Houston’s newest food hall debuts in Rice Village
One remarkable thing about Houston’s sudden proliferation of food halls is that none share the same vibe or personality.
This week’s opening of Politan Row brings perhaps the most diverse and unexpected lineup of the recent food halls to date. The Rice Village collective features one bar and eight dining concepts. It is a new project from founder/owner Will Donaldson, whose Politan Group has launched food halls in New Orleans (St. Roch Market, Auction House Market), Miami (St. Roch Market) and Chicago (Politan Row).
Bar Politan, an agave-focused craft-cocktail bar, anchors the open floor plan in the center. The culinary vendors are spread along the sides of the hall with seating throughout the building, which sports a midcentury design aesthetic. Instead of hard dividers between each vendor, the layout is more communal, suggesting a shared “group” experience over an “every vendor for himself ” attitude. Each 7-foot-long “kiosk” neatly segues to the next without walls in between.
“We’re building a community,” said Politan culinary director Kirstin Moburg. “We love the interaction between the concepts.”
Donaldson agreed: “That’s the vibe we wanted to create — a cooperative.”
Here are the members of the new Politan Row cooperative:
Nice Sprout
Partners Amanda Altman and
Nais Sanchez both recently moved to Houston from Miami to open this plant-based cafe concept that epitomizes good food that’s good for you — or “vegan junk food,” as they call it. Their daylong menu begins with avocado toast or a chia granola parfait then segues to artfully composed salads, such as their take on a Waldorf: kale with cashew cream, faro, carrots, walnuts, oranges, avocado, cranberries, sprouts and seeds. In between is a variety of lush smoothies and vivid cold
pressed juices, such as the Heart Beet, made with beets, apple, lemon, ginger, turmeric and mint.
Susu Kopi & Boba
Sisters Niken and Ecky Prabanto, two-thirds of Houston’s Greenway Coffee Company, operate this Indonesian milk (susu) tea and coffee (kopi) concept. Black sesame latte or bajigur — flavored with sweetened coconut milk and infused with ginger and pandan leaf — are sure to get the caffeine set jumping. They also sell softserve ice cream in flavors such as coffee, sweet corn, Ovaltine, and a marriage of pandan and matcha that can be topped with magic shell, popcorn, corn flakes, caramel, chocolate or Ovaltine.
Kin
For years, chef Evelyn Garcia has worked her Thai food charms and winning smile via pop-ups throughout Houston. She most recently was the chef-in-residence at the now-closed Decatur Bar & Pop-Up Factory. Thai for “to eat,” Kin continues Garcia’s passion for bold Asian flavors. The menu offers mango papaya salad with tamarind vinaigrette and crispy dried shrimp; crispy chicken dumplings; roti wrap filled with fivespice barbecue brisket; and spicy citrus pork lettuce wraps. Curry dishes include beef cheeks with sweet potato and Filipino curry; poached shrimp and bok choy in a coconut Thai curry flavored with kaffir lime leaf; and seasonal vegetables in a sour yellow coconut curry.
Torshi
From hummus toast and shaksuka for breakfast, to fattoush salad and falafel wraps at lunch, to roasted eggplant and lamb shank platters for dinner, Torshi invites customers to “eat like an Egyptian.” More Mediterranean in scope, the restaurant offers scratch-made hummus, baba ghanoush, tabbouleh, gyros, stuffed grape leaves and chicken shawarma. “This is cooking with passion. I do everything with passion,” said owner Rafik Abohattab, adding that he grew up learning his native cuisine from his mother and grandmother. Torshi is already an established brand in New Orleans’ St. Roch Market.
Cochinita & Co.
Victoria Elizondo has done the pop-up circuit while also working in the kitchens of Xochi, State of Grace and Pax Americana for the past three years. She now has her own joint where her progressive take on Mexican tacos and ceviche rules. Though born in Monterey, Elizondo’s culinary influence samples from all of Mexico. “My goal is to showcase a different type of Mexican food and promote authentic dishes with a modern touch,” she said. Her cochinita pibil (slow-roasted achiote pork) tacos are joined by shredded poblano chicken tacos, vegetables in a vegan mole; passion-fruit ceviche; red snapper aguachile; and tuna tostada with avocado and morita chile mayonnaise.
Pacha Nikkei
Chef/owner Masaru Fukuda is a fourth-generation Japanese Peruvian, born and raised in Peru where the unique Japanese-Peruvian cuisine called Nikkei flourishes. Having worked at both Latin Bites and Kata Robata in Houston, Fukuda has long sought his own restaurant for a menu of ceviches and tiraditos, salads and poke bowls, and maki rolls. His plates are lush and accomplished: poached lobster ceviche, in particular, is a knockout. Pacha’s maki lineup includes spicy tuna with mango, avocado and crunchy quinoa; shrimp, torched salmon and avocado; and tuna, shrimp tempura and mango with a creamy leche de tigre sauce.
Ate Kitchen
Chef Keisha Griggs’ Bocage Catering business is seven years old and her Ate Kitchen restaurant on Colquitt has a year under its belt. Expanding on that restaurant’s menu, Griggs’ Politan Row concept offers her native Trinidadian fare: jerk chicken, pepper shrimp, curry chicken (or jackfruit), jerk wings, and samosa-like pockets of turmeric pastry filled with ginger/pimento chicken, potatoes, chickpeas, and mango chutney. Larger plates include pulled slowcooked roast beef flavored with cumin; ginger-citrus Chinese chicken; sweetand-sour roast fish; and
Caribbean-braised short ribs.
Breaking Bao
The popular bao-based food truck now has its own space to share its steamed buns. Owner Phillip Kim’s brief menu includes four bao options (braised pork belly; Asian chicken salad with crispy lo mein; dashi-simmer beef with spiced radish; and shredded jackfruit in spicy Korean sauce) and a single shareable appetizer (Korean chile con queso with wonton chips). To drink? Topo Chico poured over yuzu jam and what Kim calls “kor-chata”: a Korean rice punch spiced with cinnamon and vanilla.