As chef Randy Evans gets ready to leave Houston for San Antonio, it was time we got over to Table 57 Dining & Drinks, the eatery inside the new Tanglewood Court H-E-B at San Felipe and Fountain View. We were curious to explore the menu overseen by the award-winning chef who previously had Haven and, before that, was at Brennan’s of Houston.
Table 57, named for the area’s 77057 zip code, opened in mid-February, under the direction of executive chef Allen Duhon, who with the consulting help of Evans, created a menu that goes far beyond the old-style steam-table grocery store cafe. Evans’s work on this new concept impressed the H-E-B brass so much that they hired him as the director/chef of restaurants for H-E-B corporate. He will soon be working from the company’s headquarters in San Antonio come August.
Enter the restaurant through the sliding doors to the right of H-E-B’s main entrance (it’s hard to miss) and follow the large arrow pointing to the right for Table 57. It’s a casual order-at-the-counter atmosphere with indoor seating, a stocked bar that features eight rotating Texas craft beers on tap and a patio equipped with a stage for live music Friday through Sunday.
The menu is diverse, with appetizers, soups and salads, entrées, sandwiches and burgers, barbecue and sweets, all decently-sized and (very) reasonably priced. The restaurant also serves Sunday brunch 10 am to 2 pm.
We started the meal with the chopped beef brisket slider topped with cole slaw and a pickle slice ($3, photo above). The soft bun held together a good amount of the tender, moist meat, and if you like peppery barbecue sauce, add Table 57 to your list — pepper hits your palate front and center. A variety of sliders are offered individually, so you can mix and match, choosing among the chopped beef brisket, Korean barbecue pulled park and prime beef and brie.
Select varieties of the sliders are a dollar off during happy hour, Monday through Friday 4 to 7 pm, as are pints of beer, glasses of wine and wine cocktails. Select tostadas are also $2, and deviled eggs are 25 cents each.
The menu has a whole section devoted to “True Texas BBQ,” meaning the meats have been smoked with Texas post oak wood for up to 13 hours. As at most barbecue joints, you choose your meat and then choose by the plate or pound. On offer is brisket (lean, fatty and chopped), ribs, chicken turkey, pulled pork, boneless pork belly ribs and sausage. The chopped beef slider was only a sampling, so we’ll be back in our stretchy pants to properly explore this section of the menu.
Instead, we went for the Pick 2 Combo ($9, photo above) lunch special. The choices are a small bowl of the soup of the day, half a sandwich or half a salad. We opted for the potato soup and the spinach salad. The potato soup, studded with pieces of bacon, was nothing to brag about. It was satisfying, but we’ve had (much) better.
Mixed into the baby spinach salad were grapefruit segments, avocado chunks, blue cheese crumbles and Marcona almonds. The pungent blue cheese balanced well with the acidic, bitter grapefruit. Marconas were there for the crunch, and the poppy seed vinaigrette for an understated sweetness. If you prefer lightly dressed salads, be sure to request the dressing on the side.
We also ordered the chipotle turkey, bacon and avocado sandwich ($8, photo above). What made this more than a basic turkey club was the subtle kick from the chipotle mayonnaise and the moist, house-smoked turkey. It is served with a side of kettle chips and sweet-heat pickles.
To sum up our quick first trip, we weren’t widely impressed, but the food was fresh and the service quick. We’ll be back for the live music and a pint of beer.
UPDATE: CultureMap reported on Wednesday, April 15, that executive chef Allen Duhon has left his position at Table 57 to pursue other opportunities.
Table 57 Dining & Drinks, 5895 San Felipe, 713-978-5860, heb.com/page/table57-dining-and-drinks