Edible Houston Spring 2023

Delivering healthier meats for a happier planet.

VERIFIED REGENERATIVE

CONTENTS

2 FROM THE EDITORS

4 NOTABLE EDIBLES What's Happening Around Houston

8 EDIBLE ENDEAVOR Marlen Mendoza is making coffee and culture

Did you know you can help regenerate America’s grasslands while having nutrient-dense pastured products delivered to your door? In fact, for every box you purchase we will seed 100 milkweed plants giving the Monarch Butterfly a fighting chance on their epic migration. The population of these endangered pollinators have been declining for decades but together we can reverse that trend by restoring habitat in their migration corridor.

10 LOCAL LEGENDS Evelyn Garcia and Henry Lu

14 SPOTLIGHT ON LOCAL Bánh mì

26 FARMER'S DIARY Crisp Farms

31 EDIBLE INK Beets

COVER Butter Lettuce Salad (photo by Heather Barnes)

THIS PAGE

Bánh mì (photo by Sonya Sellers) Blackberry Compote Parfait (photo by Heather Barnes)

RECIPES IN THIS ISSUE

20 BLACKBERRY COMPOTE PARFAIT WITH BASIL INFUSED WHIPPED CREAM

22 BUTTER LETTUCE SALAD WITH ROASTED CARROTS AND BEETS AND FRESH CILANTRO

Journey. A word that holds past, present and future in a dynamic embrace. A word that implies movement, transition, change — from place to place, of mindsets, or from dream to reality.

Food stories are often stories of journeys, especially in Houston, with its multicultural population made up of people from hundreds of places around the world. Each brought their cuisines to this sprawling city founded at the confluence of two bayous — favorite dishes and tastes, reminders of home, that anchored them to their cultures while also becoming an intricate part of Houston’s gastronomic fabric, creating new foodways as people adapt to new ingredients and mingle with other cuisines. In this issue, we share the stories of some of these journeys. Roy Vũ writes about his family’s personal history with bánh mì, a story that spans from the streets of (then) Sài Gòn to a mall in Midtown. You’ll read about Evelyn Garcia, the daughter of Mexican and El Salvadorian immigrants, and Henry Lu, the son of Chinese restaurateurs, transforming their dreams, experiences and travels into a new restaurant. You’ll delve into the story of Mexican American Marlen Mendoza who is creating a coffee niche that’s rooted in her Mexican heritage and her Bayou City upbringing. You’ll learn about a Pakistani American who is making one of the city’s best burgers, a Lebanese American serving Mediterranean food made with fresh local ingredients, and much more.

[David here] This issue also marks another journey. After eight years and 38 issues, our longtime editor Francine Spiering is moving on, at least from her editorial role — if I have my way, you’ll still see her name gracing articles and recipes.

She’s embarking on further explorations of Canada, the Netherlands and who knows where else. But no matter where she goes, there will be good food and lots of laughter. Her dedication to telling the food stories of Houston is unparalleled. It’s been a pleasure working with Francine, first as the recipient of her editorial insights as she helped craft my articles into better stories; then as co-editors as we collaborated to find and share some of the many incredible stories about the Houston area and its food.

Francine, your enthusiasm, knowledge and guidance will be greatly missed but I’m looking forward to flipping the script and editing your stories in the future. Good travels, my friend!

PUBLISHER

Monique Threadgill monique@atxpublications.com

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/ CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Ralph Yznaga ralph@atxpublications.com

EDITORS

David Leftwich david@ediblehouston.com

Francine Spiering francine@ediblehouston.com

COPY EDITORS

Claire Cella Stacey Ingram Kaleh

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Heather Barnes

Paula Niño Kehr

Sarah McConnell

Jamie Threadgill Roy V ũ

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Heather Barnes

Marlen Mendoza

Patty Robertson

Sonya Sellers

ADVERTISING SALES

Advertising Sales info@ediblehouston.com

DISTRIBUTION

Nathan Simmons tmem23@gmail.com

PS. From Francine

Eight years is nowhere near enough to tap into all the stories that are out there in Houston’s local food community, from our farmers and growers, brewers and bakers, chefs and pitmasters to all the entrepreneurs and leaders that work to make Houston a better place. What a richness this city holds. As I wrote in Houston Cooks: “We have mouthwatering diversity. We find abundant fresh ingredients at our fingertips. We prepare food with deft hands. And we give meaning to the belief that food brings people together.”

One thing is for sure: the years ahead are looking bright for the essential platform that Edible Houston is, with David Leftwich at the editorial helm, and the Austin-based team determined to make their regional Edible magazines grow. David, you’re an inspiration. Monique, Ralph and team: it has been a joy. Keep up the great work. Houston, you’re in my heart!

CONTACT US 5524 Bee Caves Rd., Ste. J-4 Austin, TX 78746 512-441-3971 info@ediblehouston.com ediblehouston.com

Edible Houston is published quarterly by ATX Publications LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be used without written permission of the publisher. ©2022. Every effort is made to avoid errors, misspellings and omissions. If, however, an error comes to your attention, please accept our apologies and notify us. Edible Houston is a member of Edible Communities.

