There were so many friends and loyal supporters of both the iconic Cafe Annie and of the new food zsar in town, Ben Berg, that it took two nights of preview parties to get everyone in for a sneak peak before the new Annie Cafe and Bar opened its doors this Thursday night.
Welcoming everyone was, of course, Berg Hospitality’s Ben Berg, Executive Chef and Partner, Robert Del Grande and newest addition, Operating Partner, Sam Governale. The bar was buzzing with lots of special cocktails including their infamous, Margaritas, and the music never stopped, as Flashdrive which included a DJ, Richard Browns’ String quartets and Mariachis on night one to Tia and her jazzy tunes on night two!
The transformation of the former space was probably one of the most significant changes I’ve ever seen…….as Robert Del Grande said to me the first night (I am such a groupie that we were there both nights!!), “first we painted it all white and then it just evolved from there” and that it certainly did. The new look is fresh, modern and so right on for going forward and standing out in today’s very competitive dining world here in H-town.
Good news is that many of the food staples that I have loved over the years were still there that we were able to taste in bite size but have remained on the menu…….the crab tostada, the quail, ahi tuna crudo, coffee crusted filet and so many more, including my most favorite flourless chocolate cake for dessert! I can hardly wait to make it back there to order from the menu!
Take a peak at all of the fun festivities just to get The Annie open and stop in for yourself…..the Houston favorite is back and its better than ever………
Dominique Sachse, Nick Florescu
photos courtesy of Jacob Power
