Agu Ramen
AGU RAMEN Agu Ramen’s Hakata-style ramen has rich, milky pork tonkotsu broth and ramen noodles.
• Oahu-transport Agu Ramen (1809 Eldridge Parkway South, 9310 Westheimer, 7340 Washington Ave.) garnered international accolades for Japanese-born chef Hisashi Uehara’s belly-warming ramen noodle soups, with their long-simmering dense broths. There are 20-plus options, including the black garlicfused Original Kotteri, bobbing with seabura, lush slivers of pork-back fat cherished by the Japanese for its creaminess. • Relish (2810 Westheimer) has evolved from a top-notch soup-and-sandwich shop on San Felipe to a restaurant and bar. Newlyweds Addie D’Agostino and chef Dustin Teague have refashioned their brain-child to include a fullservice dinner menu of lamb chops, rotisserie chicken and New Orleans barbecue shrimp. Lunch retains its casual counter-service draw with signature hand-crafted gourmet sandwiches and salads. • The newly minted 150,000-square-foot Marriott Marquis (1777 Walker Street), with multiple rooftop lawns, houses several venues. Among them are Xochi, where James Beardnominated chef Hugo Ortega stretches his culinary muscles with creative interpretations of modern Mexican. Walker Street Kitchen serves American fare for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Then there is two-story Craig Biggio’s eponymous sports bar, Cueva wine-and-tapas bar and Texas T for coffee and pastries. • The area around Discovery Green, Hilton Americas and the revamped George R. Brown Convention Center is being dubbed as the
Avenida Houston district and touted as the city’s new restaurant row and entertainment hub. A number of new additions line its streets, including Houston standards Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen, Pappasito’s Cantina, Grotto and Bud’s Pitmaster BBQ. • Marvy Finger’s second downtown high-rise, 500 Crawford, features two Italian concepts from Houston Astros owner Jim Crane. Osso is an upscale, white-tablecloth, northern Italian restaurant with veal chops, steaks, seafood and homemade pastas. Kristalla is a three-meal, casual Italian trattoria. • The Pit Room (1201 Richmond) is smoking with satisfied customers and tender brisket and pulled pork. Sausages – three kinds, including jalapeño-cheddar pork and black pepper-garlic venison – are made fresh daily. Buy a pound or opt for one-to-three-meat plates with two sides. • The Adair Family Restaurant Group added an American bistro, Eloise Nichols Grill & Liquors (2400 Mid Lane, Suite 100), and Bebidas Juice, Coffee & Bites (2606 Edloe Street) to its impressive roster that includes Skeeter’s Mesquite Grill, Adair Kitchen and Los Tios Mexican Restaurant. Here are some restaurants to put on your musttry list when they open in the upcoming months: • Without a doubt, one of the most anticipated openings for many of our Chinese foodie friends is Yauatcha in The Galleria. Slated to open in March, the Houston location is a big score for H-Town. It is the first U.S. location for
the London’s Michelin-star dim sum and sophisticated French patisserie concept, which currently has only two locations, in England and India. • Fig & Olive, an upscale Mediterranean import from New York, will open in The Galleria this fall. • New York-based 10,000-square-foot Nobu, a Japanese-Peruvian sushi concept from acclaimed Nobuyuki Matsuhisa, will open on the second level of The Galleria this fall. • Hopefully by spring, Houstonians will judge for themselves if Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken (1815 Washington Avenue) deserves its A-plus ratings for its crispy signature coating. • Chef Jamie Zelko will debut Ivy & James in the spring when the first phase of the renovated Evelyn’s Park (4400 Bellaire Boulevard) opens at the former site of the Teas Nursery. The park board selected Zelko after an extensive research and interviews of restaurants across the city. Ivy & James will focus on sustainable, healthy fare along with classes on gardening and cooking. • Former Underbelly and Reef sous chef Ryan Lachaine should be in the kitchen of his Riel Restaurant (1927 Fairview) by early 2017. His succinct menu features 18 or so modern American options with hearty touches from his windswept prairie roots of Manitoba, Canada. • Tilman Fertitta’s high-profile, 10-acre, Uptown/Galleria project, The Post Oak, will be anchored by a luxury hotel, posh apartments and the famed Mastro’s Steakhouse, the first one in Texas. It’s slated to open in spring.
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