From my NYC Food and Drinks column in the current edition of h magazine from LA available at select Barnes & Nobles www.hmonthly.com
South Houston
331 West Broadway
212-431-0131
Who doesn’t love a restaurant with all the charm of a friendly bar with good grub to chill out in the heat at the end of the summer season? With a marquis location on the corner of Grand and West Broadway, South Houston has just opened with menu of cocktails and a down home simple list of homey favorites that will appeal to your inner yearnings for comfort food done right.
With big airy windows and open doors, the small bar quickly gets packed for brunch with weekend warriors attracted to the multiple screens of the sport du jour, in my case the World Cup was finishing up and it was remarkable to see the room fill up in a matter of minutes once the game began. Sitting in the high banquettes and raised tables gives you good view of the surrounding hubbub of SoHo just steps away.
The food and drinks here are a cool twist on favorites and are elegantly presented in fun ways. The summer cocktail list is long enough to be enticing to any palate and includes some remarkable small-craft soda’s including the incredible Maine Root Organic Blueberry, an exclusive in NYC. Bar chef Walter Roeder took this sweet soda and added 44 north’s huckleberry infused vodka and muddled it with blueberries, lemons and raspberries and the Huckleberry Fizz was born. An immediate hit with customers, it goes down all to easily and fits the weather just right with its’ super-cool sweetness.
Not stopping there, their Sarsaparilla Root Mojito blends rum, lime, mint and another Maine Root Organic Soda variety to sweet delight, as someone who doesn’t favor the muddiness of a mojito, here’s another twist that had me at hello. The Kentucky Luau is a blend of Maker’s Mark bourbon with peach schnapps and pineapple juice that tastes vaguely familiar in all the right ways. Interestingly, they also sell “growlers” to go, so patrons can come and pick their favorite brew from their weekly-changing 8 beer taps and take them to enjoy at home.
The drinks here are perfect for a sultry afternoon and are a favorite of the after-work crowd here too who swarm the place during the week. Food comes in ample portions that are pleasantly updated as a feast for your eyes as well as your stomach. You won’t leave here hungry with stand out’s like their sublime Mac ‘n Cheese which owner Mike Capiniello worked over a bevy of recipes to get just right, and is offered here as a generous appetizer.
Entrée’s offer enough of a range to appeal to everyone including vegetarians. The house hotdog which is made on premise, packs rich flavors and comes in a remarkable plate with a stop-light mix of ketchup, relish and even spicy mustard (yellow light) neatly laid out before your eyes. While I’ve been to Kentucky a few times, I’d never experience a “Hot Brown” popular in the bluegrass state, until I stopped in here. This ridiculously large entrée is with a fresh slap of bread covered in turkey, crispy bits of proscuitto and two fried eggs all slathered in a cheesy monet sauce reminiscent of a welsh rarebit. According to Mike, and I’ll take his word—it’s the ultimate hangover helper. Even their take on Jell-O comes with a bit of down home whimsy, using fresh juices to add succulent flavor, they are served to spell out the namesake of this fun destination.
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