10/15/13 4:15pm

A PREMATURE PHOTO OF PREVIEW, OPENING SOON IN SUGAR LAND This signless storefront, a reader reports, will be the home of Preview, the seafood restaurant opening this November just a few doors down from the forthcoming Welfresh Market on Hwy. 6 in Sugar Land. Chef Jason Liao explains to Eater Houston why he chose the ’burbs: “[B]ecause it fit into his budget, is a high-end area and he ‘saw what was happening with Underbelly, Uchi and Oxheart opening in uptown, midtown and [central] areas’ but wanted to take a different route.I’m not trying to do volume or turn tables,’ Liao says. ‘I can afford that small space in that area, and can have people who appreciate what we do [want to] go out there and eat.'” [Swamplot inbox; Eater Houston; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Swamplot inbox

10/14/13 4:15pm

IZAKAYA-WA OPENING REAL SOON IN MEMORIAL Eater Houston’s Darla Guillen reports that that Japanese izakaya-style restaurant and bar that a Swamplot reader in August reported would be opening in the Memorial Bend Shopping Park will be opening this Wednesday. And Guillen suspects that the location just inside the Beltway at 12665 Memorial Dr. could very well prove to be very well chosen:It seems that the restaurant’s proximity to some Japanese corporations will likely encourage a strong Japanese following.” [Eater Houston; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Houston Sushi

10/14/13 12:00pm

THE HIGH-TECH BURGER JOINT IN THE WOODLANDS Wanting to try Fielding’s Wood Grill, now open in the strip center on Research Forest Dr. where Shenandoah meets The Woodlands, the Houston Press’s Molly Dunn discovers an amenity inside that could prove tricky for the finger-licking clientele: “There’s . . . an iPad bar . . . to surf the web, chat with friends or play some games. It’s as though they took a portion of the Apple Store and placed it smack dab in the middle of the restaurant.” [Eating Our Words; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Swamplot inbox

10/14/13 11:00am

We hardly knew ye: The Sonic Drive-In at 7001 Harrisburg and 70th has quietly closed and covered its windows with solemn gray-painted plywood. The place had been situated among other chains and franchises and bus terminals near the recently installed big yellow bumper at the end of the forthcoming East End Line, catty-corner from the Magnolia Transit Center and a few blocks north of the Gus Wortham Golf Course (and perhaps the potential future Botanic Garden).

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

10/10/13 10:35am

Architecture firm Stern and Bucek has come up with this rendering of the Menil Collection’s new cafe, part of the free museum’s long-planned expansion of its Montrose campus. The design for the cafe — which is yet to be named but will be run by Greg Martin (of Cafés Annie and Express and Taco Milagro) — appears to adapt and elaborate upon the gray bungalow at 1512 Sul Ross St., on the other side of that path from the Menil Bookstore; this is the same site, says a press release from the Menil Collection, that architect Renzo Piano originally had in mind for a similar amenity. So there’s that. Whatever it’ll be called, the cafe, it appears, will split the difference between the museum’s main entrance and the parking lot off W. Alabama.

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

10/08/13 3:15pm

It looks like the former Discount Liquor is getting sobered up and converted into a restaurant. Permit documents hanging on that plywood indicate that the 1965 1,440-sq.-ft. corner store at 4902 Almeda will be transformed into a “take-out restaurant” to be named the Maxwell Street Grill — though it’s near the corner of Almeda and Rosedale.

Photo: Allyn West

10/04/13 3:30pm

CUPCAKES AND COCKTAILS FOR THE DOME It’s been a long week for the Astrodome. And whether you want to see the old thing saved or destroyed you might feel fairly wrecked yourself at this point. Could you stand to tip one back or perk up with some sugary calories? Well, a pair of local retailers are providing wares that just might do the trick: Through November 5, the date voters will decide whether to approve that bond measure that would pay for the Dome’s conversion into convention space, Triniti on S. Shepherd will be offering a special cocktail, the Colt 45. And through October 24 Crave Cupcakes will be selling at its Uptown Park and Upper Kirby locations the “Save the Dome” cupcake toppers shown in this photo. [Preservation Houston; previously on Swamplot] Photo: @KPRCawillis

10/02/13 11:00am

HEIGHTS GOOD DOG HOLDING THE WHOLE-GRAIN MUSTARD A FEW MORE WEEKS Well, we had been told it would happen in September, but Eater Houston is now reporting that the non-mobile version of that purveyor of encased meat Good Dog won’t be opening at the former Big Mamou spot at 903 Studewood in the Heights for at least a few more weeks: “[T]hey’ve seen some delays and are waiting on ‘things that are out of our control,’ presumably permits and other city-related issues. . . . [Owner Daniel] Caballero says they’re hoping to be open ‘definitely in October.'” [Eater Houston; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Eater Houston

