feeling vibrant

Innovative, gluten-free Montrose restaurant returns with new breads and pastries, coffees, and hours

A staple Montrose restaurant has reopened its doors after a yearlong closure. Vibrant has resumed service with a number of changes designed to give people more of what they love about the restaurant.

First opened in 2018 by owner Kelly Barnhart, Vibrant serves food that is designed to be both nutritious and eye-catching. All of its dishes are gluten-free, dairy-free, white sugar-free, and non-GMO. The restaurant closed for renovations last year to upgrade its kitchen and create a retail section for grab-and-go items.

“The way we had our kitchen designed originally ended up not being efficient enough for the way our operation ended up evolving and the volume we ended up putting out,” Barnhart tells CultureMap. “Now we have the perfect kitchen for our offerings. We’re able to expand on our mission more broadly as far as what we wanted to offer.”

The biggest change is an expanded selection of breads and pastries that are available for both dine-in and to-go. Working with a nutritionist, Barnhart, general manager Angel Atherley, and executive chef Patti Delgado created a new line of breads that are both gluten-free and vegan, as they do not use eggs.

“I would say we’ve doubled the offering of baked goods,” Barnhart says. “That’s something we’re really excited to lean into. Chef Patty found a passion with our criteria of food in a baked goods format.”

Those new breads will be available as loaves for to-go. Vibrant will also sell other staples such as nut cheese, cookie dough, and mole. A retail section will offer totes, candles, t-shirts, and wellness items like supplements.

As for the rest of the menu, new items include Sorghum Waffles with Coconut Yogurt Probiotic Cream and Elderberry Syrup, Braised Beef Tacos on a Sweet Potato Cassava Tortilla, and Activated Pecan Amaranth Granola with Blue Spirulina Milk. The kitchen upgrade allows Vibrant to make all of each dish's components in house. While adding new dishes means that some old favorites have rotated off the menu, the team feels confident that diners will embrace the changes.

“Angel, Patty and I would be at my house every day. We had so much fun experimenting and figuring out who we are now,” Barnhart says. “We weren’t trying to accomplish anything other than what excites us the most and what is the most nutritionally beneficial things we could put in the most exciting ways possible.”

In addition to the kitchen upgrades and menu changes, Vibrant has also made some additions to its coffee program. The restaurant still brews organic beans from Panther Coffee but has added an all new, housemade cashew-pecan milk and a line of adaptogenic lattes.

Finally, the restaurant has new hours of operation, 8 am-4 pm daily. Previously, Vibrant had been open for dinner, but the change reflects the way most diners used the restaurant. Customers can still pick up items to eat for dinner at home. Not serving dinner also opens up the possibility of special evening events such as guest chef dinners or lectures.

“We’re just so excited,” Barnhart says. “We’ve been incubating this for so long. We’re ready to birth this out into the world and see what people think.”

Photo courtesy of Vibrant

Vibrant's salmon lox toast.

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One Day Only

Chef of Michelin-starred Texas BBQ joint pops up at Houston crawfish favorite

Photo by Quit Nguyen

Join Lucas McKinney for a crawfish pop-up this Sunday, May 17.

The pitmaster behind one of Texas’ Michelin-starred barbecue joints will be in Houston for a one-day-only crawfish boil. Evan LeRoy, chef and co-owner of Austin’s LeRoy and Lewis Barbecue, will be at Josephine’s this Sunday, May 17 from 2-6 pm.

Part of the restaurant’s Backyard Boil pop-up series, LeRoy and Josephine’s executive chef Lucas McKinney have collaborated on a four dishes that will be served at the pop-up, which will take place on Josephine’s patio. They are:

Smoked Crawfish Boil Sausage on a Stick: andouille flavored pork sausage with crawfish, corn, and potatoes
Brisket and Cheddar Croquettes: Chopped brisket and cheddar cheese in a creamy bechamel. Scooped, breaded in panko, and fried til crispy
Oysters on the Half Shell: Pickled Onion Mignonette, Smoked Jalapeno Salsa, Kimchi Elote
Smoked Salsa Macha with Beef Tallow: Guajillo, ancho, and arbol chiles, lime, soy, garlic, onion, pepitas, and pecans

The pop-up is part of LeRoy’s tour for his new book, New School Barbecue: Recipes for Next-Level Smoking and Grilling, which he co-wrote with Texas Monthly restaurant critic Paula Forbes. Released this week, the book contains almost 100 recipes for mains, sides, and desserts.

LeRoy & Lewis Evan Leroy ATX Evan LeRoy is coming to Houston this weekend. Photo by Briana Balducci

“Lucas asked me to participate in a crawfish boil this year, and it happened to line up with the release of the book, so I said yes,” LeRoy tells CultureMap. “The event format centers around a crawfish boil, along with some fried items and oysters, so it doesn't necessarily reflect the recipes in the book. Instead, we decided to bring a few dishes we’ve been working on over the past year or so, including the brisket and cheddar croquettes — which will definitely make it into my next cookbook.”

McKinney has already hosted pop-ups with the likes of ChòpnBlọk chef-owner Ope Amosu and Mike Pham of Trill Burgers.

“With these crawfish boils, I want each chef to bring their own perspective and let the menu reflect their personal style of cooking,” McKinney adds. “Events like this are really centered around community, collaboration, and introducing something fresh and exciting to Houston each time.”

LeRoy and Lewis has earned wide acclaim for its “new school” barbecue. In addition to being one of only four Texas barbecue joints to hold a Michelin star, it ranked No. 2 on Texas Monthly’s list of the state’s 50 best barbecue joints. McKinney began patronizing the restaurant when his friend, pitmaster Cole Parkman, worked there.

“It’s incredibly good,” McKinney says. “Eating there feels like they’re telling you, ‘I know you think you like brisket, but this is what you should really like.’ I really respect that they’ve planted their feet firmly in the ground and committed to doing things differently. It all makes so much sense — and it’s delicious.”

Reservations (free) are required to attend the Backyard Boil at Josephine’s; both 2 pm and 4 pm seatings are available. Attendees will purchase food and drinks a la carte. Josephine’s regular menu will not be available at the pop-up. Copies of New School Barbecue will also be available for purchase.

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