Pass And Provisions At 807 Taft St.

[hindesky]

 

 

 

By Olivia Pulsinelli  – Assistant managing editor, Houston Business Journal 

9 hours ago

 

A website has launched for Bludorn, the newly named restaurant that chef Aaron Bludorn is opening in the Fourth Ward. 

Although the website only says Bludorn will be "coming soon" and open nightly, a link to the restaurant's page on CulinaryAgents.com provides a few more details. 

The upscale-casual restaurant is expected to have somewhere between 26 and 50 employees, per the Culinary Agents page. So far, Cherif Mbodji has been hired as general manager. Since graduating from Western Michigan University in 2004, Mbodji has worked at various restaurants in New York, according to his Culinary Agents page. Since 2013, he was service director and then general manager at Café Boulud, the acclaimed restaurant where Aaron Bludorn worked from 2009 until May 2019. 

When Aaron Bludorn announced his departure from Café Boulud, he said he would move to Houston to open a new restaurant. News broke in January that the new restaurant will be in the former Pass & Provisions space at 807 Taft St. near Allen Parkway.

Previous reports said Aaron Bludorn would open "a modern French-American restaurant in a polished and charismatic setting" in Houston, but the description on the Culinary Agents page describes Bludorn slightly differently:

At Bludorn, diners will feel Aaron’s fine dining sensibility, but will experience a timeless neighborhood restaurant. The food will be familial but thoughtful, the hospitality warm yet polished, and the scene vibrant, spirited, a fit for any occasion. The chef will embrace the restaurant’s close proximity to seafood from the Gulf, meat from Texas ranches, incredible produce being grown by local farmers, and ingredients from around the world in a hat tip to 807 Taft’s first life as a global import outpost for the city of Houston.

[hindesky]

Saw people working on this over the weekend and now the sign is up.

[Earlydays]

Was is this the original location for European Imports Co. in 1946??

[hindesky]

On 7/10/2020 at 9:57 AM, Earlydays said:

Was is this the original location for European Imports Co. in 1946??

I believe so. 

 

Peeked inside the window to check progress. I've never eaten here so I don't know if it looks different.

[Triton]

Can't spot a single water sprinkler. Station nightclub fire anyone? I know it's expensive to add these things in but it really amazes me what's grandfathered in sometimes. 

[hindesky]

https://www.houstoniamag.com/eat-and-drink/2020/08/bludorn-restaurant-aaron-final-table-open

 

AFTER MUCH ANTICIPATION Aaron Bludorn will finally be cooking for Houstonians daily starting a week from Friday.

Bludorn, the first solo restaurant from the acclaimed chef, will open August 21 at 807 Taft St in the Fourth Ward, previously the location of the shuttered The Pass & Provisions. Here with wife Victoria Pappas—daughter of Chris Pappas of Pappas Restaurants—the Daniel Boulud student and contestant of Netflix’s venerable 2018 cooking competition, The Final Table, will focus on seasonal approaches to American cuisine with French techniques.

 

 

The menu includes raw bar selections like oysters every way and Maine lobster, plus dry-aged strip loin wagyu from R-C Ranch with bone marrow; Ora salmon with five-seed crunch, avocado crema, and salsa verde; Gulf cioppino in spicy tomato broth; a dry-aged burger; and a short rib tamale pie.

Decorated by Courtney Hill Interiors and Craig Schuster of Schuster Inc., the restaurant emphasizes a neutral color palette, with wood finishes and both modern and mid-century pieces, like a stained-glass element given to Bludorn by Karbach Brewing Co. You’ll see subway tiles, velvet banquette seating, exposed timber ceilings, an open concept kitchen, and a raw bar, plus a nine-foot mural of magnolia groves by local artist Jonathan Paul Jackson.

The main dining room at Bludorn.

IMAGE: JULIE SOEFER

Cherif Mbodji, who worked with Bludorn at Café Boulud in New York, is on board as general manager, while Bludorn will assume the role of chef/owner. Pastry chef Alejandra Salas, who worked at Bar Boulud and The French Laundry, will assume the same position at Bludorn. Her concoctions include hazelnut marjolaine with nougat, hazelnut, and Nutella ice cream; baked Alaska; and beignets.

 

Darryl Chan of Café Boulud and Jack Mason, master sommelier with Pappas Bros., consulted with Bludorn and Victoria Pappas on the beverage program. Classic-inspired cocktails, craft beer, and a wine list focusing on unique offerings from across the world dominate.

As Bludorn is opening amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the restaurant stresses it’s following all guidelines laid out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. According to the restaurant, employees are screened daily and will sanitize thoroughly, while partitions are being installed to separate all tables, which will be six feet apart from one another.

Bludorn will be open 5–10:30 p.m. Mon–Thurs and 5–11 p.m. Fri–Sat to start. Reservations are required via Resy or by phone. For more information, visit the website