Fall 2021 Issue

OSCAR WYATT NOW

FIFTH A N N I V E R S A RY ISSUE

JAMES LEE BURKE UH’S NEW MEDICAL SCHOOL THE LEGACY OF BERT LONG JR. and introducing

PEYTON

ICONIC FASHION

Valentino, Gucci & the Legends of the Fall

2021-22 SE A SON

H O U S T O N

G R A N D

O P E R A

IF YOU LOVE HER, BEWARE

CARMEN Oct.

Oct.

Oct.

Oct.

Nov.

Nov.

Nov.

Nov.

22 24m 28 30 03 05 06 07m

Photo by

by Lynn Lynn Lane Lane Photo

BIZET

BIZET

CARMEN Oct. 22–Nov. 7

JOEL THOMPSON ANDREA DAVIS PINKNEY

THE SNOWY DAY Dec. 9–19

POULENC

DIALOGUES OF THE CARMELITES Jan. 14–22

MOZART

THE MAGIC FLUTE Feb. 4–13

PUCCINI

TURANDOT Apr. 22–May 6

GOUNOD

ROMEO AND JULIET Apr. 29–May 11

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Contents

32 12 PUBLISHER’S LETTER 14 EDITOR’S LETTER 16 CITYBOOK AT LARGE

Feeder 20 NEWS Relish celebrates five years, Jennifer Mathieu’s Bad Girls, fall’s new nightclubs and more!

28 ’70s STYLE Fall fashion and home decor are inspired by the divine decadence of the disco era.

32 MUSIC Having just turned up in Rolling Stone and on HBO, Peyton is shaking up the fall with a tour and a brand-new record.

6 | houstoncitybook.com

34 ART The vivid work of late artist Bert Long Jr. is celebrated at Deborah Colton Gallery.

36 BOOKS At 84, Houston-born superstar novelist James Lee Burke returns to the bestseller list — with a hero from H-Town.

38 NEWSTONIAN After helping to start UH’s med school during a pandemic, Bhavna Lall insists “healthcare is a human right.”

40 PEOPLE This fall Oscar Wyatt, the war hero and oil tycoon, will do something he’s always avoided: He’ll take the spotlight.

46 PARTIES 57 ANNIVERSARY Houston CityBook marks five years in print.

Contents

68 Feature 68 FREE FALL Fashion’s most glamorous houses are shaking off the austerity of darker days and serving up sensational seasonal style.

Book Reports 84 DINING Three years ago he was working at Amazon. Today Thomas Stacy is chef-owner of one of Houston’s buzziest restaurants.

88 TRAVEL Great hotels for quick Puerto Vallarta escapes! Plus: horse racing in Miami and cruising returns to Galveston.

90 GUIDEBOOK 96 SECOND GUESS

On the Cover Model Khay Pope in Valentino, photographed by Ashkan Royaee at the Blossom Hotel.

Jewelry by Zadok Jewelers.

8 | houstoncitybook.com

JEFF GREMILLION Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor

Evan W. Black

Creative Director

Patrick Magee

Style Editor-at-Large Senior Stylist Podcast Producer Writers

Photographers & Illustrators

Stylists & Groomers

Kate Stukenberg Todd Ramos Luke Brawner Chris Becker, Leah Cast, Holly Crawford, Brant Croucher, Ray Dennison, Amanda Llanes, Zachary McKenzie, Ed Nawotka, Mellanie Perez, Mai Pham, Gemini Quintos and Natalia Gonzalez Blanco Serrano Kat Ambrose, Dionne Christiansen, Greta Connolly, Fulton Davenport, Jenn Duncan, Kelli Durham, Kirsten Gilliam, Carla Gomez, Jhane Hoang, Shannon O’Hara, Daniel Ortiz, Phoebe Rourke, Ashkan Roayaee, Debora Smail, Julie Soefer, Al Torres and Steven Visneau Bianca Linette, Edward Sanchez and Tanesha Seafous

LISA HOLTHOUSE Executive Publisher Sales Director

Peter Remington

Associate Publisher

Jennifer Kahlden

Account Executives

Joanna Jackson and Heather Murrill

Operations Director

Eric Holden

Technology Director

Christopher J. Nodd

Advisors & Partners

M. Sonny Garza and David Paul Rabalais

Accountant

Christopher Doyle

945 McKinney Street, Suite 119, Houston, Texas 77002 832.514.3001 Phone | 832.514.3002 Fax FOR SALES INFORMATION sales@houstoncitybook.com TO CONTACT AN EDITOR evan@houstoncitybook.com

President and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Gremillion Vice President Lisa Holthouse Chief Operations Officer Eric Holden Chief Technology Officer Christopher J. Nodd Advisors M. Sonny Garza and David Paul Rabalais Style Editor-at-Large Kate Stukenberg

1 8 O 1 P O S T OA K B LV D , H O U S T O N | Z A D O K . C O M

Publisher’s Letter

W LISA HOLTHOUSE Executive Publisher

trial and tribulation has taught us. How do we experience the beauty of life, regardless of what is going on around us?

We breathe and take it slowly.

We focus on the positives rather than drowning in the negatives.

We celebrate five wonderful years of publishing CityBook — no small feat for a new company that has endured plenty of curveballs in its formative years, including a global pandemic.

We honor hometown heroes such as Oscar Wyatt, along with his iconic wife Lynn, for all that they have done for our city and our country.

We highlight up-and-coming leaders and stars, who continue to elevate Houston in the fashion, food, literature and art arenas.

We get out safely and enjoy all that Houston has to offer.

We remember that once hurricane season passes this fall, Houston has the most wonderful weather that will bring everyone to outdoor patios and parks — all the way through spring!

We keep living and loving.

What will you do this fall? I wish you nothing but beauty, safety and love.

With gratitude…

photo by steven visneau; shot at omni houston

12 | houstoncitybook.com

ell we leaped out of summer on a watermelon sugar high, some of us blessed with the ability to sneak away from the noise and pretend like everything might be all right.

For that I’m grateful.

But we are still living in this very strange space in time.

One minute, so thankful to live in Texas, basically mask-free and feeling pretty “open.” Yet in the very next moment, this moment, praying for the recovery of a wonderful man on a ventilator at Methodist hospital. And many, many others quarantining at home with the Delta variant that has invaded their bodies, although fortunately many holding strong because of their vaccination defense.

As excited as I am about writing to you in this issue, I would feel remiss to not open with my lingering thoughts and prayers for anybody still suffering from Covid-related issues. It’s still so alive.

What do we do now that the fall season is upon us?

We must celebrate. We must continue to find and experience the beauty in life. And I think this is something Covid, 9/11 (whose 20th anniversary we just marked) and every other

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Editor’s Letter

I

14 | houstoncitybook.com

our publication, which I can still say, a half-decade on, is still a locally owned and independently published magazine that’s fully committed to producing smart, beautiful content for and about Houston, and Houston exclusively.

We don’t run any content produced in other cities, as some do. No influencers from L.A., no fashion shoots from New York. No thank you. We have more than enough great stories right here in Houston, and more than enough talented people to tell them.

This was our plan back in the fall of 2016, when I wrote in this space: “My remarkably committed colleagues and I envisioned a magazine with the feel of a fashionable lifestyle publication that also made room for more serious journalism. We wanted it to be upscale and focused without being elitist or narrow. We imagined a periodical with the look of a beautiful national magazine but that would be, from cover to cover, all local. We aspired to hold up a mirror to a great city, teeming with ideas, rife with ambition, and diverse.”

I’m proud we’ve stuck to our guns and built a current, relevant and — per our milestone anniversary — lasting brand in this venerable medium, which I still love.

And I’m even prouder we did it in Houston.

JEFF GREMILLION Editor-in-Chief

photo by steven visneau; jacket by zegna, shirt by eton, pocket square by eleveny, jeans by ag, all at m penner; shot at omni houston

’ve been an editor of some stripe for one printed periodical or another for most of the last 30 years, which blows my mind. I mean, at my tender age — 50 is the new tender, right? — I can’t believe I’ve done anything for 30 years.

But here I am, still working in what’s become a boutique industry, producing articles and images and affixing them to pieces of paper, with ink, and gluing them together into a booklet. These days, explaining how magazines are made feels a bit like a tour guide at some historical site describing how people preserved food for the winter in olden days. Like salting meat in Williamsburg or burying cabbages in Appalachia.

Of course, Houston CityBook also has a website.

It’s actually grown in leaps and bounds this year, and my staff and I — all print magazine people, used to having monthly or bimonthly schedules — have evolved into daily journalists, posting dispatches from the city’s culture several times a day. In all those decades of my career, it’s only lately that I’ve had daily deadlines. It was daunting at first, but I’ve discovered that I like it!

And yet the heart and soul of CityBook, and of me as a professional, is our magazine.

And I’m delighted to note that, with this issue you hold in your hands, we mark five years in print. Houston has embraced

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CityBook At Large Updates

from HoustonCityBook.com & beyond

ICYMI

Insta-Worthy Moments

Here are a handful of hits from our social-media feed. Follow @houstoncitybook for more!

STYLE

Reagan Bregman Launches Athleisure Brand

July 15 Dolly Parton-loving, behind-baring Brad Bransom was the first social media star to answer our ‘Influencer Summer’ questionnaire.

Reagan Bregman, at right, bride of Astros slugger Alex, launched a line of athleisure clothing called Exiza, intended to promote “exercise to feel good, sustain mental health and live a happy, fun life,” per the mission statement. The initial launch included pretty, sherbet-colored biker shorts, leggings, strappy bras, ribbed tanks and hoodies designed to comfortably fit a variety of body types.

August 21 CityBook’s ‘Pet Project’ series featured adoptable three-legged Cleo — who has since found her fur-ever home!

MUSIC

LEGACY

Beyoncé Covers Cowgirls

ZZ Top’s Dusty Hill Passes Away at 72

To commemorate her 40th birthday, Houston’s favorite daughter Beyoncé graced the September covers of ‘Harper’s Bazaar’ — three versions in total, shot by Campbell Addy. Much of the wardrobe was pulled from the new black-cowgirl-inspired collection of Beyoncé’s own Ivy Park.

16 | houstoncitybook.com

Dusty Hill, cofounder of iconic band ZZ Top, died in his sleep at his home in Houston in July. Gutsy and bluesy ZZ Top, which was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2020 and is planning a tour this year.

September 7 Indian mainstay Pondicheri says it’s going meatless on Mondays, highlighting veggie curries and ‘dosas’ with chutneys.

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Fall 2021 STYLE, CULTURE, BUSINESS & MORE

Dancing with the Stars EMMA FORRESTER’S dreams of being a professional ballerina began at age two. This fall, the 19-year-old Houston native is officially joining the Houston Ballet — a rare honor for a local gal, as the company only picks the best of the best from all over the world. It’s a full-circle moment for Forrester, who joins as an apprentice, having grown up as a student of the Houston Ballet Academy — and who today finds herself working alongside her role models. “I have pictures of me as a child with some of the dancers who are still in the company now! It is beyond thrilling to think that I will now share this stage with some of my idols. Honestly, it is a dream come true.” –zach mckenzie, photo by ashkan royaee

FEEDER News

THE DISPATCH

TELEVISION

Season 19 of Bravo’s Top Chef cookingcompetition show will be set in Houston. Per a Chron report, Padma Lakshmi will host, and Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons will serve as judges.

Houston’s own Dawn Burrell, who went far on Season 18 in Portland, will have a role as a returning fan favorite, as well.

City leaders tout the production as a major opportunity to showcase Houston’s diverse and impressive culinary community to would-be tourists nationwide.

Music

Personal Best

H

ouston-reared indie rocker and American Idol alum Zach Person’s new self-titled debut record, which was put on hold due to Covid but finally dropped earlier this year to rave reviews, includes his white-hot single “Can’t Stop Running,” a bluesy track that climbed radio charts nationwide. “The spirit of the blues is at the heart of most of my songwriting,” says the 24-year-old Person, who now bases in Austin. “A lot of the tracks on this album possess a theme of pain and suffering, and the will to overcome the obstacles ahead of one’s self.”

–jeff gremillion

ART

MFAH has exhibitions this fall offering fresh takes on the works of Georgia O’Keeffe, Pablo Picasso and Alexander Calder.

