Benefit for Brennan's

The sad news has reached almost everyone in Houston by now: landmark restaurant Brennan's was lost to a fire in the early hours of Saturday, September 13th, even though firefighters bravely fought to contain the flames throughout the fierce winds of Hurricane Ike.

Even sadder news is that the restaurant's sommelier, James Koonce, and his four-year-old little girl, Katharine, were badly burned in the fire. Both Koonce and his daughter are currently listed in critical condition at Memorial Hermann Medical Center. Brennan's general manager, Carl Walker -- who is a Houston legend himself -- was also badly injured. Carl and James had stayed behind to take care of the restaurant during the storm when a fire started around 1:00 a.m. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Because the cost of the medical bills to treat James and Katharine will no doubt be astronomical, a fund has been set up for the Koonce family to assist them in this trying time. The account is at Amegy Bank of Texas and people can donate by going to an Amegy branch and deposting money into the benefit account for "James Koonce & Katharine Koonce, Trustee: Denise Koonce."

The Houston restaurant community is -- like the rest of Houston at large -- very tightly-knit, and two restaurants have already planned fundraisers for the Koonce and Brennan families. Catalan Food & Wine is currently offering a tasting menu each night that's been described as "an homage to Brennan's." The menu is offered at $65, with $10 of each meal going towards the Koonce family benefit account.

Del Frisco's Steak House is also offering a very generous benefit to the Koonce family along with their tasting menu. This Sunday, September 28th, from 6:00 p.m to 9:00 p.m., the restaurant will be offering a $50 dinner held in the wine cellar, with 100% of the proceeds from the dinner going to the Koonce family. Former Brennan's head chef Randy Evans will also be in attendance for the dinner, which -- like Catalan -- will feature a menu inspired by Brennan's.

There is a silver lining to the grey cloud of ash left behind by Brennan's demise: news from Shelby Hodge that Alex Brennan-Martin, co-owner of the restaurant and the man behind the Hurricane Katrina Hospitality Workers Disaster Relief Fund, has definite plans to rebuild.

In the meantime, we'll all eagerly await that day and send our best wishes to the Koonce family and to Carl Walker for speedy recoveries.

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Photo courtesy of www.brennanshouston.com.