Food Truck's New Home

Vietnamese food truck joins the crowd with plans for permanent location

The ongoing trend of food trucks serving as incubators for brick and mortar restaurants got another member last week when Vietnamese truck Les Ba'Get announced on Twitter that it had signed a lease for a space at 1717 Montrose. Already, several popular trucks like Bernie's Burger Bus and Good Dog Houston have found success and bigger audiences by moving into permanent spaces, and local favorites like Pi Pizza Truck have announced intentions to get off the street and into a building.

Proprietors Cat Huynh and Angie Dang tell CultureMap in an email that their original goal in launching the food truck was to build support for a high-end, Vietnamese-influenced tasting menu restaurant. However, after seeing the public's response to the truck's menu at various catering jobs and events, "we knew we wanted to open a traditional Vietnamese style restaurant in the heart of Montrose instead."

After seeing the public's response to the truck's menu at various catering jobs and events, "we knew we wanted to open a traditional Vietnamese style restaurant in the heart of Montrose instead."

The larger space means an expanded menu, of course. A draft provided by Huynh and Dang shows breakfast all day, including steak and eggs, rice flour cake omelet and Vietnamese chicken and waffles. Sandwiches will be served on traditional banh mi baguettes or croissants. Appetizer choices include a variety of soft and fried spring rolls, along with an intriguing-sounding roasted bone marrow that's served with baguette slices. Any bowl of pho can get a hit of bone marrow, too, which, as anyone who's been to Chinatown staple Pho Binh by Night can attest, makes everything more delicious.

In between now and the expected opening in the first quarter of 2015, Huynh and Dang expect to host pop-ups at the space in the truck to preview the new menu. They hope to win new fans and prepare their customers for what's to come.

With the news that the property containing popular late-night hangout Hollywood Vietnamese has been sold to developers, the time seems right for a new option to emerge. If all goes well, Montrose residents will have Les Ba'Get to look forward to soon.

Les Ba'Get has built an audience through catering and various food truck events.

Les Ba'Get Facebook

Les Ba'Get has built an audience through catering and various food truck events.

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What's Eric Eating Episodes 518 and 519

Meet the men behind River Oaks' new destination for bowls and broth

Photo by Becca Wright

Find Honest Mary's in the River Oaks Shopping Center.

On this week’s episode of “What’s Eric Eating,” Honest Mary’s founder Nelson Monteith and COO Andrew Wiseheart joined CultureMap editor Eric Sandler to discuss the Austin-based restaurant that just opened its first Houston location in the River Oaks Shopping Center (2047-A West Gray St).

Monteith shares that he started the restaurant in 2017 in order to fulfill his vision of a restaurant which could serve food that’s fast, fresh, and affordable. A trained chef who operated pioneering Austin restaurant Contigo, Wiseheart joined the group to bring both culinary expertise and operational acumen to the grouping company.

Part of what sets Honest Mary’s apart is that diners can add cooked vegetables to the rice and proteins at the heart of every bowl. The “Market Sides” section includes an array of roasted vegetables — including sweet potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, beets, and Brussels sprouts — as well as black beans, maple-glazed carrots, and green lentils. Bowls can be further enhanced with toppings such as Texas pecans, crispy chickpeas, goat cheese, avocado, and apples as well as sauces such as creamy poblano, cashew lime crema, sesame vinaigrette, spicy peanut, chimichurri and apple cider vinaigrette

Monteith explains that looking at the ingredients on display usually inspires him when he’s deciding what to eat at Honest Mary’s.

“I will almost always look at the line and see what looks fresh and good,” Monteith says. “Today, I got the salted kale with white rice. Then, I got garlic-pepper steak. I added on lentils — they’re my go-to in the winter. They blend everything together, and I love it Then Brussels sprouts looked green. I got some jalapenos. Avocados, cause that’s healthy. Then I got the chimichurri sauce.”

Honest Mary’s is also known for its hearty broths, a classic chicken and a vegetarian option made with seaweed and mushroom. Sandler raves about the chicken broth to Wiseheart, who shares how it’s made.

“We spent six or seven months testing recipes and drinking it ourselves to see if it’s a good idea,” Wiseheart says. “I talk about it as a great complement to the menu. It’s healthy. It’s really simple. Most of the kitchens I came up with were rooted in French cuisine. This is just chicken stock with salt in it.”

Listen to the full episode to hear more about Honest Mary’s plans for additional locations in Houston and Dallas. Then Monteith asks a Sandler a few questions about the Houston dining scene.

In this week’s other episode, Sandler and co-host Mary Clarkson discuss the news of the week. Their topics include Home Slice Pizza opening a new location in the Heights; the closures of Brett’s BBQ Shop in Katy and Killen’s Barbecue in The Woodlands; and Esquire including ChòpnBlok on its list of America’s best new restaurants.

In the restaurant of the week segment, the two friends discuss their recent meal at Hypsi, the Italian restaurant in the newly-opened Hotel Daphne. Listen to the episode to hear their favorite dishes and other thoughts on the meal.

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Subscribe to "What's Eric Eating" on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Hear it Sunday at 9 am on ESPN 97.5.

Photo by Becca Wright

Find Honest Mary's in the River Oaks Shopping Center.

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