HOUSTON – Last week, a brand-new restaurant called Buttermilk Baby opened at M-K-T Heights. Over the weekend, people lined up out the door to be among the first to get a taste of what was on the menu. Houston life reporter Melanie Camp took us inside Buttermilk Baby to show us what the hype is all about.
Check it out in the video above.
Buttermilk Baby is a modern take on a retro diner with vintage soda fountain vibes and something very special for ice cream lovers - the Texas debut of Carvel, a cult classic ice cream brand founded in 1934! As the country’s first retail ice cream company, Carvel is best known for creating The Original Soft Serve®, as well as for its iconic ice cream cakes and signature novelties. Buttermilk Baby will offer Carvel’s exclusive ice cream cakes, including the Fudgie the Whale® character cake, ten flavors of The Original Soft Serve®, and the brand’s fan-favorite Flying Saucer® ice cream sandwiches.
“We are so excited to bring Carvel’s incredible soft serve treats to Texas with Buttermilk Baby,” said Marissa Sharpless, Vice President of Marketing at Carvel. Carvel’s soft-serve ice cream will also be incorporated into the menu through the concept’s “boozy shakes,” which will be available in a variety of adults-only flavors, including the Espresso Shaketini, Bailey’s Oreo Cookie, and Piña Colada.
Berg Hospitality Group’s Corporate Pastry Chef, Ruchit Harneja, a 2024 finalist for the World Chocolate Masters, helped create the ice cream creations.
”Both longtime fans and newcomers alike will love what we have in store for them with both classic favorites and new products that aren’t available anywhere else,” said Sharpless.
Buttermilk Baby’s 3,100-square-foot interior is decorated with a life-size carousel horse, neon signage, and a pastel color palette running through the 50-seat dining room. There is even a river of sprinkles running through the middle of a kid-friendly ice cream bar with seating for 10 and a giant ice cream sundae statue - complete with a rotating cherry on top!
Watch this video to see how Buttermilk Baby have incorporated Carvels into their menu.
Houston restaurateur Ben Berg, Founder and CEO of Berg Hospitality Group, said, “Buttermilk Baby is a fusion of our traditional fine dining with fast casual to create a new concept of dining I like to call ‘cool casual.’ It’s a place where kids of all ages can get home-cooked comfort food made from top-notch ingredients and just enjoy being a kid again.”
From breakfast staples through dinner favorites, Buttermilk Baby ladles on honest, homey classics for comfort food cravings. The day starts with cinnamon rolls, buttermilk biscuits with sausage gravy, buttermilk pancakes, and biscuit sandwiches filled with eggs, honey ham, and buttermilk-brined fried chicken. The menu will also feature Ben Berg’s favorite breakfast - an everything bagel with cream cheese and bacon, coined “Ben’s Biscuit”.
Lunch and dinner signatures include diner-style smash burgers, patty melts, chicken finger baskets, and a variety of chicken sandwiches (buttermilk, southern fried, grilled, and mushroom/Swiss). And in true Berg Hospitality style, smash burgers, hot dogs, and corn dogs are made with 100% Texas wagyu beef.
Buttermilk Baby is open seven days a week, Sunday through Thursday from 8 am to 10 pm and Friday through Saturday from 8 am to 11 pm. Check them out! Head to M-K-T Heights at 600 N Shepherd Dr., Suite B-250, Houston, TX 77007.