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    6 things to know

    6 things to know in Houston food right now: Restaurant openings and people on the move

    Eric Sandler
    Jan 28, 2022 | 2:45 pm
    Torchy's Tacos
    Torchy's Tacos has opened in Rosenberg.
    Torchy's Tacos/Instagram

    Editor’s note: Houston’s restaurant scene moves pretty fast. In order to prevent CultureMap readers from missing anything, let’s stop to look around at all the latest news to know.

    Openings

    Osaka Japanese Restaurant has relocated from a strip center at 515 Westheimer Rd. to the former Dolce Vita space at 500 Westheimer Rd. Known for its friendly service and meals that include dessert, the restaurant has been a staple in Montrose for 20 years.

    The Houston area’s second location of Ike’s Love & Sandwiches has opened in Rice Village (2518A Rice Blvd). Like the first location in The Heights that opened in 2019, its owned by franchisee Mark Appel, a Houston native and former Major League Baseball draft prospect.

    Founded in San Francisco in 2007, Ike’s is known for its creative combinations and signature Dutch Crunch bread. Still to be announced is a date for a grand opening that will feature free sandwiches, giveaways, and a meet and greet with Appel and Ike’s founder Ike Shehadeh.

    “It has been a blast as part owner in Houston since opening our first Ike’s location in the Heights two years ago,” Appel said in a statement. “Since first trying Ike’s in college, Ike’s has been the best sandwich I’ve ever had. I knew Ike’s would be a success in my hometown here in Houston.”

    Torchy’s Tacos has opened its 21st Houston-area location in Rosenberg’s Brazos Town Center (24401 Southwest Freeway, Suite 100). The restaurant will serve its familiar menu of creative, fusion-style tacos, queso, and more.

    “Following our Richmond opening last summer, it’s been a priority to continue growing across Texas outside of our hometown in Austin,” Torchy’s founder and CEO Mike Rypka said in a statement. “Our new Rosenberg location will allow us to reach even more taco lovers in the area and further solidify our presence in the Houston area.”

    People on the move

    Uchi Houston has named Stephen Conklin as its new chef de cuisine. Formerly executive chef of La Table, Conklin takes over for Shaun King, who will lead sister concept Uchiko’s Houston location in the Galleria area. Both restaurants are operated by Hai Hospitality, which will also open a Houston location of its Asian smokehouse concept Loro in the coming weeks.

    “We have such stellar culinary talent in place at both Uchi and Uchiko in Houston,” said Hai founder and Executive Chef Tyson Cole. “I'm really looking forward to seeing what Conklin and King bring to each place.”

    Downtown steakhouse Guard and Grace has named Elliot Wood as its new general manager. A veteran of Pappas Bros. Steakhouse, Wood comes to Guard and Grace from Rice Village restaurant Sixty Vines.

    Back Table Kitchen & Bar, the casual restaurant at The Woodlands Resort, has hired chef de cuisine Jonathan Lestingi. He brings an extensive resume to his role, including time at three-star Michelin restaurant The Inn at Little Washington and New Orleans restaurants including Brennan’s and Willa Jean.

    The chef has expanded the restaurant’s comfort food menu with dishes such as truffle and crab deviled eggs, steak frites, blackened redfish, and Bordeaux-braised short ribs with black eyed peas, pecan gremolata, and fresh horseradish.

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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.

    awardsjames beard awardchefsthomas billebelly of the beast
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