WORDS BY PAULA NIÑO KEHR

drinking was taking its toll and he wanted to be more mindful of what he was putting in his body. But giving up alcohol didn’t mean the sommelier in him was gone. Frounfelkner was still passionate about flavors, so he started looking for them in non-alcoholic beverages. From those explorations, Sipple, the first nonalcoholic bottle shop in Texas, was born.

store. Those curious to try Sipple’s offerings can take advantage of their in-store tastings, which take place on Saturdays from 2 to 5 p.m. and showcase different products and makers.

shelves. Offerings include Greenway Coffee’s Bodega Coffee, Craft Pita olive oil, Seaside Poke sauces, Khói BBQ’s panang curry sauce and Pudgy’s Cookies, among other local purveyors.

CRAFT PITA BRINGS ITS MEDITERRANEAN FARE TO SECOND LOCATION

When Rafael Nasr opened the first Craft Pita in 2019, he wanted to offer Houstonians Mediterranean food prepared with locally sourced, high-quality ingredients like the ones he ate during summers at his grandmother’s house in northern Lebanon. There, his family grew their own food, raised animals and made their own olive oil.

“Lebanese food is simple, it’s not a super technique-driven cuisine,” said Nasr. “When you use high quality ingredients, it just elevates [it] and makes everything taste fresh. You also feel better.”

Nasr also wanted the restaurant to have a nice environment and good service, qualities he found many Middle Eastern restaurants lacked. Craft Pita’s first location in Tanglewood quickly became a local favorite. Three years later, having survived the pandemic by focusing on a to-go model, Nasr opened doors to a second location in West University in November.

Nasr always planned to expand and Houstonians stand to benefit. Craft Pita is the perfect destination for lunch, a nice but low-key dinner or just a healthy, convenient

meal that also tastes good. On the menu, diners will find mezze, flatbreads, pita sandwiches and bowls. One of the restaurant’s most popular dishes, the chicken pita, truly shines for its tender and juicy rotisserie chicken, which is wrapped along with purple cabbage, potato, tomatoes and garlic aioli.

Nasr is committed to supporting other local businesses. He buys pita from Phoenicia Specialty Foods, cookies from Michael’s Cookie Jar and baklava from Suzie’s Pastry Shoppe. Produce is sourced from Atkinson Farms and Plant It Forward. Ground beef comes from HeartBrand Beef.

In addition, both Craft Pita locations carry Nasr’s family’s Lebanese extra virgin olive oil. It can be shipped nationwide. On Saturdays, Craft Pita is at the Urban Harvest Farmers Market selling its spreads and sauces.

Visit Craft Pita in West University at 5172 Buffalo Speedway or Tanglewood at 1920 Fountain View Dr. | craftpita.com

RICE VILLAGE BOTTLE SHOP SUPPLIES QUALITY ZERO-PROOF BEVERAGES

During the pandemic, sommelier Danny Frounfelkner cut back on drinking alcohol. After 20 years in the beverage industry,

Frounfelkner and his wife Helenita opened Sipple in October 2021 in Rice Village. The charming store offers a curated selection of non-alcoholic wine, beer and spirits, as well as a variety of non-alcoholic beverages that don’t have an alcoholic equivalent. Think sparkling teas, uniquely flavored botanical spirits and functional spirits, which are prepared with herbs that have health benefits. These drinks make excellent alternatives for people looking for an alcohol-free option that goes beyond sugary soda or lemonade. One of Helenita’s favorites is Non 2, a wine alternative by Australian company Non, which is made with caramelized Australian Packham pears and Japanese kombu. The Frounfelkners encourage people to have an open mind when it comes to zero-proof beverages. “Many times, when [customers are] used to a wine or bourbon, they’ll try the non-alcoholic version and they’ll be disappointed,” says Helenita.

Helenita says, “Education is incredibly important to us. It’s what really turns the tide for a lot of people, it helps people feel excited about this space.”

Visit Sipple at 2410 Quenby St. | sipple.co

SMASH BURGERS LAND IN HOUSTON AT BURGER BODEGA

In November, Burger Bodega opened and began serving smash burgers, chopped cheese, fries and milkshakes. For owner Abbas Dhanani, it was the realization of a dream. He loves burgers and had always wanted to open a burger restaurant. “I’ve been working on my own burger recipe for over 10 years, since I was in college,” he says.

Dhanani is no stranger to the food world. Since 2017, he has been chronicling his culinary explorations on social media as @HoustonEatz. Following his passion for burgers, he started hosting pop-ups featuring his take on the smash burger in September 2021. Ten months later, he had a permanent home.

The menu is simple, consisting of smash burgers, a style of burger in which patties are smashed onto the griddle to achieve crispy edges and chopped cheese, a sandwich made popular by New York bodegas that consists of ground beef, cheese, grilled onions and lettuce on a hero roll. To really understand where the sandwich came from and how it was made, Dhanani traveled frequently to New York. “The more I went there, the more inspiration I got from the culture and the vibe, and I wanted to implement that here,” he says.

