chron.com | tubular tv | comics | games | horoscopes | iPhone | Quick Search
Sausage biscuit with egg and cheddar at Blacksmith Coffee Bar. Photo by Alison Cook
David Buehrer and Ecky Prabanto won so many fans at their Greenway Coffee and Tea shop, located in relatively out-of-the-way Greenway Plaza, that there was much excitement when they announced they'd open a new free-standing shop on Westheimer near Montrose. Well, Blacksmith Coffee Bar is finally here: a trim, industrial space refashioned from the legendary Mary's bar.
Blacksmith co-owner David Buehrer prepares at flat white coffee drink at Blacksmith Coffee Bar. Photo by Alison Cook
Predictably, the coffee is excellent. Just as predictably, the shop has become an overnight industry hangout, so that on a late morning you might see Oxheart chef Justin Yu and his sommelier, Justin Vann, lined up at the counter with Anvil owner Bobby Heugel (who is a partner in the Blacksmith venture), while Travis Hinkle, the wine guy at the Pass, breakfasts with his wife at a table.
Not so predictably, the short menu by former Plonk chef Erin Smith goes beyond the usual coffee-shop-purchased baked goods. Chief among its glories is Smith's wonderfully buttery biscuit, cut square and wide and served up as a portable breakfast (or lunch, for that matter). Stacked with a fried egg, cheddar cheese and a spicy "butcher's" sausage patty that tastes like Jimmy Dean went to the Culinary Institute of America, this creation jumped right onto my current roster of favorite sandwiches.
Blacksmith biscuit with creme fraiche and apricot preserves. Photo by Alison Cook
Can't face all that protein? Get the biscuit by itself, served with thick crème fraîche and house-made apricot preserves. That way, the sturdy biscuit reads almost like a shortcake. If you add a pot of tea (the roasted green houjicha is particularly salutary), you've got the Houston equivalent of tea with scones.
(Blacksmith Coffee Bar, 1018 Westheimer, 832-360-7470. Breakfast and lunch 7 a.m.-5 p.m. daily.)
I was wondering what they were doing to the old Mary's bar. I walked through last Saturday and it's a very nice place. One of these days I'll get some bicuits.
Many Montrose residents delighted to find the old location of Mary's is still serving sausage.
zing!
Hahahaha!! (Of course, if I had said it, people would be calling me names...)
David and Ecky make amazing coffee. Expect a coffee experience like none other.
I miss Mary's. Heck, I miss the old Montrose. It was good to have a place where being gay was the norm. It also let us all separate according to who we are, so that everyone got the society they wanted. Now it's all mixed up and distrust is spreading, as Prof. Putnam predicted it would.
The old Montrose (sigh). I remember when that street was limo's and mink coats at night. Lilian's Maison de Crepes, Alexander's and Bachanal's were just a few of the places. Bev's Million Dollar City Dump was around before Numbers. You were not seen leaving the notorious Art Wren's Silver Dollar Saloon which is now Katz'. We used to have a drink at the Round Table on Westheimer on an early Sunday afternoon and end up at Mary's where the juke box was in full swing as everyone stood around the pool table. Further on down the street was Marini's Empanada House, Felix Mexican Restaurant and of course the new place, Baba Yega. I remember Los Troncos Treehouse restaurant closer to Mandel. It went from being a restaurant to an adult book store if I'm not mistaken, an adult treehouse if you will. Those were the days. I also remember going to Prince's Hamburgers when they had bellhops at the corner of Westheimer and Montrose. Almost forgot, Paul Stewart, the original Dirty Sally always knew how to have a good time.
Double zing!
don't forget the Enchanted Cup, next to Los Troncos, and the zany but short-lived Ebeneezer's on Crocker, and Ari's Grenouille (corner of Westheimer and Mandell) which then became San Michelle. And we remember that before Fonda San Angel became an Austin institution, it was the San Angel Inn right here on our very own Westheimer. oh, and we gotta remember Sand Mountain, which coupled with Anderson Fair to bring oh-so-satisfying local music to our Montrose.