all aboard

Popular Houston chicken & waffle restaurant rolls into Montrose with 'fryders' and ice cream parlor

The Waffle Bus has arrived in Montrose.

A popular Houston food truck has opened a second brick-and-mortar restaurant. The Waffle Bus is now serving in Montrose.

Owner Phi Nguyen tells CultureMap in an email that he always planned to open in the neighborhood. Taking over the former BuffBurger space at 1540 W. Alabama St. allows the restaurant to build on the success its achieved since opening its first restaurant in The Heights two years ago.

“We added a second location, because our first location has been a big success even through COVID,” he writes. “We actually got busier every month as we worked harder to improve everything on our menu.”

Those improvements mean the restaurant’s signature chicken and waffles, chicken thunder fries (fried chicken over waffle fries with spicy mayo and ancho chile honey butter), and “fryders” (mini sandwiches with waffles fries for buns) taste better than ever. Over time, the restaurant has added a full range of chicken dishes that keep it current with the latest trends. Diners will also find new options such as a smash burger on a brioche bun and banana cream pie waffles.

Nguyen found so much success with the milkshakes at the first location that Montrose features a full ice cream parlor. Ten flavors of cereal ice cream can be paired with 10 different toppings. In addition, a soft serve machine dispenses two flavors of Dole Whip: black cherry and the more familiar pineapple.

On the beverage side, the restaurant has 11 beers on tap and a full liquor license to serve flavorful cocktails.

To transform BuffBurger into The Waffle Bus, Nguyen made a number of improvements to the space. The walls have been covered with the brand’s signature red acrylic, and a wall features nine, 65-inch TVs. An expanded patio area adds more TVs and convenient pickup windows.

As it celebrates 10 years of operations with a new location, Nguyen is already looking to the future.

“The food truck life is not an easy one, but we've put in a lot of hard work to get where we are and don't plan on stopping anytime soon,” he writes.

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when I dip, you dip

Heights restaurant's new lunch service will only offer 1 sandwich

Courtesy of La Lucha

La Lucha will begin serving French dips on Friday, June 12.

If a sandwich hall of fame existed, one of its plaques would surely be devoted to the French dip. Its combination of thinly-sliced beef, tangy horseradish sauce, and a savory au jus is a winning formula.

Beginning Friday, June 12, Heights restaurant La Lucha will be showcasing two takes on the venerable sandwich when it starts serving them for its new Friday-only lunch service, which will be held from 11 am-2 pm. To be clear, the two sandwiches (plus fries) will be the only menu items available at lunch — apologies to anyone hoping to ease into the weekend with La Lucha staples like fried chicken or the pharmacy burger.

The two sandwich choices are: a West Coast style French dip that’s just shaved meat and au jus or an East Coast style that adds provolone and caramelized onions. Both are served with horseradish aioli on bread from Houston’s Royal Bakery that “gets crispy and delicious,” according to executive chef Bobby Matos.

The meat is the same prime rib that newly opened steak joint Star Rover, La Lucha’s sister restaurant, serves as part of its viral, “I ate the 76’er” eating challenge. Priced at $26, the sandwich offers a healthy seven ounces of thinly-sliced beef.

“They’ve done this at Little Sparrow in Atlanta but for late night. It’s been a huge success and people are digging it,” Matos explains about the motivation to introduce the offering.

Limiting the menu to two variations of the same sandwich, fries, and beverages — both alcoholic and non-alcoholic — allows La Lucha to offer its Friday lunch service more easily than if Matos had to staff the kitchen to parepare its full menu.

“It’s just bringing more people to the Heights and giving them a chance to get to know our restaurants,” Matos adds. “There are still people who don’t know about La Lucha, and it’s been eight years.”

Although Matos moved to Texas from California, he says he prefers the East Coast French dip. “I want cheese and onions on mine. I like cheese on French dips,” he says.

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