Georgia O’Keeffe, Photographer, opening Oct. 17, highlights the influential painter’s little-known exploration of photography as a medium, touting 90 modernist photos from a previously unstudied archive. CalderPicasso, opening on Halloween, examines how the contemporaries made use of “the void, or absence of space,” the museum says.

“Provocative, unpredictable and dynamic.”

20 | houstoncitybook.com

Style

Male Call New high-luxury boutiques have hit the Galleria, including a Louis Vuitton men’s store, a first for Texas. The sleek, artful new store proffers the fall-winter 2021 ready-to-wear collection and popular accessories such as Evidence sunglasses. And Paris’ 260-year-old perfumery House of Creed has bowed, touting the brand’s newest men’s scent, Viking Cologne, with notes of sandalwood, bergamot and nutmeg.

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FEEDER News

Style

THE DISPATCH

Tote Note INSPIRED by the fashion house’s 100th anniversary celebration this year and a sense of nostalgia — note the iconic red felt that’s long been used in the packaging of the brand’s leather goods — the Gucci 100 tote also has the Guccireferencing lyrics of the Cramps’ 1983 hit “You Got Good Taste” emblazoned on the back. Many accessories from the centennial collection reflect Creative Director Alessandro Michele’s fondness for styling the Italian brand’s logo in new and distinctive ways. $2,800, in the Galleria

JEWELRY

After temporarily shuttering, Bella Madre Jewelry is back, touting new owners who share the same inspiration as the brand’s founders — to honor the most important women in their lives: mothers.

The new owners will continue to the focus on “meaningful” contemporary fine jewelry. bellamadre jewelry.com

Books

Bad Girl Confidential

CULTURE

Blue Squirrel Productions will present The Woman in the Mirror, a play based on wellknown Houston radio personality Dayna Steele’s 2012 memoir about her mother’s Alzheimer’s journey, Nov. 4-14 at Match.

SHOPPING

New area boutiques include two shoe-savvy shops at M-K-T in the Heights.

Nollege, a Dallasheadquartered high-end consignment shop focusing on exclusive sneakers, streetwear and vintage is opening its first Houston brick-and-mortar this fall. And the first Houston location of stylish Europeaninspired men’s footwear purveyor Taft has arrived.

22 | houstoncitybook.com

A

new young adult novel

by Houston author and Bellaire High School teacher Jennifer Mathieu about girl gangs in Houston in 1964? Yes please. Which also happens to be the name of Amy Poehler’s memoir.

The connection? Poehler directed and acted in the Netflix adaptation of Mathieu’s previous novel, Moxie, the story of a “riot grrrrl” rebellion, which debuted earlier this year to critical and audience acclaim. In October, Mathieu’s fifth novel,

Bad Girls Never Say Die, serves up a feminist reimagining of S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders, one that promises to explore the deep bonds of female friendship. Naturally, the book features a rivalry between the “good girls” from the “right” side of the tracks and Mathieu’s star Evie Barnes, a “bad girl” who is a little too brash, bold and into boys for the times. Mischief? Yes please.

Mayhem? Yes please. Murder?

Maybe! Read it to find out. Hits bookstores on Oct. 7 –ed nawotka, photo by daniel ortiz

Development

Checking In Arguably Texas’ hippest hotel developer — soundtrack-savvy Bunkhouse, whose properties include ATX’s Hotel Saint Cecilia and Hotel San Jose and Hotel Havana in San Antonio — is coming to Houston.

Designed crisply and in scale with its mostly residential Montrose setting near the Menil, Hotel Saint Augustine will break ground next year.

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FEEDER News

THE DISPATCH

Addie and Dustin Teague

CULTURE

The city’s top performing arts groups are back to business this fall after Covid shutdowns and slowdowns and digital interludes.

HGO, which has also announced the imminent arrival of a new CEO in Khori Dastoor, the first woman to fill that role, offers the classic Carmen starting Oct. 22. The Houston Ballet, after performances of Jubilee of Dance Sept. 30Oct. 3, presents the opulent holiday favorite The Nutcracker beginning Nov. 26. And the Alley Theatre, celebrating its 75th anniversary this season, opens its curtain for Sweat Oct. 1, the Pulitzerwinning play about factory-worker women; 72 Miles to Go…, an immigration drama, runs Oct. 15-Nov. 14.

Duos

Relish the Moment

W

hat happens when an entrepreneurial restaurateur marries a chef? Well, if they’re Addie and Dustin Teague, they make a big impact on Houston’s restaurant scene. Their Relish Restaurant & Bar, now celebrating a milestone anniversary, has become one of River Oaks and Upper Kirby’s favorites. “It’s been a crazy five years,” says Addie.

They met in high school in Houston but went separate ways — her to New York, him to Austin and Vegas — before finding their way home and reconnecting in 2009. “I had the idea to open up Relish Fine Foods, and Dustin was working in catering at the time,” says Addie. “He came on board to help me as executive chef and the rest is history.”

That history includes making the leap from working together to dating, to tying the knot and starting a

family; little George is 4, and his baby sis June is 1.

Some big changes happened at Relish, too. They outgrew the fine-dining concept and decided to make their cuisine more accessible to more people.

“We felt like there was a need for a neighborhood restaurant serving simple, delicious food,” Dustin says. Customers seem to love the deviled eggs and cioppino, while Dustin cites the beef carpaccio as his favorite and Addie picks the porchetta melt and barbecue shrimp.

The couple is considering expanding with a second location, but there’s no rush. All is good for now. “This is what we’ve dreamed of,” Dustin says. “We provide for our family and get to employ a lot of wonderful people all while serving the great community we live in. And doing it all with your best friend makes it that much more fun.” –zach mckenzie, photo by julie soefer

Art

JEWELRY

Tiffany & Co.’s new Knot collection transforms a familiar industrial shape — the chain-link — into something that is modern and refined, it says.

Shoppers can find the striking jagged angles on bracelets, rings, necklaces, pendants and earrings at Tiffany’s Galleria store.

24 | houstoncitybook.com

Bott’s ‘Candy’s Dandy, But…’ from 2010

Go for Baroque Known for his geometric works, a Houston legend will be featured in an Anya Tish Gallery retrospective, HJ Bott: A Baroque Minimalist, Oct. 23-Nov. 27. Bott, a ’50s propaganda artist for the U.S. Army, has made politically progressive pieces for 60 years.

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FEEDER FEEDERNews News

Legacy

THE DISPATCH

The ‘Unfinished’ Artist

SOCIETY

A busy season of galas, many waylaid last year

by Covid, includes Alta Arts’ Oct. 21 Out of the World gala, which supports local artists with an emphasis on those in the underserved Sharpstown community nearby.

Guests will be the first to take in a David Hacker exhibit at the Alta space, and enjoy a special performance by Houston’s beloved crooner Bubba McNeely.

When R&B starlet JaeRene was killed by a drunk driver earlier this year at age 19, the city lost a bright rising star. Her music will live on, however, thanks to what her manager, Joshua T. Dada, calls “an outpouring of support” from Houston’s music community, to help him and the late artist’s mom complete what would have been JaeRene’s debut album. The record, Unfinished, draws on several tracks that were in various states of readiness when JaeRene died. It features the single “Bed of Lies,” the chorus of which JaeRene laid down just a week before the car crash, with Grammynominated singer Ari Lennox filling in missing verses and background.

Similarly, artists ranging from crooner Luke Whitney to members of the Houston Symphony, and accomplished producers like Bruce Bang, chipped in to reimagine and wrap up the other songs. Unfinished drop in November. –jg

Style

La Vie Style

SHOPPING

Cute new boutiques! Dallas’ La Vie Style, famous for its all-pink interior the owners say is inspired by a Parisian jewelry box, opens soon in the River Oaks District, with cool pieces that range from short caftans in heart-shapedcut lace and leopard sequins to full-length wraps in metallic brocade.

And Jardín has opened in a cute little Montrose storefront sharing a back courtyard with Brasil café.

The new shop combines apparel, homewares and fresh floral in a uniquely neighborhoody vibe.

26 | houstoncitybook.com

Fancy Footwork New York lifestyle brand Frances Valentine has opened in the River Oaks District, its first Texas outpost, touting women’s apparel, handbags and shoes — like calf-leather slides adorned with rabbit fur for $75.

A rendering of Wyld Chld

Clubs

NIGHT RIGHT

N

ew Houston company Sekai Hospitality is readying two splashy nightclubs for autumn debuts. First up, slick Wyld Chld, taking over the former The Classic space on Washington, will have a stage for performances, plus a patio and rooftop terrace. Soon to follow: EaDo’s Sekai Day and Night, a VIP-savvy stadium-style mega-club with a pool made for sin.

FEEDER '70s Style

Groovy Glam!

1

This year, fall fashion is inspired by the return of the decadent disco era. And the Seventies have never been sexier! Stand out in highshine metallics, sequin dressing and bold statement accessories.

By Amanda Llanes

2

5

6

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by Rudolph Friedmann at Deutsch Fine Jewelry 2. Scarf neck tank, $950, and belted trouser, $1,350, both by LaPointe 3. Crystal sandal, $2,295,

by Jimmy Choo 4. A look by Saint Laurent 5. Cropped top, $550,

by NUE 6. Mini bag, $2,395,

by Jimmy Choo 3

28 | houstoncitybook.com

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FEEDER '70s Style

Me-Decade Deluxe

2

3

Are these heirlooms of the past or the future? As fashion disco-dances its way through yet another love affair with the 1970s, contemporary decor and archival re-editions alike nod to the era’s curvaceous geometrics and bold colors.

By Adam Cook

1

1. Cushion, $750, by Gucci 2. Rug, by Cristina Celestino for Maison Matisse, at Shop 3. Mirror, by Ettore Sottsass Jr, at Poltronova 4. Sofa, by Cassina 5. Armchair, by Patricia Urquiola for Moroso, at Shop

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FEEDER Music

PEYTON’S PLACE Having just turned up in ‘Rolling Stone’ and on HBO, jazzy R&B sweetheart Peyton is shaking up the fall with a tour and a brand-new record.

By Sam Byrd, Photo by Riot Muse

S

he grew up the granddaughter of Grammynominated gospel singer Theola Booker — who also taught piano lessons to an elementaryschool-aged Beyoncé — so is it any mystery that local chanteuse Peyton loves music?

“My parents say I was singing before I could talk,” says the rising star, whose recent accolades include turning up on an HBO soundtrack, being written up in Rolling Stone, and a nationwide fall tour. “Being surrounded by music and in a family of musicians, it was easy to gravitate towards it. My grandmother made sure I was the best I could be.”

Of course, it was more than just her gifted family that influenced Peyton, a Kinder High School for the Performing Arts alum who also dabbled with Theatre Under the Stars’ programs. She also credits the city of Houston itself with shaping her sound. “Houston is a place that made me who I am because it’s culturally diverse,” she says. “There’s so much variety we’re exposed to daily, and it’s played a part in my artistry. I’m so grateful I’m from here.” Her style blends vocal jazz and neo-soul in an R&B twist, a complement to her earthy, natural and even shy demeanor. She so closely resembles the girl next door it’s a surprise to find she’s a burgeoning recording star.

Her first album, Reach Out, dropped in 2019, and two of her singles were featured in the HBO hit series Insecure.

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“When the day came when the episode would be aired, I just couldn’t believe it fully,” Peyton says. “I freaked out, and it was an awesome moment. [Insecure co-creator and star Issa Rae] had been a fan of mine and loved my music for years, and it was the perfect music for the scenes.”

It turns out, Rae wasn’t the only one noticing Peyton’s rise. Rolling Stone featured her in its annual “Hot List” this summer, saying her “music fits alongside a deep tradition of soul and R&B in Houston” and notes her “bright and emotive croon.” She was also tapped to tour with rapper Theophilus London.

Now Peyton has dropped her smooth-grooving sophomore album, PSA, which is available to stream. The album’s name is partially derived from the idea that it’s “Peyton’s Second Album,” but it also allowed her to explore her vulnerability. “I was able to talk about love, loss of relationships, acceptance of death, imagination, creativity, and friendships,” she says.

“I was able to show most if not all the types of sounds that I appreciate.” She incorporates hints of jazz, pop fusion, pop, R&B, dream pop and ’90s-style drum-and-base.

Peyton says ultimately her current success owes as much as anything to simply making a commitment to show up and do the work; it’s how she made it onto HBO, after all. “It’s a testament that you have to put yourself out there. You can resonate with someone,” she says. “You never know who is watching or listening.” 

