New focus at Underbelly favors fish, veggies and liquor
Significant changes are afoot that will alter the food focus at one of Houston’s most lauded restaurants.
Five-year-old Underbelly, a national culinary destination thanks to James Beard Award-winning chef Chris Shepherd, is changing its menu to reflect a greater emphasis on seafood and vegetable dishes. It’s a direction of notable importance, given that Underbelly has been known for its wholeanimal program where cows (pigs and goats) were broken down in the restaurant’s butcher shop and beef cuts were prominently featured on the menu.
But Shepherd has been busy over the past year refocusing the story he’s telling about Houston food. Earlier this year, he launched the ambitious One Fifth restaurant in Montrose, which will change its concept five times over five years.
And now comes the new focus for his signature restaurant. Shepherd says the whole-animal approach limits diversity. Beef, for example, took up a lot of space on the
menu — an imbalance, he calls it — because all parts of the animal had to be used.
So starting Tuesday, Underbelly no longer will buy whole steers and the menu will reflect a greater emphasis on seafood and vegetables. And seafood not just from the Gulf, as the restaurant has traditionally used; Shepherd is now looking beyond the local waters to seek out fish from other American coasts. The new menu offers dishes such as ceviches, crudos, seafood towers, Vietnamese- and Thai-flavored fish, seared tuna and red snapper, and grilled Gulf fish.
“No one wants a giant beef shank in the middle of a hot Houston summer,” Shepherd said. “But in the past, we’ve had to serve it because we had an entire cow in the butcher shop cooler. Our cooks want more variety, and frankly, so do our guests.”
Underbelly will continue to serve beef as needed and continue to butcher whole pigs, goats, chicken and fish. It also will continue its charcuterie program. And those Korean braised goat dumplings that have become an Underbelly signature? They’re staying on the menu.
But fish and vegetables are now front and center: fish from purveyors in waters from the Gulf up through Virginia, and vegetables from local farmers.
Meanwhile, there’s another major development coming for Underbelly and its sister bar/restaurant next door, the Hay Merchant: cocktails.
Previously wine and beer only establishments — Underbelly built a significant wine program under wine director Matthew Pridgen, while owner Kevin Floyd championed a highly curated craft beer list at the Hay Merchant — both will soon serve spirits.
The Hay Merchant will offer cocktails beginning June 27; Underbelly’s cocktail menu debuts July 10.
The move to full bars at both spots is part of a natural evolution for both Shepherd and Floyd. Floyd has been immersed in spirits as he’s been building the cocktail program at One Fifth. And for several years now, Shepherd has been indulging in a personal passion for bourbon.
The cocktail programs for each will be executed by newly appointed spirits director Westin Galleymore, who most recently tended bar at One Fifth and spent two years at Anvil Bar & Refuge.
The cocktails at the Hay Merchant are designed to be “playful, easy and approachable,” according to a release, and most of them will be on tap along with the place’s multitude of craft beer.
At Underbelly, the cocktail offerings will be deeper and more dynamic.
“People are excited to dine here because they know they’ll try something new every time,” Galleymore said. “That’s the way I want the cocktail menu to be — clean, well-sourced and everevolving.”
Growlers will no longer be sold at the Hay Merchant, due to its new type of liquor license. Similarly, Underbelly no longer will be able to sell wine to go, or allow customers to BYOB.
Shepherd said he welcomes all the changes because they continue to tell new stories about the way Houston eats (and drinks).
“I’ve always said that the only thing consistent about Underbelly is change,” he said. “And this is just one more example of change.”