1. A soft opening is set for April 29-May 6 for La La Land Kind Cafe in the M-K-T development—600 N. Shepherd Drive, Houston—prior to a grand opening celebration May 7. The business offers coffee and matcha classics as well as teas and food items. On the day of its grand opening, all drinks will be 50% off, according to an announcement from M-K-T developers. www.lalalandkindcafe.com
2. On the momentum of the March opening of steakhouse Patton's on Yale Street in the Heights, restaurateur Brian Doke plans to open Heights & Co. Patio and Cocktail Bar on May 5 across the street at 1343 Yale St., Houston. The neighborhood-style bar will offer an open-air atmosphere where guests can consume a variety of craft cocktails and order appetizers and entrees from a full kitchen, including steak frites, smoked ribs and pork schnitzel. The venue will feature a 100-seat, dog-friendly patio and a 30-seat indoor area with a 10-stool bar. www.heightsandco.com
3. The first brick-and-mortar location of popular food truck Stuff'd Wings will open to diners April 29 near the Ion District in Midtown at 401 Richmond Ave., Houston, in a space formerly occupied by Shipley Do-Nuts. Jarrod and Prisoria Rector will be serving up their famous bone-in chicken wings stuffed with dirty rice, seafood boudin, chicken boudin, and mac and cheese, according to an April 27 press release. New menu items will be debuted as well, including new stuffings and a breakfast menu consisting of hash browns, maple bacon wings and a glaze funnel cake. The eatery will also offer beer, wine and soda. www.stuffdwings.com
4. An opening date of May 23 has been announced for the anticipated new location of Uchiko in the Post Oak area at 1801 Post Oak Blvd., Ste. 110, Houston. The restaurant—the first to open outside of Austin—comes from Hai Hospitality, which also runs Uchi in Montrose and Loro in the Heights. The kitchen will run under Chef de Cuisine Shaun King, who will be serving up a menu of makimono, nigiri, sashimi and crossover items from Uchi, including the Hama Chili and the Sunomono. The venue will also offer a cocktail menu, and guests can order an omakase item, allowing the chef to provide a five-course or ten-course sampling of the guest's choosing. 713-597-5464. www.uchikohouston.com
5. A preview weekend will take place the weekend of May 6 for Citizen Houston, a new high-energy nightlife venue coming to a 6,000-square-foot space formerly occupied by The Classic at 5922 Washington Ave., Houston. Run by the Dallas-based hospitality group Milkshake Concepts, Citizen will offer a "modern house-like setting characterized by moody lighting, overstuffed sofas and chic decor," according to an April 14 press release. It will also offer bottle service, a members-only rooftop, dance floor and outdoor patio. www.citizenhtx.com
In case you missed it
6. Zalat Pizza opened its third Houston location in the Heights on April 26 at 250 W. 20th St., Ste. 300, Houston. Patrons can select from a variety of different pizza styles, such as Nashville Hot Chicken and Pickles, Elote pizza, Pineapple Express, margherita pizza and The OG—an all-beef pepperoni pizza with salami, cracked black pepper and pickled giardiniera. The establishment has its own pizza dipping sauce, "srirancha"—a combination of ranch and sriracha. www.zalatpizza.com
7. Patterson Park Patio Bar opened April 13 at 2205 Patterson St., Houston, offering food, beer and cocktails on a 5,000-square-foot outdoor deck adjacent to the White Oak Bayou trail. The multilevel concept is run by restaurant veterans Lonnie and Candice Schiller in partnership with their daughter and son-in-law Caroline and Brendan Murphy. The owners are referring to the concept, which was built from the ground up, as a "treehouse on the trail." Read more here.
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