That is where education comes in. A large part of what the Frounfelkners do is teach customers about how the dealcoholization process changes a drink’s viscosity and flavor, for example. They also help customers find new favorites among the many high-quality, zero-proof beverage options available at the

Burger Bodega is modeled after small New York corner stores. Shelves along the restaurant walls are lined with fictional products like 713UP bottles and boxes of Bodega Loops cereal. The walls have murals of bodega cats created by local muralist DonkeeBoy, Young Art Pros and graffiti artist Noke713. Customers will also find a selection of real locally made products on the

Dhanani partnered with Steve Marques of Craft Creamery to develop milkshakes to pair with the burgers. Aside from traditional vanilla, chocolate and strawberry flavors, options include a Vietnamese coffee shake and a mango lassi shake. The latter is a nod to Dhanani’s Pakistani heritage.

Visit at 4520 Washington Ave. | burgerbodega.com

Left Page: Mezze Spread at Craft Pita

photo by Rebekah Flores

Left Page: Danny & Helenita Frounfelkner of Sipple

photo by Theron Francis

Above: Craft Pita photo by Rebekah Flores

Lower Right: Burger Bodega's Abbas Dhanani photo by Michael Ma

GLUTEN-FREE BAKERY & CAFÉ OPENING IN BELLAIRE

The team behind Leven Baking Company, which has been selling glutenfree breads and baked goods via farmers markets and direct orders, will soon open Leven Bakery & Café in Bellaire. When the space opens this spring, Houstonians will not only be able to walk in and buy the company’s breads, but also enjoy a healthy menu of breakfast, lunch and dinner options.

“This is not just a café. Nor is it just a bakery,” says chef and partner Franklin Liao. “We may be serving gluten free food, but what we are really offering to people is a place in time to feel at ease, safe and confident, knowing what you’re putting into your body.”

The menu will have a strong plantbased focus, free of artificial ingredients, sugars and refined oils. Don’t expect a kid’s menu, fried foods or sodas. Wen Qin, who co-founded Leven Baking Company with Christian Alvarado and owns JuiceWell, says he and Liao aim to be very careful to only serve foods that they themselves would eat or feed their families. “It’s a

MOON RABBIT SERVES TRADITIONAL VIETNAMESE FOOD WITH A MODERN TOUCH

When developing the food for Moon Rabbit, co-chefs Rudy Vasquez and Tam Nguyen prioritized genuine Vietnamese flavors and dishes that didn’t stray far from the traditional. Vasquez, who worked at local restaurants such as Squable and Izakaya, and Nguyen, who for 30 years ran Kim Chau Restaurant in Spring Branch, spent a lot of time researching to make sure their food was true to what they were trying to accomplish.

partnered to start the business, which offers Ayurvedic foods to Houstonians. The pair began by catering but soon started selling their food at the Urban Harvest Farmers Market, where they built a strong following of people who wanted to know more about Ayurveda or had previously enjoyed Diedericks’ cooking.

lifestyle and we have to walk it before we serve it,” says Qin.

The café will serve items like granola, an egg sandwich and pancakes for breakfast and sandwiches, salads and vegetables for lunch. In the meantime, Houstonians can get a taste of their glutenfree breads at farmers markets. The sourdough and multi-grain breads are the most popular, but Leven carries other options like pain de mie (a soft white bread), dinner rolls, and quick breads, such as the almond flax quinoa loaf. On the sweet side, offerings include cookies and tea cakes. The Ginger Doodle, a spin on the gingersnap cookie, is soft, delicious and packed with zesty ginger flavor.

Ultimately, Qin and Liao want to show people – regardless of whether they are on a gluten-free diet or not – that food can be nutritious and gluten free and still taste great.

Leven can be found at the Urban Harvest Farmers Market, Heights Mercantile Farmers Market, and Rice Village Farmers Market. The café is at 4191 Bellaire Blvd. | levenbakingcompany.com

The result is a modern yet welcoming restaurant with lots of natural light and pops of color from the murals on the walls, and a menu of Vietnamese favorites and a few playful takes on the traditional such as bò kho dip bánh mì. Bò kho is a traditional braised-beef-shanks stew that is served with noodles or maybe a piece of bread. At Moon Rabbit, the braised shanks are served in a sandwich with a cup of the braising liquid for dipping, much like a French dip. Other unique bánh mì offerings include the spicy fried chicken that combines crispy fried chicken with spicy sate, a Vietnamese chili sauce. Other dishes are more traditional. The bún bò Hue, a spicy beef-based noodle soup from the city of Hue, served at Moon Rabbit is made using Nguyen’s family recipe. During the recent celebration of Tet – Vietnamese New Year – in January, a packed house enjoyed a lion dance and thit kho, a dish of braised pork belly and eggs.

Moon Rabbit will celebrate its first year in business in April, and according to Vasquez, it has been well received, even by those in the Vietnamese community who have visited. “We put love into it, you can feel that in the food and the service that we serve,” he says.

Visit at 605 West 19th St. | moonrabbithtx.com

KARUNA’S KITCHEN FUELS HOUSTON WITH AYURVEDIC FOOD

In the ancient medicinal practice of Ayurveda, nutrition plays a central role. “Our favorite statement is that we want to be fueled by food. What food can you eat that can give you the proper nourishment? What can fuel you on a deeper level for longevity and vitality? I want to bring that across in everything that we do,” says Karuna Diedericks, co-founder of Karuna’s Kitchen.