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Tiger Tales

The vivid work of late artist Bert Long Jr., a field hand and chef who became a beloved cultural figure, is celebrated at Colton.

By Julia Davila

A

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Long was born in 1940s Houston, in the historic Fifth Ward.

His father, a steel mill worker, tragically died in a workplace accident when Long was just three. Long picked cotton in the summers to help his mother provide for him and his three younger siblings, and at the age of 19, in 1959, he joined the Marines and served for four years before becoming a chef.

After a long, successful career cooking for banquets at luxury hotels like the Ritz Carlton Chicago and the Hyatt Regency Houston, he started making colorful, whimsical, folk-inspired art in the late 1970s. He described his work as “a quest to help people diagnose their inner self,” and, over more than three decades, he became the unofficial dean of Texas’ artist community. He was lauded with some of the world’s greatest arts prizes, including a 1987 National Endowment for the Arts Grant and a rare and coveted Prix de Rome fellowship in 1990. Today his work can be seen in more than 100 collections worldwide, including the MFA in Houston, the El Paso Museum of Art, New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Dallas Museum of Art. Long’s curious journey to art stardom was so intriguing to John Guess Jr., CEO of the Houston Museum of African American Culture and longtime patron of the arts, he made the documentary BERT about him, which will be screened Oct. 9 from 7-9pm at Deborah Colton Gallery as part of the exhibition. “Bert’s story is compelling as an example of how our lives can be changed by sheer will, determination and talent,” Guess says, praising the late artist’s “ability to establish warmth with those he encountered even as he single-mindedly pursued his dreams.”

Guest adds: “And in the end, with his recognition and acclaim, he became a heartwarming figure accessible to emerging artists and friend to many others. Bert’s life inspires anyone who becomes familiar with it.” 

photos courtesy of deborah colton gallery

new show highlighting the storied 33-year career of one of the Houston art world’s most towering and intriguing figures — Bert Long Jr. — is shaping up to be a must-hit for the city’s culture vultures. The Strength is from Within will run through Nov. 20 at Deborah Colton Gallery and will feature more than 30 of his best works, including paintings, drawings, sculptures and assemblages, as well as screening of a documentary about his amazing life.

The Black artist, whose bio includes turns as a cotton-field hand, a Marine and a chef, died of pancreatic cancer in 2013 at age 72, co-founded the arts-and-housing initiative Project Row Houses in Houston. He left behind a unique legacy and body of work respected by collectors, museums and numerous art institutions throughout Texas and the United States.

“He was at the forefront of helping make positive change by creating awareness of issues that affected himself and so many others,” says gallerist Deborah Colton. “Much of his art is very fun-loving,” she explains, even though some of it speaks to the struggles of African Americans, and, especially of African American artists.

Pieces in the exhibition include his famous “Riding the Tiger” from 2000. It’s acrylic on canvas with a frame made of acrylic, gold, silver, bronze and foil. Long himself told the Texas arts journal Glasstire the painting — a self-portrait of a naked Long riding a particularly fierce-looking big cat — is a metaphor for life. “Life is not easy,” he said. “Life will chew you up, claw you up, set you on fire, toss you off a ravine and pound your ass. And what you have to do every day is wake up and say, ‘Okay, I’m ready to get on that tiger!’”

Brushes with Greatness The acclaimed artist and, below, his ‘Happiness’ from 2010

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The Write Stuff James Lee Burke at his ‘pretty small’ Montana ranch and, at right, his new novel

Back in the Saddle

At 84, Houston-born superstar novelist James Lee Burke returns to the bestseller list — with a hero from H-Town. By Ed Nawotka

W

hen well-read Houstonians think of famous graduates of Lamar High School, one name comes immediately to mind: Donald Barthelme, the author of more than a hundred experimental short stories, many of them published in The New Yorker. But there’s another that might not be on the tip of tongue — James Lee Burke, the author of some 41 novels, the majority of which have been runaway bestsellers.

Born in Houston in 1936, Burke was raised on the Gulf Coast, attending St. Anne’s for school before Lamar. As a young man he spent time in Louisiana, Missouri, Colorado and California, working jobs ranging from land surveyor and pipefitter to social worker. He published his first novel, Half of Paradise, in 1965; in its review, The New York Times compared it to Faulkner and Sartre.

Burke produced several more literary works (which remain hard to find and command high prices on the antiquarian book market, although — hint! — you can find several at The Galveston Bookshop) before turning to the hard-edged, gritty mystery novels for which he is acclaimed. He says the first, The Lost Get-Back Boogie, was rejected 111 times, before being published

by Louisiana State University Press and eventually shortlisted for the Pulitzer Prize. The novels starring his best-known protagonist, former New Orleans cop Dave Robicheaux, came later.

His latest novel, Another Kind of Eden, marks the eleventh entry in Burke’s series starring the Holland family, a clan much like his own. Set in 1962 in Colorado, the book is narrated by Aaron Holland Broussard, a peripatetic Houston-born would-be novelist

36 | houstoncitybook.com

who, like Burke, has a journalism degree from the University of Missouri. Broussard finds a job as a laborer on a big farm near the New Mexico border. He starts a relationship with a local beauty with a past and soon finds himself in a heap of trouble involving drugs, cults and what may or may not be the supernatural. It’s a wild ride.

Broussard was also the protagonist of Burke’s 2016 novel The Jealous Kind; in it, he’s a teenager living in Houston in the 1950s — drive-in restaurants, souped-up cars, jukeboxes — who comes to the defense of a girl and gets wrapped up in the beginnings of a class war in Galveston. Asked if Aaron is an avatar for himself, Burke balks. “I won’t say I lived that life,” he explains, “but I will say I was there at the time.”

Today, Burke still channels an inner cowboy and lives on a 120acre ranch outside Missoula, Mont. “It’s pretty small by Montana standards — three stock tanks and three pastures,” Burke notes.

And though he admits that at 84 he’s too old to ride, he’s proud that the land also serves as a horse rescue and an animal refuge.

Inside, he writes, surrounded by the detritus of a long literary life. There are books, photographs, family heirlooms, even a Confederate sword carried by his great grandfather through the Civil War. Burke has seen a lot of time pass and has come to believe that all history may well be contemporaneous.

“The past is not even the past,” he says. “My father was something of a historian. He did not believe that time was sequential. He believed that all time occurred simultaneously, or as he would have said it, ‘as though in a dream inside the mind of God.’” In this sense, the Houston of his youth in the ’40s and ’50s lives on and on. 

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Compass is a licensed real estate broker. All material is intended for informational purposes only and is compiled from sources deemed reliable but is subject to errors, omissions, changes in price, condition, sale, or withdrawal without notice. No statement is made as to the accuracy of any description or measurements (including square footage). This is not intended to solicit property already listed. No financial or legal advice provided. Equal Housing Opportunity.

FEEDER Newstonian

Good Doctor Bhavna Lall is among the first faculty members at the new UH med school.

Trial by Fire

Having survived the crucible of helping start UH’s med school during a pandemic, a founding faculty member insists ‘healthcare is a human right.’

By Ray Dennison, Photo by Jhane Hoang

“W

e’re calling it the Fauci Effect,” says physician Bhavna Lall, describing the surge of incoming medical students since the pandemic began. Just last year, the University of Houston College of Medicine opened its doors, with a unique public-health mission and goal to improve primary care in underserved communities, accepting 30 students in its entering class. Now, with the pandemic showing the critical importance of just such missions and goals, those numbers are on the rise. It’s a major accomplishment for the UH system, and part of an ambitious long-term plan to make the university one of the most prestigious in the country.

But it sure was a crazy time to open a school, Lall recalls of summer of 2020. “We started at the height of the pandemic, and it was fascinating for these students. To be in your first year and to experience a once-in-a-century public health crisis. They really had to adapt to the challenges.”

As classes shifted to Zoom, both the new students and the school’s seasoned faculty were faced with unprecedented challenges. Not only did the professors step into overdrive with their students, but they and Houston’s entire medical community also took on new roles as public health experts and community representatives.

“This year we really got to use our voices to actually make a statement,” Lall says.

“So many people in our profession have risen to the cause, and that’s something I am proud of. In public health, we all knew a pandemic was coming, we just didn’t know when. Now, we have all been put into roles we never thought we could take on. We were called to give the facts and break things down for the public, and I hope we helped 38 | houstoncitybook.com

over the last year. It’s been crazy.”

Lall completed her bachelor’s degree at Washington University in St. Louis, where she grew up, and got a master’s in public health from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Then she continued on to medical school at George Washington in D.C. She did her residency at Yale-New Haven Hospital and bounced around the globe working in international public health. She’s provided critical care in Thailand, Uganda, Austria and the U.K., and she also worked on public health initiatives in the Caribbean, Zimbabwe and Botswana. She even worked with the Peace Corps and the World Health Organization.

To put it mildly, she’s an expert.

Just two years ago, Lall was working at Massachusetts General in Boston when she got the offer to come to Houston as one of the founding faculty members of UH’s new medical school. “I chose Houston because it was a very diverse place with a lot of change that you could actually make,” she says.

She lives in West University and is adapting to her new home, but she can’t help noticing what she sees as glaring inequalities in the city. Even before Covid, thousands of Houstonians were dying from treatable chronic ailments because they had no insurance, while, just a few miles away, cutting-edge research and top care was being delivered daily to those who could afford it in the world’s largest and best medical center.

“Houston’s diversity is amazing, but it needs to be addressed systemically,” she says. “The city cannot just be diverse in name.” She wants to see action, too, with things like better programs and government assistance to support and empower all of the region’s varied communities.

Despite the challenges, there is hope.

“The future is bright. The new students at UH are interested in changing the world. They’re incredibly diverse, both ethnically and in life experiences, and they want to change access to healthcare and resolve inequities,” she says. “We are all taking our lives one day at a time, but I will continue to promote healthcare as a human right, wherever that may be. It’s about community, country, the whole world.

“What happens in India, for example, will be in Houston in two weeks.

Houston, America, we’re not bubbles.

There are so many people pushing for change, so many people wanting to work.

Houston has such momentum. I am inspired and motivated by that.” 

Who You Work With Matters.

THE BROWN GROUP 832.710.1545 thebrowngroup@compass.com Compass is a licensed real estate broker. All material is intended for informational purposes only and is compiled from sources deemed reliable but is subject to errors, omissions, changes in price, condition, sale, or withdrawal without notice. No statement is made as to the accuracy of any description or measurements (including square footage). This is not intended to solicit property already listed. No financial or legal advice provided. Equal Housing Opportunity.

FEEDER People

Power Couple Lynn and Oscar Wyatt at home in River Oaks, summer 2021

Oscar Season

This fall 97-year-old Oscar Wyatt, the war hero and oil tycoon who squired the queen of Houston society for six decades, will do something he’s never done before: He’ll take the spotlight himself. By Jeff Gremillion, Portrait by Jhane Hoang

I

n a sunny corner of the River Oaks home he shares with his internationally famous socialite wife, Oscar Wyatt laughs easily and makes guests feel welcome.

A photographer here to take his portrait this morning remarks how jovial and funny he is, as when he intercepts a question intended for wife Lynn with the timing of a seasoned stand-up.

“Why did you marry Oscar?” an interviewer asks.

After three full beats, with the query hanging in the air

40 | houstoncitybook.com

in advance of Lynn’s reply, he belts out in comical mock exasperation, “Oh hell!” — and the room erupts in laughter.

That’s just about all he’ll have to say today. After a stroke a few years ago, Oscar, now 97, is more mellow and less boisterous and talkative than he would have been in his heyday as one of Texas’ most notable — and at times controversial — oilmen. Back when “gruff” and “abrasive” were among the most typical words used to describe him.

He’s “a throwback to the independent oilmen of another

Your home.

My passion.

Lee Kaplan Top Producing Agent 281.468.9912 lee.kaplan@compass.com Compass is a licensed real estate broker. All material is intended for informational purposes only and is compiled from sources deemed reliable but is subject to errors, omissions, changes in price, condition, sale, or withdrawal without notice. No statement is made as to the accuracy of any description or measurements (including square footage). This is not intended to solicit property already listed. No financial or legal advice provided. Equal Housing Opportunity.

