LOCAL Houston | The City Guide November 2016 | Page 26

CLUB•ICE HOUSE•LOUNGE By Mike Cook Photography by Daniel Ortiz STERLING HOUSE SOME NIGHTS YOU JUST GET LUCKY. Like a couple of Fridays ago when we got invited to a Dynamo game, sat club level and saw PAUL WALL before the match and during halftime. Then, the next night we head out to a swank new club, it’s the Jewish Federation of Houston Rosh Hashanah party and LIL’ FLIP is performing upstairs. What a weekend the Houston rap gods hath bestowed onto us! Anyway, we’ll just get on with it and talk Sterling House (where Lil’ Flip was) in Midtown. 110 years old. That’s rounding down, and that’s the age of the house at 3015 Bagby owned by generations of the Sterling family. Check out the Sterling House website for historical details very few bars (if any) in the city can compete with. While the Sterling family has moved on, current ownership purchased the home in 2009 and painstakingly renovated it. The Sterling House is now open, and it’s awesome. Great outside areas (including a street-level patio and a wraparound porch) occupy the front of the lot right where you walk in. It’s the perfect neighborhood bar for surrounding Avondale, and likely the perfect bar for anything you can think of, including, as we mentioned, group parties. Sterling House | 3015 Bagby Street 917.309.2106 | www.sterlinghousehtx.com www.facebook.com/SterlingHouseHouston/ www.instagram.com/shouse_htx/ Mon–Fri 4pm–2am | Sat–Sun 11–2am 26 L O C A L | november 16 Inside, Sterling House is sleek with a very clean feel; it mixes the industrial and modern well. Sleek is also how we’d describe the crowd (more on that later). The interior redesign also gives the appropriate nod to the period of the home. The hardwood floors and reclaimed tables are a nice touch, too. FYI, upstairs and downstairs have their own bars, with the upstairs focusing on craft cocktails and the down on wine and bubbles. Back to that crowd because, like the fall temperatures this year, it’s hot. There were more dudes and ladies dressed in couture (we do NOT mean Juicy) than we’ve seen in quite some time. Sterling House is bringing back dressing up for a night out! Aside from the clientele and the ambiance, you’ll also like the drink options. Good craft beer is available on draught, in cans and even ciders are represented. Try the Texas Craft Flight to get great exposure to all the Texas beers on draught. Do you like wine and champagne? Of course you do. Great news – the list includes some high ends, and a flight of rose, Prosecco and champagne. The cocktails! Divided into six areas, the upstairs bar menu will have your drink, on par with the best in the city, from classics to originals. The food (which we wish we had more room to talk about) looks both creative and very well done. Just like everything else at Sterling House.