Four years ago, she and Antonio Manega

While Diedericks has been practicing Ayurveda for many years, for Manega it was a mystery until he met her. A native of Italy, he introduced dishes that blended the Mediterranean approach of simple cooking using fresh ingredients with Ayurvedic principles. In Ayurveda, good digestion is considered a key factor in good health, and what, when and how you eat are very important. The diet favors vegetarian whole foods, fresh produce, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds, and avoids processed, cold, raw foods. Karuna’s Kitchen food doesn’t contain any preservatives and is prepared with clean oils, such as olive oil and coconut oil, and fresh vegetables and legumes. In line with Ayurvedic principles, spices are used not

such as lemon rice, biryani, samosas and soups. Some dishes, such as hummus and the vegan crab cakes, which are like potato patties, have become weekly staples. For those looking to eat specifically for their body, Karuna’s Kitchen prepared foods are labeled by the three ayurvedic body types, or doshas – vata, pitta and kapha.

Diederick says it has been nice to see more people become interested in learning about Ayurveda. “The main thing for us is we have a passion for sharing something different, a different way of thinking about food, a different way of preparing food,” she says.

Find Karuna’s Kitchen at the Urban Harvest Farmers Market, 2752 Buffalo Speedway | karunaskitchen.net

Aside from spending time with her family, Paula Niño Kehr loves to explore Houston and learn about the people behind its food. She also enjoys cooking, dancing and reading.

just for great flavor and aroma but also to aid good digestion.

On any given Saturday, market goers will find a weekly rotation of 10 to 12 dishes, such as lemon rice, biryani, samosas and

Previous Page: Leven Bread Packaged photo by Franklin Liao

Upper Left: Leven Bread Racks photo by Franklin Liao

Above: Karuna Diedericks and Antonio Manega, courtesy photo

Lower Right: Clay Pot Fish at Moon Rabbit photo by David Leftwich

Cool Beans

YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR CARVES HER LOCAL COFFEE NICHE

WORDS BY DAVID LEFTWICH | PHOTOS BY MARLEN MENDOZA

Sa turdays, rain or shine, Marlen Mendoza, owner of Amanecer Coffee Co., is selling coffee — beans she’s roasted and unique cold brews she’s created — at the Urban Harvest Farmers Market. She shares the tent with pastry chef Stephanie Velasquez and chef Nick Vera, mentors and partners in Ema, the Mexican café whose banner flies in the rear of the booth.

Mendoza’s approach to coffee is rooted in her Mexican heritage. She primarily roasts specialty-grade coffees grown in Central and South American countries such as Mexico, El Salvador, Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Colombia. The bottled coffee and tea drinks she has developed incorporate Mexican flavors and ingredients such as Horchata Coldbrew, which combines horchata — a traditional Mexican rice-based drink — with coffee, Mexican vanilla and cinnamon; and Hoja Santa Matcha, which blends Japanese matcha with Mexican vanilla and hoja santa — a Mexican herb that expresses the flavor of sassafras with hints of mint, tarragon and nutmeg.

Mendoza’s entrepreneurial journey began with her parents, who both emigrated from Mexico. Her father, who is from San Luis Potosí, opened a small plastic recycling business. Her mother, who is from Monterrey, opened Nancy’s Cake Design in 2002, after learning her craft at Fiesta Mart.

“We lived in South Houston, pretty poor. We really came from nothing,” says Mendoza. “My parents taught me that you have to start somewhere, but to start you have to do it. They worked their way up with their jobs and their small businesses and were able to continue building a better life for all of us.” She still turns to them for advice. “Anytime I have a question about anything, I go to [my mom] or my dad. They’ll tell me, ‘if you’re in it for the long run, this is what you have to do,’” she says.

Her relationship with her mom goes beyond advice. Mendoza currently roasts in her garage but she and her mother will soon be sharing a production facility in South Houston, where Mendoza will roast coffee and her mother will make cakes.

Her parents' hard work also helped her attend the University of Houston, where she majored in public relations and minored in Mexican

American Studies. Both have benefitted her business. The public relations courses gave her the skills to build Amanecer’s brand, including designing the labels, which are inspired by Mexican artwork. Her Mexican American Studies classes gave her the framework to better understand and appreciate that art — and they also taught her a lot about herself. “It was a history of who I am,” she says. “I’m not from Mexico. I was born here but my roots come from Mexico. It’s a very different kind of identity. Growing up, you don’t really know who you are because people tell you, you’re this or that. I got to college and these are the people I was looking for my whole life.”

Mendoza’s journey in coffee began in 2015 when a job at a Whole Foods coffee bar introduced her to making espresso drinks. After a few jobs at area coffee shops and roasteries, she became serious about specialty coffee in 2019. Then, a pivotal moment came when she took a trip to a Honduran coffee farm. Visiting with the farmers and their families inspired her to start her own business.

