Eric Sandler

A veteran Houston bar owner has teamed up with one of the city’s most prominent real estate developers to bring a new cocktail bar to Shady Acres. Meet Plume, a cocktail lounge that aims to offer something a little different than the nearby bars on 20th Street.

Once relegated to only the most premium fine dining restaurants, caviar is now served on menus throughout Houston. More than anything, what defines the city’s current caviar moment is that chefs want diners to enjoy the experience in non-traditional ways.

One of Houston’s most prominent healthy eating restaurants has added a second location. Vibrant is now open in Memorial Park.

Sneak Peek at Bowl & Barrel

The wait is over for the new Mexican-inspired restaurant from the owners of Local Foods. Maximo is now open daily for lunch and dinner.

The bakery known for making some of Houston’s best croissants is coming to the Heights. Magnol French Baking has claimed the former Andy’s Home Cafe space (1115 E 11th St.) for a second location that will join its original bakery on North Post Oak.

Editor’s note: It’s time to recap the top stories on CultureMap from this past week.

Houston’s Berg Hospitality Group is making a major push into downtown by developing two new restaurants for one office tower and taking over operations at two establishments in another. The moves will bring one of the company’s most popular brands to the downtown tunnels and introduce two new concepts at a theater district high-rise.

The wait is over for Briargrove and Tanglewood residents looking for a restaurant that serves healthy options. Leaf & Grain will open its fourth location this Saturday, April 6, at noon.

It didn’t take long for former Ninfa’s chef Alex Padilla to find a new job. Pappas Restaurants announced he’s one of three new hires to join the group’s vaunted research and development team.