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The anticipated Cafe Louie — an all-day bistro from brother-sister chef duo Angelo and Lucianna “Louie” Emiliani — is now open in Houston’s East End.
Located at 3401 Harrisburg, Suite G, in a renovated warehouse known as The Plant, Cafe Louie opened Wednesday, May 11, and is serving flaky pastries, roasted coffee, and inventive French, Italian, and Mediterranean fare with a Texas twist.
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Cafe Louie’s menus include breakfast items like the McLouie, a sandwich stacked with cheese, house-made maple sausage patty, cheese curds soaked in beer, a sunny side up egg, and dijonnaise, plus the gluten-free adventure bread, which is topped with cheese and a soft-boiled egg.
The cafe’s all-day menu features a veg “sammich,” with yuba, sesame dressing, herbs, and broccoli; a ham sammich, and braised garlicky greens with a chickpea puree. Dinner features family-style plates, including the suppli “carbonara” made with pork jowl, pecorino, egg yolk, and black pepper; a shrimp cocktail made with a verde salsa and lemon aioli; and a crispy chicken liver parfait with toast, plus a beer and wine list highlighting local breweries.
The pastries, in particular, are something to behold, with an assortment of croissants, a date and sesame sugar morning bun, “Cinni rolls” with cream cheese frosting, a sausage kolache stuffed with cheese and caramelized onion, a pecan crackle cookie, and pine nut coffee cake. Cafe Louie’s baked goods will also be available for purchase at Giant Leap Coffee’s Uptown Park location.
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The 2,300-square-foot cafe can seat up to 60 people in its dining area and bar, and features a fresh design with terracotta bricks, and a hand-painted mural by Daniel Cardoza that evokes the 55 layers of a croissant, according to a release. The cafe will also be home to nonprofit grocery store Little Red Box Grocery; a 30-person patio will feature a walk-up window from 7 a.m. to noon daily once construction is complete.
The cafe joins a host of other vendors in The Plant, including the first brick-and-mortar location of popsicle cart Popston, natural wine bar How to Survive, Second Shop’s vintage clothing store, HAM Barber Studio, and sneaker shop Frost Town.
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Cafe Louie is open Wednesday through Sunday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., with plans to expand its hours to 11 p.m. in the coming hours. Breakfast is served from 7 a.m. to noon.