Houston Media Celebs Turn Out in Force for Original Ninfa’s Uptown Opening Party
No One's Turning Down These Tex-Mex Delights
BY Shelby Hodge // 06.11.19Cori Scherer, Lainie Fritz, Brooke Fritz at the Original Ninfa's Uptown opening night. (Photo by Emily Jaschke)
Part-tee! What a night it was when 200 guests poured into the Original Ninfa’s Uptown for the smashing VIP party that preceded the official opening of this new outpost of Houston’s iconic Tex-Mex restaurant. Between the irresistible menu offerings and the killer Ninfaritas, by night’s end, bellies were bulging and spirits were high.
Calories-be-damned. The consensus was great food, great drinks and great fun.
There could not have been a livelier restaurant introduction than this fiesta bustling with bloggers, food writers, media stars, sports greats and society headliners for an open menu feast with nonstop libations. In the bar we spotted cookbook author Erin Hicks, tête-a-tête with defense attorney Ned Barnett and PaperCity editor-in-chief Holly Moore paling with bon vivants Greg Fourticq and John Cohn, while Channel 13 KTRK news ace Miya Shay and hubby State Representative Gene Wu waited for their table.
In the dining room, we rubbed elbows with soon-to-be-mom KTRK traffic anchor Katherine Whaley and hubby Chris Wadley, who were head-huddling with KHOU Channel 11 meteorologist Chita Craft, due in December with a baby girl, and husband Lane Craft, as well as blogger Jayme Lamm and interior design sisters Sarah and Saba Jawda.
The buzz was on. Table-hopping as preferred entertainment was second only to toasting the new “old” Ninfa’s with frozen, on the rocks and top shelf Ninfaritas. Wait staff swirled through the heady mix carrying trays of sizzling fajitas, bowls of chili con queso and plates of freshly-made guacamole. More chips, please.
It was a beautiful spectacle for Legacy Restaurant Group owner Niel Morgan, who made his fortune in real estate development, and Legacy CEO Jonathan Horowitz. (Legacy owns the Original Ninfa’s on Navigation, Antone’s with its famed po-boys, and Mama Ninfa’s Tacos y Tortas, set to open downtown later this year.) Joining the leadership on this important night was Legacy corporate chef Alex Padilla and the Original Ninfa’s Uptown executive chef Jason Gould.
Elizabeth Anthony
There was another chef in the house, this one celebrating, not working. Chef David Cordua and Sara Padua were toasting their engagement and their upcoming jaunt to Mexico to plan their South of the Border wedding, which is set for next winter.
Mixing it up on this festive night were former Houston Texan Wade Smith, blogger Carrie Colbert, KHOU Channel 11’s Ron Trevino and Cheryl Martin, blogger Allison Lach, KPRC Channel 2’s Derrick Shore, High Tech Texan Michael Garfield, blogger and and social media consultant Hannah Swiggard, Live Nation’s Grace Gibson, publicist Nick Scurfield, Hansen Partners’ John Andell and wife Stacy, Karen and Mike Mayell, Sam Banks, Adriana and Mark Monroe, and PaperCity besties Kara Smith and Farrell Lawo.
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