NBA Hall-of-Famer Shaquille O’Neal Gets His Chicken-Fried Steak Fix at Houston’s Jax Grill
Plus, a “Stranger Things” star sighting at Cochinita & co. and a new location of Ojo de Agua is headed to the Medical Center. This is your AM intel
When Shaquille O’Neal makes his rounds in Houston, it’s hard not to notice. The 7’1” NBA Hall-of-Famer made a pitstop at Jax Grill’s Bellaire location on Monday, October 14, for what seems to be one of his favorite — or at least, most consistently ordered meals.
A representative for Jax Grill says that Shaq ordered a giant chicken-fried steak for lunch and took photos with diners and staff, including owner Paul Miller’s daughter Katie.
Despite having his own restaurants in the city (Shaq now owns three Houston area locations of his fast-casual fried chicken chain, Big Chicken), the TV personality and athlete seems to be a fan of local restaurants. Shaq made a pitstop at Trill Burgers last year for a junior burger and has frequented Gr8 Hospitality restaurants, including Jax Grill and the Union Kitchen, specifically for its chicken-fried steak.
In July 2020, Shaq visited Jax Grill on Shepherd Drive for chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes and followed it up with a visit to Union Kitchen in October for a similar order of chicken-fried steak, mashed potatoes, green beans, and lots of gravy.
A Stranger Things star stops into Cochinita & co.
Joe Keery, the musician and actor who plays Steve Harrington in Netflix’s hit show Stranger Things, was spotted at Cochinita & Co. twice in one week, according to the restaurant’s Instagram. The horchata lattes, agua frescas, and cochinita pibil would be enough to draw in anyone, but owner Victoria Elizondo says in an email to Eater Houston that she believes Keery is friends with one of her regulars. She described the actor as “really nice and humble.”
“Our team shared a funny experience when a customer didn’t recognize him and mistakenly accused him of cutting the line, and he politely excused himself,” she says. “He said he would be back, so hopefully we get to see him a third time. He is a very kind human being.”
Trill Burgers hosts pop-up at the University of Houston
Bun B’s burger joint Trill Burgers is hosting a pop-up location on Tuesday, October 15, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the college’s 24-hour dining hall, the Cougar Woods Dining Commons on Wheeler Avenue, according to a release. The pop-up will be an entire event with a DJ, a dirty soda bar where students can remix their drinks using different syrups, and an appearance from representatives from Trill Burgers. The pop-up event is an extension of Trill Burgers’s and Trill Tenders’s expansion to UH’s TDECU Stadium for the 2024 football season and offers a “change in routine for the students” and their typical meal plans, according to a rep.
Ojo de Agua is headed for the Texas Medical Center
The tropical-themed, Mexico City-based restaurant Ojo de Agua will open its fourth U.S. and second Houston locations in Texas Medical Center. Located in the TMC3 Collaborative Building, the 3,400-square-foot space will be the first restaurant to open in Helix Park, which connects six gardens that make up a dozen acres of public green space. Ojo de Agua will feature its signature menu of Mexican and Mediterranean dishes, including acai and pitaya bowls, chilaquiles, burrata pancakes, and banana waffles, along with a variety of tacos, sandwiches, and unique dinner items like stuffed plantain and cauliflower mole octopus. Diners can also enjoy made-to-order juices and smoothies, teas, coffees, wine and beer cocktails, and Ojo de Agua’s market of grab-and-go items. The Helix Park location will operate as a fast-casual restaurant during the day, with waitstaff at night, and will follow the first Houston location, which opened in Spring 2023 in the River Oaks District.
