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A new all day coffee shop is coming to the East End. Cafe Louie will open at the end of this summer at the Giant Leap Coffee at The Plant, the redeveloped industrial site in the East End that houses the popular How To Survive on Land and Sea wine bar.
The restaurant is the latest project from Chef Angelo Emiliani, whose pop-up Angie’s Pizza was a huge hit. Emiliani will work on the project with his sister Lucianna – who gives the restaurant its name. She is a pastry chef with experience at the renowned Tartine Bakery in San Francisco and on site at Tiny Boxwoods. The confectioner Erica Valencia (Emiliani’s friend) will also make her contribution.
Originally, Tlauhuac, the Mexican-Mexican concept by chef Nicholas Vera and pastry chef Stephanie Velasquez, was intended for the space, but the duo are focused on Papalo Mercado, their restaurant in the Finn Hall Food Hall downtown. When the owners of Giant Leap approached him about taking over the space, Emiliani said he had seized the opportunity.
“I’ve always wanted to do a concept like this, all-day breakfast, super light and fun,” says Emiliani CultureMap. “It just so happened that it fell into my lap. It also gives me the opportunity to present my sister a bit because she is really amazing. “
The menu is filled with “yearning” dishes that Emiliani prepares with regional, seasonal ingredients. In the mornings, Cafe Louie serves freshly made pastries such as viennoiserie (croissants and other laminated doughs), morning rolls and kolaches along with breakfast sandwiches. In the afternoon, look for dishes like pickled lemon chicken with vadouvan rice, poached egg and cured carrot salad, and honeycomb white sonora roti, salted butter, and toasted peaches, a dish he made while working at Emmer & Rye in Austin.
Other dishes on Emiliani’s design card include croissant sandwiches, fresh corn polenta with marinated tomatoes and Portuguese sausage, and a spiced roast chicken and fries inspired by a dish he ate at Dino’s in Los Angeles.
“I don’t want to say it’s the best chicken on the market, but it’s damn good,” says Emiliani. “How [James Beard Award-winning pizzaiolo Chris] Bianco would say ‘as good as anyone’s best’. “
Overall, Emiliani’s time in Los Angeles shaped the direction of Cafe Louie. The chef cites restaurants like Sqirl, the acclaimed café known for its jams, toasts, and salads, as a major influence on Café Louie. Emiliani says he hasn’t found many similar restaurants in Houston and sees an opportunity to bring the concept to bear here.
“I’ve been working on this menu for a while,” he says. “I can’t take these things off because I want people to eat there. I haven’t looked forward to a menu so much for a long time. “
As for pizza, Emiliani says he put his oven away for now to focus on Cafe Louie. He picked a place for a pizzeria, but it probably won’t open for a year or more.
“My focus is now on Cafe Louie,” he says. “I hope it’ll come faster, but you never know.”
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