A 2nd Food Truck Festival

Houston's controversial food truck festival is getting bigger: Ready for another Haute Wheels?

Houston Haute Wheels Food Truck Festival vendors holding out food

Step right up at The Haute Wheels Food Truck Festival October 11-13.

Haute Wheels Food Truck Festival/Facebook

After completing its most successful outing in March, the Haute Wheels Food Truck Festival is adding a fall version to the already crowded range of options that clamor for attention during the time of year when the weather is really, really nice.

There are two major differences with this fall event. First, the parking situation has been dramatically improved. There won't be shuttles from far away satellite lots. Festival organizers have secured walking-distance parking at both Pin Oak Middle School and Episcopal High School.

Second, there's now a Friday night, adults-only kickoff party. Labeled "Truck or Treat," it kicks off the extended Halloween season with a costume contest and a showing of cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show on a 40-foot screen. Tickets are $20; there's also a $30 VIP option that includes a designated seating area, popcorn and separate bar. Sadly, neither option includes toilet paper, water guns or any of the props necessary to watch Rocky Horror properly. C'est la vie.

No, that price doesn't include food, but attendees are paying for the convenience of having so many trucks in one space

As for the rest, it should be pretty familiar after three years — 35 trucks will gather in the parking lot of HCC Southwest's campus on 610 near the Southwest Freeway for a three day festival of live music and food from Oct. 11-13. As before, tickets are $16 per day, which includes $5 of beverage coupons and a $1 donation to the Houston Community College Foundation.

No, that price doesn't include food, but attendees are paying for the convenience of having so many trucks in one space — along with three local bands that will play from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. While there's always some grousing about the price, both days sold out in March, so plenty of people appreciate the opportunity to sample so many trucks at one time.

The truck roster is a who's who of both established trucks and newcomers. Ever wanted to pair a Bernie's burger with fried risotto balls from H-Town StrEATs? Confused about the difference between MuSubi Houston, Flip 'n Patties and Muiishi Makirritos? Want to taste why Stick It Truck became Third Coast Steak Sandwiches?

They'll all be there.

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head east

Eagerly-anticipated Houston barbecue joint hosts weekend preview pop-ups

Courtesy of Eastbound Barbecue

Get a first taste of Eastbound Barbecue this weekend.

One of Houston’s most eagerly anticipated new barbecue joints is giving diners a preview of what’s to come. Eastbound Barbecue will host “Sneak Peak Weekends” every Saturday and Sunday beginning this Saturday, December 20, until the restaurant opens in early 2026.

Held at the restaurant’s location in the East End (1105 Sampson Street) from 12-4 pm (or sold out), the weekend service gives diners their first chance to try Eastbound Barbecue’s smoked meats, sides, and desserts. That includes, smoked brisket, baby back ribs, jalapeno & cheese sausage, hatch chili lasagna mac & cheese, herbed potato salad, and more. Save room for the two dessert offerings, salted caramel banana pudding and cookie butter cake.

To distinguish Eastbound’s barbecue, chefs Lopez and Granville use different seasonings than other restaurants, such as rosemary salt in the brisket rub and a miso-caramel sauce that gives its ribs a sweet and savory bite. During the preview, Eastbound’s prices are noticeably lower than many other Houston barbecue joints, with brisket priced at $29 per pound, ribs at $26 per pound, and pulled pork at $22 per pound.

As CultureMap reported in August, Eastbound unites four friends, Ryan Penn, Ryan Powell, Luis Lopez, and Jake Granville, who also held senior roles at various restaurants owned by prominent Houston chef Ronnie Killen. Since then, the four partners have finished many of the improvements they needed to make prior to opening, including closing in the patio and installing offset smokers on the property.

For Penn, leaving the Killen’s organization after almost 20 years was a difficult decision, but one he felt he had to make. “I could have worked for [Killen] forever and been happy. It was more along the lines of, if I don’t do this now, I don’t want to be 70 and wish that I had,” he said at the time.

Courtesy of Eastbound Barbecue

Get a first taste of Eastbound Barbecue this weekend.

news-you-can-eat barbecue openings