In just the third night it was open for business, I had the pleasure of enjoying Underbelly in Houston. It’s Chris Shepherd‘s love letter to Houston and its food, and it’s as compelling as any ode to gastronomy I’ve known. And because I’ve had the joy of getting to know the owner-chef a little, it’s an even sweeter experience that I’ll carry with me a long while.
Last May, I was lucky enough to be in a group of friends that Shepherd took on a tour of the Lower Westheimer building he’d just acquired for this restaurant. He’d left Catalan, the Houston restaurant on Washington Avenue where his reputation grew to icon status, shortly before. In partnering with Bobby Heugel (owner of Anvil Bar & Refuge, just down Westheimer from the new Underbelly site), he endeavored to go deeper into his rediscovered connection with local foods.
Initially stunning is how Shepherd and partners rehabbed the space, half of which is occupied by Underbelly and half by Hay Merchant, a gastropub with a rich selection of craft beers. When we roamed the nearly derelict space late last spring, we wondered how it could ready inside a year.
But less than 10 months later, the former nightclub is a showplace, thanks to Collaborative Projects, a design-architecture-building firm in Houston. Tables crafted from American walnut give great warmth, and soaring ceilings provide lots of air. Reclaimed materials gathered from around Houston find their way into the setting. Woodcuts figure among the artwork. Preserved and pickled vegetables line one wall near the kitchen.
Sitting down to dinner there last week ranks among my greater joys in this work of eating for a living, and the reasons extend way beyond the food. Yes, I think the skilled execution of his menu easily proves what a wonderful mad scientist he is, but the wealth of rewarding elements here are not limited to what I put in my mouth.
More on the astonishing dishes is forthcoming, here and in a story I’m writing for Texas Highways magazine. But for starters, chew on what Shepherd has wrought, even before he nears the stoves.
* Chris subtitled the restaurant: The Story of Houston Food. When you ask him about it, he hands you a brochure that explains why he displays photos on the wall of people that make him “proud to be a Houstonian.” He says, “Sure, we’d love to have you back at Underbelly, but we politely request that you visit at least one of these folks first.” And he proceeds to list, by Houston zip code, the people and businesses that inspire him. There are farmers, Asian restaurants, markets, chefs, bars, bands, arts groups and much more detailed on the list. (My favorite is Lindsey Brown, the Houston marketing wizard who has turned me onto countless culinary experiences in her city.)
Because of his passion for the city and its food, he also leads culinary tours for Lindsey. These have become extremely popular.

* Whole foods, indeed: When we got a quick tour of the kitchen, I was most curious about the butcher shop. Yes, Shepherd has a full butcher-shop on-site, and whole animals are broken down there. Peter Jahnke, whose culinary talents are many, is running this show, and the scorecord on the wall shows rabbits leading the tally with 110 (day three into business, not bad), with lambs at 22, pigs at 17, goats at 8, cows at 4 and, bringing up the rear, wild pigs at just 1.
* Reading the menu is fun and straight-forward, as is Shepherd. And the wine list is a downright hoot. On the first page, there is the definition of wine: “An alcoholic beverage resulting from the fermentation of grapes, typically not found in frat houses, day cares or the international space station. Once consumed, one might feel inclined to laugh, dance naked, make love or all of the above…at the same time.” And there are very entertaining images on the wine list, too, including one of a colossal wine goblet clutched in Sam Houston’s fist as he rides on a horse, high on a statue.
* Finally, I love the familiar, at-home spirit at Underbelly, That’s because more than one-third of the staff was with him either at Catalan or at jobs he had before, some way back to Brennan’s. He even found one of his former dishwashers just walking down the street recently, at which point he brought him in side and gave him a job. It’s clear these folks love working alongside Shepherd, and it made me happy to be within the walls where all this warm, fuzzy stuff is taking place.
Find Underbelly at 1100 Westheimer Road, Houston, 77006.




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