Food for Thought

Tweet all about it: Houston's food truck vs. restaurant fight explained in 140characters (or less)

Last week in an alternate but similar Twitterverse…

New Food Truck @newfoodtruck

Hey, Houston! We’re a new food truck rolling into town. We hear Houston is the place for us, so stay tuned for details.

Yes you elected me @yesyouelectedme

@newfoodtruck Great, that’s all Houston needs. Another drug dealing, terrorist on wheels. #STAY OUT OF DOWNTOWN

New Food Truck @newfoodtruck

@yesyouelectedme what??? What are talking about? We’re going to sell fried stuff on a stick. Basic fair food. What Texan doesn’t want that?

Restaurant Lobbyist @wehatefoodtrucks

@yesyouelectedme Right on! We don’t need anymore drug dealing, terrorists on wheels like you @newfoodtruck and you can’t operate downtown or in Texas Medical Center.

Restaurant Lobbyist @wehatefoodtrucks

Because you are a danger @newfoodtruck. Plus, you are unfair competition. Isn’t that right @yesyouelectedme?

Yes you elected me @yesyouelectedme

True dat @wehatefoodtrucks

New Food Truck @newfoodtruck

Calm down @yesyouelectedme @wehatefoodtrucks. We’re a gourmet food truck, like on The Great Food Truck Race. We pose no threat, just cool, fast food.

Yes you elected me @yesyouelectedme

@newfoodtruck What the heck is The Great Food Truck Race?

Yes you elected me @yesyouelectedme

@newfoodtruck and your propane tank could blow up a city block, and you’re undesirable and…what’s the other talking point @wehatefoodtrucks?

Restaurant Lobbyist @wehatefoodtrucks

Unfair to downtown restaurants @yesyouelectedme

Yes you elected me @yesyouelectedme

@newfoodtruck Right @wehatefoodtrucks

Bricks and Mortar @bricksandmortar

You aren’t running me out of bizz. No way you can park near my restaurant @newfoodtruck

New Food Truck @newfoodtruck

@bricksandmortar, um, I would have to have a signed notice from a private lot to park near you.

Downtown Bar @downtownbar

If the city will change the ordinance I’d love for you to come to my lot @newfoodtruck

Bricks and Mortar @bricksandmortar

What are you? A terrorist? @downtownbar

Downtown Bar @downtownbar

No @bricksandmortar I’m a tax paying business and a voter

Yes you elected me @yesyouelectedme

What, you vote in city elections? @downtownbar

Downtown Bar @downtownbar

Yes and I’m not voting for you again @yesyouelectedme

Yes you elected me @yesyouelectedme

Let me rethink this @downtownbar Do you donate to campaigns?

Restaurant Lobbyist @wehatefoodtrucks

@yesyouelectedme not as much as I do

New Food Truck @newfoodtruck

@bricksandmortar @yesyouelectedme @wehatefoodtrucks This is silly, I can be a food truck anywhere in the city except downtown and TMC?

New Food Truck @newfoodtruck

@bricksandmortar @yesyouelectedme @wehatefoodtrucks If I’m an undesirable danger why do you let me operate in other areas?

Restaurant Lobbyist @wehatefoodtrucks

# thatsbesidethepoint @newfoodtruck

New Food Truck @newfoodtruck

Dear City of Houston: the food truck ordinance doesn’t make any sense. Can’t we all work together to change it?

Restaurant Lobbyist @wehatefoodtrucks

@newfoodtruck No, just go away, right @yesyouelectedme?

Yes you elected me @yesyouelectedme

@wehatefoodtrucks right, you’re a drug dealing terrorist threat and unfair competition to real restaurants

New Food Truck @newfoodtruck

@yesyouelectedme I DON’T SELL DRUGS, I’M NOT A TERRORIST AND I’M NOT A RESTAURNT. PEOPLE WHO WANT TO EAT AT A RESTAURANT WON’T STOP AT MY TRUCK.

New Food Truck @newfoodtruck

@yesyouelectedme I’M NOT EVEN ALLOWED TO HAVE SEATING

New Food Truck @newfoodtruck

@yesyouelectedme and I thought the food truck community was organized and working with the mayor’s office to make the rules better #foodtrucksnotfightingwithcityhall

TV Reporter @tvgal

@newfoodtruck clearly you aren’t familiar with city hall politics #foodtrucksnotfightingwithcityhall

Bricks and Mortar @bricksandmortar

Stay out of this @tvgal, we don’t need the media exposing how things work in the city.

Yes you elected me @yesyouelectedme

Right on @bricksandmortar. @wehatefoodtrucks please DM me. Quick.

