experience will showcase executive chef Marcos Juarez breaking down a 200-pound whole tuna followed by a 15-course omakase-style tasting menu crafted from nose to tail. The immersive experience will also include offerings from a Domus caviar cart, complimentary Beluga vodka tasting, and live oyster shucking. The cost is $325 and reservations may be made via Resy.
On the Menu
Energy Corridor billiards hangout, Woody’s Hideaway is straying from the norm with the launch of its extended happy hour, offered Monday through Friday, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. During this time, guests can take advantage of food and drink specials like $4 draft beer, $5 wells, $6 house wines, and appetizers like Philly cheesesteak eggrolls and fried pickles for under $10. Pool table access is also discounted to $7 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., making Woody’s a perfect lunch hour escape.
During the month of May, Little Rey is partnering with pastry chef Rebecca Masson of Fluff Bake Bar to offer a choco taco, benefitting Southern Smoke Foundation. The waffle cone taco, filled with vanilla ice cream, has a chocolate shell, topped with fizzy chocolate-covered crispy cocoa crunch and colorful sprinkles.
Etoile has launched its spring menu, showcasing a handful of seasonal additions. New offerings include the Vol Au Vent, an indulgent starter combining puff pastry, chicken dumplings, lobster medallions, and asparagus in a morels mushroom sauce; the Loup du Chili, a seared Chilean seabass with truffled gnocchi, asparagus, English peas mousseline and truffled cream; and Porc Iberique, an Iberico pork skirt, served with mashed potatoes and spring vegetables. Master Chef Philippe Verpiand is also making the most out of peak strawberry season with a special off-menu dessert, the Tutti Strawberry, made with fresh chopped strawberries immersed in chilled fruit reduction, topped with a scoop of strawberry ice cream and served with a cream-filled pastry roll.
