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    Foodie News

    Five more "must-try" food trucks: From extraordinary Asian to 420 pizza toeverything on a stick

    Sarah Rufca
    Dec 26, 2011 | 12:24 pm
    • The Rice Box, bringing Asian comfort food to the foodies at Anvil.
      Photo by Khiem Pham
    • Pi Pizza
      Photo via Pi Pizza/Facebook
    • Stick It makes food you never knew could be served on a stick.
      Photo via Stick It/Facebook
    • Lady Bird has perhaps the best grilled cheese around town.
      Photo via Ladybird/Twitter
    • Pad Thai Box
      Photo via Pad Thai Box/Facebook
    • The porkbelly burger by LadyBird Food Truck
      Photo via Ladybird/Twitter

    Cupcakes might be moving aside for macarons (or snickerdoodles), bacon fever has ebbed a bit (yes, put away that scarf) but one food trend that we still can't seem to get enough of is the humble food truck. And why would we want to? They're convenient, inexpensive and the food is challenging brick-and-mortar establishments with high-quality, creative and delicious offerings.

    We're still partial to the 10 must-try food trucks we listed last spring, but for pizza, Chinese comfort food and more, you've got to try Houston's newest mobile restaurants.

    There is never enough good pizza in Houston (I'm sorry, but it's true) so we are thrilled that Anthony Calleo has stepped up to fill in the missing link in the ultimate mobile drunk food foursome with Pi Pizza Truck. Found outside bars around town like Jackson's Watering Hole, Catbirds, Little Woodrow's and The Boneyard Drinkery, Pi tempts with outrageous combinations like chicken, bacon, honey and pineapple on The Grizzly Hawaiian and venison sausage and cherries in port wine syrup on The Outdoorsman.

    Most offerings are available as a full pie or by the (enormous) slice, but the breakout hit is the by-the-slice-only 420 pizza — like a frito pie on a pizza, it's so crazy it just works.

    We are thrilled that Anthony Calleo has stepped up to fill in the missing link in the ultimate mobile drunk food foursome with Pi Pizza Truck. Most offerings are available as a full pie or by the (enormous) slice, but the breakout hit is the by-the-slice-only 420 pizza — like a frito pie on a pizza, it's so crazy it just works.

    Like pizza, there's always some Chinese food that's quick, cheap and available to be delivered to your door — but The Rice Box is not your ordinary Chinese food. It's only been on the road for a couple of weeks, but the comfort food classics served up in classic take-out boxes by John Peterson and crew have already earned raves.

    The sesame chicken and dumplings is juicy, delicious and enough to feed two, although apparently Bun B prefers the General Tso. Look for them outside of Anvil every day except Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

    One truck I can't wait to try is Stick It. Why? Well let's just say I don't drive for two hours to the Renaissance Festival to look at people wearing chain mail bikinis. I go for the food on a stick, and this concept by Ruth Lipsky really takes that to the next level with offerings like country fried steak on a stick, fish and chips on a stick and a gyro on a stick. I'm not sure how that works, but I want to try it. Look for the red truck at bars including Boneyard, Lizzard's Pub and Marquis II.

    Making the rounds at arts organizations like The Menil Collection, The Orange Show and Lawndale Art Center, LadyBird has earned my eternal love for their epic eponymous grilled cheese creation, with cheddar, Texas goat cheese, Brooklyn ricotta, green tomatoes and a side of pickled okra remoulade. There's no menu online (yet), but Ladybird's Twitter feed boasts some impressive food porn, like a porkbelly burger and a jumbo lump crab and brie grilled cheese with avocado.

    And just when you start to think everything from a food truck has to be gooey or fried, head to PadthaiBox, which serves "mobile brasserie take-out" with spring rolls, salads, Thai fried rice and yes, padthai in re-usable to-go containers. The trailer can often be found at Shepherd Square or outside Liberty Station.

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    What's Eric Eating Episodes 516 and 517

    Food experts draft the best dishes at Vietnamese restaurants in Houston

    CultureMap Staff
    Dec 12, 2025 | 5:15 pm
    Moon Rabbit food spread
    Moon Rabbit/Facebook
    Two panelists selected dishes from Moon Rabbit in the Heights.

    On this week’s episode of “What’s Eric Eating,” CultureMap editor Eric Sandler recruited five of his friends and colleagues to select their favorite dishes at Vietnamese restaurants in Houston via a fantasy football-style draft.



    The panelists — Stevie Vu of the Chowdown in Chinatown Facebook group and Asia Society, Texas; Chelsea Thomas of Local Foods Group; Heights Grocer and Montrose Grocer owner Mary Clarkson; Have A Nice Day AAPI pop-up market co-founder Isabel Protomartir; Houston BBQ Festival co-founder Michael Fulmer — joined Sandler to draft Vietnamese dishes and restaurants in six categories. They are:

    • Appetizer/Salad
    • Entree
    • Sandwich
    • Soup
    • Viet-Cajun
    • Wildcard

    In the first round, Vu kicked things off by selecting the sandwiches from Chinatown institution Nguyen Ngo. Thomas followed with the duck salad at Thien An. Clarkson took the mango-papaya salad from Old Saigon Cafe, and Sandler scored the Beef 7 Ways at Chinatown favorite Saigon Pagolac. Protomartir took the Duck House’s crispy egg rolls, and Fulmer closed round one with the beef rolls at Nam Giao, which holds a Bib Gourmand designation in the Michelin Guide.

    Sandler shared the full results on Instagram.


    View this post on Instagram
    A post shared by Eric Sandler (@ericsandler)


    As he noted, the draft results include some of Houston’s most prominent Vietnamese restaurant as well as a few under-the-radar choices that will give listeners some new options to try. Listen to the full episode on any podcast platform to hear the panelists explain the choices and recommend a few places that they could have drafted instead.



    In this week’s second episode, chef Christine Ha and her husband John Suh join Sandler to review the results and pick a winner. Since no one selected their restaurant The Blind Goat, each drafter is on an equal footing.

    Listen to the full episode to hear who won. Ha and Suh also share thoughts on their favorite selections by each panelist. They also catch us up on the latest happenings at both The Blind Goat and Stuffed Belly, their sandwich shop, including the recent addition of a gumbo pot pie to The Blind Goat’s menu.


    View this post on Instagram
    A post shared by The Blind Goat (@theblindgoathtx)


    -----

    Subscribe to "What's Eric Eating" on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Hear it Sunday at 9 am on ESPN 97.5.

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