The ongoing trend of food trucks serving as incubators for brick and mortar restaurants got another member last week when Vietnamese truck Les Ba'Get announced on Twitter that it had signed a lease for a space at 1717 Montrose. Already, several popular trucks like Bernie's Burger Bus and Good Dog Houston have found success and bigger audiences by moving into permanent spaces, and local favorites like Pi Pizza Truck have announced intentions to get off the street and into a building.
Proprietors Cat Huynh and Angie Dang tell CultureMap in an email that their original goal in launching the food truck was to build support for a high-end, Vietnamese-influenced tasting menu restaurant. However, after seeing the public's response to the truck's menu at various catering jobs and events, "we knew we wanted to open a traditional Vietnamese style restaurant in the heart of Montrose instead."
After seeing the public's response to the truck's menu at various catering jobs and events, "we knew we wanted to open a traditional Vietnamese style restaurant in the heart of Montrose instead."
The larger space means an expanded menu, of course. A draft provided by Huynh and Dang shows breakfast all day, including steak and eggs, rice flour cake omelet and Vietnamese chicken and waffles. Sandwiches will be served on traditional banh mi baguettes or croissants. Appetizer choices include a variety of soft and fried spring rolls, along with an intriguing-sounding roasted bone marrow that's served with baguette slices. Any bowl of pho can get a hit of bone marrow, too, which, as anyone who's been to Chinatown staple Pho Binh by Night can attest, makes everything more delicious.
In between now and the expected opening in the first quarter of 2015, Huynh and Dang expect to host pop-ups at the space in the truck to preview the new menu. They hope to win new fans and prepare their customers for what's to come.
With the news that the property containing popular late-night hangout Hollywood Vietnamese has been sold to developers, the time seems right for a new option to emerge. If all goes well, Montrose residents will have Les Ba'Get to look forward to soon.
Les Ba'Get's signature roasted bone marrow will have a new home in 2015.
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Photo by Becca Wright