This started a period of trial and error that Mendoza says resulted in roasting lots of bad coffee. “Starting in coffee can be so overwhelming,” she says. “There is just so much to learn … The more I went down the rabbit hole the more I went from thinking I knew what I was doing to thinking I didn’t. It’s a lot of learning and unlearning.”

Though there is now software to help roasters achieve their desired flavor profiles, coffee roasting is still very sensory-based, especially for Mendoza. She relies on sight, smell and taste. It took years of cupping — the practice of evaluating a coffee’s aroma and taste using special spoons and cups and a standardized brewing and tasting process — to develop her palate. She’s also had to learn what her customers enjoy and what pairs well with different foods. “For the most part, I buy coffee based on what my clientele likes. They are very big on comfort coffees — medium-bodied coffees with a lot of sweetness toward the end,” she says.

Mendoza had to overcome financial and access barriers and information gatekeeping, in part because she was a Mexican American woman. “When I stood my ground and said this is what I want to build for myself and for the people who are like me, these great opportunities started coming about … I’m just grateful I have determination,” she says.

She also found industry mentors that helped her navigate the coffee landscape. One was Jimmy Perez, who was the manager of La Chamba: Coffee + Careers, an enterprise dedicated to helping young adults develop business skills. They would regularly talk about the coffee business and he encouraged Mendoza to create her first bottled drink, the aforementioned Horchata Coldbrew, which became popular during the early days of the pandemic.

As the owner of a startup without the overhead of a brick-and-mortar, Mendoza was able to quickly adapt to the new business environment and focused on selling her products at pop-ups and online via social media. She was selling her Horchata Coldbrew by the gallon and was regularly selling out.

Despite that success, she still had a day job working at Henderson & Kane, the barbecue joint and local-product-focused general store in the 6th Ward, which was the first retail outlet to sell Amanecer’s bottled drinks. It was there that she met Velasquez and Vera, who were also selling their Papalo Mercado-branded products such as heirloom corn tortillas and queso fresco at the general store. The three talked when Velasquez and Vera dropped off their goods. Those conversations led to a series of successful pop-ups and eventually to the shared booth at the Urban Harvest Farmers Market, which they opened in May 2021.

Mendoza credits the couple’s love of Mexican food and cooking as an inspiration. “They really respect all the ingredients we use from Mexico and their history,” she says. “They have introduced me to this world of gastronomy. Teaching me this is what this is supposed to taste like and this what it’s not supposed to taste like. Teaching me how to fit myself into and respect this culture, and they have taught me how to do a bunch of really cool things.”

Their collaborations have led to some unique pop-up offerings such as a Cookie Cortado. Inspired by an Oaxacan coffee shop, Mendoza developed a cortado made from espresso, Mexican vanilla and oat milk that was poured into a marranito (Mexican gingerbread) cookie cup made by Velasquez. The trio are now in the process of finding a more permanent home for their creations.

Since those early days of working in her garage, Mendoza has managed to carve her niche in the local coffee scene. And while her journey is ongoing, she is also at that place where she can now help others build on her experience. “I’m hoping to teach as much as I can to anybody who wants to learn,” she says.

David Leftwich is editor of Edible Houston and loves to cook locally grown vegetables and hang out with his daughter, wife and a few too many stacks of books.

Left Page: coffee beans

Top Left: Marlen Mendoza photo by Jordan Velasquez

Top Right: Amanecer's Drinks

TASTE Buddies

CULINARY SOULMATES JOIN IN A MULTICULTURAL CELEBRATION OF FLAVORS

WORDS BY FRANCINE SPIERING | PHOTOS BY SONYA SELLERS

Ta ke passion, drive and daring. Mix in professional kitchen skills, a flair for flavor and bold creativity. Wrap it with friendship and mutual respect. It’s a recipe that culminates in a brick-and-mortar restaurant, owned and run by two culinary soulmates.

Chefs Evelyn Garcia and Henry Lu know how to make the senses of their guests sing in delight as they give the word “multicultural” flavor, taste and texture — from chili-butter-charred oysters with fermented mango to tender pork belly in a fragrant kombu broth all the way to a surprising fish sauce caramel that enhances a pound cake dessert.

For Houston native Garcia, Central American gastronomy is the taste of home. Her mother is Mexican, her father El Salvadorian. With both parents working, Garcia developed an interest in cooking early on and often cooked the family meal.

After high school, she attended the Culinary Institute of America at Hyde Park in New York. She graduated in 2010 and worked at New York restaurants such as Spice Market, the Singaporean-focused Masak, and the now-closed modern-Thai restaurant Kin Shop, which was helmed by chef Harold Dieterle, incidentally the winner of the first Top Chef season — Garcia was a season 19 finalist.

When the travel bug itched, she packed her bags. She traveled throughout

India and Southeast Asia, where she staged at restaurants and seized every opportunity to immerse herself in local cuisines.

Born and raised in The Bronx, New York, Lu grew up in a Chinese restaurant family. As restaurateurs, his parents knew how grueling the industry can be, so they encouraged a different career for their son. Lu got a bachelor’s in art history. But when the cooking gene surfaced, they supported his decision to go to culinary school.

