Convenience Big Store: Inspired or stolen? Two Houston restaurant owners are squabbling over a pizza menu

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I'm always fascinated by the ways owners and chefs market their restaurants. This week I had occasion to think about the way Benjy Levit and his Local Foods Group describe their "modern French" restaurant, Eau Tour, in Rice Village. They also tag it a "community bistro," and in this week's review, I touch on both aspects of those descriptors.

I also note the Wes Anderson vibe of the svelte Moderne bar. On the cutting room floor: a nod to the very Wes Anderson trio looming over Eau Tour's website landing page.

I had to smile when I read Bao Ong's story on the latest downtown location of the locally owned Federal American Grill mini-chain, with its 400-bottle "whiskey wall" and two-dozen 60-inch flat screens. Founder and CEO Matt Brice describes the restaurant as "fine casual," a label I hadn't come across.

I'm not sure how two dozen giant TVs hovering overhead equate to any kind of "fine," but I'm old-fashioned that way. Flat screens are semi-inescapable these days, even in fancy spots like Bari.

Ong's piece about Chicago's famous hot dog and sandwich purveyor, Portillo's, coming to town set off a firestorm in my Twitter/X comments, I was amused to see.

A wee sampling: "Thank you. This has made my 2024," wrote @NickSkuteris. "Please please please come to #atx," begged @Sethersk82. One reader, @WilsonCalvert, was unimpressed with the two farflung suburban sites chosen by Portillo's. "Mega-groan for these locations," he scoffed. "I'll be sure to pop in the next time I'm in Rosenberg."

And hoo boy, was I glued to the deets of the dustup between chef Marco Wiles and his longtime front-of-the-house guru and sommelier, Nicolas Nikic. Some chefs are happy to see talented employees go on to open their own places, as Sonia Garcia notes in her piece. Others have issues.

Let's leave Wiles with the last word: "This restaurant business is a soap opera."

Alison Cook, Restaurant Critic

Alison.Cook@houstonchronicle.com

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