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era, the ones who dug out a fortune virtually with their hands and fought hard to expand it,” said Gov. John Connally of his friend Oscar in the late politician’s memoir, noting the rise of Oscar’s Coastal Corporation and his rough-and-tumble international deal making. “He isn’t the kind of fellow who has to look at a horseshoe all day before he pitches it.

“Often blunt and sometimes profane, he is a man capable of surprising warmth and sentiment and charity,” said Connally.

The former governor joined Oscar on a trip to Iraq in 1990 during which the oil tycoon is credited with convincing Saddam Hussein to release a group of American hostages.

It turns out that Oscar is many things. Not just a magnate who had raised himself from poverty. Not just a former Aggie lineman and used car salesman, among other things, who took out an $800 loan against his truck to start a company that would later be worth billions.

(The loan story prompted Henry Ford II to weigh in, in a 1986 letter. “For over 80 years, Ford Motor Company has produced quality products for the motoring public, and I have heard many accounts of the uses to which our products have been put,” Ford wrote. “Some have been unusual, some even bizarre. But none equals what I have heard about your 1949 Ford.” Ford went on to note his dismay at the rather modest amount of the loan secured by “such a fine automobile.” He added, “Obviously, the loan was over-collateralized.”)

Besides the storied business success, Oscar is also an accomplished aviator who was an active pilot for some 70 years.

It wasn’t until his stroke in 2008 that he left the cockpit.

His history in the air — which included unmitigated heroism in the second world war — is being honored at the Lone Star Flight Museum’s “Broad Stripe and Bright Stars”

gala on Dec. 4. Although it’s hard to believe, given that Lynn is roundly considered the queen of Houston society and has thus been honored dozens, maybe hundreds of times at various fetes and fundraisers over many decades, the museum ball will mark the first time Oscar has ever been individually honored at such an event.

Lynn surely feels the time has come. “But he just never thinks about himself like that,” she says. “He never talks about himself, never brags about himself.”

This is part of how she answers that question about why she married him in the first place him back in 1963. “I’d never met a man like that,” she says. She was impressed by his takecharge nature, his worldliness, his imposing stature and the fact that he was 11 years older. “You could name any country, and he’d already been there. He knew how to solve every problem, had an answer for everything. I felt so safe with him.

“He never complains,” she adds. “Even when he got that stroke, he took it just like nothing happened. I’m so proud of him.”

Of the decision to honor Oscar, Lone Star Flight Museum President Doug Owens, himself a retired lieutenant general, says that Oscar’s “distinguished service as a decorated bomber pilot in World War II is something to be recognized and honored by us all.”

Indeed, Beaumont-born Oscar’s war heroics in the skies of the Pacific Theater, coming after teen years spent crop dusting farms in Navasota, are movie-worthy. Connally described them in his book. “He was flying a cargo of munitions out of Okinawa in 1945 when his plane caught fire and had to crash-land,” wrote the governor. “His flight suit was burning. He couldn’t see. Both his legs were crushed, his jaw was broken, and he had seven

Soldier’s Story From left: Oscar Wyatt as a young military pilot in World War II, and with Lynn at a society wedding at the Met in New York in 1988.

42 | houstoncitybook.com

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Sky High Oscar Wyatt and friend on the roof of his Coastal oil and gas company in Houston in 1990

fractures in his head. He crawled back and forth to the plane until he had dragged out his five crew members, all of them alive.” Oscar was 21 at the time.

A lot of this came as news to his four sons. “He never talked about that, except to say he was responsible for his crew,” says Trey Wyatt. “It’s in his character. He does not take credit for his accomplishments. He likes to keep a low profile.”

Trey continues: “He pointedly refused to talk about his war experiences with his children. The government of the Philippines gave him an honor for his heroism, and later the Peoples’ Republic of China did the same thing. That’s the only way we started to learn about it.”

Truly, for decades, Oscar was utterly uninterested in public affirmation and perfectly happy to let Lynn, confidant to royalty and celebs like Elton John and Mick Jagger, win the accolades and glow glamorously. After all, Forbes once reported that he’d “cultivated a hard-as-nails reputation” and Texas Monthly called him the real-life J.R. Ewing.

“What people thought meant absolutely nothing to him,” says Trey. “He used to say, ‘I’m not in business to win a popularity contest.’

“I’m glad it’s happening,” Trey says of the museum honor.

“Because he does deserve it. Our family insisted on it. My mother insisted on it. He’s been an unsung hero. He’s had an impact on a

44 | houstoncitybook.com

lot of people’s lives, but he hasn’t sought the spotlight.”

Oscar’s love affair with flight included owning many planes and serving as the family’s personal pilot for as long as Trey can remember. “Twin Beech, DC3, Lockheed Howard, a 1961 Queen Air Beechcraft from the early days of the Kennedy administration,” Trey recalls. He also references a Boeing 707, a BAC One-Eleven, “a Gulfstream II and IIB.” If Oscar was tough and open to great risk in business, he was anything but at the yoke of a plane. He was meticulous about checklists, and, as Trey puts it, he had a deep respect for weather. “He used to say, ‘I can show you a bold pilot, and I can show you an old pilot. But you’ll not find a bold, old pilot.

“I inherited that passion. That’s the reason I’m still flying,” Trey adds. “He taught me to fly straight and level.”

These days, Oscar uses a wheelchair to get around and, of course, spends a lot less time in the air. “He’s not really able to talk,” says Trey, “and that frustrates him.”

Lynn describes a conversation with Oscar this way: “Sometimes he’ll curse. He knows what he wants to say [but can’t find the words]. And he’ll say, ‘mmm, mmm, mmm …

Goddammit!’ And I’ll say, ‘Oh, I got that. That was clear as a bell.’ I’ll say, ‘wait, wait, wait.’ And then it’ll come out.”

Sometimes things take time. Like getting Oscar his due at a big gala. “And,” Lynn insists, “nobody deserves it more.” 

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SEXY SOIREE One of Houston’s most anticipated annual bashes, CityBook’s Sexy Party, returned after a year off due to Covid. Hosted at the new Heights House Hotel, a hip renovated motel, and its funky in-house bar Space Cowboy, The Sexy Party celebrated the release of the magazine’s annual Sexy Issue.

About 200 influencers and PYTs sipped watermelon-mint cocktails with Basil Hayden bourbon. Per the Sexy Party’s custom, a racy fashion show produced by Todd Ramos and featuring Page Parkes models was the evening’s main event, with revealing styles from Frock Shop, Manready Mercantile, Paula Callejas, Privilege Swim, Guyz

The Sexy Issue cover models Jasmine Grant and Jack Allred

Cora Lamb, Callie Claussen

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n Style and Chloe Dao. LG Event Entertainment and Production provided sound and light effects. Guests also had an opportunity to support the Omega House HIV/AIDS hospice, a program of Avenue 360 Health & Wellness, by buying raffle tickets for a chance to prizes including Alley Theatre tickets.

Guests included Olympic multi-goldmedalist Kerron Clement, hip-hop artist Youth Soul Love, former Houston Dynamo soccer pro Bobby Boswell, Suffers frontwoman Kam Franklin and American Idol top-10 star Uché.  Dr. Vanessa Barrow, Zsaquez Jordan

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© 2021 Sotheby’s International Realty. All Rights Reserved. The Sotheby’s International Realty trademark is licensed and used with permission. Each Sotheby’s International Realty office is independently owned and operated, except those operated by Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. The Sotheby’s International Realty network fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act.

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Zinat Ahmed, Amy Bruegging and Bethany Buchanan at the Italian Cultural & Community Center kickoff

Phoebe and Bobby Tudor at Houston Symphony’s Opening Night

Adam Greer and Tiffany LaRose at a party kicking off Homemade Hope’s ‘Home Is Where the Heart Is Gala’

Kristina Somerville and Erika Toussaint at the Latin Women’s Initiative luncheon

SOCIETY SWELLS A slew of fab functions lit up the late summer and early

fall. The Houston Symphony went full diva for its opening night, with a concert featuring Renée Fleming, and a lavish, lavender-rose-bedecked dinner at the Corinthian afterward, raising $600,000 for educational and community-oriented programming. Twin sisters Tama Lundquist and Tena

50 | houstoncitybook.com

Tena Faust, Brigitte Kalai and Tama Lundquist at the Fierce and Fabulous Soirée in support of Houston PetSet

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Lundquist Faust, joined by co-chair Brigitte Kalai, threw their 17th Fierce and Fabulous Soiree benefitting PetSet at the Post Oak Hotel, with Deborah Duncan as emcee.

A huge, colorfully dressed crowd of nearly 900 hit the Hilton Downtown for the Latin Women’s Initiative’s 19th annual fashion show, luncheon and marketplace, which netted nearly $400,000 for Houston charities that support Latin women and families. A fashionable crowd gathered in a space in River Oaks District’s central plaza to support KNOWAustism and to celebrate art made by kids living with the disorder. Tootsies hosted Dress for

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Kelly and Sina Fahrtash at a party kicking off Homemade Hope’s ‘Home Is Where the Heart Is Gala’

Kelly Anznotti, Keri Jo McCrory and Anna Reger at the KNOWAutism event

Miya Shay and Jacquie Baly at Dress for Success Houston’s annual Women of Wardrobe

Allison (Frazier) Balser & Dr. O.H. Frazier at a reception for the 2021 Scientific Achievement Award from the American Association for Thoracic Surgery

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Success’ annual Woman of Wardrobe “Summer Soiree.”

In the sunny Ansary Atrium of the Denton A. Cooley Building in the Medical Center, friends and fans of O.H. “Bud” Frazier gathered to honor the legendary heart doc as he accepted the 2021 Scientific Achievement Award from the American Association of Thoracic Sugery. And cool kickoffs included Neiman Marcus’ fete for the Italian Cultural & Community Center’s October luncheon and fashion event, and the breezy one for Homemade Hope’s “Home is Where the Heart Is Gala” at Brooke and Jeff Gunst’s beautiful River Oaks home. 

Margaret Alkek Williams and John Mangum at Houston Symphony’s Opening Night

Max Meeks and Kristen Cannon at the Fierce and Fabulous Soirée in support of Houston PetSet

Leslie Siller and Cynthia Wolff at Houston Symphony’s Opening Night

Laura SalinasPruneda and Monica Casiano at the Latin Women’s Initiative

54 | houstoncitybook.com

Betty and Jesse Tutor at Houston Symphony’s Opening Night

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2131 Bartlett $825,000

5634 San Felipe $725,000

3739 Bellefontaine Sold in Braes Heights

2312 South Boulevard Sold in Boulevard Oaks

FEEDER Anniversary

Models Wade Groux in Coach and Raliat Akinlolu in Chloe Dao, in an outtake from a River Oaks fashion shoot (April 2017, photo

by Steven Visneau).

PHOTOGRAPHIC MEMORY Our First Five Years, in Images

After an extraordinary half-decade for H-Town — multiple once-in-a-lifetime weather events, a World Series win, an epic pandemic and much more — independently published, proudly all-local Houston CityBook marks five years in print this fall. With the gracious support of Deutsch Fine Jewelry, which has appeared as an advertiser on the back cover of every single issue, we look back at our take on the glamour, grit, style and substance of the most fascinating city in America. Get the picture?

PRESENTED BY DEUTSCH FINE JEWELRY

FEEDER Anniversary

2016-2017

Clockwise from far left: Michael and Nicole Phelps join Kathryn and Josh Brolin, the event chair, for a Super Bowl bash for charity, sponsored by ‘CityBook,’ at the Memorial home of Executive Publisher Lisa Holthouse and her husband Michael (March 2017, Daniel Ortiz). Musician Cammie Gilbert appears on the first cover (Premier Issue, Julie Soefer). Twin models Josh and Chris Zatopek at The Inn at Dos Brisos in Washington, Texas (Holiday 2016, Julie Soefer). Gina Erwin and her twin sister, Lisa Holthouse of ‘CityBook,’ with Editor Jeff Gremillion and his twin brother, Shannon Gremillion (Holiday 2016, Daniel Ortiz). Model Charlotte Stevens in Stella McCartney, photographed in the Galleria area (Premier Issue, Julie Soefer). Frixos Chrisinis at his Blue Horizons fish market (Premier Issue, Shannon O’Hara).

