Chef Austin Simmons has a lot to say about his new restaurant, Charolais by Chef Austin Simmons, but he wants to make one thing abundantly clear about the establishment that’s scheduled to open in January in the former Local Pour space at Hughes Landing.
“I’m not collabing with Aaron [Bludorn] on a restaurant. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that,” he says.
Blame some of people’s confusion on the decision to announce both Simmons’ new restaurant in Hughes Landing and Bludorn’s second outpost of Bar Bludorn in The Woodlands Waterway simultaneously. With that resolved, people who loved what Simmons did at Tris, the restaurant that closed after he resigned his position as executive chef in January, will find a lot to be excited about by his plans for Charolais by Chef Austin Simmons.
Most importantly, it will serve as a showcase for Chef & Rancher, the beef company that Simmons started in partnership with Texas rancher Larry Ludeke. All of the beef served at Charolais will be from cows that Chef & Rancher has cared for from birth to harvest. As far as Simmons knows, it’s the only restaurant in the world that has full control of the beef it uses, including the animals’ genetics.
“The goal is to leave you with an education about the healthiest beef in existence. I’ll be able to prove that scientifically in the next 12 months,” Simmons says.
Diners who really like the beef — or who don’t want to wait for the kitchen to cook their dinner — can buy raw beef from the restaurant’s adjacent butcher shop. Cuts will be cryovac’ed and ready to take home, just like Simmons ships them currently to destinations all over America via Chef & Rancher’s website.
Thankfully, premium beef doesn’t mean fine dining. Simmons wants diners to be able to afford a meal at Charolais weekly.
“It’s mid-scale, modern, casual, and polished,” he says. “You can dress up for date night or come in with shorts and boat shoes and feel comfortable on the patio.”
That “casual” aspect will appeal to people who appreciated the value of Tris’ happy hour but could only commit to a full dinner there on special occasions. For example, Charolais will serve three burgers every day for lunch and dinner, which allows Simmons to serve a less expensive meal and gives him an outlet for all the ground beef the restaurant will generate.
“It’s not going to be as expensive as Tris was,” Simmons says. “Our average price will be at least $30 less than Tris per person.”
Of course, those looking for a more premium experience may opt for one of Simmons’ signature steak boards. Made famous by Joe Rogan, diners will be able to watch Simmons slice the boards from an area near the open kitchen.
Those who order a steak board will not only be able to select the cuts of beef that come on it — they’ll also have a choice about the fuel source and method used to cook the steak, such as live fire or cast iron. When a diner opts for a bone-in cut, they’ll be invited to the butcher shop to witness the steak being cut from a primal.
“Joe Rogan got a standard steak board. He didn’t even get the cuts that I’m going to show off here,” Simmons says. “The flat iron is what changed my life in this program. It’s what brought me all in.”
Later, he adds, “The cuts off the ribeye end of the chuck eye, you almost never want to eat ribeye again. My chuck eye will absolutely smoke everyone’s spinalis [ribeye cap].”
In terms of design, Simmons promises that the almost 300-seat restaurant — dividend into a main dining room, a bar/lounge area, and a climate-controlled patio — will have enough bright colors and other touches to make it appealing to both men and women. Everyone will appreciate the private dining spaces that will host corporate clients and those celebrating special occasions.
Making the leap from chef to owner/founder hasn’t been easy, but Simmons appreciates the trust that Howard Hughes, the company that developed The Woodlands, has shown in him by partnering on the project.
“Howard Hughes is pivotal in the sense that I needed a stage to showcase this,” he says. “I cant think Dvid O’Reilly and Jim Carmen enough. I never thought I’d be in this position. Those gentlemen understood what I was trying to do.”
While the restaurant is under construction, Simmons will be popping up at Houston-area H-E-Bs with a mobile kitchen that can serve burgers made with beef from Chef & Rancher. He’ll be at the Creekside H-E-B this Saturday and Sunday, September 5 and 6, from 11 am-6 pm (or until sold out) and again on September 21. More dates and locations will be announced in the weeks to come.