A tipster reports that Ibiza chef-owner Charles Clark was involved in a traffic accident early Thursday morning, and a call to the Houston Police Department confirms. A police spokesman states that during their investigation of a traffic accident that occurred at 2:30 a.m. Thursday morning in the 2600 block of Kirby, officers suspected Clark of being intoxicated. They administered sobriety tests and subsequently arrested him and charged him with driving while intoxicated. A record of the case may be found on the Harris County District Clerk website, which reveals that Clark has made bond and is no longer in police custody.
Eater reached out to Clark, who said he returned from the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen yesterday. "Must have the wrong Charles Clark," he says. The arrest record shows the arrested man's birthday as October 2, which also matches Clark's birthday on Facebook. Clark suspects someone may have stolen his identity.
Clark has been a fixture of Houston's dining scene for many years. He is one of the few chefs from Houston to compete on the Food Network show Iron Chef America, where he lost by one point to Mario Batali in Battle: Halibut. With business partner Grant Cooper, he co-owns Brasserie 19 and Coppa. His restaurant Ibiza is known for its Creole-influenced dishes and extensive, reasonably priced wine list. Houston Chronicle critic Alison Cook ranked Ibiza 87 on her recent top 100.
Calls to Ibiza's PR representative for comment were not returned.
· Harris County District Clerk [Houston Police Department]