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The Heights Restaurant And Bar Scene - More Coming


Freelander

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I waited tables for 10+ years. There are a lot of tables waiters tend to hate. If what waiters stereotypically hated kept people home, women not accompanied by men, old people and certain minorities would not be allowed to eat out, either.

Allowed? Nobody is talking about banning anybody from anywhere for any reason. The scope of the discussion has to do with which groups are the most profitable for restauranteurs, as that will shape the kind of dining experiences that restauranteurs are willing to expend resources to provide. Relative to the potential for profit, affluent parents may be an underserved or overserved demographic. I'm not sure. But I am fairly certain that the restauranteur has a strong preference as to who they cater to; and their clientele (not knowing how your kids might behave or whether your kids might be diseased or contagious or otherwise do disgusting things) probably also has an opinion on the subject.

Also, if everything you're saying about your kids is true, then kudos to you...but don't start thinking that yours is the typical experience. Some parents are as bad as you are good, and I don't want to be eating anywhere in the vicinity of their children!

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Friday night quick dinner out at Collinas on 19th around 5:30 I believe proved the point I have been trying to make about Children...the restaurant was full, only 1 table available when we got there, and over 80% of the restaurant was families with young children eating out. By catering too, or at least tolerating children at that early hour the place was able to do much much more business than if it had just sat back and waited for the adult dinner crowd to show up and eat later....

Granted Collina's is not some fancy restaurant - but I think families with children can help places do quite a bit of early business it would not otherwise do.

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Friday night quick dinner out at Collinas on 19th around 5:30 I believe proved the point I have been trying to make about Children...the restaurant was full, only 1 table available when we got there, and over 80% of the restaurant was families with young children eating out. By catering too, or at least tolerating children at that early hour the place was able to do much much more business than if it had just sat back and waited for the adult dinner crowd to show up and eat later....

Granted Collina's is not some fancy restaurant - but I think families with children can help places do quite a bit of early business it would not otherwise do.

Yes and most restaurants make most their money on the 5:30 crowd. I agree with you in many respects, but restaurants are not moving to the heights for the children.

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That reminds me... has anyone else been to the restaurant inside Nundini's (since they made a nice sit down area)? I have been several times and it is fantastic. I have seen a few children in their everytime I've been... Traditional Italian dining is always family friendly... I have not been back to Collina's since the Nundini's restaurant opened.

Edited by SilverJK
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That reminds me... has anyone else been to the restaurant inside Nundini's (since they made a nice sit down area)? I have been several times and it is fantastic. I have seen a few children in their everytime I've been... Traditional Italian dining is always family friendly... I have not been back to Collina's since the Nundini's restaurant opened.

Best kept secret in Houston. Even before the sit down version, they would serve a prosciutto pannini for $7 that had about $10 of high quality proscuitto on it.

I do not think that families are driving the restaurant boom in the Heights, but I do think families are a real factor in how restaurants in the Heights do business. Scott Tycer's uber unfamily friendly Textile crashed and burned and was replaced by a family friendly expanded Kraftsmen. Menchie's is practically the Chuck E Cheese of frozen yogurt. But I doubt the new branch of Sonoma on Studewood will do much of anything for families. It will be interesting to see what the fare at Sale Sucre will be like. Looking at the large bar, it may not be looking to get the families. But, you never know until they open.

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I just want to know how Sale-Sucre plans on running a business when they obviously will be undersold by walmart, overrun by children and wild cats, while Yale is being repaved and Ruggles/not ruggles is indirectly competing against them, all while not having a developer like airbinder to get them a 380 agreement...

I also am curious about their food.

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I just want to know how Sale-Sucre plans on running a business when they obviously will be undersold by walmart, overrun by children and wild cats, while Yale is being repaved and Ruggles/not ruggles is indirectly competing against them, all while not having a developer like airbinder to get them a 380 agreement...

I also am curious about their food.

Bravo! :)

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  • 1 month later...

With news that the folks at Ruggles Green have announced their takeover of the 11th Street Cafe, I thought it was time we officially retired the "Lack of Restaurant Diversity in the Heights" thread. It has served us well as a deserved dumping ground for disappointment since the first post in 2006, but things have changed over the years. "Abundance" may be a bit of a stretch, but we're well on the way. Let's celebrate.

