Justin Yu, Chris Shepherd, Robert Del Grande and Hugo Ortega
Smoked brisket fritters by Seth Siegel-Gardner and Terrence Gallivan
Shrimp and Pork Shu Mai
The newly renovated West University restaurant joins Duck N Bao’s Cypress and Memorial locations, offering Sichuan specialties, including nostalgic favorites from their childhoods in China. The Rice Village location has been a long-time goal for the Xias. They’ve curated a spacious and light-filled dining room with a shaded patio and updated the menu with new food offerings, luxe upgrades, and inventive cocktails.
“We look forward to meeting our new neighbors and introducing our menus to them,” says Grace. “We have a bit of everything — dumplings from middle China, Sichuan dishes, our delicious roast duck that’s beloved in Beijing —so you can travel around China through the menu without leaving Houston.” Grace encourages cocktail lovers to try the new drinks, admitting she sometimes “saves her calories for the cocktails because they are so yummy.” However, teetotalers have plenty of fine hot teas to sip here.
At the entrance, witness noodles and dumplings being prepared behind a window, a testimony to their freshness. We dove into the new menu and shumai (steamed pork and shrimp dumplings) were a superb beginning – make sure to ask for chili oil! Lightly fried Kung Pao Brussels sprouts bathed in a sweet and spicy sauce and garnished with a shower of chopped peanuts also impressed.
Moving on, we were tempted by lo mein with options for add-ins, but our server steered us toward stir-fried flat noodles with beef, which was a rib-sticking option. Speaking of! New to the menu are the tea leaf smoked pork ribs — definitely worth sinking your teeth into, and ample enough to share. Ditto the steamed whole fresh seabass with ginger sauce, fresh ginger and scallions. Portioned out and easy to serve, it’s a beautiful sight to see.
Next time: lobster two ways!
Leo and Grace Xia
Magic Potion cocktail
Angus ribeye
Mapo tofu with lobster tail
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'Enchanted Promenade' by TILT (2016)
Art Lab will award two Houston artists with an apprenticeship, practicum and honorarium of $4,500. They'll each work with a team of mentors that includes Brooklyn-based artist-engineer Jen Lewin, who has been commissioned by Discovery Green to create a new site-specific installation in the park this winter. The winning artists will work with her on the design, build and installation, gaining valuable experience and insights.
Weingarten Art Group and architecture and design firm Metalab will also play roles in mentoring the winning artists, who will submit proposals for their own pop-up art installation at Discovery Green. Since opening in 2008, the park has displayed and hosted nearly 30 temporary exhibits, and it also showcases permanent and traveling works from globally celebrated artists such as Jean Dubuffet, Jim Dine, Margo Sawyer and Doug Hollis. It's become a model for how to incorporate art within public green spaces.
“Public art has been at the heart of Discovery Green since its inception 16 years ago, and the park has grown into an open-air gallery with a world-class permanent collection and remarkable temporary installations that draw hundreds of thousands of visitors each year,” said Discovery Green Conservancy President Kathryn Lott in a statement. “Our goal with Art Lab is to keep connecting Houstonians and visitors to inspiring and thought-provoking works while creating opportunities for the incredibly talented artists in our own backyard.”
Applications for Art Lab are open now for artists, architects and designers who live within 75 miles of central Houston. The application process closes July 14, and selected artists will be announced in August, with the program beginning in September.
Jen Lewin (photo by Gabriel Hutchinson)
'Solstice' by Studio Iregular (2023)
'Earth Day Labyrinth' by Reginald Adams (2022)
'Cool Globes' by collection of international artists responding to climate change (2009)
'House of Cards' by OGE Group featuring work by 20 Houston artists (2020)
'Luminaria' by Architects of Air (2013)
'Firmament' by Christopher Schardt (2016)
'Monuments' by Craig Walsh (2020)
'Wings of the City' by Jorge Marin (2013)
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