You might be wondering why I'm reviewing a "closed" establishment, it's because they're now a constantly moving target--a Houston treasure and perhaps a suggested speakeasy. As winners of the Steak Showdown in Texas in 2023 for the people's choice for best traditional dish and the judges choice for best creative dish, they've garnered a respectable following as a pop-up with Houston foodies on Instagram.
Their model for first-come, first-served attracts the curious and past fans of their work. Expect a minimum wait of about 2 hours and pray they don't run out of anything. We made the mistake of dressing moderately warm for the cold temperatures of January, but who would've thought that we'd be seeing 6 inches of snow--and in Houston of all places?
Admittngly, the smells waiting in line are absolutely intoxicating. The folks are trying to be as accommodating as possible with how cold it's getting by setting up propane warmers around their setup inside the parking space at PARK BLVD in the Heights, but one can only endure waiting in a crawling line for so long--there can be better process management to attack the demand. It was especially upsetting seeing people jump out of the line just to end up 30 minutes in front of you ordering the last 3 available ribeyes.
We ended up getting the LAST tomahawk ribeye that we reserved online the week prior and it was epic..! But talk about stressful... The team also gave us some laotian sausage for standing in line for so long but there's got to be some kind of fail safe in place so that you don't have people waiting hours just to buy up a plate of sides. All the meats should be counted prior and counted as theyre being sold, and maybe limiting 2 entrees per person would help mitigate the amount of empty mouths.
Anyway, the food was amazing. I'm definitely coming back on the next pop-up! read more