cdenker Posted November 20, 2023 Share Posted November 20, 2023 Does anyone remember the original Piquet Market? NOT the current restaurant (although it is related). This was a Cuban Market Store, and I think they had a small restaurant area as well. I'm pretty sure it was on or near Chimney Rock. We used to go there in the 70s to buy Brasilian stuff (they were the ONLY place in Houston that carried Guarana - our must have soda drink). I know later in the 80s/90s it moved a few times and is still in existence nearby as a full Cuban restaurant. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted November 20, 2023 Share Posted November 20, 2023 I remember it being on Rampart, nearer Hillcroft than Chimney Rock, but I'm not sure. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkultra25 Posted November 21, 2023 Share Posted November 21, 2023 One of my closest friends was half-Cuban (his father was Cuban and his mother was Spanish). When we were in high school we used to occasionally go to Piquet Market to grab a Cubano and a cafecito in the small restaurant area you mention. If memory serves the restaurant area was pretty spartan - just a handful of formica-topped tables adjacent to the main market. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highrise Tower Posted November 21, 2023 Share Posted November 21, 2023 This was located at 6619 Chimney Rock Road. Cross streets were Chimney Rock Road and Clarewood Drive in the Gulfton area. Here's an article about the Piquet Market that was released in the Texas Monthly magazine in January 1983. The Piquet Market (6619 Chimney Rock) anchors a two-block commercial strip catering to almost exclusive to Latin Americans. Basically Cuban in persuasion, the Piquet is a more orderly version of Cardet's. You'll find chorizo and Spanish morcillas (blood sausage), plus a species of small, seed-filled peppers called cachuchas that look like miniature buttercup squashes and have a delicately bitter taste (our culinary source here recommends them for soups). South Americans shop the Piquet for a soft white cheese, queso fresco, and for big bags of ready-cooked pork skins. The Piquet also has the necessary masa for arepas, those fascinating white cornmeal cakes you can eat a few blocks west at Mi Kiosquito (see Central and South America). A back room fetches up such prizes as a 3-D postcard of Saint Lazarus on crutches, surrounded by unfortunate-looking mongrels. Right next door to the Piquet lies Bebo's Puerto Rican restaurant, a cheery mom-and pop place that is everything Cardet's ought to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave W Posted November 21, 2023 Share Posted November 21, 2023 In this video, Mrs. Piquet says they started out on Rampart in a hole in the wall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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