The latest venture by lauded Best Quality Daughter chef-owner Jennifer Hwa Dobbertin will open this weekend after much anticipation.
Jue Let, an upscale Asian-inspired cocktail lounge, will debut at the Pearl this Saturday. The cocktail concept is taking over the space that housed nightspot Blue Box for 12 years before its closure in 2024.
Much like Dobbertin’s high-end Asian fusion restaurant Best Quality Daughter, also located at the Pearl, Jue Let is a nod to her Chinese heritage. Indeed, the name Jue Let comes from the Chinese nanny and cook who raised James Beard.
Dobbertin herself is a three-time James Beard Award semifinalist.
“I knew nothing about James Beard until I was nominated [in 2023] for an award named after him,” Dobbertin told Texas Highways magazine in October. “So, I bought all these books and did a deep dive on his life. One of the first things I learned was that he credits his love of food to Jue Let. It’s incredible to think that James Beard would not have been what he became if it weren’t for a Chinese immigrant.”
“I wanted to celebrate the hidden labor behind so much of what we think of as American
cooking,” Dobbertin added in an emailed statement on the cocktail lounge’s opening. “Jue Let was the cook who introduced James Beard to food, and that legacy ripples through everything that followed.”
Dobbertin said Jue Let is not only a nod to her heritage but to her travels throughout Asia, including years spent living in Thailand.
The beverage program is overseen by Lis Forsythe, an industry veteran who also spearheaded the innovative drink menu at Best Quality Daughter. Cocktail flavor profiles will center on ingredients found throughout Asia, including jasmine, yuzu, green tea, lychee and shochu.
Cheeky but formidable cocktails proffered at the establishment will include the house signature cocktail Mint Jue Let, a fragrant symphony of bourbon, coconut, shochu, jasmine and mint. For those looking for an accessible, tasty and low-proof option, the lychee, lemon and yuzu cocktail Conventionally Attractive is a fruity drink that doesn’t make you feel too basic.
Other tipples on the menu include Mossy Rocks, a tribute to Jue Let’s South Texas locale featuring tequila and mezcal with salted honey, pine liqueur and milk for a velvety finish.
For those who are feeling lucky, there’s the Divine Intervention, a cocktail built on vodka (or a spirit of choice) and flavored with apricot, yuzu-osmanthus cordial, lemon and finished with a splash of sparkling water. Like a fortune cookie in cocktail form, the drink is accompanied by an I-Ching coin that allows guests to cast their fortune via a custom-built Chinese divination machine.
The wildcard on the drink menu, however, is Soup for my Family, a playful sendup of internet culture and also an acknowledgment of the current political environment. The briny clam chowder-inspired martini is a reference to a viral video in which a protestor was interviewed at a demonstration in 2021 while holding a can of soup, which he claimed — with a wink — was “soup for his family.” The idea was that, while it was just as effective as a brick, he could claim he wasn’t intending to use it as a weapon.
This is something only Gen Z and millennial customers are likely to find funny at Jue Let — and boomers might be puzzled by — but that’s what makes them hip, dad!
The innovative cocktail menu is met with an equally irreverent and indulgent food menu by Best Quality Daughter Chef de Cuisine Alan Nelson, including dishes such as crab Louie
onigiri, caviar service with Chinese tea eggs, a khao soi curry wrap and a pizza bao that reimagines childhood comfort foods like Pizza Bagels or Hot Pockets.
Much like Dobbertin’s first venture, Jue Let sets itself apart with a sumptuous interior and classy yet playful design details.
Also like Best Quality Daughter, Jue Let is already getting national buzz, recently landing itself on Bon Appetit’s shortlist of exciting fall openings throughout the country.
As yet another nod to Asian nightlife, the space also features two private VIP rooms for karaoke.
The bar will be open daily from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m., according to details shared by the business.
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