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    Major Food Truck News

    New food truck with reality TV ties rolls into Houston, bringing fresh Maine lobster

    Eric Sandler
    Jan 22, 2015 | 1:47 pm

    A new food truck aims to bring the taste of Maine's coast to Houston. A Houston outpost of the California-based Cousins Maine Lobster food truck chain is hitting the streets of the Bayou City.

    Cousins earned nationwide notoriety when Shark Tank investor Barbara Corcoran pledged $55,000 for 15-percent of Cousins's business. Although the truck had only shown $150,000 in revenue when cousins Jim Tselikis and Sabin Lomac went on TV, the business has since grown to more than $3.5 million in revenue as of June 2014.

    That track record appealed to Houstonian Neil Werner. Already successful from a business he sold that managed summer camps across the country, Werner was looking for his next opportunity.

    Werner says people have been understanding about the price. "We're bringing fresh, Maine lobster. It's not cheap to get here."

    "We specifically searched out the guys on Shark Tank, Cousins, because of their passion for bringing Maine lobster to Houston. Really, all over the country, because we're opening in eight or nine cities," Werner tells CultureMap. "When I saw that as an opportunity, I flew out to Los Angeles and met with the guys."

    After three days of meetings and trying their food, Werner was sold on Cousins. "One of the things I love about the company is they're very passionate about all of the sustainability practices in Maine . . . They really care about what they pull from the ocean, when they pull from the ocean and what they're going to put on people's plates," he says.

    Werner is from New York but says he spent a significant amount of time in New England. "I'm passionate about bringing Houstonians lobster meat and lobster product that's like eating right off a pier in Maine," he says. "To be able to bring a world of different menu items . . . and have people sample and enjoy what we know from growing up there."

    After a series of trial runs and a week's worth of training in California, Cousins was set to hit the streets of Houston Thursday afternoon at the Houston Public Library downtown. Then, it will follow a full schedule at food truck parks and events.

    How is it? Similar to Maine-ly Sandwiches, Cousins gets the essential details of a traditional Maine lobster roll right.

    They use a griddle-toasted, split-top bun and just enough mayo to hold the meat together. For $13, diners get a standard size bun that's overflowing with lobster meat. The truck also offers a Connecticut style roll that's served hot with drawn butter as well as some Texas twists in the form of a lobster quesadilla and tater tots topped with lobster and freshly made pico de gallo. For dessert, choose from a traditional whoopie pie or lobster ice cream — it's buttery lobster meat in vanilla ice cream that Werner swears is delicious.

    So far, Werner says people have been understanding about the price. "We're bringing fresh, Maine lobster. It's not cheap to get here."

    Besides, the lobster rolls are a lot cheaper than a flight to Portland, Maine.

    Neil Werner wants to bring authentic Maine lobster rolls to Houston with his new food truck.

    Cousins Maine Lobster
      
    Photo by Eric Sandler
    Neil Werner wants to bring authentic Maine lobster rolls to Houston with his new food truck.
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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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