Clockwise from top: Model Krystie Wilson in Helmut Lang at the Houston Museum of Natural Science (March 2018, Jhane Hoang). Lynn Wyatt at the party at Uptown’s Hotel Granduca celebrating the first honorees of the annual ‘Leaders & Legends’ portrait series (Summer 2018, Daniel Ortiz). Metal sculptor Tara Conley at work in Montrose, photographed for the first annual ‘A Day in the Life of the Arts’ documentary feature (November 2017, Daniel Ortiz).

FEEDER Anniversary

FIRST ANNIV ERSAR Y ISSU E!

From D to D iamonds Sens exMat! Madeational Stuff in Hou ston +

Brené B Gets rown & John Brave S Goes Loheely w

Septemb er 2017

“And all at collaps once, summ ed er – osca into fall.” r wild e

Clockwise from top left: Celebrating José Altuve and the World Series champion Astros (December 2018, Brett Coomer/AP).

Model Savannah Barker appears in Dolce & Gabbana on a fall fashion cover (September 2017, Julie Soefer). Dynamo soccer star Joe Holland in Valentino and Burberry in EaDo (September 2017, Samantha Jane Beatty). An outtake of a portrait shoot featuring indie-pop artist Lauren Warthen, photographed at Hotel Zaza Memorial in Memorial for the second annual Music Issue (May 2018, Steven Visneau).

H-TOW N G

LAM!

LIZ TAY LOR SEXY D YNA PLUS O

SCAR DE LA RENTA AN D

MO ST YLE

20172018

FEEDER Anniversary

Untorerum corro corem ipsus dera volorit omnis el etus reperferum reicide nonseque mincimi ntibus minctestrum facerferiasi consequi raecaer ibusand ignihic iatem.

Clockwise from top left: Acapella singer Charlie Mechling of Straight No Chaser and Alley Theatre actress wife Julia Krohn, photographed for the recurring ‘Duos’ feature (October 2018, Collin Kelly). Model Carolyn Locke in a gown by Houston designer Nicolas Phat Nguyen, photographed at the Houston Zoo (March 2019, Jhane Hoang). Chef Jason Gould (May 2019, Steven Visneau). Painting of former Congressman Beto O’Rourke and Sen. Ted Cruz, commissioned for the cover of the Art Issue (November 2018, Dandee Warhol). Author Mimi Swartz (September 2018, Jhane Hoang).

Untorerum corro corem ipsus dera volorit omnis el etus reperferum reicide nonseque mincimi ntibus minctestrum facerferiasi consequi raecaer ibusand ignihic iatem. Itae prae ne ium alicimuscia pelliquam voloreseque vellupt atquam, solorestio conectiat hit dictum

2018-2019

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FEEDER Anniversary

2019-2020 Clockwise from top: The cover of the home-subscriber version of the Food Issue, featuring chocolate cake with chocolate coffee mousse at the Annie Café and Bar (Winter 2020, Jenn Duncan). Surgeon Lashondria Simpson-Camp and twin Shalondria Simpson, photographed at their Midtwon med spa for a ‘Duos’ feature (October 2019, Jhane Hoang). An outtake from a cover shoot featuring Astro Alex Bregman and his then fiancé and now wife Reagan Bregman (Summer 2020, Steven Visneau). A Black Lives Matter demonstration Downtown (Summer 2020, Daniel Ortiz). A model at the annual Sexy Party and fashion show, at Clé (October 2019, Jhane Hoang).

Naya

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FEEDER Anniversary

20202021 Clockwise from left: Fifth grader Sabrina Roesler, Lemonade Day’s 2020 Entrepreneur of the Year (Winter 2021, Phoebe Rourke). Joanne King Herring, photographed for ‘Leaders & Legends’ (Fall 2020, Gittings Photography). Musician Youth Soul Love in Burberry (Fall 2020, Jhane Hoang). Model Betrice Hiller in Alexander McQueen, photographed in EaDo (Spring 2021, Jhane Hoang). Chris Wise, in Hugo Boss, featured in a fashion story highlighting Covid-displaced hospitality workers, in the Washington Corridor, on the cover (Winter 2021, Askkan Roayee).

Opening Doors and Closing Deals.

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free

fall

Just in time for CityBook’s fifth anniversary and a fabulously full fall calendar, fashion’s most glamorous houses are shaking off the austerity of darker days and serving up sensational seasonal style.

Photos by Ashkan Royaee Styling by Todd Ramos Art Direction by Patrick Magee Hair and Makeup by Edward Sanchez Shot on Location at Blossom Houston Hotel

Coat and shirt, both by Gucci. Opposite page: Tuxedo jacket, by Gucci; ring, $9,500 and bracelet, $19,500 at Valobra Jewelers.

Previous spread: Dress, by Cesar Galindo, shoes, $775,

by Louboutin at Neiman Marcus and earrings, $45,000, bangle, $35,000 at Valobra Jewelers.

Turtleneck and pants by Valentino, shoes, $1,050,

by Dior, at Saks. Opposite page: Gown and shoes, both by Valentino, and earrings, $21,000, ring, $7,000 at Zadok Jewelers.

Jacket, turtleneck and pants, all by Michael Kors Collection.

Opposite page: Jacket, pants, bodysuit, bracelets, necklace and belt, all by Chanel.

Dress and pants, both

by Stella McCartney and earrings, $12,500, necklace, $6,000, at Deutsch Fine Jewelry.

Opposite page: Blouse,

by Stella McCartney and earrings, $28,500, ring, $7,500 at Valobra Jewelers.

Dress, by Dior and earrings, $7,950, necklace, $85,000, cocktail ring, $16,000 at Valobra Jewelers. Opposite page: Dress and shoes, both

by Michael Kors Collection, earrings, $71,4000, bracelet, $69,000, bangle, $35,000, snake ring, $4,250, cocktail ring, $7,400 at Valobra Jewelers.

Blazer, $1,375, Shirt, $396, and scarf, $365, all by Etro, at M Penner. Opposite page: Dress, by Oscar de la Renta and black bangle, by Sylva & Cie, $23,250, yellow gold bangle, by Arman Sarkisyan, $36,500, green jade bangle, by Sylva & Cie, $24,375, diamond flower cuff, by Arman Sarkisyan, $10,850, gray diamond,

by Sylva & Cie, $13,125, snake cuff, by Arman Sarkisyan, $8,750, earrings,

by Arman Sarkisyan, $10,125, and ring, $12,250, by Sylva & Cie all at Lesley Ann Jewelers.

Models: Khay Pope for Wallflower Management and Richard Hester for Neal Hamil Agency.

Fashion assistant: Greta Connolly

Laid-Back Luxury

Golfweek’s #1 in Texas & #9 in the U.S. Schedule a tour with Bluejack National Realty today. www.bluejacknational.com | (281) 475-2166 | life@bluejacknational.com 4430 south fm 1486 | montgomery, texas 77316 Pricing, plans and specifications subject to change without notice. See sales consultant for details. © Copyright 2021 Bluejack National. All Rights Reserved.

Eat. Drink. Travel. Live.

A Chic Corner

photo by matthew rood

Concura Italian Bites has bowed in Highland Village, in a unique space designed by co-owner and former interior designer Jessica Biondi. For more on Concura and other food news, turn to page 84.

Dining

LATEST DISH! HOUSTON’S BEST FOOD NEWS, IN SMALL BITES ...

He’s from Portugal; she’s from India.

Together, Rick and Shiva DiVirgilio — the husband and wife team behind Oporto Fooding House in Midtown — are making Indo-Portuguese culinary magic at their stylish Michael Hsu-designed MKT Heights restaurant, Da Gama Canteen (600 N. Shepherd Dr.). Try the crab pani puri or Goan fish curry with an East India G&T.

Stepping Up A line cook at Uchi a couple of years ago, chef Thomas Stacy has just opened his own restaurant.

Passion Play

Three years ago he was working at Amazon in Seattle.

Today Thomas Stacy is chef-owner of one of Houston’s most talked-about new restaurants.

By Mai Pham, Photos by Kat Ambrose

I

In an alternate universe in which the pandemic didn’t happen, chef Thomas Stacy might still be toiling away obscurely in someone else’s kitchen.

But it’s 2021, in the age of Covid, and a few months ago Stacy debuted his first restaurant, in CityCentre, an ambitious 24-seat Euro-Asian tasting-menu concept called ReikiNa. It’s an astounding feat for someone who, until three years ago, had never worked in a professional eatery. After studying supply chain management at UH, Stacy, a Houston native, moved to Seattle, where he managed a fulfillment center for Amazon. In 2019, unimpressed with corporate life, he returned home to pursue his passion for cooking. With zero experience but a drive to learn,

84 | houstoncitybook.com

he applied for a cook’s position at his favorite restaurant, Uchi, and was hired.

He worked there for nine months, till the pandemic happened.

ReikiNa, a contraction of two Japanese words which means “divine snacks,” was created as a way to facilitate human connection. “I started the concept to fill a hole for people who wanted to have a restaurant during the pandemic,” he explains. At first, it was just a dinner he held for friends at his Montrose apartment. Social media posts from that dinner led to a weekly pop-up dinner series, which, in turn, resulted in an offer, from one of his patrons, to turn his concept into a brick-and-mortar.

The restaurant, open ThursdaysSaturdays, is an experience that

Concura — “with care” in Italian — has opened in Highland Village.

In contemporary environs, Chef Angelo Cuppone serves elevated Italian plates for sharing, a la liver crostini and saffron gnocchi with shrimp. The menu explores the less traveled regions of Italy, like the coastal town of Fano where Cuppone and owner Jessica Biondi grew up. 4340 Westheimer Rd., 832.997.4220

Eight Is Enough Octopus, potato and olives at Concura

Popular Portuguese-inspired South African concept Mozambik, with outposts throughout South Africa and Zambia, has replaced area locations of Peli Peli, including in the Galleria. The newbie is said to offer the rustic feel of a Mozambican beach with an emphasis on coastal fare and the braai, or grill.

Lots of Chris Shepherd news: Georgia James Tavern (737 Preston St.), offshoot of his acclaimed steakhouse, has debuted Downtown, with cast-ironseared steaks and wood-oven entrees.

Meanwhile, the OG Georgia James is readying to move from Westheimer to a new buildout in the Regent Square development near Allen Parkway, followed by an as-yet-unnamed concept in same complex. His One

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Dining

LATEST DISH! Indian Summer Avocado ‘bhel’ at Mahesh’s Kitchen, which opened in August

Fifth and Hay Merchant will soon say goodbye, as Underbelly Burger and Wild Oats bow in the Houston Farmers Market.

Renovations continue at UB Preserv.

Omakase, the tasting menu which means “trust the chef” in Japanese, has made a bold late-Covid-era comeback. At Kanau Sushi (2850 Fannin St.) book 24 hours for a 10- to15-course experience curated by chef Mike Lim. Chef Andy Chen of Austin import Soto (224 Westheimer Rd.) offers diners the choice of a regular or premium 18-course omakase, featuring items like fire salmon or A5 Wagyu on the hot rock. At Kata Robata (3600 Kirby Dr.), snag seats at the sushi bar for a taste of James Beardnominated chef Manabu Horiuchi’s omakase featuring fish flown in direct from Japan’s Tosoyu fish market.

Neelesh and Shubhangi Musale have opened Mahesh’s Kitchen Indian eatery in the

86 | houstoncitybook.com

The new Cantacuya cocktail at Monkey’s Tail and, above, Badolina’s chocolate-chip cookies

Sugar Land Town Square, in honor of Shubhangi’s late younger brother, an aspiring chef who passed away before realizing his dream of starting a restaurant. The chic eatery boasts an open kitchen, patio dining will also be on offer. The menu incorporates homestyle, traditional dishes such as butter chicken with free-range chicken, along with unique contemporary items such as salmon with mango, habanero and ginger. Cardamom mojitos for sipping.

16019 City Walk, in Sugar Land Seasonal Chile en Nogada is on the menu at Chef Hugo Ortega’s Hugo’s (1600 Westheimer Rd.) and Caracol (2200 Post Oak Blvd.). The dish, native to the Mexican state of Puebla, is shredded pork mixed with red and green apples, pears, peaches, plantains, sweet potatoes, almonds and raisins stuffed into a poblano pepper and topped with walnut cream sauce and pomegranate seeds.

blends art, music and cuisine — a gallery featuring large-format paintings

by Houston artists such as Bradley Kerl and Molly Koehn, music from Stacy’s eclectic personal vinyl collection, and food designed to match. There’s only one seating each night. And when you’re there, it feels like you’re at a dinner party with friends, with Stacy playing host.

