Stay trill, owls

Bun B serves up smash hit smash burgers at Houston's Rice University

Bun B is bringing Trill Burgers to Rice University.

Photo by Quit Nguyen

Faculty, students, and staff at Rice University will have a fresh new dining option when classes resume for the fall semester. Trill Burgers will open its fourth Houston-area location on campus beginning Monday, August 17.

Located at the Rice Memorial Center, the new Trill Burgers will serve the restaurant’s signature smash burgers, which are available in either beef or vegan versions. That starts with the OG Trill Burger, made with two smashed beef patties, pickles, caramelized onions, Trill Sauce, and American cheese on a Martin’s potato roll. A vegan version uses plant-based smashed patties, vegan sauce, and vegan cheese. Burgers will be sold individually or as a combo with fries and a drink. Students will be able to use their campus dining dollars (Tetra) to purchase their meals.

Bun B, a Houston hip-hop legend and co-founder of Trill Burgers, has long had ties to Rice University. In 2011, 2013, and 2015, he served as a distinguished lecturer, co-teaching Religion and Hip-Hop Culture with Anthony Pinn, the Agnes Cullen Arnold Distinguished Professor of the Humanities.

“This is truly full circle for me,” Bun B said in a statement. “To bring this brand to Rice University where I once taught is a major moment for Trill Burgers and for myself.”

In addition to Trill Burgers, Rice is also home to locations of breakfast favorite Dandelion Cafe and salad and sandwich concept Local Foods Market.

“We are excited to build upon this long-standing relationship while giving the Rice community an authentic taste of Houston,” Beth Leaver, Rice’s assistant vice president of housing, dining, and hospitality, added. “Trill Burgers brings a distinctive and celebrated part of Houston’s culinary culture to the Rice campus. I am often asked about adding a great burger option, and this partnership fills an important gap in our dining portfolio.”

While the restaurant is open to the general public, its proximity to the original Trill Burgers location (3607 S. Shepherd Dr.) means it will likely appeal primarily to people who are already on campus. Initially, the restaurant will be open from 11 am-5 pm.

Opening at Rice comes at a time of continued growth for Trill Burgers. In December, the restaurant opened in Missouri City. It is expected to open a new location at Westheimer and Hillcroft (7616 Westheimer Rd.) as soon as this month.

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spoiler alert

Houston chef Thomas Bille sounds off on his Beat Bobby Flay appearance

Courtesy of Food Network

Thomas Bille took on Bobby Flay.

Add another Houston chef to the roster of cooking competition champions. Belly of the Beast chef-owner Thomas Bille won the Tuesday, August 4 episode of Beat Bobby Flay.

Titled “Mole Mania,” Bille went head-to-head with celebrity chef Bobby Flay in a battle of duck en mole negro. Although the dish usually features more than 30 ingredients and typically takes hours to make, both Bille and Flay both only had 45 minutes to make their dishes.

“I did one trial run mole at the restaurant. I finished it in about 32 minutes,” Bille tells CultureMap. He adds that he used the same recipe on the show that he does at his restaurant, except for the restaurant’s mole mother.

During the cooking portion of the competition, Bille blends a wide array of chiles to begin making the dish. He also charred tomatoes, plantains, and tortillas before adding them to his pot. He then cooks his duck skin side down to render its fat. Bille plated the dish with a garnish of cacao nibs and almonds.

“I figured out a strategy,” Bille explains. “I had a dutch oven. I charred everything. I needed to put all the missing pieces and adding it to the pot. Charring things, adding it. So I had it all cooking right away, rather than building how I normally do it.”

The judges panel of Lourdes Castro, Alex Stupak, and Grace Ramirez hailed Bille’s dish for its depth of flavor and presentation, but they criticized him for not achieving a sufficiently crispy skin on his duck.

“I think darkness on top of darkness is a huge plus,” Stupak said about Bille’s presentation. “That’s a positive. Black on black is my favorite.”

The judges found that Flay’s duck mole negro with pomegrante, apricot, and green chile relish didn’t put enough emphasis on the mole, with Lourdes calling it too sweet. “This feels like a really great duck dish,” Stupak added.

Prior to beating Flay, Bille faced off against Austin chef Keegan Andrews to create the best dish with manchego cheese. He created a Spanish-inspired manchego tartine with herb salad, macerated dried apricots, and toasted marcona almonds. The judges stated that Andrews manchego fritters were too doughy.

Bille is no stranger to the spotlight. In 2025, he won Best Chef: Texas in the James Beard Awards. Belly of the Beast, his Mexican-American restaurant in Spring, holds a Bib Gourmand designation from the Michelin Guide.

The chef joins a small roster of local Beat Bobby Flay winners. Back in 2016, Roost chef-owner Kevin Naderi won the show by making cabbage rolls. In 2023, Stanton Bundy, formerly culinary director of Traveler’s Table, won a chilaquiles battle. Last year, Top Chef winner Tristen Epps won with Trinidadian brown stew chicken. Filmed in January, the chef says he kept the secret from even his close friends, but it feels good to finally share the news.

“It’s great. I beat Iron Chef Bobby Flay,” Bille says. “Being able to go to his kitchen and beat him, he has such a high win rate.”

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