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The Kipper Club gives new meaning to a chef’s table
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Saturday, April 18, 2015 • Page 1B
Ready to grind
Contributed photo Pictured L to R: Chef Graham Laborde, Benradines’s; Chef PJ Stoops, Foreign Correspondents; Chef Richard Knight, Hunky Dory.
By Kim Hogstrom For The Leader Houston offers some interesting dining experiences. In fact, food critics across the nation are beginning to define the city as a dining destination, helping promote Houston’s fast-growing “foodie tourism.� In a city boiling over with culinary choices, one would think the most creative might be in Montrose or Downtown. Some are, but one of the coolest operates in a building shared by a Shell gas station on a dicey corner in the Heights. Sitting on the cutting edge of all things culinary, the Kipper Club Test Kitchen occupies a space that previously housed “Tippy’s Soul Food, Fried Chicken & More,� on Yale St. at Crosstimbers Ave. It is identified only by a small sign in a window, and nothing more. “Originally, we thought we would be trying recipes for our new restaurants there, and serving only our friends and others in the industry. It was a test kitchen for us. Then, when we opened it to the public in September of last year, the response was so great we just kept doing it,� said Kipper Club Manager, Dave Mayes. The Kipper Club has taken pop-up meals to a new level. Some of the meals feature up-and-coming local chefs. Some are the work of high-profile talent from places such as Charleston or New Orleans. The only common denominator is creativity. One event was dedicated to Scottish poet Robert Burns, and the chefs prepared their own rendition of haggis, or sheep’s pluck, (which guests actually ate and enjoyed, Mayes said). Recently, several local chefs teamed up to serve a Seder feast including boiled eggs, lamb and schmaltz-whipped duchess potatoes. “We’ve recognized an opportunity to create a space that sheds light on the next generation of culinary talent in Houston--the people who are going to push food forward in the years ahead. It gives these chefs an opportunity to get valuable feedback, as well as recognition from the public. The Kipper Club Test Kitchen has become a kind of showcase for future talent,� said Mayes. “The club is so much fun. We normally seat about 40 people at a large, communal table. Guests are nearly sitting in the kitchen with the chefs while they prepare. Most of the meals are three to six or seven courses, and the chefs are available to answer questions. People seem to really enjoy it,� said Jennifer Wright, Public Relations Manager for Treadsack. Prices for each meal vary, but guests can expect to pay between $65 and $120 per person, normally including complimentary alcohol. There are two seatings per night, sometimes more for brunches, and the price includes another cool complimentary feature – a shuttle bus from the Treadsack offices at 18th St. and N. Shepherd Dr. “I have only been to the Kipper Club once, but it was a true experience,� said Eva Kelly, a well-regarded, well-traveled, local foodie. Kelly says she is so into food, she is currently planning a trip to “eat her away across Vietnam.� “The entire Kipper Club event was edgy and cool. The food was unique and great, but my favorite part may have been the shuttle to a gas station. Altogether, it was an adventure from start to finish,� Kelly said. So what is a “Treadsack� you may be asking? Treadsack is a Heights-based restaurant group that includes Down House, D&T Drive Inn, and publishes Sugar and Rice magazine. Additionally, the group is opening three new Heights restaurants in May: Hunky Dory at 719 W. 18th St.; Bernadines’s at the same address, and Foreign Correspondents at 4721 N. Main St. With the opening of Treadsack’s new restaurants, will the Kipper Club Test Kitchen have exceeded its life expectancy? “We’re not sure,� said Mayes. “We have been flexible about the club since the first day it opened. I suspect we will retain it in some capacity. We’ll just have to see.�
Leader Nibbles Have you had the food at Ladybird’s? By Christina Martinez Christina@theleadernews.com If the answer is no, flock over as soon you can. The food menu comes from their partnering with Southern Goods, a new Heights project from Cottonwood/Liberty Station owner Charles Bishop and Chef Lyle Bento. The food truck menu has five classics: PiBento Burger, Wing King, Taco Night Tacos, Seafood Pancake and Bone in Fish Tacos. The Taco Night Tacos are old school crispy beef tacos and the wings are traditional
sauced wings, and they are generous with the tangy hot sauce. The Taco Night Tacos and Wings are the perfect pair to share over Ladybird’s $3 craft beer pull. Chef Lyle Bento will leave you fighting over the last taco at Ladybird’s - that’s if you’re nice enough to share. Ladybirds is located at 5519 Allen St. Lunch at GrindHouse If you’re looking for a new lunch spot in the ‘hood, GrindHouse has four sandwiches under $5. GrindHouse is located at 5403 N Shepherd Dr.
Photo by Betsy Denson Heechan Chae waits for a young customer to make her selection. GrindHouse serves coffee, tea and pastries as well as lunch items.
GrindHouse coffee shop opens on North Shepherd By Betsy Denson betsy@theleadernews.com If you’ve only been open for seven weeks and you already have regulars then you must be doing something right. That’s the case with GrindHouse, at 5403 N Shepherd Dr., which serves up coffee and more right by St. Pius X High School. “We’ve gotten a lot of support from the surrounding neighborhood,� said Tony Buono, who is partnering in the venture with Patrick Villarreal and Villarreal’s son Jonathan. “The St. Pius kids come in the morning and the afternoon for frappes, smoothies, and ice coffees.� Nearby offices and businesses are also taking note of their new neighbor. The GrindHouse building on a corner lot which used to be Chirps Chicken and Rice was purchased a little over three years ago by Villarreal. Buono and Villarreal got the idea for the coffee house through their work on another venture in San Antonio. Tossing names back and forth in the car on one of their trips, they settled on GrindHouse, which refers to the obvious way coffee is made. They later found out that the name also refers to a two film feature by Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez so there’s now a movie poster in the shop as homage. Buono envisions their GrindHouse as the nonStarbucks version of a neighborhood coffee house, which in this case not only serves donuts and pastries but also lunch items, including a knock your socks off Cuban sandwich. Cuban sandwich? Buono originally lived in Tampa, FL before he came to Houston for the “thriving� business culture. “People know about the Cuban sandwich in Miami, but people in Tampa made it what it is now,� he said, noting that he roasts the pork in house. Buono said that whenever possible, they buy local. The coffee is Houston’s own Katz Coffee. The donuts are made in house from blends
enforcement. GrindHouse is open Monday through Friday from 5:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 5:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Currently they are closed on Sundays. Buono finally has his restaurant signage on the front of the building and is still making his way through the permitting process to get his pole sign in place. “It’s an easement issue
of pre-mixes. A favorite for the younger set is the gummy worm donut where the worm emerges from the hole. “It was my kids’ idea,� said Buono. With a background in restaurant management – Buono jokes that he was the grunt – he is a hands on partner in the business. In addition to Jonathan Villarreal, Buono’s cousins Heechan Chae and Eugene Chae are also on staff. Buono experiments with the food and then teaches the others how to prepare it. The GrindHouse menu is still a work in progress which explains why they don’t have a printed version yet. Icecream might be an addition down the road. “Once we get the basics done, we’ll up the level of difficulty,� said Buono. “First impressions are a lot and I want to make sure we’re doing everything right.� He notes that customer service is a big part of that. “I want us to talk to the customers and find out about them and what they want,� he said. GrindHouse also gives a 10% discount to law
with the county,� he said. While the Shepherd location is the first GrindHouse, Buono hopes to open more in the future. But first he wants to make sure the flagship location is the best it can be. “We want to be a place that people feel comfortable in, and want to come back to,� he said. “We want to be the spot.�
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