Edited by Eggplant
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With news that the folks at Ruggles Green have announced their takeover of the 11th Street Cafe, I thought it was time we officially retired the "Lack of Restaurant Diversity in the Heights" thread. It has served us well as a deserved dumping ground for disappointment since the first post in 2006, but things have changed over the years. "Abundance" may be a bit of a stretch, but we're well on the way. Let's celebrate.

lol, maybe 'better than average restaurant diversity in the heights'? but with a place that sells mac and cheese, what else could anyone possibly need/want?

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Does anyone know about this supposedly awesome Thai place on Cavalcade? Someone I know had take out (brought by someone else who I don't know) from there and said it was incredible but knows nothing about it. I know most people don't consider Cavalcade "The Heights" but close enough to count it's restaurants if they're awesome.

ETA: I appreciate the spirit of this post but I did like the continuation of the old one because it served as a "see how far we have come" time line. The fact is, people looove to delicate flower about/debate restaurants (especially Liberty Kitchen, it seems) so it won't be long before you'll see disappointment expressed here as well. Still, I'm happy to participate in either thread. :)

Edited by heights_yankee
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Does anyone know about this supposedly awesome Thai place on Cavalcade? Someone I know had take out (brought by someone else who I don't know) from there and said it was incredible but knows nothing about it. I know most people don't consider Cavalcade "The Heights" but close enough to count it's restaurants if they're awesome.

Asia Market & Thaifood 1010-B Cavalcade

http://maps.google.c...,348.94,,1,0.78

It looks like a total dump, never been but the houston press loves it.

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/eating/2009/08/asia_market_thai_food_curry_ho.php

Edited by J008
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Asia Market & Thaifood 1010-B Cavalcade

http://maps.google.c...,348.94,,1,0.78

It looks like a total dump, never been but the houston press loves it.

http://blogs.houston...od_curry_ho.php

It is very good. If you are not used to ethnic grocery stores, you might not love the look of the place, but the kitchen pumps out some great food. They have a website with their menu: http://asiamarkethouston.com/

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Despite your protests to the contrary, I'm going to stick with "abundance" at the intersection of wishful thinking and cautious optimism. Realistically I believe we've crossed the line between glass half empty and glass half full.

Not until we get an Indian restaurant!

I can't argue with you on that one, although I do find comfort in the fact that my favorite Indian and Indian fusion restaurants in Houston are easily accessible downtown. Both Korma Sutra at 706 Main St and Bombay Pizza nearby at 914 Main are excellent (in very different ways) and only about 10-15 minute drive assuming you're not hankering for curry during the morning rush hour. I recommend them highly if you've never been, and hope you'll join me in convincing the owners to franchise in our direction.

Thanks for the comments on the Asian Market. I've passed it a thousand times and didn't give it a second thought. The menu options on the website look promising.

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Both Korma Sutra at 706 Main St and Bombay Pizza nearby at 914 Main are excellent (in very different ways) and only about 10-15 minute drive assuming you're not hankering for curry during the morning rush hour. I recommend them highly if you've never been, and hope you'll join me in convincing the owners to franchise in our direction.

Don't forget about Pondicheri in the new West Ave development on Kirby.

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It is very good. If you are not used to ethnic grocery stores, you might not love the look of the place, but the kitchen pumps out some great food. They have a website with their menu: http://asiamarkethouston.com/

Growing up in a part of the country where the older and more ethnic it looked, the better the food, i am ready and willing to eat here. thanks for the info!

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Count me in as another fan of Asia Market. The last time I was there, the young backpacker-type guy at the table next to us had a look of complete amazement as he dug into his meal and claimed that it was the first Thai place he'd found locally where the food was just like what he'd had in Bangkok.

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Don't forget about Pondicheri in the new West Ave development on Kirby.

I never forget about Pondicheri; it's in my Houston Top 5! Their "Texas Chaat" is a family favorite. I didn't mention it because of the 15 minute driving constraint I used for the post. Although close in distance, the drive to Upper Kirby can be a nuisance for some people at rush hour whereas the trip downtown is relatively painless. Regardless, we do it all the time. That chaat is amazing.

