Monday, January 25, 2010

Follow up on Schmit

Following up on a previously mentioned mention of Schmit, I've found further confirmation that chef Schmit will be opening a restaurant this year (though, not necessarily in the same area mentioned before). Also, Smarty Pants Consulting lists chef Philippe Schmit as one of their projects...

Chef Philippe Schmit (2008/2009)

Acclaimed Houston chef

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PROJECT: New signature restaurant

Business Plan Development (define concept, assess marketing strategies, analyze pro forma projections and return on investment) and location strategy and selection.


Exciting!

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Best of Houston 2009

Alison Cook makes her list of best new restaurants of 2009--Houston-area places, of course. Gotta say, I should travel north more often, not that I subscribe to the believe that Houston's good restaurants are all in the loop. Rioja, after all, is outside the beltway.

And, the Loop Scoop gives their list of Houston's top 10 coffee shops. Salento used to be in my top 5, but they've changed a lot. It's now sleek-wine instead of cozy-coffee. The top three places, I'd say, have been among the best for many years, though I'd probably have put the old Salento at #3. This place should really be on the list, though. Top 5.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Houston food and quirk

There are a lot of good restaurants in Houston. There are also a lot of popular but not so great restaurants. Try some of these out: under $25, and hidden gems.

Here's a tribute to some good restaurants of Houston's past. Among them, of course, my old favorite Bistro Moderne.

Speaking of Bistro Moderne, in this review of Max's Wine Dive, the author casually mentions that the ex-Bisitro Moderne chef Philippe Schmit (misspelled in the article) is opening up a new restaurant soon! What big news to tuck away! More information must be coming. For the record, Max's Wine Dive is good (maybe not as good as Block 7), but is old news nonetheless.

Lastly, quirky Houston things. I've been wanting to go to the Beer Can House.