Nole23 Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 "Downtown soon will see a spiffed up hotel and a new Texas-inspired restaurant to boot. The Crowne Plaza Houston Downtown will be rebranded as The Whitehall when it emerges from a $5 million renovation on April 14. At the same time the hotel's restaurant, Brazos, will open as Edgar's Hermano with executive chef Sylvia Covarrubias at the helm." http://www.chron.com/entertainment/restaurants-bars/article/The-Whitehall-hotel-to-debut-with-new-6884699.php?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter#item-38488 http://www.thewhitehallhouston.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monarch Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 ^^^ wonderful news! props nole23... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tumbleweed_Tx Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 for some of us, it never stopped being the Whitehall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kylejack Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 I ride the bus down their street on my way to work and they're building a big wooden patio out front. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nate4l1f3 Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 Does a $5 million renovation sound a little low to anyone else? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UtterlyUrban Posted March 20, 2016 Share Posted March 20, 2016 I live downtown and work downtown and routinely influence where large numbers of employees stay when visiting. I am very happy that there are new capital improvements coming. I think that is great! Kudos to your company! --- Especially if those improvements, like those announced at the 4 Seasons, involve outdoor casual bar/dining spaces for guests and downtown residents to enjoy! anyway, $5m is $5m. Adding $25m to it from work done 16 years ago seems a bit odd to me. A ton of really cool and highly impactful stuff can be done for $5m. Seems we should leave the money spent on the hotel when a number of the members of this forum were, oh, IDK, 6? out of the equation here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montrose1100 Posted March 21, 2016 Share Posted March 21, 2016 Wow that's what's underneath that white shell? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted March 22, 2016 Share Posted March 22, 2016 Interesting remodeling that was done. I see the logic in plugging up the original grid facade - it was heaven for pigeons. As I recall the original renderings for the remodeling showed a large section of the facade ripped out and replaced with larger windows. In the end they went with the original glazing with just inserts to plug up the grid squares. Normally I'm not a big fan of remodels, but in this case the original structure was kind of ugly. Not that the current version is any treasure. It just sort of made its way up to innocuous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monarch Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 ^^^ gorgeous illustrations crockpotandgravel! well done... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UtterlyUrban Posted March 30, 2016 Share Posted March 30, 2016 I hope that there is some outside dining/bar spaces here too. That would be terrific. Is it just me or does the restaraunt shown here just "feel" like a "hotel restaraunt"? Hopefully it will be better than that. One of my pet peeves is (was?) Shula's. How can a hotel serve "hotel buffet breakfast" in the exact same space as "Shula's" at night? When I stayed at the hotel, it felt wrong enough but I would never take a coworker there for a business dinner. hopefully this Tex-mex place will be top notch and not "feel" like the "typical" hotel restaurant. The Hilton with .... Was it Seager's?.?.. And now pappasitos has done it right..... They feel like restaurants that are in a hotel not a hotel restaurant, IMO. The JW Marriott got it wrong too. Dinner in the lobby anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montrose1100 Posted March 30, 2016 Share Posted March 30, 2016 13 hours ago, UtterlyUrban said: hopefully this Tex-mex place will be top notch and not "feel" like the "typical" hotel restaurant. The Hilton with .... Was it Seager's?.?.. And now pappasitos has done it right..... They feel like restaurants that are in a hotel not a hotel restaurant, IMO. The JW Marriott got it wrong too. Dinner in the lobby anyone? The fact that Main Kitchen is absolutely delicious means they got it right. What's wrong with the lobby setting? If it looks fabulous and has light rail lines on both sides, who cares? These rendered/pictured restaurants look cheap with nothing to fill the void (with colors and patterns from Kirkland's circa 2005). Hopefully the food is good. Pappasitos' food is mediocre, and the space has 86'd the cheesiness found in all other locations with enough design. Still doesn't change the fact it's a greasy, bourgeoisie, Quilt Convention "Oh hey Honey, we're in TEXAS, let's eat some Tex-Mex" kinda place... I get what you mean about dining in the lobby, but when having open concept versus closed doors ala Golden Nugget Lake Charles Mall of Landry's... I prefer open concept. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunstar Posted March 30, 2016 Share Posted March 30, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UtterlyUrban Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 11 hours ago, Montrose1100 said: The fact that Main Kitchen is absolutely delicious means they got it right. What's wrong with the lobby setting? If it looks fabulous and has light rail lines on both sides, who cares? These rendered/pictured restaurants look cheap with nothing to fill the void (with colors and patterns from Kirkland's circa 2005). Hopefully the food is good. Pappasitos' food is mediocre, and the space has 86'd the cheesiness found in all other locations with enough design. Still doesn't change the fact it's a greasy, bourgeoisie, Quilt Convention "Oh hey Honey, we're in TEXAS, let's eat some Tex-Mex" kinda place... I get what you mean about dining in the lobby, but when having open concept versus closed doors ala Golden Nugget Lake Charles Mall of Landry's... I prefer open concept. I sure do agree with you that the food at main kitchen in the JW is very good. Loved it. Haven't been back though. Hated the atmosphere. The wife and I just couldn't "get" sitting in the lobby for dinner. Works well for a "businessman's breakfast before heading to the meeting" but..... Not for dinner IMO. I have said before (on another thread) that I thought that the chefs knocked it out of the park and deserved a better atmosphere. agree on Pappasitos. Not a fan of the place but, frankly, given its street access, deck, etc, it feels like a restaraunt to me. Hearsay, also in a hotel, too but doesn't feel like it.. Hopefully, this new joint in the Whitehall, will feel the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houston19514 Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 15 hours ago, UtterlyUrban said: I sure do agree with you that the food at main kitchen in the JW is very good. Loved it. Haven't been back though. Hated the atmosphere. The wife and I just couldn't "get" sitting in the lobby for dinner. Works well for a "businessman's breakfast before heading to the meeting" but..... Not for dinner IMO. I have said before (on another thread) that I thought that the chefs knocked it out of the park and deserved a better atmosphere. agree on Pappasitos. Not a fan of the place but, frankly, given its street access, deck, etc, it feels like a restaraunt to me. Hearsay, also in a hotel, too but doesn't feel like it.. Hopefully, this new joint in the Whitehall, will feel the same. Had lunch at Main Kitchen recently and I seriously do not understand your qualms over supposedly eating in the lobby. It does not at all feel like one is sitting in the lobby. The dining area is completely separate from the lobby, not by doors, but it is visually and spatially separated from the lobby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UtterlyUrban Posted March 31, 2016 Share Posted March 31, 2016 Can't explain it beyond what I have said. I am glad that you like the atmosphere and will hopefully go back again and again. The chefs deserve repeat patronage. Despite the very good food (and acceptable service), we won't be going back -- there are other too many other places where we can spend our meager dining dollars that (to us) don't feel like eating in a hotel lobby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nole23 Posted May 23, 2016 Author Share Posted May 23, 2016 Nice! Might have to venture over there on the 9th Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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