Blessed with rock-star good looks — blue eyes, long hair pulled up in a bandana, and a sleeve of tattoos featuring a butterfly he says represents metamorphosis — the 30-year-old chef greets all guests personally, and concludes each evening by playing the piano. Radiohead’s “House of Cards” is a favorite.

Upon entry, guests are invited to relax and order apéritifs in the lounge, an area marked by brightly hued velvet sofas, cocktail tables and period armchairs positioned over colorful area rugs. Stacy refers to the design ethos as “grandma on psychedelics.”

When it’s time to be seated, guests have a choice of bar seating or a communal table, where chairs are positioned to facilitate easy conversation. Cue the music. Stacy chooses different genres to fit a mood, from records like 1965’s Whipped Cream and Other Delights

by Herp Alpert, or Anak Ko by Jay Som from 2019, which spin from a vintage turntable.

Mousse Makeover Matcha and white chocolate mousse with nectarine sorbet

The menu, which will be updated every two months, pulls from the chef’s experience at Uchi, his love for Houston’s broad ethnic cuisines, and cookbooks like David Chang’s Momofuku and Gabriel Rucker’s Le Pigeon, creating dishes that evoke familiarity yet reflect his singular style.

One recent night, the first two courses are Japanese-esque in nature — New England oyster on the half shell, served with sake mignonette and a couple drops neon-green cilantro oil; and yellowtail sashimi with pineapple vierge and lemon-drop melon. By the third dish, a chicken liver mousse served with butter crisp toast, lychee cassis reduction and radish kimchi, you’re starting to see more complexity.

As the dishes become more substantial, there’s that first wow moment — a crab cake fried to a crisp and served as a butter lettuce wrap with pickles and miso orange emulsion. And then, just when you think that wow moment has passed, another one hits you in the form of a char siu pork bao, a play on a traditional Chinese dim sum dish, with cherries and pickled fennel.

“I really love a tasting a menu as a way to express a full idea,” he says.

“Kind of like how an artist would write a full album, and you’d listen to a full record, as opposed to just picking tracks.” 

BRING YOUR

Holiday Event TO LIFE

BRING Whether it’s a YOUR corporate celebration or a social event, make it special at South Shore Harbour Resort. Group room rates are available.

Holiday Event TO LIFE

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Travel

Ship Shape The Independence of the Seas

NOW YOU SEA US Cruising just returned to Galveston, and ‘CityBook’ was onboard. By Ed Nawotka “WE’RE BACK!” shouted the cruise director of the Independence of the Seas, the Covid-cautious Royal Caribbean cruise ship that started sailing out of Galveston again in August for first time in 16 months, his fist raised and festooned in his black tuxedo jacket, following a set by comedian Paul Ogata on the first day of a four-day sail from Galveston and Cozumel. The Australian-born entertainment coordinator, in her skin-tight denim bodysuit, on the penultimate night of the cruise, at the ship’s ’70s “Disco Inferno” dance party, said the same thing.

Other events included a glittery ice-skating show — there’s an ice rink on board! — a performance

by El Gaucho, a Uruguayan who does dangerous stunts with a pair of swinging bolas, and the crooning tenor Darryl Williams. There are also nightly karaoke sessions, piano-driven singalongs and name-thattune contests.

Other attractions on board include a rock-climbing wall, basketball court, a wave pool where you can simulate surfing and boogie boarding, the threestories-high “Perfect Storm” duo waterslide, where you can race a friend. There’s a casino, complete with roulette, card tables and slots. And shopping, were you can buy a new Breitling Navitimer Cosmos, or a handbag from Michael Kors, or candy-colored Lacoste polo.

And then there’s the food. Consider multi-course chef’s tasting menus in the multi-story main dining room — or high-end Italian, a steakhouse, a damn fine English-style fish-and-chips shop, a branch of Johnny Rockets, a sports bar, a pub, a wine bar, a Champagne lounge and a Japanese sushi spot complete with several food-flipping teppanyaki tables for family-style entertainment dining.

Multiple cruise dates are set for fall and winter. 

88 | houstoncitybook.com

P.V. Made Easy Thanks to these sensational sister resorts, a quick getaway to Puerto Vallarta is a no-brainer. By Jeff Gremillion PUERTO VALLARTA, THE beautiful Mexican resort town on the Pacific, flanked by the Sierra Madre mountains, is an increasingly popular destination for Houstonians, and for good reason.

Direct flights are quicker and easier than most domestic destinations.

And now a pair of sprawling resorts under the same management firm, both literally just minutes from the P.V. airport, near Marina Vallarta on Bandera Bay, make the idea of a quick trip all the more appealing.

With a bit of luck, you can literally be sipping fruity drinks from a coconut at the swim-up bar less than three hours after boarding your plane in H-Town.

The Marriott Resort Puerto Vallarta, with an all-inclusive option, is noted for its slick recent contemporary-minded remodel, sexy open-air vibe and onsite seaturtle rescue operation. A footballfield-sized infinity-style pool takes up most of the seaside grounds.

Teeming with pretty people, many of them Texans, the pool has a unique, partly in-the-water, two-tiered outdoor lounge in the corner.

Even a rainy evening, which can happen in these parts, is lovely, as songs like Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer” echo through the downpour, a sweet soundtrack for watching a storm roll in from a bougainvilleabedecked balcony. Other memorable moments may be had at the Ohtli spa, which touts couples treatments, or sunrise yoga on the beach.

Meal options at the Marriott are immense and wonderful. There’s an ice cream parlor off the lobby, and, at the big breakfast bar, a chilaquiles station. Las Casitas by the sea has a burrito stuffed with shrimp, peppers, caramelized onions and serrano ailoi, with a gratin of cheddar cheese seared onto the outside; it’s a wow.

For more upscale meals, there’s Mikado, with pretty sushi and Japanese teppanyaki performance cooking. Or you can book a private

AVENTURA ADVENTURE

Horse around — and shop till you drop — in an unexpected section of Miami. By Jeff Gremillion

Shell Game Clockwise from left: The Marriott’s pool and pool bar, cool cocktails at the Westin, baby turtles safe and sound.

dining room or the twinkle-lighted herb garden for a tequila tasting of the resort’s private label, or a multi-course meal with jalapeño-roasted lobster and guava cheesecake.

The Westin Resort & Spa, Puerto Vallarta has similar amenities, including towering indoor-outdoor spaces and its own spa, with men’s and women’s private spaces with indoor pools and waterfalls. The vibe is different here, though, a bit less razzle-dazzle and bit more verdant, with lushly landscaped grounds, and a big freeform pool that seems to wind and curve throughout. Mature ficus trees with foliage shaped into squares provide shaded nooks here and there.

The Westin kitchen will make you a picnic of cheese and charcuterie and mini-baguette sandwiches of brie and pear or roasted duck and berry relish — chomp them after a morning kayaking in the bahía. At night, dine on grilled octopus or mahi mahi at the open-air steakhouse; at late night have a street-food-style burger, grilled at a cart in front of you and topped with chorizo and mushrooms, in the grandest sports-bar setting ever, a vast and soaring terrace that overlooks the whole property like Evita overlooking Argentina.

The whole point of these convenient resorts is that you never have to leave. But if you choose to, suggested excursions include a hike or a zipline adventure at the Canopy River preserve outside town. Here, you can access a covered patio bar situated atop a deep ravine and stocked with Corona by traversing the world’s longest vehicle-safe suspension bridge.

Or take a 30-minute hotel shuttle ride south to the cobblestone streets of old downtown P.V. for souvenir shopping, or a stroll along the art-strewn, waterfront Malecon, where joggers and small-boat fisherman alight in early morning. Or downtown’s nightlife-savvy Zona Romantica, where the LGBT crowd, including many a Houston gay, gets rowdy after hours. 

A NEW HILTON property in an area of South Florida maybe a bit less explored by Houstonians — with great beaches, shopping, dining and cultural draws — is offering a new take on a Miami weekender.

Located in Aventura, 12 miles north of Miami and 12 miles south of Fort Lauderdale, amid those semi-suburban sections known for ritzy high-rises and over-the-top single-family homes, the Hilton Aventura Miami opened in the spring. Its ethos is warmly contemporary, like a chic living room, with soaring lobby lounge spaces appointed with dangling art installations that double as chandeliers; the Muse bar is a good place to take it in, munching on truffle popcorn and sipping a Farmer’s Vice cocktail with tequila, jalapeño and fresh carrot juice.

Other onsite activities include yoga on a sunny terrace, rosé all day at the pool or the adjacent greenspace lined with mod cabanas, or dining at Gala restaurant. At the latter, dinner may start with tostones with braised chicken thighs, Cuban-style black beans and chili aioli, and move on to

Marvelous Miami Chic cabanas at the Hilton and, below, Gulfstream Park gets racy.

cast-iron-seared grouper with purple sweet potato, braised kale and key lime butter. Brunch here is special, with pretty avocado toast, and yogurt parfait with basil honey, lavender granola and edible flowers.

Nearby, take in attractions such as Haulover Beach, home to America’s largest public nude beach. Or, if you’re looking for fun with your pants on — party pooper — the Aventura Mall, with a flagship Bloomingdale’s, is the fifth-largest mall in the country (300,000 square feet larger than the Galleria.) Those in need of an art fix can hit up North Miami’s smart Museum of Contemporary Art. The outings perhaps most worthy of a quick-getaway itinerary are dinner at South Beach-esque Etaru Japanese Bar & Grill at Hallandale Beach — where Robata-style grilled seafood and lavishly presented sashimi platters are served on a large, chill terrace overlooking the Atlantic — or playing the ponies, Moscow Mule in hand, at the spiffy Gulfstream Park horserace track and casino, which also has cool shops, art galleries and funfood restaurants. 

GuideBook

Goan Sear Halibut at Mahesh's Kitchen

Here’s where to dine, what to order, and who to know now in the most deliciously diverse city in America.

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an oversize spiral staircase joining the first-floor coffee-and-wine bar to the second-floor dining room.

The restaurant’s lunch and dinner plates are as pretty as the designer wares. 5175 Westheimer Rd., 713.623.6100

cold-pressed juices, big breakfasts and giant salads. Healthful home-style meals are casual and quick, but regulars are known to settle in with a bottle of wine at dinnertime and stay awhile. 5161 San Felipe St., 713.623.6100

that chef Olivier Ciesielski rotates seasonally. There’s a private dining room filled with 100 bottles of wine, selected by consultant Nate Rose, available for retail purchase. 240 Westheimer Rd., 713.360.6313

A’BOUZY american This sceney restaurant and patio combines a menu of shareable plates with prime meats and a raw bar. Pick from the substantial wine list that includes more than 250 Champagnes or sparklings.

Excellent take-out and delivery specials! 2300 Westheimer Rd., 713.722.6899

AMALFI italian Charming Amalfi touts coastal Italian dishes like homemade fettuccine in creamy black-truffle sauce by Salerno native chef Giancarlo Ferrara. 6100 Westheimer Rd., 713.532.2201

BACKSTREET CAFÉ american Housed in a two-story 1930s home, Hugo Ortega’s Backstreet Café became a River Oaks staple 30 years ago. Expect a menu boasting an imaginative take on seasonal fare along with hefty vegetarian selections. 1103 S. Shepherd Dr., 713.521.2239

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DINING DISTRICT 1 MEMORIAL, GALLERIA AREA, RIVER OAKS, UPPER KIRBY, MONTROSE

51FIFTEEN american Located inside Saks Fifth Avenue in the Galleria, this two-story restaurant is a design dream, with

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ADAIR KITCHEN american This Tanglewood neighborhood gem is popular for its

AVONDALE FOOD & WINE french

L’Olivier on Westheimer is now Avondale Food & Wine. Expect still-amazing shareable plates

BCN TASTE & TRADITION spanish

Named after Barcelona’s airport code, BCN offers authentic

Spanish cuisine in a whitetablecloth setting. The specialty gin and tonics are a musthave, as is the Spanish Iberico ham. 4210 Roseland St., 832.834.3411 NEW! BLUDORN american Aaron Bludorn — who’s worked in several Michelin-starred restaurants and appeared on Netflix’s The Final Table — and his wife Victoria Bludorn (née Pappas, of that Pappas family) deliver a Gulf-tinged New American menu and low-key fine-dining to Montrose.

