Welcome to DiningOut’s Plate Full of News, where you’ll get a plateful of restaurant, bar, and chefs happenings each week.
The 411
Portillo’s, the iconic fast-casual restaurant known for its Chicago-style street eats, is opening its first Houston-area location on Tuesday, October 22 at the Grand at Aliana in Richmond. The restaurant boasts indoor and outdoor seating, with a Southwest garage theme throughout, and the brand’s signature double drive-thru lanes where guests can score comfort eats like Chicago-style hot dogs, Italian beef sandwiches, char-grilled burgers, and Portillo’s famed chocolate cake.
Ojo de Agua, the Mexico City-born cafe that opened in River Oaks District last year, is expanding its footprint in Houston with a new location at the TMC3 Collaborative Building in the Texas Medical Center. Set to open in 2025, the new outpost will be the brand’s fourth U.S. location, and is the first restaurant revealed to be opening within the Helix Park development. Like its River Oaks counterpart, guests can expect a robust food and beverage program, which fuses Mexican and Mediterranean elements, including acai and pitaya bowls; tacos, ceviches, and sandwiches; plus made-to-order juices and smoothies, tea and coffee, and wine and beer cocktails.
Rumi’s Kitchen has announced it will debut weekend brunch on Saturday, November 16, with reservations available between 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Seats have hardly had a chance to cool since the restaurant opened last fall, with diners flocking in for its menu of Persian-inspired fare by chef Ali Mesghali. Now, they have an opportunity to experience his take on brunch, which is a mix of new and old traditions, like sangak toast topped with clotted cream; bunitsa filled with feta and pistachio preserves; Turkish eggs with labneh, spinach, and chili oil; and shakshuka.
Aiko is starting a monthly Sunday Funday series beginning October 27 during which guests can enjoy a lively party atmosphere with a DJ and dance floor, games with prizes, and food and drink specials including $2 oysters, $7 martinis, and half-priced bottles of wine from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Reserve your Sundays for the remainder of the holiday season–the series continues on November 24 and December 22.
Five years after opening Traveler’s Table in Montrose, husband-and-wife team, Matthew and Thy Mitchell, announced they will open Traveler’s Cart on Wednesday, October 23 in the space formerly housed by Pronto Cucina. Much like its sister restaurant, Traveler’s Cart will spotlight cuisines from around the globe, but in a more casual, counter-service setting. The menu of street market-inspired eats like falafel bites, butter chicken samosas, and Jamaican jerk pork ribs, is paired with a complete cocktail program that is equally inventive and diverse.
Beginning Wednesday, October 23, Annabelle Brasserie will debut its new weekday happy hour service, available in the bar from 3 to 6 p.m. The menu encompasses a number of food and drink specials discounted to $14, like Annabelle deviled eggs, baguette with raclette, braised beef short rib skewers, and the Frenchie Martini, plus red and white wine by the glass for $10.
On the Menu
Bari has launched an exclusive white truffle menu, available through the month of December. The menu encompasses both sweet and savory offerings, with decadences like Piedmontese beef tartare with golden osetra; ravioli with castelmagno cheese, potato, and marjoram buttons and butter; and coffee-crusted veal medallions, with each course featuring white truffle. Try them a la carte, or splurge on the full four-course experience ($225).
Case Chocolates, Houston’s first chocolate speakeasy, has launched a seasonal tasting menu featuring three cocktail and chocolate pairings. Guests can bask in the moody space while savoring the flavors of a cocktail like the pear and cardamom sidecar with cacao from Ghana during its nightly tastings at 6:30 and 8:30 p.m.
M-K-T Heights newbie, Buttermilk Baby has launched its inaugural menu of pumpkin spice drinks, available through the month of October. The limited time offerings include the iconic pumpkin spice latte fueled by illy espresso ($5); a pumpkin frappe ($6); and a boozy pumpkin spice shake ($14), blended with Carvel vanilla ice cream and spiked with Absolut Vanilla vodka and Bailey’s.
Kriti Kitchen refreshes its menu twice per year, and has recently added a number of seasonal dishes to its menu as a supplement to the regular line-up. Along with year-round favorites like moussaka, spanakopita, and chicken souvlaki and rice, the casual Greek cafe has incorporated fall comforts like avgolemono soup, sweet bougatsa filled with saffron custard, and dakos on tahini toast with a fried egg.
