LOCAL Houston | The City Guide JUNE 2015 | Page 16

Local June_FinalEDITED.qxp_002houston 5/21/15 7:23 PM Page 16

DINE WRITE

WE WANTED PEOPLE
TO BE COMFORTABLE
ENOUGH WITH THE MENUS
AND SURROUNDINGS TO COME
HERE MORE THAN ONCE A WEEK
Relish Plate

I HAD HEARD GOOD THINGS ABOUT WEIGHTS AND MEASURES FROM
NUMEROUS PALATES I RESPECT. SO I STOPPED IN RECENTLY.
The restaurant is spacious, a lot of glass ushering in plenty of natural light.
Not too formal. Very comfortable and inviting, like a neighborhood spot,
or a home base for the cast of a favorite sitcom.

The goal is a place where patrons can connect, and create new moments
and memories.

The food is simply scrumptious, and the cocktails are refreshing and fun,
but there is something bigger taking place here.
The owners – Ian Rosenberg, Richard Kaplan, Mike Sammons and Heath
Wendell – have invested so much of themselves. And I’m not talking about
just time and money. From a countertop scale that had been in Ian’s inlaws’ family for generations, to the first cocktail Mike remembers trying (a
grasshopper), to the traditional foods of Kaplan’s childhood, these guys
have created something from poignant memories of their own lives.

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The bakery, run by Wendell of Slow Dough fame, opens at 6am. The bar,
Love and Squalor, headed by Sammons of 13 Celsius, doesn’t close until
2am. In between are countless opportunities to gather and enjoy very
comfortable food. And good company.
From Kaplan’s kitchen, I tried the roasted carrot pizza, thin and delectable,
sprinkled with something called redneck cheddar, plus some cilantro, an
onion sauce and dukka. And a few Fresno chiles, which provided a welcome bit of heat.

L O C A L

| june 15