“Houston doesn’t need Bosscat. Bosscat needs Houston.”

That’s what Bosscat Kitchen & Libations‘ executive chef Peter Petro said when we chatted with him and owner John “JT” Reed during our first visit to the new whiskey bar that’s from Newport Beach, Calif. serving up American comfort food. And Petro is right. Houston doesn’t need out-of-town restaurateurs to better our city’s culinary scene. But we will certainly welcome them with open arms.

Reed, who co-owns Bosscat with Leslie Nguyen and Vinnie Capizzi, said he received a lot of encouragement from Houston chefs and restaurateurs before opening a location in Houston. They opened the first Bosscat concept in Newport Beach in 2014 and were looking to expand outside of California. The Houston location debuted on Wednesday, February 22.

Bosscat Kitchen’s whiskey room

A main feature at Bosscat is the enclosed whiskey room that stores 260-plus bottles of whiskey. Matt Sharp is bar director, and in addition to seasonal speciality cocktails, Bosscat will also offer a rotating selection of barrel-aged cocktails.

A few speciality cocktails we tried and recommend? The boozy 38 Special ($14) with Bulleit Bourbon, Aperol, Averna Amaro and citrus and the bright and citrusy Kerouac ($14, photo below) with tequila, Pama liqueur, citrus and bitters.

Kerouac cocktail

The food menu mirrors the American comfort food found at the original location, but with an emphasis on local ingredients – pork from Black Hill Meats and bread from Kraftsmen Baking. We stopped in last week as guests of the restaurant to see what’s on offer.

Parmesan-crusted meatloaf at Bosscat Kitchen

Appetizers alone can fill you up here – pork belly poutine ($12), bourbon chicken flatbread ($12), pulled pork hushpuppies ($9), pimiento cheese ($11) and parmesan-crusted meatloaf ($9, photo above). This last one is pretty far out there. The cubes of crispy meatloaf are served with a chilled tomato bourbon jam, which we would have preferred warm, and the meatloaf could have used more seasoning.

Sweet potato mac ‘n’ cheese at Bosscat Kitchen

More to our liking: a cast-iron skillet full of sweet potato mac ‘n’ cheese ($9, photo above). Elbow macaroni is swimming in a cheese sauce that has been blended with sweet potato puree, for a thicker and slightly sweeter version of the American classic. Crispy ham chips are the textural cherry on top.

The Bosscat Burger

Sandwiches include the Bosscat Burger topped with bacon, cheese, black garlic sauce, red onion, lettuce and tomato ($15, photo above), the barbecue porchetta with cabbage slaw on a potato bun ($14), a barbecued pulled pork pressed sandwich with ham, cheese, pickles and mustard ($14) and the Kentucky Hot Brown ($13, photo below), served open faced with roasted turkey, mornay sauce and pimiento cheese. The hot brown is reminiscent of a Thanksgiving plate – turkey piled with sauce, cheese and bacon. (You’ll want to make sure you get a little bit of everything with each bite of the hot brown.)

The Kentucky Hot Brown

Bosscat will be introducing brunch soon, so to get a taste of what’s to come we ordered the Barrel Aged Breakfast entree ($15, photo below). The skillet pancake is topped with a duck butter fried egg, bacon and whiskey maple syrup. If you don’t think of yourself as a pancake person, give this one a try. It’s thick yet incredibly fluffy and might have been the best part of our meal.

Barrel-Aged Breakfast

So what does Houston have to look forward to at Bosscat’s brunch? Take a look at the Newport location’s menu. We know we can expect one thing for sure: Fruity Pebbles French toast.

Bosscat Kitchen & Libations, 4310 Westheimer at Mid Lane, 281-501-1187, bosscatkitchen.com
Hours: Mon. to Wed. 11 am-11 pm; Thurs. to Sat. 11 am-2 am (kitchen closes at 11 pm); Sun. 11 am-4 pm