Foodie News

The Pop-up restaurant? The trend hits Houston with the Just August Project

The Just Dinner will be site to Houston's first pop-up restaurant.
The inside of the Just Dinner will not change, but the chef will.

Restaurants with four walls and a lease are so 2009.

Look at the popularity of supper clubs by Randy Rucker and LJ Wiley and the rise of the gourmet food trucks around town. Location still matters, but when it comes to buzz it's all about the chef and the food.

So it seemed only a matter of time before the pop-up restaurant hit Houston. Without the dubious legality of supper clubs or confined space and endless ordinances faced by mobile food units, pop-up restaurants started in high-rent cities. Rather than risk bankruptcy or fealty to investors to establish their names, young, talented chefs started taking over existing eateries, offering in-the-know exclusivity and comparatively low prices for cutting-edge cuisine.

San Francisco has a half-dozen pop-up restaurants specializing in everything from gourmet sandwiches to Ethiopian cuisine, and in Los Angeles bad-boy celeb chef Ludovic Lefebvre has the most sought-after reservations in town for his roaming LudoBites restaurant.

And now this unorthodox and highly imaginative system is heading to Houston, where Seth Siegel-Gardner will operate the Just August Project for one month only out of the kitchen of Just Dinner on Dunlavy starting August 4.

Siegel-Gardner is a Houston native who has worked and trained under Gordon Ramsey and Marcus Samuelsson, last as executive chef at Samuelsson's C-House restaurant in Chicago.

The Just August Project will be a tasting-menu-only BYOB experiment as a stage for Siegel-Gardner's ambitious gastronomic creations. Reservations can be scored by e-mailing justaugustproject@gmail.com.

unspecified

street food inspired

Veteran chef opens affordable new Thai restaurant in West Houston

A new restaurant serving Thai street food is opening in the Westchase District. Osha Thai Kitchen will begin serving customers on Tuesday, December 10.

Located in the West on West development (12230 Westheimer Rd.), Osha Thai Kitchen is the latest project from Saranya Danvetnukroh, who owns Nua Thai in downtown Houston. Named for the Thai word that means “delicious,” the restaurant takes inspiration from dishes served in street markets in different regions of Thailand as well as some items for those seeking more familiar flavors.

Meals at Osha could start with items such as crispy spring rolls, crab rangoon, or Thai chicken wings. Three papaya salads — traditional Thai, one with salted egg, and another that’s Lao style with salted crab — join chicken larb in the salads section.

Notably, Osha makes all of its noodles in-house. They’re utilized in dishes such as pad Thai, pad see ew, and pad woo sen. The restaurant also makes its curries in-house. They include red curry, green curry, and panang curry.

Part of Osha’s appeal will be its affordable prices. Only two entrees, crab fried rice and whole fried red snapper, cost more than $20.

Danvetnukroh has recruited sous chef Afridi Zama to lead the kitchen. His resume includes time with Pappas restaurant and at The Nicolette, a restaurant in Lubbock that earned a James Beard Award semifinalist nomination in 2022.

“This project is a culmination of dedication to our craft and creativity to elevate Thai cuisine,”

Danvetnukroh said in a statement. “It’s an homage to our roots and a celebration of our heritage in the modern age.”

West on West is home to number of food-related business. Its anchored by a 99 Ranch grocery store and includes restaurants such as cake bakery Lady M and Tokyo-based ramen shop Tsujita Artisan Noodle.

Photo by Becca Wright

Osha Thai Kitchen opens December 10.

openings news-you-can-eat osha thai kitchen