the mac and cheese is real

TikTok star Larray stirs up new mac and cheese ghost kitchen in Houston

Larray's Loaded Mac has arrived in Houston.

Courtesy of Larray's Loaded Mac

Add social media starts to the list of celebrities getting into the ghost kitchen business. Larray, a musician and content creator with almost 40 millions followers across TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram, has launched a virtual restaurant devoted to mac and cheese.

Available now via third-party delivery apps, Larray's Loaded Mac puts a creative spin on the familiar comfort food. The seven-item menu starts with the four-cheese blend Classique; other options include LBT (bacon, cherry tomatoes, arugula, and two kinds of Cheddar) and the Feelin' Risky (pulled pork, crispy onions, Fritos, barbecue sauce, Cheddar). Prices range from $11-16.

“Some of my fondest memories from growing up are making mac and cheese in the kitchen with my grandmother,” Larray said in a statement. “Her original recipe was always a family favorite and gave me the inspiration to create Larray’s Loaded Mac. I am so excited to share our favorite dish with fans and fellow mac and cheese lovers.”

Larray partnered with Virtual Dining Concepts to translate those family recipes and to launch the project in cities across the country. In addition to Houston, Larray's Loaded Mac is available in Austin and Dallas, as well as Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago, and more. Expect the company to add other content creators as partners in the future.

“We are focused on working with digital-first talent by helping them create an ownable virtual dining brand,” said Robbie Earl, VDC co-founder. “By tapping into the creator economy, we’re not only playing a part in growing the influencers’ personal brands but also further helping the restaurant industry leverage the digitally native community. Having Larray join the virtual food space provides him with another way to engage his fans, this time with food deliveries in 30 minutes or less, and have them be a part of something that means so much to him.”

Houston is no stranger to celebrity-backed ghost kitchens. Chef David Chang's Fuku arrived here in April, and actor George Lopez brought his tacos in June.

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Houston's smallest restaurant?

Michelin-recognized Houston sushi chef fires up 4-seat Japanese skewer spot

Courtesy of Sip & Skewer

Diners sit in front of chefs cooking on a grill.

The team behind one of Houston’s Michelin-recognized sushi restaurants is opening an intimate new izakaya. Sip & Skewer is the newest concept from Hidden Omakase owner Tuan Tran and chef Marcos Juarez.

Opening Friday, February 13, Sip & Skewer is a four-seat restaurant devoted to skewered meats that’s located within Sushi by Hidden, the group’s affordable omakase restaurant in Rice Village. At Sip & Skewer, diners sit across from the chefs as they cook a 10-course, $90 meal on a Japanese binchotan grill.

“Sip & Skewer is small, loud, and intentional. The kind of hidden experience you’d find in Tokyo,” Tran said. “And with Chef Marcos guiding the team at Sushi by Hidden, this space is getting new energy from every angle.”

A four-seat restaurant within a 10-seat restaurant might seem kind of superfluous, but Tran explains that it’s part of a larger plan for his group of restaurants, which also includes West U. hand roll restaurant Norigami. It also builds on the success of Hidden Omakase, the Galleria-area sushi counter that earned a Recommended designation in the Michelin Guide.

“Sip & Skewer is part of a larger vision. It’s designed as a stepping stone toward our next concept, Kōri, a new hand roll and craft cocktail bar opening in the Heights. Our plan is to open Sip & Skewer directly next to our hand roll spot, creating a small alley of Japanese concepts that feed into one another,” Tran explains.

“This allows us to build awareness, train our team in a new format, and introduce guests to Japanese charcoal grilling in a very personal way before we scale the idea into a larger setting with Kōri. The four-seat format keeps overhead extremely low while serving as a live test kitchen and brand builder for what’s coming next,” he adds.

On a related note, Juarez and the other chefs at Hidden Omakase are dividing their time between all three restaurants. Tuam explains that it’s a deliberate strategy to ensure a consistent customer experience.

“The same team that works Michelin-recognized omakase service also runs the grill here, which keeps quality and execution consistent while allowing the chefs a creative outlet in a very different format,” Tran said. “Because Sip & Skewer is only four seats and reservations only, it does not require a dedicated full-time staff. It’s an extension of the team rather than a separate operation.”