Backstreet Cafe of Houston

Backstreet Cafe News

Front Patio

back patio of backstreetcafe
Our outdoor patio makes brunch a special occasion

Backstreet Cafe at night

Housed in a cozy '30s-era house, Backstreet Café affords several intimate dining areas. The downstairs dining room features a large marble-top bar, intimate banquette seating and views of both the front and back patio areas. Upstairs, the restaurant has two dining rooms for brunch, lunch and dinner seating and private functions. The formerly screened-in porch is now fully enclosed is a wonderful room for everyday dining and private functions, separated from the main upstairs dining room by French doors. Both rooms feature eggplant-colored marble-faced fireplaces and offer diners a view of the front and back patios from the from the breezy crank-out casement windows.

One of Backstreet's most popular attractions is the legendary backyard. More often than not, diners opt to eat on the New Orleans-style patio under the spreading camphor tree in the midst of flowering shrubbery. Recent renovations include the Solarium on the west side, vine-covered, handcrafted trellised arbors and dramatic yet nondistracting lighting for evening dining. The patio is also heated in cooler months.

The restaurant is available for parties of all sizes and descriptions, or the catering staff can create the perfect off-site party at private homes or business. Diners can choose from a variety of suggested menus or work with the chef to create a menu especially for their function.

"Backstreet Café has come a long way since we opened in 1983," says owner Tracy Vaught. "We were primarily known as a 'watering hole' that served burgers, sandwiches and soups. But today, our kitchen and menu rival any restaurant in the city."

Vaught, now an experienced veteran in the restaurant field, owns three of Houston's most popular restaurants - Backstreet Café, Prego and Hugo's.

Click here for more on Backstreet's History.

History

In 1983, geologist-turned-restaurateur Tracy Vaught decided to forsake the plotting of America's geothermal energy fields for the potentially hot-and-cold restaurant field in Houston.

"I considered a number of options, from opening an antique shop, to running an ice house or possibly opening a restaurant. When I told my uncle about my plans, he said he was interested in the restaurant idea."

Together the uncle-niece duo found a "For Lease" sign in front of a two-story house on a dead-end street located at the bend in South Shepherd Drive in River Oaks. The property was perfect for the "backstreet getaway" restaurant they envisioned.

Vaught, now an experienced veteran in the restaurant field, owns three of Houston's most popular restaurants, Backstreet Café, Prego and Hugo's.

Initially, Backstreet's menu was a simple one, offering a selection of soups and sandwiches. "We bought equipment piece by piece, and expanded the menu as we expanded the kitchen," Vaught explains.

Vaught and her uncle Jack Blalock eventually invested in a grill when a Backstreet waitress majoring in restaurant management at the Conrad Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management did a research project on the possibilities of adding a grill to the Backstreet kitchen, projecting its impact on sales and menu development.

According to her findings, the grill could increase sales significantly at the fledgling restaurant. The waitress made an "A" on the paper, the restaurant purchased the grill, and it has far exceeded sales projections.

In 1987, Vaught was offered the opportunity to invest in Prego, a then four-year-old trattoria located in the Rice Village area. Says Vaught of the now-thriving restaurant, "Prego was the biggest challenge of my life. I never dreamed how hard it would be to turn the restaurant around. Now that it's thriving again, I can say that I've really accomplished a major feat."

In 1989, after six years, Backstreet was well established as a popular cafe, pulling most of its business from a lively outdoor courtyard and a simple menu of Houston standards - hamburgers, soups and entree-portion salads, and simple main dishes.

"I felt that it was time for another major growth spurt for the restaurants," says Vaught. She and her uncle contracted with chef John Watt, formerly executive chef at Galveston's acclaimed Tremont Hotel, to consult with them to revamp both Backstreet's and Prego's menu.

Watt and his prowess at the kitchen helm so impressed Vaught that she hired him to be executive chef over both Backstreet and Prego.

"I look back at our first year in business and I'm amazed at how much we've accomplished. The restaurant business is about as far away from geology as you can get, but I've never regretted my decision to leave the field," says Vaught.

After a number of years working side-by-side at Backstreet Café, Vaught married chef Hugo Ortega in 1994, and they are the parents of Sophia Elizabeth.

In the summer of 2002, Vaught and her husband took on yet another challenging venture with the opening of Hugo's Regional Cuisine. Located at 1600 Westheimer in a beautifully restored art deco-era building, Hugo's quickly became one of Houston's "hottest" new restaurants.