He graduated from the French Culinary Institute in New York City in 2012 and embarked on an eclectic culinary career based on his personal philosophy: “Only work where I would want to eat.” He worked at modernIndian restaurant Babu Ji, Peruvian restaurant Llama Inn, small-bites wine bar Sauced, and new American restaurant Pearl & Ash, among others.

The two met in 2013 in New York City at Kin Shop. At the time, Garcia was the junior sous chef and Lu was the first line cook she hired. They rapidly became good friends, drawn together by their drive and passion as chefs and by a sense of humor that clicked. When Garcia moved back to Houston in 2016, the friendship continued. Lu would visit at least once a year and, one way or another, partook in many of Garcia’s projects.

In late 2016, I met the buoyant Garcia at the Memorial Village farmers market where she was cooking pupusas — griddled corn cakes stuffed with beans, cheese or meat that are El Salvador’s national dish. She’d been doing the same for a hungry crowd the night before at Axelrad. She popped up everywhere, cooking street food here, catering multi-course dinners there, all with a penchant for local agriculture and pride in Houston’s diversity. She launched KIN HTX in the Politan Row food hall in late 2019. Kin is a linguistic nod to food and family — two things that are very important to her, she says.

In March 2020, Garcia invited Lu to be the first chef to collaborate on a tasting menu in a new series, Dinner & Friends that she initiated at KIN. March 2020, sadly, also heralded the start of lockdowns, forcing Politan Row to close.

“Through Covid times, I was just in survival mode with KIN and trying to figure out what was next for me and my brand,” says Garcia. One big thing that came her way was competing on Top Chef Season 19, which was filmed in Houston and aired in the spring of 2022. On national television, Garcia showcased that she is as creative with the ingredients she grew up with, like nopales and chiltepín, as she is with making a curry that blew away even curry authority, Top Chef host and judge Padma Lakshmi.

PARTNERS IN FOOD

If New York City was the incubator for Garcia and Lu’s food-driven friendship, Texas was where the partnership came to fruition. In the summer of 2020, seeking a healing reset in the high desert of West Texas, Garcia talked to the owners at The Sentinel, a coffee shop and restaurant in Marfa, who wanted to do a chef-in-residence week. She accepted the opportunity right away. “I’m always down for an adventure, especially if it is cooking related,” she says. She asked Lu to join her. He booked a one-way ticket.

At the end of 2020, the two talked about their goals and visions for the future. “Aside from being good friends, our goals are aligned. We complement each other,” says Garcia. Lu adds: “There is no ego between us. What she is good at, I am not. And where I excel, she might not.”

The partnership was born. And Lu made Houston his new home.

“Aside from being good friends, our goals are aligned. We complement each other.”

This Page: Lu and Garcia in the high desert Next Page Bottom Left) Charred oysters (photo courtesy of KIN); Next Page Top Right) Lu and Garcia cooking at the farmers market (photo courtesy of KIN)

“[Moving to] Houston made a lot of sense. Houston is more of a melting pot of food and culture than I could have imagined. It is growing and changing so fast, and I want to be a part of that change and even potentially have an impact on its food scene,” says Lu.

For the next two years, every opportunity to present their food was considered worth the effort. Making brisket bao buns at the farmers market was met with the same commitment as tweezer-plating final touches on a signature ceviche.

The Houston-based yet nomadic chefs cooked all over, from the high desert of West Texas to the waterfront of Seattle to the green mountains surrounding Asheville, while returning home to create multi-course dinners in galleries and gardens in Houston.

Together, they continued to develop a line of KIN condiments — from five-spice BBQ sauce to cleverly named KinChup — in addition to catering and cooking classes. “Our work is our life,” says Lu about their demanding lifestyle, which makes it all the more important for them to keep themselves balanced, mentally and physically, and moving their bodies in different ways. To help accomplish that, they take cycling, yoga and pottery classes.

By the end of 2022, they had secured a location for their first brickand-mortar restaurant together. January 2023 was a month of finalizing everything, including the many inspections and permits that precede the opening of a restaurant. Jūn by Kin, their bijou restaurant, opened for business early February.

FOOD AND FAMILY

Two chefs running a restaurant together raises questions about kitchen leadership. Lu explains, “When one is in the kitchen, the other will focus on front-of-house. Being chef-owners, we must concern ourselves with the business as a whole. We decided to not hire a GM and know that between us, we can handle those duties with the help of our team.”

“We are only as good as our team,” Garcia emphasizes. A team that is versatile and adaptive creates smooth communication and coordination between the back and front of house. Lu says they learned the importance of teams having been a part of so many for so long. Now they are able to create the teamwork they need as chef-owners.

The dishes they create often contain fond memories of family and home. For instance, Lu’s smoked tea broth with poached salmon, pickled braised turnips and sauté ed mushrooms, sprinkled with gremolata, reminds him of the special occasions when his mother made him broth and noodles. For Garcia, it is her refined yet hearty dish of grits and carne seca (dried meat) gravy that reminds her of home.

