Critics Weigh in on Weights and Measures

The pioneering Midtown restaurant/cocktail bar/bakery and coffee bar known as Weights and Measures has officially been open for about three months now — which means it's time for the critics to weigh in with their verdicts. (One thing they all seem to agree on: That carrot pizza is a must-order.)

Over at the Houston Press, Phaedra Cook thinks the place "deserves some recognition just for being a stable refuge that offers so many services, day and night" — but alas, "the dishes here range from spectacular successes to spectacular failures." She maintains that "Dinnertime and happy hour seem to be when Weights + Measures is really on top of its game," and recommends you order the giant shrimp cocktail and chopped liver on (house-baked) toast. Lunchtime had too many blunders, including a burnt burger, and for breakfast it's best to stick to pastries such as the "airy iced and filled donuts."

Alison Cook at the Chronicle, on the other hand, seems to find plenty to like at any time of the day: At breakfast there's "really good doughnuts and Danish pastries" and avocado toast on house-baked bread. Lunchtime brings truffled egg salad and smoked salmon on pumpernickel bread, which the critic enjoyed despite her aversion to truffle oil; then there was that mid-afternoon grilled cheese and soup paired with a well-priced glass of Dolcetto, "an example of the fascinating wines by the glass" you'll find here. At dinner, the menu is made for "grazing [and] sharing," especially the "clever spreads and terrines" and pizzas with "stretchy, chewy, nicely charred crusts." Cocktails "don't take themselves too seriously," and that's a compliment. Overall, Cook says: "I really could live here, more or less, and I very much doubt I would ever be bored." Two stars.

Meanwhile, Houstonia's Scott Vogel examines all three of W+M's components: Slow Dough Bake Shop and its impressive output of donuts, bread, croissants, and muffins leaves him "feeling confident that [he's] caught a glimpse of Houston’s future." While he's not much a fan of the cutesy pina colada he orders at the cocktail bar, Love & Squalor, he does proclaim "there is a cheerfulness and joie de vivre to the bar" that will captivate most patrons. As for the restaurant, he cites the roasted carrot pizza, donut fried chicken sandwiches, and chopped liver as standouts. And while he acknowledges that the restaurant component "is not without its problems," citing an over-salted pasta dish, he says overall, it "lives up to its bold concept, a crazy idea that just might work."