10/02/13 10:00am

THE NEW MONTROSE BAR SPORTING HOUSTON SPORTS WALLPAPER Looks like the name of the bar and restaurant that will be taking over the old Sophia and Café Artiste spot in Montrose just around the corner from the Menil Collection will be Lowbrow — and not, as the TABC sign that was hung in the window in April suggested, Faustian Bargain. Developed by Omar Afra, who heads up Fitzgerald’s and the Free Press Summer Fest, Lowbrow will be stocked with local craft beers and local insignia too, reports Culturemap: “[Artists] Blake Jones and Dual have partnered to create a wallpaper that incorporates iconic Houston images such as the Astrodome and the Houston Oilers derrick logo.” [Culturemap; previously on Swamplot] Photo: Allyn West

10/01/13 11:00am

Maybe this mystery has been solved: That old building at 908 Henderson just a block south of Liberty Station on Washington Ave is being converted into a restaurant called Big Eyed Fish. The owners just started posting some pics of the renovations to a Facebook page, and a new website promises that the place — “think southern upscale cuisine,” the website explains — is opening soon.

Photo: via Facebook

09/27/13 12:00pm

The waterfront pedestrian-friendly complex in The Woodlands named for the famous recluse has signed another place to eat some grub: Whiskey Cake. The rendering above shows the Restaurant Row, part of the 66-acre spread on Lake Woodlands, which is also planned to include office buildings, apartments, entertainment venues, a hotel, grocery store, and other retail. Community Impact News reports that this row could house as many as 6 restaurants; by 2015, Whiskey Cake will occupy about 8,000 sq. ft. here, joining Escalante’s Fine Tex-Mex and Tequila, which is slated to open first sometime next year.

Rendering: via Facebook

09/26/13 4:15pm

The next Dunkin’ Donuts in Houston will be in Humble. Though this newest one, to open next Tuesday at 18315 West Lake Houston Pkwy., will have the all-important drive-thru window, it will also include some room for those who need to stay a bit longer: The standalone in Orleans Square will have 2 conference rooms geared up with projection equipment, each of which could hold about 20 people, give or take.

Additionally, Prime Property reports that there will be one more Dunkin’ Donuts to open in the area before the end of the year and as many as 60 in the next 5 years.

Photo: Swamplot inbox

09/26/13 1:30pm

COMMENT OF THE DAY: A JUICY BURGER IN OIL TOWN “I went there relatively frequently, but I was turned off by how much grease the burgers had — there would just be puddles and puddles on the tray by the time I was done, and it got the bun all soggy. Once when I ordered, I asked if after they finished cooking the burger they could let it sit and drip off the grease a little bit. The chef came out and told me no, that was impossible, but they gave me a second ‘backup’ bun.” [MindTheGap76, commenting on Downtown Burger Guys Closes Down] Illustration: Lulu

09/26/13 1:00pm

COMMENT OF THE DAY RUNNER-UP: UNJINXING A TOUGH RESTAURANT SPOT “We had a building in my hometown that housed several restaurants that all went belly up within a couple of years. A few of them were pretty good, too. Then the Los Cucos chain came in, invited a priest to pray over the joint and sprinkle some holy water on it, and then — according to gossip — they brought in an curandera to do some kind of magic on the place, and now it’s been open and busy for a good ten years and counting. I’m not saying I believe in all that stuff, but . . . does it hurt to cover all the bases? The landlord should at least do whatever the Flying Saucer is doing to stay in business.” [Anse, commenting on Downtown Burger Guys Closes Down]

09/26/13 12:00pm

The fake graffiti has been removed, and the neon signage switched on: Torchy’s Tacos opened its 3rd Houston location earlier today inside the former Harold’s in the Heights store on the corner of Ashland and W. 19th. The others are in Rice Village and on S. Shepherd. Torchy’s is occupying about 3,400 sq. ft. in the mod men’s retailer, sharing the rest of it with the Heights General Store. (Which isn’t yet open.) There aren’t any restrictions on the tacos or guac at this new location, but because this area of the Heights is dry, if you want a beer to wash your tortillas down you’ll have to join Torchy’s private Firewater Club.

Here’s a look at some more neon:

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY