Local May_Final.qxp_002houston 4/23/15 12:19 PM Page 16
DINE WRITE
IT’S SOUTHERN
THEMED, HEART-FELT
COMFORT FOOD
Texas Quail
THE BRAND NEW REPUBLIC SMOKEHOUSE & SALOON ON THE EDGE OF MIDTOWN
IS THE LATEST, AND PERHAPS MOST CREATIVE, BBQ JOINT IN HOUSTON.
Big enough to be a dance hall, it has rich wooden floors and whisky
barrel tables. Also, live country bands play on stage Thursday, Friday
and Saturday nights. With plenty of room for two-steppin’ to be sure.
Sports fans will love the flat screen TVs. Can’t say how many, though
I could catch a game no matter which direction I was facing.
But this is a restaurant, with BBQ at the center of it all.
The pitmaster is CEDRIC WILLIAMS. That’s Williams as in Williams
Smokehouse. As in local BBQ royalty. Cedric is closing in on three
decades of smoking proteins, using his own rub and sauces, which
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over the years has made many a Houstonian, including this one, very
happy.
Cedric is teamed with an executive chef, MATT KNOTTS, formerly of
Hearsay on the Green. Together, they’re d