Those dishes highlight the heart of their cooking, the essence of who they are, and how they work together. It’s a style they define as New Asian American. They are creating a multicultural marriage of flavors that weaves together Garcia’s Mexican-El Salvadorian background, Lu’s Chinese roots, their years of cooking experience and a deep affinity for Southeast Asian flavors. It’s how cod gets wrapped in banana leaf with guajillo chili and kimchi daikon, or how potato and pumpernickel mingle in a noodle soup like laksa.

From their signature food, vibrant in every way, to the eclectic artwork and mementos on the walls down to the artisanal crockery they handpicked in Oaxaca, Jūn is the pinnacle of their journey together. So far.

Named for June, the birth month of Garcia, her mom and Lu’s sister, Jūn is about that all-important connection between food and family. Says Lu, “This restaurant plays homage to our family and loved ones.”

Jūn by KIN is located at 420 E 20th Street, Houston. Visit junbykin.com for more information.

Writer and editor Francine Spiering loves to cook and eat and venture out and about to discover firsthand where her food comes from. Follow her on Instagram @lifeinthefoodlane.

For You And Bánh Mì

FROM FOREIGN FOOD TO AN ALL-(VIETNAMESE) AMERICAN SANDWICH

WORDS BY ROY VŨ | PHOTOS BY SONYA SELLERS

My older sister, Catherine, recalls that one of her fondest childhood memories is visiting the food stalls in the streets of Vũng Tàu, Vi ệt Nam (a port city southeast of what was then Sài Gòn). One of the bánh mì vendors was my uncle’s girlfriend, before they were separated by the end of the Vi ệt Nam War. Catherine remembers being excited to eat the simple yet delicious bánh mì made daily by our uncle’s girlfriend. She relished the fresh baguette and ingredients and the rare opportunity to eat Vietnamese street food. “It was just that it was fun to eat street food,” recollects Catherine. “It’s nice to grab something to go that is hot, fresh and homemade. Being poor, street food was still an occasional luxury for us.”

In our family’s first years of resettlement in the Houston area, my older brother, Byron, remembers our parents occasionally treated us to bánh mì when they could afford the luxury. He savored the Vietnamese sandwiches my parents purchased from a bánh mì vendor at Crystal Palace, a once-popular Vietnamese retail mall in Midtown, after attending mass at nearby Holy Rosary Church.

When I was a child, my mother often made us her version of bánh mì — simplistic, working class, delicious. She bought whole French baguettes and sliced each into several nearly even rolls. After placing the rolls in the oven to toast for a few minutes, she untied the strings and peeled off the aluminum foil that encased the giò (Vietnamese garlic sausage also called chả lụa) and diced it into small, rectangular pieces. She then took the baguettes from the oven, cut them open on one side and efficiently but proportionately, filled each 5-to-6-inch roll with slices of giò.

Next, she placed a few sprigs of cilantro in each roll. Finally, my mother sprinkled Maggi or light soy sauce as evenly as possible. Her bánh mì was unsophisticated in its construction and ingredients yet it was crunchy, warm, savory and tasty. It was also atypical. Short, individual baguettes are more commonly used to make bánh mì. But my mom, like many Vietnamese home cooks in Texas, sometimes adapted to what was available. Some even used delicious Mexican bolillo rolls to make Vietnamese sandwiches. Their resourcefulness and creativity in making wonderful Vietnamese dishes with the ingredients available in the United States is what makes their cuisine so unique.

Neither French cuisine nor French-influenced dishes such as bánh mì (which traditionally referred to the crispy, Vietnamese-style baguette that was the base for the sandwich) were popular in Việt Nam until the early 20th century, when French colonialism was in full force. Historian Erica Peters notes, “A turn-of-the-century (19th century) French cliché declared: ‘Rice is to Vietnamese meals what bread is to French meals.’ Bread was not meant for the Vietnamese, they said, and rice would be out of place in a French diet.”

However, Peters says, by the 1910s, French writers in Việt Nam described “widespread Vietnamese appreciation for French bread, butter and Gruyére cheese.” By the 1920s, it was commonly documented that “some Vietnamese people breakfasted on café au lait and toast.” According to Văn Đài, a French-educated Vietnamese woman, writer and anti-colonial fighter in the 1930s and 1940s, bánh mì had become the norm for breakfast among the Vietnamese. By the 1950s, Vietnamese food vendors were selling bánh mì in the streets of Sài Gòn, Vũng Tàu and other cities. Although primarily a breakfast sandwich, bánh mì became a popular and versatile sandwich that could be eaten for lunch or as an afternoon snack.

TRADITIONAL INGREDIENTS FOR BÁNH MÌ

“For the less well-off, the stall bánh mì was good enough, or perhaps even better, for it was more versatile, with more combinations,” writes historian Vũ Hồng Liên. “No fancy rolls were needed; instead a long stick of bread was cut into lengths of about 20 centimeters (8 inches) and split open. Butter, mayonnaise or paté (or all three) were spread inside, before the main ingredients were added.” These were usually a protein such as Vietnamese cured cold cuts or giò. Next, shredded carrots and pickled radish, cucumber slices, cilantro, whole or sliced red chili pepper and a little Maggi or light soy sauce were added. “The finished bánh mì was then put on a charcoal stove underneath the stall to heat up and to restore its crunchiness, before being half-wrapped in a piece of newspaper and secured with an elastic band,” adds Vũ.

