BEST FRIENDS AND mompreneurs Cassie Ghaffar and Sandy Nguyen are behind some of Houston’s most stylish new restaurants. Their Ordinary Concepts hospitality group is anything but — not to mention the powerhouse duo is raising seven kids between the two of them, and rapidly diversifying their business.

THE DOG DAYS of summer have arrived, and all too soon. Why not escape home — and its overworked electricity bill — for a special restaurant dinner and an evening of entertainment? From guest-appearance dinners with special NOLA flair to wine pairings, omakase and Champagne dinners to-die-for, here’s what’s cooking this month.