Says Vaught, "It's still very challenging to me to be in this business and I enjoy the fast pace and the people that I'm constantly in touch with," she adds. "There is great satisfaction that comes at the end of the day when you've served hundreds of people and, when everything goes well, they've had a good meal and a good time at our restaurants.

Click Here To Close History Info.

Hugo Ortega Executive Chef

A graduate of the Houston Community College Culinary Arts program, oversees the kitchens at Backstreet and Hugo's.

Backstreet's "New American Bistro" fare highlights freshness and originality with a wide assortment of ingredients, from Asian noodles and Indian tand

Awards Accolades

Tracy Vaught ~ Restaurateur of the year & Ruben Ortega ~ Pastry Chef of the Year
2003 Houston Culinary Awards ~ My Table Magazine
Best Wine Program/Bistro, Cooking for Wine, and Cooking with Wine - Mountain/Southwest ~ Santé Magazine’s 2002 Wine & Spirits Hospitality & Cooking Awards
Hugo Ortega ~ Chef of the Year ~2002 Houston Culinary Awards ~ My Table Magazine
Wine Spectator Award Of Excellence ~ 2001, 2002 & 2003
One of Houston’s Top 10 Wine Lists ~ 2000 & 2001~ My Table Magazine
Hugo Ortega – one of Houston’s Top Chefs, Inside Houston Magazine
Hugo Ortega – Up-and-Coming-Chef-of-the-Year for 2000, My Table Magazine’s annual
Houston Culinary Awards
Hugo Ortega and Backstreet Cafe - two-time guest chef at the prestigious James Beard
House in New York
Houston’s Perennial Best Patio – Houston Press, My Table, Citysearch.com, et al.
“A couple of the dishes rate as classics, among them pecan-crusted chicken in a red-bell-pepper sauce with mashed potatoes and spinach”- Texas Monthly
“The patio draws crowds at Houston’s favorite alfresco restaurant …the food is…consistently upscale” – Texas Monthly
“Chef Hugo Ortega… has a knack for perfecting gourmet staples…. Backstreet’s courtyard is the ideal place to enjoy the consummate urban dining experience.”
- Houston Intown Magazine
Backstreet Café’s tandoori chicken sandwich partakes of a mysterious chemistry that makes it more than another layered bread assemblage…it’s a sandwich bulls-eye”
- Houston Press
“Backstreet Café is that great Houston rarity, an al fresco spot with a view…”
- Houston Press
“In Houston, where restaurants come and go practically with the monthly waxing and waning of the moon, staying in business 15 years is pretty impressive” - MSN Sidewalk
“Backstreet Café…. it’s so enchanting we doubt if there is a nicer place to eat in Houston”
-Houston Press
“This charming River Oaks home-turned-bistro…features exquisite New American cuisine…under the direction of executive Chef Hugo Ortega” – WHERE Magazine
“The atmosphere is casual, but the menu is anything but carefree…a midday appetizer of Smoked Corn Crab Cakes in citrus buerre blanc had me reaching for the bread basket to tidy the plate of the last drops of sauce” – Southern Living ~ Top Restaurants
“There are Backstreet dishes I crave even when the weather’s foul, sauces so inviting I eat them with a spoon.”
– Alison Cook, Houston Press
“One of the precious few Houston dessert trays worth looking at” –
Alison Cook, Houston Press
“Ruben Ortega’s gorgeous and ornate (creations) are a continuing source of wonderment” –
Alison Cook, Houston Press
“I was knocked out by the menu of Hugo and Ruben Ortega”
– Betty Fussell, ‘Crazy for Corn’
“Innovative, flavorful dishes…”
The Houston Chronicle
“Ruben Ortega is amazing, he’s an artist…I think he’s going to be one of our leading pastry chefs ….”
– Eddy Van Damme, HCC pastry chef instructor
“…the Creole-mustard red wine reduction and authentically bitter collard greens that augment the grilled
pork chops are deliciously assertive…”– Houston Business Journal
“Backstreet Café’s Fabulous Vegetable Platter is, well, fabulous”
– Houston Business Journal
“The desserts…are an extra special treat” – Chocolatier Magazine
“The patio draws crowds at Houston’s favorite alfresco restaurant” – Texas Monthly
“Witness the spectacular cold appetizer platter. This spread… had us fork-wrestling for the final bits” – Texas Monthly
Houston Chronicle Best of 99’ - Backstreet Café’s - Brown sugar, cinnamon and cream flavor Sweet Potato Gratin