60 Degrees Mastercrafted Documents Its Development

Although the soft opening won't be until October, locals won't have to wait months to catch a glimpse of upcoming restaurant 60 Degrees Mastercrafted. With the farm-to-table movement at its peak, and diners insisting on knowing from which farm their chicken came, who butchered it, and just how free-range it might have been, there's a new movement in our midst: social media restaurant tracking.

This upcoming Upper Kirby restaurant, which brands itself ranch-to-table, will be documenting every step of its planning. It's a curious trend worth examining, with restaurants' names, décor and investors becoming almost as popular as the offerings on the menu or the execution of the meals that are served. Restaurateurs can hardly afford to be shy and reclusive anymore.

On 60 Degrees Mastercrafted's Facebook page are photographs of the construction phase and images from the representative's visit to the Houston permitting office, every moment of the restaurant's development will be tracked on Facebook. The owners hope to create an interactive, detailed log of the restaurant's "concept to creation," so that prospective customers can offer their input and opinions. On the Facebook page now is this message: "We are looking forward to having you follow us along this amazing journey and watch the restaurant come to life! You will also have an opportunity to be a part of our special events series. Let us know if you have any questions or feedback! -- it's always welcome!"

For those who consider this movement pretentious or obnoxious, or for those who consider farm-to-table anything just highfalutin jargon for "this will be expensive," you'll be pleased to know that at least in this case, it will also mean generous offerings of hard-to-find Akaushi beef (from HeartBrand Beef in Harwood, Texas, in case you're keeping count).

The implied intention, apart from the promotional one of course, is to create a personal appeal to diners, to create a connection with the place that will influence their experiences from before day one. Whether this is an effective approach or not is yet to be seen, but in a no-nonsense dining scene such as Houston's, it will likely just come down to how the food tastes.

60 Degress Mastercrafted is slated for an October opening at 2300 Westheimer with longtime Houston Country Club executive chef, certified master chef Fritz Gitschner at its helm.