Photos by Samantha Jane Beatty
Styling by Todd Ramos
Model Jerry Raines for Neal Hamil Agency
Grooming by Briana Dai
Photography assistance by John Lewis
Styling assistance by Tyler Treadwell
Shot on location at The Barn at Four Pines Ranch in Crosby
The Duchess Rose dessert
According to the restaurateurs, “Our muse, the Duchess, is the embodiment of unpretentious glamour, a character that enjoys jaunts abroad, but whose sensibilities are rooted stateside. Like many of us – someone who enjoys great cocktail and an easy-to-understand menu served in an inviting room.”
Roasted seafood platter
Scorpion Kiss cocktail
Beef tartare
Gougeres and caviar
Regarding interiors, eye-catching jewel tones, cushy banquettes, and snug upholstered chairs are guest-friendly and pretty versus precious. The vibe is casual and works for day and night, and the ambitious menu is served all day, so you can pop in for a gorgeous cocktail if not seeking a dinner commitment.
Consulting chef Omar Pereney, who foodies may recall opened now-shuttered Peska, has crafted a seafood-focused menu devoted to live fire cooking. Diverse yet approachable, most dishes are infused with the smoky and succulent flavors from the kitchen’s wood-burning grill. The Caesar salad, side vegetables, and the Scorpion Kiss cocktail are even influenced by fire.
Selections are divided into cold and hot appetizers, skewers and mains and everything is plated meticulously and imaginatively. You might start with chilled red snapper crudo, beef tartare, or peach and pistachio burrata. Tender grilled skewers — think ribeye or salmon — are a highlight, each flavored with a different glaze and sauce, like the tiger prawn with coconut red curry.
Entrees sport something for everyone including an au jus burger with garlic aioli to bucatini with mussels and chorizo, and the luxe roasted seafood platter. The enticing menu isn’t confusing with mysterious ingredients or dauntingly long, making choosing a breeze. Do choose to save room for dessert – the white chocolate mousse Duchess Rose is a work of art!
Georgia James
Relish
Through March 7, the River Oaks neighborhood favorite will whip up rib-sticking rodeo eats including 44 Farms mini corn dogs and all-beef hot dogs with spicy mustard. Its puled-pork sandwich comes with Relish BBQ sauce and slaw on a brioche bun with a side of fries, and the Rodeo Burger, also with Relish BBQ sauce, is stacked with house-ground beef, cheddar, shoestring onions, and a side of fries. Rodeo Ribs — a half rack of smoked St. Louis ribs — come with choice of collards or fries (available at dinner time only). New cocktails like the Space City Cowboy with bourbon, blackberry, mint, lemon and maple, and the Rodeo Rita with mezcal, tequila, lime and blood orange, are fitting for city slickers.
Trill Burger's Trillen's burger (photo by Dylan McEwan)
Trill Burgers, co-founded by Houston’s own Bun B, will offer two new items for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in collaboration with Houston chef Ronnie Killen: Trillen’s Burger topped with Killen’s Sweet Barbecue Sauce, and Trillen’s Brisket Fries. Items are only available at the Trill Burgers Rodeo booth in Rodeo Plaza (RP65) outside of NRG Center at NRG Park Feb. 27-Mar. 17. Trill Burgers’ outdoor Rodeo Plaza location will offer the OG Burger and Vegan OG Burger combos. Rapper Bun B’s “All-American Takeover” March 12 features special guest performances by Rick Ross, E-40, Too Short, That Mexican OT and more. Tickets are available at rodeohouston.com.
GJ Saloon (photo by Becca Wright)
To celebrate Rodeo season, Georgia James is turning its expansive upstairs lounge into a western-themed watering hole playfully named “GJ Saloon.” Feb. 28-March 16, hang out rodeo-style in the saloon with live musical performances every Wed.-Sat.; live airing of the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo on its TVs; daily happy hour from 5-7pm ($1 oysters, $7 martinis and more). A three-course Rodeo Prix Fixe ($95) stars fine steak and seafood, and specialty rodeo-themed cocktails including Mr. Cash’s Fire Water (tequila, passion fruit, hibiscus, jalapeno, lime, sparkling water, tajin rim), and more. The entire Georgia James menu will be on offer in the GJ Saloon.
Underbelly Hospitality’s serene Italian spot will offer a prix-fixe menu ($70) during rodeo season. Two-step on over for four courses with your choice of salads, ravioli or spaghetti and meatballs, and entrees of Gulf snapper or strip steak. For dessert, tiramisu or chocolate tart will not get the boot!
Downtown rodeo revelers can rustle up western-themed bites before hitting the road (or the light rail at the nearby Preston station). Hotel ICON's restaurant and bar dishes out a festive menu of food and happy hour specials Mon.-Fri., 2 p.m to 6 p.m. Drop in for chopped brisket, barbecue grilled polenta, Texas venison stew, blue pig burger and pulled duck confit sliders. Texas draft beers are $3.
CIEL
Want to keep the party going? CIEL’s kitchen will stay open until 1am on Fridays and Saturdays with a late-night menu featuring ribeye, French fries and truffle pizza for rodeo-goers. Bottle specials are on offer every night for the duration of rodeo season; and the restaurant offers a luxury sprinter van that can shuttle guests to and from CIEL to the Rodeo (and vice versa). Interested parties can call the restaurant or email info@cielhtx.com to reserve the service.
Goode Co. BBQ
Goode Co. will offer a special limited-time menu item through rodeo season at Goode Co. Armadillo Palace and Goode Co. BBQ on Kirby. At Armadillo Palace, guests can order the All-Night Revival, a cocktail featuring Milam & Greene Bourbon, lemon, strawberry, ginger and amaro. At Goode Co. BBQ, its 1977 Sandwich is piled high with sliced brisket, ham, mac’n’cheese, jalapeno, bacon and onion.
Beginning Feb. 27, the Enchilada Queen will bring back the Texcoco Enchilada, a fiery barbacoa enchilada topped with chile de arbol red sauce, fresh chopped onions and cheese. The special ($17.95) includes rice and beans or a salad and is available for lunch and dinner during the entire run of the rodeo.