Get Ready for Pierogies and Borscht: Riel Opens Tomorrow in Montrose

HOUSTON — Have you been longing for dinner at a restaurant that serves cuisine based on the food of France, Texas, Canada, and Ukraine? If so, your wait is over, because Riel is scheduled to open this week in Montrose.

Ryan Lachaine, who has worked in the kitchens at Reef and Underbelly, will be in charge of the back of the house at the restaurant, which is named after Louis Riel, a Canadian politician and leader of the Métis people.

Pierogies will be on the menu, as will beef from 44 Farms and Gulf fish karaage. I'm looking forward to the borscht, because I haven't had a good bowl of it since the last time I ate at Veselka, and that was far too long ago. Lachaine told me that his mother and grandmother loved borscht, and he grew up eating it. The version at Riel will be a bit more refined than his mother's; she added meat to hers, and did not strain it. "We're not going to add any meat to ours, and it will be smooth," Lachaine says. "Borscht is near and dear to my heart."

And why the diverse inspirations? Lachaine says that he cooks what he loves, what makes him happy. "We all love Asian food and tastes, so that's on the menu, and we've put together things that make us feel good, and that comes through on the plate."

Lachaine's experience should serve Riel well, and he has assembled an impressive crew, including JD Fouché, formerly of Reef, and Melven Batocabe, who worked at Chicago's Nightwood and Pass and Provisions in Houston. Chris Fleischman is the restaurant's general manager.

Riel, which is located at 1927 Fairview, will serve diners Monday through Thursday from 5 p.m. until 10 p.m, and on Fridays and Saturdays from 5 p.m. until 11 p.m.

— Photo of Ryan Lachaine courtesy Jennifer Caswell/Instagram; food images courtesy Riel