First look: Killen’s STQ lunch menu

Spicy tuna nicoise salad is on the new lunch menu at Killen's STQ.

Spicy tuna nicoise salad is on the new lunch menu at Killen's STQ. Photo: Melissa Phillip, Houston Chronicle Photo: Melissa Phillip, Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 17 Caption Close First look: Killen’s STQ lunch menu 1 / 17 Back to Gallery

Since it opened on Voss last November, Killen's STQ has been in the enviable position of being a tad too popular for its own good. The 60-seat restaurant (68 if you count the bar) is almost always completely booked with diners eager to sup on Ronnie Killen's lusty merger of his steakhouse and barbecue passions.

And since it was open only for dinner, STQ raised the stakes on a reservation score. Later this week, however, the opportunity to get in its doors increases when STQ begins its first lunch service. Starting Oct. 5 the restaurant will be open Thursday through Saturday for lunch from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The dining room will reopen at 4 p.m. when weekday happy hour service begins.

STQ lunch was, perhaps, an inevitability. "STQ has been an exclusive ticket for the past year," said Graham Laborde, director of operations for Killen's Restaurants. "Opening for lunch not only allows more diners to experience the restaurant, but also allows us the opportunity to offer menu items we have wanted to try for a long time that did not necessarily work well for dinner."

While there are some menu items shared between lunch and dinner menus (including short rib tamale, smoked pork belly, a few steaks, sides, and desserts), the lunch document is invested with new additions to the Killen's vocabulary as defined by STQ chef de cuisine Teddy Lopez working with Laborde.

Why not share a plate of smoked pork ribs that have been tempura fried and garnished with house pickles and Carolina mustard? Or burnished chicken wings that have been jerk seasoned then smoked? Lopez' clever vegetarian take on queso flameado is sure to get some good buzz: a hot skillet of Oaxacan cheese wearing a tangle of mushrooms and vegetables and a drizzle of chorizo spice oil (no pork fat involved).

Salad options are a welcome respite from the familiar Cobb/Caesar/wedge lineup. Here there's a bulgogi beef salad, as well as a spicy tuna Nicoise. And a spicy tandoori chicken (smoked and grilled) salad festooned with barbecue-spiced chickpeas and roasted cauliflower. Anyone for hot shrimp Bloody Mary salad with pickled green beans and a schmear of ranch-style ricotta?

The sandwich department boasts short rib grilled cheese, a new STQ burger (topped with French onion soup onions and gruyere), and an open face speck and honey sandwich. Yes there's a chicken-fried ribeye, and steakhouse indulgences such as filet mignon, ribeye, and double-cut pork chop.

Don't think of the lunch menu as STQ dinner "lite." Or as a Killen's rogue agent. No, it's all within the STQ wheelhouse. Laborde prefers to think of it this way: "The B-side of our dinner album." Houston is ready to give it a play.

Killen's STQ, 2231 S. Voss, will be open for lunch Thursday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. beginning Oct. 5. Dinner is serve Monday through Friday from 4 to 9 p.m., Saturday from 5 to 9 p.m. Happy hour specials are available from 4 to 6 p.m. daily.