BOLLO WOODFIRED PIZZA italian

Although it’s authentic Neapolitan pizza baked at 800 degrees has been cited as among the best in the country, the real draw here maybe the intimate neighborhoody vibe and friendly staff. Oh, and the lobster ravioli. 2202 West Alabama St., 713.677.0391 BRENNER’S ON THE BAYOU steakhouse

Enjoy dinner with a view at this steakhouse nestled on the lush banks of Buffalo Bayou.

Steaks, sides and decadent desserts are all good bets, and the restaurant’s hip Blue Bar offers a less formal — yet still sophisticated — vibe with craft cocktails. One Birdsall St., 713.868.4444 CARACOL mexican/seafood Hugo Ortega’s seafood-savvy concept boasts Mexican coastal cuisine in a swanky, mod space on Post Oak. Order the

banana-leaf-wrapped sea bass or coal-roasted peppered tuna, and spring for the signature El Coco dessert and use a wooden mallet to crack open its chocolate shell. 2200 Post Oak Blvd., 713.622.9996 UPDATE! COMMON BOND bakery

Enjoy gourmet coffee and buttery croissants as big as your face at this Montrose bakery and cafe. Take advantage of the free Wi-Fi and post up with a lavender latte on the dogfriendly patio. There’s a drivethrough location now open in the Heights, and another coming soon to Garden Oaks! 1706 Westheimer Rd., 713.529.3535 multiple locations visit restaurant website for details DA MARCO italian High-end Da Marco puts a luxurious spin on Tuscan cuisine with dishes like spaghetti-andsea-urchin and sweet-corn ravioli with lobster. The elegant space is one often considered for special occasions. 1520 Westheimer Rd. DESSERT GALLERY bakery This Upper Kirby café is clean and bright, with colorful treats that range from bite-size brownies to decadent custom cakes for big parties. Sit and enjoy with a cappuccino. 3600 Kirby Dr., 713.522.9999 UPDATE! DISH SOCIETY american

Fast-casual diner Dish Society is known for its relationships with local purveyors. From fresh

CITYBOOK DINING DISTRICTS

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1 Memorial, Galleria Area, River Oaks, Upper Kirby and Montrose

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3 Midtown, Downtown, EaDo, Third Ward, Fifth Ward 4 Bellaire, West University, Museum District, Med Center CityBook Partner

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juices to the customizable farmer’s plate, diners love the revolving menu of clean eats. Now open in Bellaire! 5740 San Felipe St., 832.538.1060 multiple locations visit restaurant website for details

FLEMING'S steakhouse Situated at the corner of West Alabama and Kirby, this River Oaks steakhouse is beloved for its happening happy hour and impeccable service. 2405 W. Alabama St., 713.520.5959

DORIS METROPOLITAN

FLOWER CHILD vegetarian Wash down a scratch-made vegan wrap — the Thai Dye has spicy tofu and daikon radish — with flavored lemonade or organic wine or beer at this healthy resto. New location just opened in the Heights! In Uptown Park, 713.730.4261 multiple locations visit restaurant website for details

steakhouse

This glam steakhouse in the old Triniti space is inspired by Middle Eastern flavors. Hot tip: The breadbasket alone may be worth the trip, with rolls flavored with caramelized onions and presented with crushed-tomato spreads and herb butters. 2815 S. Shepherd Dr. EL TIEMPO tex-mex El Tiempo — now open in Kingwood and The Woodlands — delivers Tex-Mex in a big way with platters like the ancho-glazed grilled quail with cheese enchiladas and spicy shrimp chalupas. Pair with a peach margarita and be sure to save room for tres leches cake and sopapillas. 322 Westheimer Rd, 713.807.8101 multiple locations visit restaurant website for details ELOISE NICHOLS southern Regulars post up at this Highland Village restaurant where hearty plates like the maple-brined grilled pork chop are offered alongside craft cocktails and wine. Breakfast is served on weekday mornings and happy hour — “Afternoon Bites” include a yummy cheese board — is offered daily. 2400 Mid Lane, Ste. 100, 713.554.0136 UPDATE! FADI’S mediterranean Founded nearly 25 years ago

by Lebanese immigrants, Fadi’s is the city’s go-to for Middle Eastern, with a big menu of wraps, kebabs, delicious familyrecipe hummus, fresh breads and much more. It's now back in the Galleria area, after having closed its former flagship there a few years back. 6365 Westheimer Rd., 713.532.0666 multiple locations visit restaurant website for details FIG & OLIVE mediterranean Taste the elegant — and healthful — flavors of coastal Mediterranean cuisine in the expansive 7,000-square-foot restaurant in the Galleria, which features a terrace, lounge and two lavish private dining rooms. In the Galleria, 832.632.6632

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GEORGIA JAMES steakhouse Chris Shepherd puts a distinct spin, as only he can, on this steakhouse named after his parents. Cast-ironseared or wood-fire-grilled steaks from 44 Farms are presented with sides like Steen’s-vinaigrette-dressed Brussels sprouts. 1100 Westheimer Rd., 832.241.5088 GROTTO RISTORANTE italian Find sophisticated takes on Italian classics like Veal San Pietro. A festive Sunday brunch brings French toast with Grand Marnier batter and frozen peach Bellinis. 4715 Westheimer Rd., 713.622.3663 multiple locations visit restaurant website for details HUGO’S mexican Chef Hugo Ortega’s namesake restaurant is a Houston staple, serving up authentic Mexican cuisine with margaritas to match.

Guests love the festive weekend brunch buffet where indulging in seconds — even thirds! — is a must. 1600 Westheimer Rd., 713.524.7744 KATA ROBATA japanese Discreetly situated in a retail center, this top-notch sushi bar serves up fresh, innovative Japanese dishes daily under the direction of executive chef Manabu Horiuchi.

Try a heaping bowl of spicy soy ramen — or Chef Hori’s inventive new caviar service. 3600 Kirby Dr., 713.526.8858 KILLEN'S southern Ronnie Killen’s first inner-Loop endeavor is now open in the former Hickory Hollow space. At Killen’s, expect much of the same mouthwatering comfort-food fare experienced at his fried-chicken

pop-ups throughout the last year, plus fried green tomatoes with buttermilk sauce, and an ever-comforting chicken-anddumplings dish. 101 Heights Blvd., 713.637.4664 LA GRIGLIA italian From caprese salad to wild mushroom lasagna, the menu at La Griglia is simple, but elegant.

When Houston weather permits, enjoy the patio, complete with fire pits and scenic River Oaks views.

2002 W. Gray St., 713.526.4700 LE COLONIAL french/vietnamese French-Vietnamese cuisine is presented in a posh space in River Oaks District. Dishes like the crispy whole duck — which serves up to four people and must be ordered in advance — are authentic and full-flavored. Weekend brunch brings Vietnamese steak and eggs and “exotic” mimosas! 4444 Westheimer Rd., 713.629.4444 MAD spanish Everything at this BCN sister concept — from the mirror-lined hall to the bathroom and the cartoon-like, cheese-stuffed shiny red MAD Tomato — is photoworthy. Reservations weeks in advance highly recommended.

4444 Westheimer Rd., 281.888.2770 MALA SICHUAN chinese This longtime Chinatown favorite is equally popular inside the Loop, where its corner location in a Montrose shopping strip is reminiscent of a trendy New York resto. Mala’s menu packs a punch with dishes like the dry-pot chicken and three-pepper duck. Now open in Sugar Land! 1201 Westheimer Rd., 832.767.0911 NEW! MARCH mediterranean A highly anticipated, exclusive and pricey tasting-menu-only affair, March lives up to the hype.

Posh snacks in the lounge include bite-size vehicles for caviar and foie gras; the main event is six or nine courses of highly refined, Mediterranean-inspired dishes by chef-owner Felipe Riccio. 1624 Westheimer Rd., march restaurant.com MASTRO'S steakhouse At more-is-more Mastro’s, Vegas comes to Houston, with everything but showgirls and roulette wheels. Try something out of the steakhouse box, like the

Wagyu hamburger helper. 1650 W. Loop S., 713.993.2500 MERUS GRILL american Uptown Park’s newly enhanced dining scene includes industrialglam Merus Grill, from the folks at J. Alexander’s. The menu touts beautifully prepared, classic American dishes — fresh seafood, burgers, piled-high salads. 1180 Uptown Park Blvd., 346.299.5775 NARIN’S BOMBAY BRASSERIE south asian

Indulge in saag paneer and chicken tikka masala (and oh so much more) at this traditional Indian restaurant run by father-and-son team Narin and Sanjay Sehgal.

Visit during weekend brunch and see what’s cooking on the tandoor in the main dining room. 3005 W. Loop S., 713.622.2005 NOBU sushi At socialite-savvy Nobu, hyperinformed waiters float around, delivering bite-sized delicacies on geometric white plates to tables. Unique takes on sushi include ones with pickled cucumbers, Shiso leaf and Japanese mackerel. In the Galleria, 832.987.2599 NORTH ITALIA italian Stop in to this hip Uptown Italian restaurant for happy hour on weekday evenings and all day on Sundays to enjoy the $20 special: a choice of a pizza, bruschetta, or meat-and-cheese board, with a bottle of wine. In BLVD Place, 281.605.4030 UPDATE! ONE FIFTH gulf cuisine In its final phase, Shepherd's groundbreaking One Fifth is currently exploring the full breadth and depth of tomato season! 1658 Westheimer Rd., 713.955.1024 OUISIE'S TABLE southern This River Oaks institution serving Southern standards — shrimp and cheese grits, New Orleans red snapper, chicken and waffles at brunch! — is charming. With a beautiful patio and private rooms, it’s a popular locale for showers, receptions and more, too. 3939 San Felipe St., 713.528.2264 OUZO BAY mediterranean This Greek spot in River Oaks District, known for its eye-catching seafood displays and simply delicious whole-fish presentation, is next door to the whiskey-centric

Loch Bar. 4444 Westheimer Rd., 832.430.6610

Ragin’ Cajun on Richmond. Don’t miss Jambalaya Tuesday, when a bowl is served with bread and a drink for just $10. 4302 Richmond Ave., 713.623.6321

PAPPAS BROS. STEAKHOUSE steakhouse

Given its expansive wine list and in-house dry-aging process, diners can expect nothing short of perfection when dining at familyowned Pappas Bros. Steakhouse.

Visit the newest location in the heart of Downtown. 5839 Westheimer Rd., 713.780.7352

RELISH american Quick counter service is offered for lunch and brunch at this café run by a husband and wife team, while evenings are reserved for a full-service dining experience. 2810 Westheimer Rd., 713.599.1960

PEPPER TWINS chinese Don’t take the “pepper” in foodie fave Pepper Twins lightly. The dishes at this Szechuan-style restaurant, now open in CityCentre, incorporate serious spices like the fresh nine-leaf peppercorn, helping customers to feel the burn. Try the mung bean smoothie! 315 Fairview St., 832.649.7175 multiple locations visit restaurant website for details RAGIN’ CAJUN cajun Crawfish season is here! There’s no better spot to get the fixins for a backyard boil than the original

RISTORANTE CAVOUR italian When a European vacation is not in the immediate future, visit the romantic Ristorante Cavour inside Hotel Granduca. The elegant menu, executed by Maurizio Ferrarese, boasts Italian plates and a wine list for days. 1080 Uptown Park Blvd., 713.418.1104 UPDATE! RIEL american Riel offers an American menu inspired by local color and chef Ryan Lachaine’s Ukrainian heritage; the Montreal smoked meat is splashed with French’s mustard. Check out the sandwiches

at lunchtime, when Riel operates as Louie’s. 1927 Fairview St., 832.831.9109 UPDATE! STATE OF GRACE southern

Grab a seat at the oyster bar during happy hour for $1 oysters at chef Ford Fry’s River Oaks restaurant.

Dining out with the fam? Try the festive Sunday supper for $29/ person. The new weekend brunch touts mouthwatering cinnamon rolls and batch cocktails — even to-go! 3258 Westheimer Rd., 832.942.5080 STEAK 48 steakhouse A steakhouse standout delivers in its rich side dishes — the Hasselback potatoes are excellent — and desserts. Crowds of pretty people pour in early and stay late, so reservations are recommended.

