Wendell Price has been a Food Network star and a partner with Olympic legend Carl Lewis at Houston’s Cafe Noir. He has catered Hollywood sets, cooked for the likes of Larry Flynt and O.J. Simpson, and served as executive chef in a restaurant co-owned by Denzel Washington. More recently, after his 2012 conviction on tax-related crimes, Price was an inmate in a Memphis jail. And now Price is back in his hometown, trying to get his career back on track via Rustic Oak, a restaurant slated to open at 511 Richmond Ave in January. Rustic Oak is taking root in a restored Montrose home near Spur 527; Price tells Culturemap’s Eric Sandler he “prayed for a unique spot instead of a strip center,” — and lo, there appeared this bungalow, right next door to the Brooklyn Athletic Club and directly across Richmond Ave. from the Post 510 apartments.
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So there’s where the oak comes from. Price tells Sandler he is aiming for a “rustic chic” vibe. The interiors you see in these shots from the building’s most recent listing will be adorned with antiques and chandeliers in what will be a 40-seat restaurant with 3 dining rooms and 2 bars: one inside facing the exposed kitchen and the other out back for the whiskey and cigars crowd. According to Sandler, Rustic Oak’s menu will be French-inspired and seafood-heavy, with dishes such as savory shrimp breakfast pancakes, barbecue crab and roasted oysters taking pride of place.
- Celebrity chef looks for a fresh start with plans for a hot new “rustic chic” restaurant [CultureMap]
- Watermelon Dreams and Chocolate Thoughts, [Chef Wendell Price]
Photos: Davis Commercial
A toilet by the door certainly is “rustic.”
Hmmm, yes, well not one of these “celebrities” strike me as great conesuers of world class cuisine. Isn’t Denzel from The Bronx. I’m sure someone will give this jail birds cooking a try, but it won’t be me..and that building looks like a juke joint in the 5th.
I hope the toilet in the middle of the floor is not indicative of his cooking. A foreshadowing of your night to come? Not a great image. Maybe it just reminds him of his jail cell, who knows.
Oddly enough I love the wood on wood look. Very rustic, very chic.
Why is every chef a rising star or a celebrity? It’s all such bogus hype.
Just look at all that lumber required to built a little ole bungalow!
I am a chef and I agree with JT. Its a horrible career choice full of over-inflated egos. Been doing it for 25 years, time for another career. I should have been a farmer….
What’s up with the HATERS? I’m a cone-surer of many things… especially French cuisine and wine.
The Rustic Oak is on point!
As I enter the establishment it feels as if “God’s Angels†are hovering over. The aroma mixed with food, flowers and oils in the candles were telling my pallet… I’m getting a “Treat.†The food is ever so delightful… It’s like a breath of fresh air. Chef Wendell walks humbly around checking to see if his customers’ needs are satisfied…. I promise you they are.
Chef Wendell… Keep doing you and let the doubters wonder why their customers are dining at the Rustic Oak!!
Sir it took (25) yrs. to realize you were in the wrong industry? REALLY??
Blessings…