Why Buttermilk Baby Is Ben Berg’s Most Fun Houston Restaurant Yet — This Candy-Colored Wonder Channels a Drug Store Soda Fountain

You’ll feel like a giddy kid again when you walk through the doors into the bright neon-lit, candy-colored Buttermilk Baby, the new fast-casual restaurant opened in The Heights by prodigious restaurant creator Benjamin Berg. Channeling a cheerfully retro vibe, Buttermilk Baby brings a playful take on nostalgic Southern food combined with the vintage feel of a drug store soda fountain to Houston.

That means soft serve cones, sundaes and shakes (boozy ones too) created with the cult-classic Carvel, the brand known beloved by many who’ve spent time living on the East Coast.

What delights await? A pastel-colored, life-size carousel unicorn, the spinning stools surrounding a larger-than-life sundae crowned with a twirling bright red cherry atop, and an ice cream counter paved through its center with a river of rainbow sprinkles designed with Gail McCleese of Sensitori and the New York-based design studio ICRAVE.

Located in The M-K-T mixed-use development off Shepherd Drive, the 3,100-square-foot, 50-seat space is the first of 10 Buttermilk Baby restaurants Berg envisions rolling out in Houston, Dallas, Austin and Fort Worth. Berg and his cohorts brought their highbrow knowhow to the project by tapping into top restaurant talents. Brian Sutton, Berg Hospitality Group’s VP of culinary, and corporate pastry chef Ruchit Harneja developed the comfort food offerings at Buttermilk Baby.

It all starts with choice ingredients, the likes of which are used in Berg’s fine dining restaurants. You’ll find beef patties, corn dogs and hot dogs made with 100 percent Wagyu beef from Marfa and locally raised, free-range chicken that’s brined in pickle juice for 24 hours before it’s deep fried for the soon-to-be-famous chicken menu items.

If you arrive for breakfast at Buttermilk Baby, don’t miss the aptly named G.O.A.T, a flakey house-made buttermilk biscuit with hot pepper jelly layered with fried chicken and fresh goat cheese ($7.99). A decidedly decadent Monte Cristo biscuit is a sweet and savory classic made with honey ham, Havarti cheese, a scrambled egg with applewood bacon and strawberry jam ($8.99). I swooned over the take on the affogato ($4.49), a jolting shot of hot espresso topped with soft serve Carvel ice cream you can devour with a spoon, that’s available all day and into the evening.

The lunch and dinner menu (one and the same) features handhelds. These include Buttermilk Baby’s signature buttermilk baby chicken sandwich ($9.99) and a double patty burger (three ounces each) dubbed the No Finer Diner Cheeseburger smothered in caramelized onions and American cheese both sandwiched between Martin’s potato buns. Make it a combo meal for an additional $6.29 and dig into fries (classic or sweet potato) and a 16-ounce Carvel shake.

Speaking of shakes, besides the classic thick shakes in vanilla, chocolate and Oreo cookie flavors ($6.99 to $7.99), Buttermilk Baby also makes them boozy ($13.99) with flavors like a Nutella spiked with bourbon, a strawberry white chocolate version swirled with vodka and a pina colada shake with the tropical flavors of Coco Lopez and Malibu Rum.

“This is a first-of-its-kind collaboration for Carvel and marks the brand’s return to Texas. . .” Carvel PR manager Madison Behm says. “We are always looking for new ways to bring the joy of Carvel to our fans, and we loved the concept the team at Buttermilk Baby had in mind. This allowed Carvel to explore an exciting new format.”

While little ones nibble on kiddo classics on the kid’s menu (and play outside on the Astro turf-covered patio that allows them to reach for the sky on pink cloud-shaped swings), mom and dad can order a spiked drink ($9.99) to take the edge off. These range from dirty Shirley (with vodka) to a rowdy Roy Rogers, essentially a bourbon-blasted cherry cola, as well as beer and wine. But don’t leave without treating yourself or your mini-me to a soft-serve cone with flavors such as butter pecan, coffee and strawberry. An added bonus? You can top any of them with Carvel’s signature chocolate crunchies.

Or take home a Fudgie the Whale ice cream cake for your next important birthday bash.

Buttermilk Baby is located at at 600 N Shepherd Drive in the M-K-T Heights development. It is open Sundays through Thursdays from 8 am to 10 pm and Fridays and Saturdays from 8 am to 11 pm.