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A new spot for fried catfish, saucy seafood boils, and more Cajun dishes is headed to the soon-to-open Railway Heights food hall just north of Memorial Park.
Heads & Tails Seafood, the first restaurant from entrepreneur Roy Burks, is scheduled to open in August at the long-awaited food hall, a project from the same group behind Downtown’s Bravery Chef Hall. While Railway Heights has been under construction, Burks has been honing his craft by hosting crawfish boils and other pop-ups at Houston-area bars.
This weekend, he’ll take that pop-up to his future home, slingin’ po-boys and other eats at the Railway Heights preview party, happening from 6-9 p.m. on Saturday, July 31 at 8200 Washington Avenue. Heads & Tails will be one of about 10 future vendors at the preview party.
Burks’ journey to chefdom hasn’t always been easy. After college, he spent a period of time unhoused, but eventually resettled in Houston, his hometown, where he got a job in the oil and gas industry. All the while, he was cooking for friends and family, usually at tailgates, as a way to express his appreciation for his loved ones.
After helping a few friends open restaurants, Burks decided to shift gears and open up his own spot. The name, Heads & Tails, refers to Burks intention to run a low-waste kitchen where he uses as much of his source material as possible.
“Everyone knows that when eating crawfish, you consume the head and eat the tail, but we are using that motto for everything we cook,” says Burks.
In addition to dishes like catfish po’boys, shrimp and grits, and shrimp penne with cream sauce, Burks will also be serving up a signature seafood boil, complete with king crab legs, blue crabs, and something called “Boss Sauce.”
Other restaurants joining Heads & tails at Railway Heights include BOH Pizza, a spinoff of the popular Bravery Chef Hall restaurant, Samosa Haus, League City’s Pierogi Queen, and churros restaurant Currazon. No word yet on a precise opening date for Railway Heights, but diners can get a sneak peak at the offerings during this weekend’s preview party.
