Though ice houses are dying out, this neighborhood standby has stood the test of time, selling some-hundred of types of beers and wine for you to drink while you crush barbacoa tacos and play a game of cornhole. Negranza says he chose his first apartment based on its proximity to West Alabama Ice House and the nearby permanently-parked taco truck, Tacos Tierra Caliente, which he insists hawks the best tacos in Houston. What more do you need to know?įor a Quintessential Texas Tradition: West Alabama Ice House I was like, God, I'm in love with this place." Yes, this is a neighborhood dive bar that claims to have the best whiskey selection in the whole of Texas. "I once went into Poison Girl with some bartenders visiting from Canon in Seattle and we ordered one shot of every back-vintage of Old Forester they had and then a Lone Star," recalls Negranza. Here's a Dive Bar with an Insane Whiskey List: Poison Girl " ties things everything together, like using whiskeys that are sherry- or wine-casked finish or somehow resonate with the rest of the curated program." If that wasn't enough, the bar recently launched a cocktail program as well. "This is where I go if I'm trying to nerd out over pet-nats, grower champagnes, and outstanding vintages of stuff but also have a super-awesome whiskey list," says Negranza. To Geek Out Over Whiskeys and Wines: Public ServicesĪt this swanky Bond-inspired parlor located in the historic Houston Cotton Exchange Building, freewheeling sommelier Justin Vann offers a forward-thinking selection of whiskey and wine along with sherries and fortified wines. "When I'm in the mood for a margarita, I'm either going to Ninfa's or going home." "People think all we drink down here is margaritas and it's not-not true," he jokes. Negranza's favorite margarita in town is at the restaurant's original location, Ninfa's on Navigation. Ninfa's has been a Tex-Mex legend in Houston since 1973. Fun fact: the building that houses La Carafe is listed on the National Register for Historic Places for being the city's oldest commercial structure. "Is this a bottle of Domaine Del' Ecu Muscadet for like $40? What is this?" Head across the street to Market Square Park to complete your downtown Houston experience. "The stairs are a little slanted, they've got an old-school cash register, but you go in there and you're looking at this amazing wine list," says Negranza. This cash-only mainstay has been around for half a century, but it's one of the best wine bars in town. Notable in that selection is Negranza's Backseat Leather, stirring aged rum, Becherovka, Scotch, Bonal, and Scrappy's Black Lemon Bitters with a garnish of anise, smoked on a plate in front of you. Negranza's first gig in town was at this critically-acclaimed cocktail bar that he calls the city's "old faithful." Find an extensive list of classics with just seven house cocktails that are developed collaboratively between bartenders and senior staff over a period of months. "We were all calling each other, reaching out to anyone with a car to deliver the food we'd cooked to shelters nearby." "The first places that were opening up again were bars," he explains. And when Hurricane Harvey devastated large swaths of the Gulf Coast last year, Negranza says seeing how the restaurant-and-bar community banded together made him feel like the city was truly home. "Frozen Japanese whiskey poured in frozen glasses with Mountain Valley soda water-it's easy and refreshing and perfect when it gets really hot."īut where Houston shines most is its brand of inclusive hospitality-it's now the most ethnically diverse in America, partly because it also resettles a plurality of the country's refugees. "The Texas highball has become a thing in the past five years," says Negranza. But that doesn't mean Houstonians don't have their own drinking traditions-take, for example, the Texas ice house, or those casual, outdoor beer joints that function as neighborhood gathering spots-or are unwilling to adopt new ones. "Good luck getting a bunch of Texans to stand outside and wait in line in three-piece suits when it's 90 degrees outside," Negranza jokes. Perfect example: Houston skipped over the whole speakeasy movement.
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