(Note to anyone clicking on the link - the actual dish doesn't look very much like the photograph. They've perfected the presentation over the last year.)

Back to the Heights . . . one roadblock I encounter when talking to restaurant owners about expanding here is the assumption that the only viable Heights option is Washington Ave. I see Washington in the same way I see downtown or Kirby or Rice Village; i.e., driving destinations with lots of good options, but outside the definition of a neighborhood restaurant from a geographic and walkability perspective. Whether it's the alcohol prohibition or misconceptions about our demographic, it seems that alternatives on 19th, Studewood, 11th, White Oak etc. were not even considered. I suppose my (cautious) optimism stems from the belief that the growth we've seen in the last year and the anticipated (keeping my fingers crossed here) success of Zelko, Liberty Kitchen and the other newbies, will inspire others to follow suit.

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I suppose my (cautious) optimism stems from the belief that the growth we've seen in the last year and the anticipated (keeping my fingers crossed here) success of Zelko, Liberty Kitchen and the other newbies, will inspire others to follow suit.

Nothing to anticipate as far as Zelko goes. They are packed all the time. Liberty Kitchen has had a pretty decent start. What I am really curious to see is how Sale Sucre does when it opens. I peeked in the window and saw the plans. It is really set up like a cafe with a small bar and a few tables. I would really like to see that kind of business model thrive in the Heights. Small cafe, something different/original and not a second or third location. The Heights should really be an incubator for new and interesting restaurants whether they are high end like Shade or Stella Sola or fun and easy like Jus Mac or Happy Fatz. It is nice to have a BBs, Christians, Tacos Agogo and soon to be Little Woodrows, but something new would be better.

Also, it is worth mentioning that Melange Creperie has a second crepe cart that is usually parked at Stella Sola for breakfast and lunch (7-1ish m-th, 10-2ish weekends).

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  • 3 months later...

The chef at Stella Sola must've forseen that fierce competition from the sit-down only golden arches in the new Heights Wal-Mart would spell the end for his endeavor, his reputation, and his career. It was a good call for him to make a graceful exit, but it sure is sad that yet another Heights institution has succumbed to the evil Wal-Mart plague.

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The chef at Stella Sola must've forseen that fierce competition from the sit-down only golden arches in the new Heights Wal-Mart would spell the end for his endeavor, his reputation, and his career. It was a good call for him to make a graceful exit, but it sure is sad that yet another Heights institution has succumbed to the evil Wal-Mart plague.

It is interesting that I am able to move on and talk about other subjects, but you are not. You are getting your cruddy walmart paid for in part with your tax dollars, but you seem to be unable to contribute anything other than your weak attempts at humor that are just dripping with your class envy and resentment. Walmart is getting build and, absent a judicial miracle, funded with tax dollars for improvements. It sucks, but life goes on. I have better things to do than rehash the same tired arguments that have been made over and over on this board.

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It is interesting that I am able to move on and talk about other subjects, but you are not. You are getting your cruddy walmart paid for in part with your tax dollars, but you seem to be unable to contribute anything other than your weak attempts at humor that are just dripping with your class envy and resentment. Walmart is getting build and, absent a judicial miracle, funded with tax dollars for improvements. It sucks, but life goes on. I have better things to do than rehash the same tired arguments that have been made over and over on this board.

Not enough time to argue about it but still plenty of time to spread your misinformation, I see.

Nah, making ironic grievances against the Heights Wal-Mart has become a sort of internet meme, like Planking, Tebowing, or Foul-Bachelor-Frogging. It'll be over soon enough, but for the moment, it's still funny. I encourage anyone who agrees with me to LIKE THIS POST!

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It is interesting that I am able to move on and talk about other subjects, but you are not. You are getting your cruddy walmart paid for in part with your tax dollars, but you seem to be unable to contribute anything other than your weak attempts at humor that are just dripping with your class envy and resentment. Walmart is getting build and, absent a judicial miracle, funded with tax dollars for improvements. It sucks, but life goes on. I have better things to do than rehash the same tired arguments that have been made over and over on this board.

lol... you state your able to move on, then bring it all back up again. FACEPALM!

Sale-Sucre update anyone???

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