New chef, new menu, new heights at Back Table Kitchen & Bar

THE WOODLANDS, TX – The Woodlands Resort has enjoyed the fruits of a two-year, multimillion-dollar renovation that brought back some daytime dining with Harrison’s. But the Resort’s dinnertime dynamo remains Back Table Kitchen & Bar, open to hotel guests, visitors, and Woodlands area residents alike. And the restaurant itself is enjoying a new menu created by a new chef to tantalize the taste buds of repeat customers and new diners alike.

Ivan Rodriguez, Back Table’s Chef de Cuisine, came to Back Table in August after a year’s stint as executive sous chef at Sorriso Italian Kitchen at The Woodlands Waterway. In the pre-pandemic years before that, he was at the same company excelling as banquet sous chef.

When Chef Rodriguez came to Back Table, he left Sorriso’s Italian flair behind him to bring a Southern-themed menu to his new digs.

“This was my first time working with Southern cuisine; in fact, it was my least strong,” he said. “But I’m Mexican and it was important to put a little of myself in my cooking, so I was determined to add a Mexican influence. If I don’t have someone teaching me, I’ll research it myself.”

Chef Rodriguez hadn’t always planned on turning cooking and culinary creations into a career. He grew up locally in Magnolia. “After I graduated high school, I decided that college wasn’t for me. My family is Hispanic, and I spent my life watching my mom and grandma cooking almost every day, so growing up I developed a strong love for food and its preparation.”

Though traditional university wasn’t on his wish list, culinary school was a natural fit for him. In 2009 he graduated from Culinary Institute Lenotre in Houston. He’s been a Woodlands resident for the past six years, loving father to a young daughter. In between his studies, parenting, and creating dishes, he loves to travel. “Wherever I go, I’ll grab ingredients and bring them back with me to see what else I can come up with or add to.”

Woodlands Online sampled Chef Rodriguez’ new menu at a recent tasting. The dishes are a fine fit for the relaxed atmosphere that has a decidedly upscale-yet-family-friendly Americana feel to it. A fully stocked three-sided bar, live music on certain nights, patio space for al fresco dining, and even a small game room mix with eager, trained waitstaff and bartenders for a feel-good environment from start to finish.

The ‘Starters & Shareables’ menu features some decidedly Southern fare such as cornbread muffins, fried green tomatoes, smoked trout dip, and a southern frito misto. Four different salads – with added proteins available – will cover any pre-entree taste, as will the chicken tortilla soup or Texas corn chowder.

The ‘Handhelds’ menu only has three main items on it, but those items cover the gamut of gastro-delights. Whether you opt for the double smashed burger complete with secret sauce and candied jalapenos, the spicy chicken sandwich with a zingy remoulade, or the has-to-be-tried chicken fried oyster sandwich served with asian slaw, you can’t go wrong. Likewise, the three-item ‘Steaks’ menu offers everything from pork chops served with jalapeno-pineapple bourbon jelly, steak frites, and a smothered cowboy ribeye that’s so large and filling you might just end up with the ‘meat shakes’ afterwards.

Despite the flavor fantasia of these menus, the star of the restaurant is the list of the main entrees. Chef Rodriguez brought some of what he mastered at Sorriso with Italian-infused dishes like the Cajun shrimp & crab pasta, baked lobster mac, and the polenta-and-vegetables plate. From land-based meats like the cabernet braised short rib and pork belly to the sweet sensations of the sea like the grilled salmon, half shell blackened redfish, or shrimp & grits, there’s something to please each palate. But one standout dish has to be the Dr Pepper can chicken, served with a teriyaki glaze, creole potatoes, and collage greens.

Add in sides that include truffle fries, street corn, crispy Brussel sprouts, and sauteed broccolini, and a dessert menu that features mouthwatering morsels such as the pineapple upside down bread pudding, sweet corn tres leches, and a chocolate coconut mousse brulé, washed down with specialized digestifs like the Caramel Dublin or the Nutter Butter Rita, and you have the perfect recipe for dining of all types, whether you dine indoors or out on the patio as a solo diner, dinner date, business meal, or family get-together.

Back Table Kitchen & Bar is located at 2301 N Millbend in The Woodlands, and is open Sunday through Saturday 5:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., with daily Happy Hour Daily running from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

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