HOUSTON – There’s a myriad of restaurants and bars in Houston to choose from when you’re trying to go out and pick a place to eat or have some drinks with friends, but a newly opened spot in the Heights might make you forget all about them.
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If you enjoy the craft beer choices at Flying Saucer and the mouthwatering burgers at Rodeo Goat, chances are you’ll fall in love with “The Kid,” located on North Durham Drive and W 19th Street. The namesake is a pun, not too far off, as it’s the brainchild of restaurant veterans Shannon Wynne, Keith Schlabs, and Houston’s own Asa Hanrahan, who oversees all Flying Saucer operations.
Hanrahan, who has been with Flying Saucer for nearly 20 years, notes that he wanted to create something out of the box, but that pays homage to a traditional/classy cocktail bar, with an inclusive atmosphere.
"I feel really proud of what we put together,“ he told me. ”I feel proud of the food that’s coming out of the kitchen. I feel proud of the drinks we were able to make. I feel pride in the service and especially the ambiance."
Outside, The Kid has two patios and an ample indoor table, and inside is a dark cocktail bar with dim lighting on one side and more lively but ambient lighting on the other, with a pool table and darts — making it the ideal location for whatever vibe you’re after.
“I feel like it’s a really classy bar,” he said. “It’s got maybe a dive ambiance to it, but the food is out of this world, so I feel like this spot right here kind of scratches that edge of ‘I don’t want to go slumming it,’ ‘I don’t want to be on a patio with kids running everywhere,’ ‘I want to have something good to eat and I want to be in a cool spot,’ and I feel we’re doing that here”
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‘There’s a time and place to go sit outside and watch your kids run around. And I have kids, I do the same, but this is not meant to be that," Hanrahan added. “But I didn’t want it to be so upscale that you had to wear jacket; I definitely don’t want to scare anybody off who wants to just come out with a drink with their friends."
If your vibe is hungry, then take a bite out of what is arguably the tastiest cheeseburger you’ll ever have, that would make Samuel L. Jackson’s character from Pulp Fiction blush. Don’t have that much of an appetite? You won’t have chips and queso the same after trying their Queso Verde, and their Sirloin Rice Cakes are the perfect bite-sized appetizer that will have you questioning whether you should share with the others at your table.
And you can wash those mouthwatering bites with a playful cocktail list for whatever your poison is: the Big Moe for gin lovers; Jalapeño Business for the Tajin and vodka enthusiasts; and Pinky and the Grain for those looking for something a little sweeter.
One of the things especially important to Hanrahan was having full service. In other words, you don’t have to sit at the bar to enjoy a drink. If you’re like me and you’d prefer sitting in the corner, you’ll still get the same amount of attention.
"I absolutely love full service,“ he explained. ”And I think in a time where that seems to be going by the wayside, it was very important to me and my staff that we gave full service to people. And it’s not easy, and if it were easy, everybody would have full service, but making sure a customer gets an experience where they don’t have to get up and order their own cocktails or wait in line behind somebody is what I think sets this bar apart from most."
“I think it’s a great place to book a party,” Hanrahan concluded. “We’ve got a few on the books already, we have that room with the pool table in it that we’ve gotten a few reservations for already; the patio is up too, I think it would be a great happy hour place for a business or a friend’s party."
The Kid is open Monday through Saturday from 4 p.m. - 2 a.m. and Sunday, 4 p.m. to 12 a.m. — no kids (real ones a.k.a children) after 7 p.m. To learn more or check out their menu, visit their website by clicking here.