but will there be burger pizza?

Duo behind Burger Joint and Taco Stand set to debut new Heights pizzeria

Chef Matt Pak and entrepreneur Shawn Bermudez are ready to put their spin on another of America’s most popular dishes. The duo behind The Burger Joint and The Taco Stand will soon add pizza to their repertoire.

Scheduled to open next fall, their new pizzeria — dubbed The Pizza Place, obviously — will be located at 2124 N. Shepherd Dr., which is just down the street from the Heights locations of the Taco Stand and the Burger Joint. Construction has already begun to convert the former resale shop into a 3,800-square-foot restaurant that will also offer a 2,600-square-foot covered patio.

As its name implies, the restaurant will serve pizzas, pastas, salads, and gelato, all of which will be made in-house. Pak tells CultureMap that pizza seemed like a logical next step for the growing restaurant group that currently operates three Burger Joints and one Taco Stand.

“Pizza was the missing fast casual piece of the puzzle for me,” Pak says. “Burgers, tacos and pizza. I like a challenge and I’ve been intrigued by the art of pizza making for a long time.”

As for the style of pizza he’ll be serving, it’s described in press materials as a New York-Neapolitan hybrid that will be baked in a Forza Forni gas-wood oven. Pak’s goal is to have a Neapolitan’s chewy outer edge with a New York pie’s crispy bottom. The chef explains that he considered other options like Detroit or traditional Neapolitan but prefers to forge his own pizza path.

“Like everyone else, I have my opinion of my favorite pizza,” he says. "Although I have had great pizzas of the styles you mention, there is always an element missing when trying them. I want to create a pizza that has my favorite elements from several styles and I believe people will enjoy what I come up with.”

Pastas will be made fresh daily. Like he does with tacos, expect Pak to focus on familiar styles with a limited number of well-chosen ingredients for sauces and toppings. The Pizza Place’s beverage offerings will include beer, wine, and cocktails.

Although a couple of burgers at The Burger Joint nod to Pak’s Korean heritage, the chef says those influences won’t show up on The Pizza Place’s daily menu. But that doesn’t mean he won’t showcase that side of his cooking at the restaurant — or in other venues.

“I might not include any Korean influence on the menu but I certainly will on our monthly specials,” he says. “Besides, we have a concept in the works where I will be able to veer outside of the box more.”

Stayed tuned for more details on that unnamed project. In the meantime, Pak and Bermudez have their hands full with upcoming openings, including a second location of The Taco Stand in Webster and a fourth location of The Burger Joint near Rice Village. In an interview with CultureMap in May, Bermudez acknowledged plans to open additional locations of The Taco Stand as well as a dessert concept. Details on those — including addresses and when they’re expected to debut — will be released in the months to come.

Courtesy of The Pizza Place

The Pizza Place will be located near The Burger Joint and The Taco Stand.

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a CultureMap Exclusive

Houston's 'Chinese takeout bar from the future' touches down in Webster

Courtesy of The Rice Box

A rendering previews The Rice Box's new location in Webster.

Houston’s Chinese takeout bar from the future is coming to the Bay Area. The sixth location of The Rice Box will open in Webster later this summer.

Located at 114 El Dorado Blvd, the new location will be called Rice Box Space Center after NASA’s headquarters at the nearby Johnson Space Center. Founder John Peterson tells CultureMap that it’s a bit of a homecoming for him and his wife/business partner, Jenny Vo, as they grew up in the area. As with every new location, the restaurant created a movie-style poster to announce its opening.

Rice Box Webster movie poster The Rice Box Space Center is expected to open later this summer.Courtesy of The Rice Box

For its first truly suburban location, Peterson plans to offer a more efficient pickup system for to-go orders. Dubbed The Rice Box Pickup Reactors, the system applies Rice Box’s sci-fi aesthetic to curbside ordering. As seen in the rendering above, the building will have six slots that drivers will pull into to get their orders.

“The goal is to have guests in and out with food in hand in around 90 seconds,” Peterson writes in an email. “It’s still pickup, but we’re trying to make that moment feel more intentional and more connected to the digital side of Rice Box instead of treating it like an afterthought. We’re looking at this opening as both a new store and a prototype for how Rice Box can work in more suburban markets without losing the part of the brand that makes it feel like us.”

Bay Area-area diners can expect the same menu as the Rice Box’s other locations. That includes staples such as General Tso’s chicken, sesame chicken, beef with broccoli, and orange peel beef. The restaurant also serves traditional Chinese-inspired fare such as Chongqing chicken, cumin beef, mapo tofu, and chow fun noodles.

Recently, Peterson rolled out a new version of Rice Box’s dumplings. Available in chicken, pork, or vegetable, each style of dumpling comes with a different wrapper that enhances the filling’s flavor. They’re also available either steamed or fried.

The Rice Box started as a food truck in the early 2010s. After moving to a permanent location in the Greenway Plaza food court, it has opened brick-and-mortar locations in the Heights, River Oaks, Rice Village, and Memorial.

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