Another Food Truck @anotherfoodtruck

This is getting to be ridiculous #foodtrucksnotfightingwithcityhall We the people are trying to do everything right. Don’t give up @newfoodtruck, we can do this.

New Food Truck @newfoodtruck

@anotherfoodtruck I dunno, I’m starting to have second thoughts. I heard Houston was into gourmet food trucks and was pro small business. I am depressed.

Another Food Truck @anotherfoodtruck

Hey, they got Paws on Patios passed. @newfoodtruck don’t give up yet.

New Food Truck @newfoodtruck

@anotherfoodtruck if they let me operate downtown with a few chairs and a table I’d let dogs hang. I love dogs.

Dogs and Food are Disgusting @Nodogs

@newfoodtruck, drug dealers, terrorist and now this!

New Food Truck @newfoodtruck

I’M NOT SELLING DRUGS FROM MY FOOD TRUCK. I’M NOT GOING TO BLOW UP MY PROPANE TANK. I might let puppies hang.

Yes you elected me @yesyouelectedme

Where will it all end? Drugs, bombs, puppies, I didn’t sign up for this.

New Food Truck @newfoodtruck

#foodtrucksnotfightingwithcityhall I JUST WANT TO SELL DEEP FRIED OREOS ON A STICK!

Food Police @foodpolice

@newfoodtruck YOU ARE DISGUSTING! NYC banned 16-ounce sodas and I think Houston should ban fried things on a stick. You are making people fat.

New Food Truck @newfoodtruck

ARRRG! That’s it. I’m taking my food truck and moving to Austin. #adioshouston

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firing up Montrose

New Houston seafood restaurant adds live-fire flair to Japanese flavors

Photo by Becca Wright

Spanish sea bass, scallop crudo, nigiri, bluefin binchotan, and bluefin crudo.

An ambitious new seafood restaurant is coming to Montrose next week. Casa Kenji will open on Tuesday, December 9.

Located in the former Andiron space (3201 Allen Pkwy), Casa Kenji is the first Houston project for New Orleans restaurateur Malachi DuPre, a former LSU standout who played briefly in the NFL before establishing Kenji and Kenji Kazoku restaurants in New Orleans. Together with former LSU teammate John “B-John” Ballis and Houston chef Bigler “Biggie” Cruz, Casa Kenji will blend Latin and Japanese influences while also incorporating live-fire elements into the restaurant’s dishes. Cruz, whose resume includes a lengthy stint at Uchi as well as working at critically acclaimed Houston seafood restaurant Golfstrømmen, tells CultureMap that Casa Kenji’s approach is the first time he can be himself in the kitchen.

“My perfect restaurant was always based on the live fire and sushi combination,” Cruz says. “My mom cooked with wood for my entire life. The live fire creates completely different flavors. The smoky flavors, the sear from the charcoal — they create a different type of memory for me.”

The use of live fire techniques will permeate Casa Kenji’s menus in ways both big and small. For example, diners will be able to feast on prawns grilled directly on charcoal and served with yuzu chili garlic, or savor lightly seared Japanese wagyu tataki paired with mushrooms. Even raw dishes will benefit from the restaurant’s wood-burning grill and stove.

“Every vegetable we peel, we make into an ash that’s a topping for the dishes. It adds a different layer of flavor,” Cruz says. Look for it in the scallop aguachile, among others.

Even vegetables get a smoky component, as in a cabbage dish that’s braised with dashi and soy sauce before being roasted and served with an onion soubise that Cruz says he developed based on techniques he learned from Golfstrømmen chef Christopher Haatuft.

“It’s rich, super savory, with smoky layers, and you get brightness from the shiso gremolata. I think it will be a signature dish for us,” the chef says.

One change to the interior is the addition of a six-seat omakase counter that looks into the kitchen. Cruz promises those diners will have an even more elevated experience than the restaurant’s regular menu, including ingredients such as Japanese wagyu and premium fish flown in from Tokyo’s Toyosu fish market.

Beyond its cuisine, Casa Kenji hopes to stand out with its spacious outdoor patio. Since very few Japanese-inspired restaurants in Houston offer outdoor seating, it should appeal to diners who want a little vitamin D along with their tuna crudo.

“We’re proud to showcase the craft and creativity that defines Casa Kenji,” co-founders Cruz, Ballis, and DuPre said in a statement. “With chef Bigler Cruz at the helm — blending live-fire technique with the discipline of Japanese tradition — we’re equally honored and excited to share a unique concept that is truly rooted in passion, culture, and community.”

Casa Kenji will be open for dinner Tuesday through Sunday beginning at 4 pm. Reservations are available on Resy.

Photo by Becca Wright

Spanish sea bass, scallop crudo, nigiri, bluefin binchotan, and bluefin crudo.