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    Monday Hustle

    Michelin-recognized Houston restaurant now open for dinner daily

    Eric Sandler
    May 5, 2025 | 5:39 pm
    Nancy's Hustle sign

    Houstonians can finally satisfy their Nancy's Hustle cravings on Monday.

    Photo by Eric Sandler

    It’s never been easier to get an order of Nancy cakes or former Astros star Justin Verlander’s favorite Houston cheeseburger. Beginning this Monday, May 5, Nancy’s Hustle is now open for dinner seven days a week.

    Co-owner Sean Jensen tells CultureMap that he and his business partner, chef Jason Vaughan, opted to add a seventh day of service for several reasons. Most importantly, their customers have been requesting it.

    “We’re busy every night,” Jensen says. “We often get complaints that it’s hard to get in. This opens up another day for people to sneak in.”

    Indeed, the restaurant, which opened in the fall of 2017, has never been riding higher. Food & Wine recently named it one of the 15 best restaurants in America, based on a nationwide poll of restaurant workers. It also earned a coveted Bib Gourmand designation in the Michelin Guide. Rather than a Michelin star, Jensen thinks Bib Gourmand, which Michelin describes as recognizing “restaurants that offer great quality food at good prices,” felt like the right award for Nancy’s, which has always prided itself on being a neighborhood restaurant with refined food and friendly, polished service.

    “If we had gotten a [Michelin] star, I would have thought they were wrong,” Jensen says. “I would have probably been offended if we’d only gotten a recommendation. I think we’re more than that. I think we’re in the right place with a Bib Gourmand.”

    The restaurant saw an immediate uptick in diners after the Michelin Guide’s list came out in November, particularly from visitors who wanted to patronize Bib Gourmand recipients, he adds. Being open on Monday allows the restaurant to serve diners who are either staying for a long weekend or flying in on Monday and looking for a good meal.

    On a separate note, regulars will notice a new face behind the bar. In January, bartender Brandon Choate left Anvil for a new role as Nancy’s bar manager. He’ll also be working the floor some evenings.

    “He’s great. We love the changes he’s making and the new fresh set of eyes,” Jensen says.

    Jensen also notes that, since many other restaurants are closed on Monday, being open on that day makes it easier for their peers in the hospitality industry to patronize Nancy’s Hustle. Monday service has been a success at like-minded peers such as Theodore Rex, Nobie’s, and Coltivare, which have always drawn restaurant workers on Monday evenings. Nancy’s makes itself particularly friendly to hospitality workers by seating people until 11 pm nightly.

    Finally, being open seven days also benefits the restaurant’s employees. Jensen explains that it became easier to be flexible with employees’ schedules at Tiny Champions — their EaDo restaurant devoted to pizza, pasta, and shareable plates — when that restaurant moved to daily service last summer. For better work-life balance, the restaurant wants to give all employees two consecutive days off, but that could sometimes get tricky when one of those days had to be Monday.

    “Instead of having to focus everyone’s two consecutive days as Sunday and Monday or Monday and Tuesday, we can mold days off that work better for them or for us,” he says. Later, he adds, “it makes it easier for those employees who have family or significant others who work nine-to-fives. It’s easier to give them a Saturday or Sunday off when you’re on a seven-day schedule.”

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    Oscars of the Food World

    Houston earns 6 finalist nominations in the 2026 James Beard Awards

    Eric Sandler
    Mar 31, 2026 | 10:20 am
    Ope Amosu headshot
    Courtesy of Chopd & Stewd
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    Houston had an impressive showing in the next round of the 2026 James Beard Awards. Of the city’s 12 semifinalist nominations, four have been named finalists in the nationwide categories as well as two for Best Chef: Texas. The six total nominations are two more than the four that Houston chefs and restaurants earned in 2025.

    Here are all of the nominees in the national categories:

    • Emerging Chef: Adrian Torres, Maximo (Houston)
    • Best New Restaurant: Agnes and Sherman (Houston)
    • Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service: June Rodil, March (Houston)
    • Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker: Tavel Bristol-Joseph, Nicosi (San Antonio)
    • Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker: Maggie Huff, Lucia (Dallas)
    • Outstanding Restaurateur: Hugo Ortega and Tracy Vaught, H-Town Restaurant Group (Houston)
    • Outstanding Restaurant: Mixtli (San Antonio)

    The nominees for Best Chef: Texas include three people from Houston. Here are all of the nominees in the category:

    • Ope Amosu, ChòpnBlọk (Houston)
    • Evelyn Garcia and Henry Lu, JŪN (Houston)
    • Scott Girling, Osteria il Muro (Denton)
    • Gabe Padilla and Melissa Padilla, Cafe Piro (Socorro)
    • Finn Walter, The Nicolett (Lubbock)

    Along with the finalist announcement for its Restaurant and Chef Awards, the James Beard Foundation announced that the Houston-based Southern Smoke Foundation will be an Impact Award honoree. According to the foundation, the Impact Awards "recognize achievements by individuals and/or organizations who are actively working to push for standards that create a more equitable, sustainable, and economically viable restaurant industry and food system for producers, workers, and consumers alike."

    In the semifinalist round, Houston led the way among Texas cities with 12 nominations. Austin earned nine nominations, followed by eight in Dallas and seven in San Antonio. Last year, Houston had four finalist nominations, including Thomas Bille of Belly of the Beast in Spring, who won Best Chef: Texas.

    Notably, all of the Texas nominees are first-time finalists, except for Hugo Ortega, who won Best Chef: Southwest in 2017. March, the restaurant June Rodil leads as the CEO of Goodnight Hospitality, earned a finalist nomination in 2025 for Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program. Bristol-Joseph has earned significant national recognition from other groups, including a Food & Wine Best New Chef Award in 2020 and a Michelin star for Nicosi. Mixtli also holds a Michelin star.

    Considered the Oscars of the food world, the James Beard Foundation announced the finalists for its Restaurant and Chef Awards on Tuesday, March 31. The awards recognize excellence by chefs and other culinary professionals in a wide range of categories ranging from Outstanding Chef to Best New Restaurant. Last year, the James Beard Foundation added three new categories to recognize the beverage side of hospitality: Best New Bar, Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service, and Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service.

    Winners must also have “demonstrated commitment to racial and gender equity, community, sustainability, and a culture where all can thrive,” according to the organization’s website.

    The awards also include media categories that will be announced on May 6. The Restaurant and Chef Awards ceremony will be held at the Lyric Opera of Chicago on June 15.

    Ope Amosu headshot
    Courtesy of Chopd & Stewd
    Ope Amosu is participating in the James Beard event.
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