In River Oaks District, 713.322.7448 NEW! TONIGHT & TOMORROW european

Storied Montrose hotel La

2202 W. ALABAMA | 713.677.0391

Colombe d’Or has reopened after years of restoration, and its restaurant was worth the wait.

Expect eclectic but sophisticated European dishes with Southern touches. Be sure to check out the cocktail lounge, Bar No. 3. 3410 Montrose Blvd., 713.517.1001 TONY’S italian A cherished part of the Houston dining scene, Tony Vallone’s namesake restaurant is an exquisite treat from start to finish. Opt for the three-, five- or seven-course tasting menu for a true culinary experience, featuring the foie gras flambé — a feast for the senses! 3755 Richmond Ave., 713.622.67788 UPDATE! TRIBUTE southern At this restaurant in the Houstonian hotel, savor unique fare that blends the flavors of Texas, Louisiana and Mexico.

Book the private wine room for a special occasion and pick your own playlist! 111 N. Post Oak Ln., 713.680.2626

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UPDATE! UB PRESERV american Underbelly lives on at Chris Shepherd’s cozy concept on the Westheimer curve. Chef Nick Wong’s dim sum-style Sunday brunch was called out by Food & Wine as the most interesting brunch in America. Check out the new latenight menu on Thursdays! 1609 Westheimer Rd., 346.406.5923 UPDATE! UCHI japanese It’s hard to beat Uchi for fresh, interesting sushi and sashimi — and the Brussels sprouts are can’t-miss.

The sake social hour seating, which offers heavily discounted plates and wine from 5 to 6:30pm, is one of the most sought-after in the city. Prepare to wait in line.

Equally delicious: An eight-course dinner to-go, with wine, for less than $100. 904 Westheimer Rd., 713.522.4808 VIBRANT american It's easy to be happy and healthy at this adorable neighborhood café. Enjoy breakfast — dishes like the coconut-chia pudding, which is both creamy and crunchy, are

served all day — and lunch in an indoor-outdoor space that feels much more Santa Fe than Houston.

1931 Fairview St., 832.409.6423 WILLIE G'S seafood The new Willie G’s, steps from Tilman Fertitta’s new Post Oak Hotel, is glam and modern. Enjoy the rotating selection of fresh fish, and the Mexican-street-corn-topped seared scallops. 1640 W. Loop S., 713.840.7190

B&B BUTCHERS steakhouse Venture in for the deep-fried A5 Wagyu katsu sando, or similarly stacked deli sandwich in the adjoining butcher shop, at this boutique steakhouse. A rooftop terrace makes B&B a premiere Sunday brunch destination. 1814 Washington Ave., 713.862.18144

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BB’S CAFE southern Get your Cajun-food fix at BB’s: From Maw Maw’s gumbo to a platter of fried catfish, find New Orleans-style cooking with a Texas twist. 2701 White Oak Dr., 713.868.8000 multiple locations visit restaurant website for details

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DINING DISTRICT 2 GARDEN OAKS, THE HEIGHTS, WASHINGTON CORRIDOR

B.B. LEMON american Ben Berg has combined the best of his two favorite cities, Houston and New York, at his latest concept located across from his flagship B&B Butchers. Expect flavorful plates like blue-crab beignets, craft cocktails and retro-inspired desserts. 1809 Washington Ave., 713.554.1809

Please visit our newest location on Westheimer Visit our website for all other locations: fadiscuisine.com

COLTIVARE italian With its strict “no-reservation” policy, the restaurant’s onsite garden — where many of the herbs and produce for the Italian dishes are grown — doubles as a charming waiting area. 3320 White Oak Dr., 713.637.4095 FIELD & TIDES american This Heights restaurant in an old 1940s gas station may seem unassuming, but the food is incredible. Try the braised octopus with chorizo and chimichurri, or the colorful soba noodle salad.

705 E. 11th St., 713.861.6143 MAX'S WINE DIVE southern Here, keeping it classy means pairing fried chicken with a glass of Champagne. Max’s is hardly a dive, with a serious wine list and hearty Southern plates. 4720 Washington Ave., 713.880.8737; maxswinedive.com NEW! NOPO CAFE american Ben Berg's newest all-day cafe has bowed on North Post Oak, with a menu of classics like a piledhigh club sandwich, perfectly

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crispy-crusted pizzas and more. In the front, find a large selection of unique local provisions, premade meals and freshly baked pastries, available to grab to-go or enjoy amidst the rustic-French-country environs. 1244 N. Post Oak Rd., nopocafe.com POSTINO italian Rosé — and everything else — all day! This patio spot in Heights Mercantile, with a second location in Montrose, is always packed, especially during the bottle-andboard special, available after 8pm on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Coming soon to CityCentre! 642 Yale St., 346.223.1111 multiple locations visit restaurant website for details RAINBOW LODGE steakhouse True to its name, Rainbow Lodge provides steakhouse and wild game fare in a rustic lodge setting.

Outdoor seating on the newly expanded wine deck is coveted.

2011 Ella Blvd., 713.861.8666 REVIVAL MARKET american Part grocery store, part coffee shop, part sidewalk café, Revival Market is your one-stop shop for a midday treat. Try the hot chicken honey butter biscuit and stock up on meat and charcuterie for the week. 550 Heights Blvd., 713.880.8463

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DINING DISTRICT 3 MIDTOWN, DOWNTOWN, EADO, THIRD WARD, FIFTH WARD

THE BREAKFAST KLUB southern Enjoy a feast of home-style classics — wings and waffles, catfish and grits — at this no-frills Midtown diner. The line starts forming bright and early, but being part of the “klub” is worth the wait. 3711 Travis St., 713.528.8561 UPDATE! BRENNAN’S OF HOUSTON southern Count on this decades-old Houston

staple for an exquisite dining experience full of Southern-Creole flavors. Seating spans two levels and guests love Sunday brunch in the courtyard. The turtle soup with sherry is famous, as are the pralines. Inquire about cocktail kits and DIY bananas foster, to go!

3300 Smith St., 713.522.9711 UPDATE! INDIANOLA american This retro-chic diner reopened after Covid with a new focus on Gulf cuisine. On the simple menu, find not only superb seafood, but lots of plates with influence from Mexico and ones utilizing local beef and pork. 1201 St. Emanuel St., 832.582.7202 NEW! THE NASH american With a globally inspired menu of shareable seasonal items, plus plenty of hearty steaks and chops, The Nash occupies the ground floor of the historic Star building.

Guests can expect to be enticed by pies like the Pizza Bianco with truffled honey! 1111 Rusk St., 713.222.6274

presents farm-fresh a options like the uncomplicated tomato toast or Gulf snapper in broth and a short but sweet wine list. 1302 Nance St., unit A, 832.830.8592, trexhouston. com TOUT SUITE bakery/coffee Stop by this all-day-bakery for a macaron or cupcake, or post up for a while at one of the community tables and enjoy brunch bites like avocado toast and fresh-squeezed juice. There are also CBD-infused pastries, chocolates and more! 2001 Commerce St., 713.227.8688 WEIGHTS + MEASURES

bakery/american

Glass walls at this industrial-chic bakery and restaurant allow guests to witness the pastry-making magic up close. Partake in the lively Sunday brunch with plates like cake donuts and fried chicken (which comes with a side of spinach, making this a very healthy choice).

2808 Caroline St., 713.654.1970

NINFA’S ON NAVIGATION

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The origin of Tex-Mex as we know it, Ninfa’s is always packed no matter when you dine. Guests love the sizzling fajitas and loaded quesadillas. In the mood for something different? Try the grilled octopus from the wood-burning oven. 2704 Navigation Blvd., 713.228.1175 POTENTE italian Top-tier chef Danny Trace and Astros-owner-turned-restaurateur Jim Crane hit a haute homerun at this elegant eatery by the ballpark.

Opt for tableside truffle service on handmade spaghetti al tartufo, and save room for intricate desserts.

1515 Texas Ave., 713.237.1515 STREET TO KITCHEN thai Chef-owner Benchawan Painter finally has a permanent home for her Street to Kitchen pop-up concept. The East End restaurant spotlights self-proclaimed “unapologetically, authentically Thai” food, elevating items that are traditional street foods in Painter’s native Thailand to chef-driven dishes made with local and organic ingredients. 6501 Harrisburg Blvd., 713.428.1975 THEODORE REX american Justin Yu’s modern American bistro is housed in the same location as his late, lauded resto Oxheart. He

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DINING DISTRICT 4 BELLAIRE, WEST UNIVERSITY, MUSEUM DISTRICT, MED CENTER

NEW! AGNES mediterranean Café-grocery-store hybrid concept Agnes opened in the space formerly occupied by Tropicales in June, offering indoor-outdoor, counterservice-style, Mediterranean-tinged breakfast and lunch, and sit-down dinner. A retail portion includes grab-and-go food, baked goods, gifts and more. 2132 Bissonnet St., agneshtx.com CARRABBA’S italian One of two locations which are still family-owned by Houston’s famed Carrabba family, the original Carrabba’s on Kirby serves made-from-scratch Italian fare — from pizzas fresh out of the wood-fired oven to housemade cheeses and pastas. 3115 Kirby Dr., 713.522.3131 multiple locations visit restaurant website for details

COPPA OSTERIA italian All of the Neapolitan-style pizzas and handmade pastas are popular at this Rice Village winner. While the restaurant and wrap-around patio are bustling with activity, it is the walk-up pizza window that is truly a hit in the largely pedestrian-friendly area. 5210 Morningside Dr., 713.522.3535 NEW! GINGER KALE american This fast-casual, health-conscious café is a fab addition to Hermann Park. Watch the train roll by and be entertained by the ducks and geese on the lake, all while enjoying plates like beet-andgoat-cheese toast, or a crisp salad. Smoothies and popsicles, too! 6104 Hermann Park Dr., 713.429.5238 NEW! LE JARDINIER fine dining The fine-dining French resto inside the MFAH's new Kinder Building is, itself, a work of art — both in its decor and its food presentation. Helmed by Michelin-starred chef Alain Verzeroli and located adjacent to the more casual Italian spot Cafe Leonelli, Le Jardinier serves food celebrating French culinary technique and inspired by seasonal veggies. 5500 Main St. LOCAL FOODS american This fast-casual diner has a guiltfree menu of sandwiches, salads, soups and sides, all made fresh using locally sourced ingredients.

A cocktail and wine list at the Upper Kirby, Downtown and new Heights and Tanglewood locations make it a hip hangout.

Plus: Find essentials like eggs, milk, bread and produce — plus grab-and-go gourmet items — at the new Local Foods Market in Rice Village. 2424 Dunstan Rd., 713.521.7800 multiple locations visit restaurant website for details LUCILLE’S southern Named after his greatgrandmother, Chris Williams brings the comforts of downhome Southern cooking to the table at Lucille’s. Go for the crab cake beignets or oxtails and grits, and adding on the piping-hot pan of corn bread is a must. Williams’ nonprofit, Lucille’s 1913, which combats food insecurity, is worth supporting, too! 5512 La Branch St., 713.568.2505, lucilleshouston.com

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Second Guess

Stolen Moment When editors sent photographer Jhane Hoang to Oscar and Lynn Wyatt’s River Oaks home for a very rare portrait shoot, they knew they’d get great images. (Lynn, who posed for Warhol and Helmut Newtwon, is famously photogenic, after all.) But they were unexpectedly moved by this sweet private moment — a loving kiss on the temple. In the end, they chose another shot to lead off CityBook’s exclusive profile of Oscar, but this outtake was seriously considered. Would you have given it more than lip service?

Good Home.

Good Living.

Doing what it takes to ensure my clients are making the best possible real estate decisions for their lifestyle needs. With over 28 years experience, I have the know-how to help you make the right decision about buying and selling your home with ease.

Skilled Negotiator, Strong Referral Network, Staging and Property Make-Ready Experience, Community Involvement.

Andrew McCain Proven Top Sales Producer Ranked Five Star Professional andrewmccain@compass.com 713.526.4847

Compass is a licensed real estate broker. All material is intended for informational purposes only and is compiled from sources deemed reliable but is subject to errors, omissions, changes in price, condition, sale, or withdrawal without notice. No statement is made as to the accuracy of any description or measurements (including square footage). This is not intended to solicit property already listed. No financial or legal advice provided.

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