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    Sneak Peek at Toukei

    Sneak peek: Hip Japanese pub pours it on in buzzy Chinatown spot

    Eric Sandler
    Oct 1, 2019 | 3:39 pm

    Chef Mike Tran’s newest restaurant opens Tuesday, October 1. Toukei Izakaya, his take on a Japanese pub, is ready to serve the dining public.

    Located in the same Chinatown shopping center as his restaurants Mein, Ohn Korean Eatery, Night Market Thai, and Ishin Udon (9630 Clarewood Dr.), Toukei features an enhanced design compared to Tran’s other restaurants. Careful attention was paid to the metal signs hanging above the dining room; they’ve been weathered to give the restaurant an older, more lived-in feel.

    Up front, an intimate bar showcases a dedicated tap for Japanese-style highballs made with Suntory Toki whisky. Beyond that, the dining room features all booth seating, each with a view of the open kitchen and its custom-built, wood-burning grill.

    View this post on Instagram

    A post shared by Mike (@_miketran) on

    Sep 26, 2019 at 1:38pm PDT

    Inspired by multiple trips to Japan taken by Tran, his business partner Jack Tran, and frequent collaborator Rikesh Patel, the menu covers a wide range of dishes found in traditional izakayas. The chefs provided CultureMap with an almost-final copy of the menu as well as the opportunity to taste a few dishes.

    Dinner at Toukei will likely begin with selections from the extensive selection of snacks that are designed to be paired with a cocktail or two; they include both cold dishes such as soy-braised snails, cold smoked duck, and potato salad as well as hot dishes such as fried chicken skin, stir-fried bean sprouts, and gyoza.

    Although Toukei isn’t explicitly a sushi restaurant, it does offer a number of raw fish preparations, including half a dozen sashimi options, two different ceviches, and hamachi crudo. From there, diners will want to consider more than a dozen different skewers: everything from chicken thigh and chicken heart to beef short rib and whole prawn.

    Patrons could make a meal out of the small plates, or they could save room for some combination of larger grill items — miso-marinated black cod, lamb chops, yellowtail collar, etc. — or for a bowl of ramen. While Tran would probably do just fine serving Tiger Den’s broth, he’s created a new seafood and pork stock that serves as the soup’s base. Thick noodles help soak up each drop.

    Highballs, made with either Japanese whisky or shochu, anchor the cocktail program. The space also features dozens of lockers filled with an extensive selection of both Japanese whisky and Scotch. Selections run the gamut price-wise, with gems like Yamazaki 18 and Hibiki 21 sprinkled in among more regular fare.

    Like Ohn, Toukei will be open until 2 am, and its kitchen will serve food until 1:30 am.

    Since 2015, Tran has been transforming the shopping center with food he likes to eat from Japan, Korea, and China. With the opening of Toukei, the project is complete, but Tran's work isn't done. He's still working on a Vietnamese pub that will replace shuttered poke restaurant Laki Fish to Tiger Den — and probably another trick or two.

    Spicy seafood ramen.

    Toukei Izakaya spicy seafood ramen
      
    Photo by Eric Sandler
    Spicy seafood ramen.
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    and the winner is...

    Innovative Houston chef is the city's newest James Beard Award winner

    Eric Sandler
    Jun 17, 2025 | 6:00 am
    James Beard Awards 2025 Thomas Bille Belly of the Beast
    Photo by Getty Images for James Beard Foundation
    Thomas Bille is Houston's newest James Beard Award winner.

    Add another Houston chef to the city’s growing list of James Beard Award winners. Thomas Bille, chef-owner of Belly of the Beast in Spring, earned Best Chef: Texas at the James Beard Foundation’s Restaurant and Chef Awards ceremony.

    Held at the Lyric Opera of Chicago on Monday, June 16, Bille was one of five finalists for the award, along with fellow Houstonian Emmanuel Chavez (Tatemo), Emil Oliva (Leche de Tigre in San Antonio), Regino Rojas (Purépecha in Dallas), and Michael Anthony Serva, (Bordo in Marfa). Neither of Houston’s other finalists — Mexico City-inspired cafe Casaema (formerly known as Ema) for Best New Restaurant and fine dining tasting menu restaurant March for Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program — earned awards in their categories.

    A Los Angeles native who moved to the Houston area to be closer to his wife’s family, Bille took a winding path to his James Beard Award. He opened the first iteration of Belly of the Beast in 2020 as a chef-driven taqueria that was known for its ceviches and birria tacos. He then spent about a year at Chivos, an ambitious but short-lived Mexican-American restaurant in the Heights.

    In late 2023, he and his wife Elizabeth opened a new version of Belly of the Beast in a Spring shopping center. It showcased a broader array of Bille’s skills, with a wide-ranging menu that pulled from global flavors — lamb shank rendang, anyone? — that included meat, seafood, and pastas. The new restaurant quickly earned wide acclaim, including a Bib Gourmand in the 2024 Michelin Guide and CultureMap Tastemaker Award nominations for both Restaurant of the Year and Chef of the Year.

    “I feel a depth of gratitude,” Bille tells CultureMap in a text message. “Knowing that my wife and I were able to reopen on our own terms. Gratitude for my family, staff, and guests to give us love and support. It is much appreciated.”

    In an interview from the ceremony shared by the James Beard Foundation, Bille paid tribute to his wife, Elizabeth, for her role in the restaurant’s success.

    “The risk that my wife and I took to open this restaurant is more than worth it. My wife left her industry, she was a national director for nonprofit organization,” he said. “I said, ‘We’re going to reopen Belly of the Beast. I need you with me side-by-side the whole time.’ The first iteration she held down her job and supported us. With her at my wide, I’m able to focus on the kitchen, on the food, and mentoring my cooks. Able to see the bigger picture instead of just being in the weeds all the time.”

    Bille is the second Houstonian to win Best Chef: Texas, joining Street to Kitchen chef-owner Benchawan Jabthong Painter, who won in 2023. Since the category of Best Chef: Texas has only been awarded since 2022, Bille is the first man to earn the title. Prior to being its own region, the James Beard Foundation included Texas in the Southwest, where chefs Robert Del Grande (Cafe Annie), Chris Shepherd (Underbelly), Justin Yu (Oxheart), and Hugo Ortega (Hugo’s) all won awards.

    The only other Texas finalist to win his category was Arjav Ezekiel of Birdie's in Austin, who became the first winner of Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service, one of three beverage-oriented categories the foundation added for 2025.

    In addition to Bille and Ezekiel, Texam Chad Houser, founder of Cafe Momentum in Dallas, received the Humanitarian of the Year Award. Toni Tipton-Martin, a Houston-based author, scholar, and journalist, received the Lifetime Achievement Award. Houstonian Alba Huerta, who won Outstanding Beverage Program for her bar Julep in 2022, presented one of the night’s awards.

    “It’s with deep celebration that we congratulate the 2025 Restaurant and Chef Award winners — distinguished culinary, beverage, and hospitality leaders whose talent and vision are shaping our dining landscape,” said Clare Reichenbach, CEO, James Beard Foundation, in a statement. “These outstanding professionals are the epitome of ‘Good Food for Good,’ elevating our industry’s standards and redefining what’s possible in American cuisine.”

    James Beard Awards 2025 Thomas Bille Belly of the Beast
      

    Photo by Getty Images for James Beard Foundation

    Thomas Bille is Houston's newest James Beard Award winner.

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