BRIEF HISTORY OF BÁNH MÌ IN VIỆT NAM

James Beard Award-winning author Andrea Nguyễn notes that the cold cuts in the traditional bánh mì called đặc biệt are “typically made from pork, but sometimes chicken too, it’s the Viet equivalent of bologna (mortadella).” Nguyễn adds that it is the “Viet version of a hoagie filled with multiple meats and the whole shebang of accoutrements.”

Other popular versions include bánh mì thịt nướng (charcoal grilled pork), bánh mì xá xíu (Chinese barbecue pork) and bánh mì chay (vegetarian). Regarding bánh mì thịt nướng, Nguyễn says, “Viet cooks love to grill thinly sliced pork; it’s no wonder bánh mì thịt nướng is one of the ubiquitous options at Viet delis. The flavor is often more sweet than savory and dryish in texture.” To give thịt nướng its flavor, the grilled pork is typically marinated in fish sauce, sugar, soy sauce, lemongrass, garlic, black pepper and onions or shallots.

VIETNAMESE AMERICAN FOODWAYS: FROM VIỆT NAM TO HOUSTON

With the arrival of Vietnamese gastronomy in Houston, phở and bánh mì have become popular dishes in the Bayou City. You can find a phở restaurant or a bánh mì shop in just about every neighborhood. “The once humble, filled lengths of French baguette, Vietnamese-style, are now in serious competition with the traditional Western sandwiches,” says Vũ. Houston author Claudia Kolker deftly explains similar changes in Bayou City palates, “Houstonians really love Vietnamese food, and … the presence of all immigrants and refugees in Houston have changed Houstonians’ perceptions of themselves.”

Despite its growing popularity and acceptance in the past two decades, not everyone agrees that bánh mì is becoming an American staple. Samantha Le, who owns and manages a Mama Mia Fusion franchise (formerly Smootea Café) in Houston says, “Surprisingly there are still a lot of Americans that have not heard or tried bánh mì even in … Houston. We get the occasional customers that come in for teas and boba but have never had one before. I had a regular customer who came in and ordered like 50 bánh mì, cut in half for a high school that focuses on fine arts. He told me many thought it was so delicious but never had one. Le reflects that she hopes one day bánh mì becomes equivalent to a burger. “It took me a long time to learn about making bánh mì. I enjoy the traditional [version]. It’s what we grew up with. I hope it won’t change too much. I worked hard to get the sweet and coal-like flavor of the pork.”

BURGERS TODAY, BÁNH MÌ TOMORROW?

Bánh mì is a Vietnamese food that is growing in popularity beyond the Vietnamese community. It’s becoming as common as a Reuben or po-boy. As such, it’s contributing to the growing mosaic of foodways that make up “American” cuisine, which is diverse, dynamic and oftentimes immigrant- and refugee-driven, particularly in Houston. The impact of Vietnamese cuisine over nearly half a century has added to the historically rich culinary diversity of Houston.

Lending credence to Gabaccia’s arguments, new culinary ventures abound for an America that is multi-ethnic, advancing our palates and foodways. These cross-cultural gastronomic experiences give people the opportunity to construct new intersections of food and culture. By broadening our palates, we create new foodways, casting aside previous cultural, social and language barriers and accepting the natural fluidity between cultures. Imagine, if we expanded our minds as often as we do our palates, what other transformative wonders, possibilities and advancements would await us?

Favorite Bánh Mì Restaurants in Houston

Cali Sandwich and Phở at 2900 Travis in Midtown crafts mouth-watering, beautiful and inexpensive bánh mì. On weekdays, expect long lines at this popular Vietnamese sandwich shop.

For the family-run, hole-in-the-wall, clean and cash-only dining experience, try Cao Thắng at 8272 Park Place in southeast Houston. It offers great hospitality and serves delicious bánh mì at a very affordable price.

Don Café and Sandwich at 9300 Bellaire in Asiatown’s Diho Square remains a popular, go-to place for cheap, tasty Vietnamese sandwiches. With a loyal following, it has been in operation for four decades. Cash only.

Food historian Donna R. Gabaccia argues that, “Rather than dismiss eating as a trivial consumer choice, Americans might do better to take our eating choices very seriously. Then we could recognize and celebrate that indeed we are what we eat — not a multi-ethnic nation, but a nation of multi-ethnics.”

Roy Vũ earned his Ph.D. in history at the University of Houston and is a history professor at Dallas College, in Irving, Texas. He serves on the advisory boards of Plant It Forward and Foodways Texas. He is writing a book titled Farm-to-Freedom: Vietnamese Americans and Their Home Gardens, under contract for publication with Texas A&M University Press (2024). He and his wife, Ngọc, reside in Irving, Texas.

Mama Mia Fusion (formerly Smootea Café) at 4007 Bellaire offers scrumptious and hefty bánh mì with a generous portion of ingredients at reasonable prices. The sandwiches go well with their wide range of refreshing bubble teas.

Roostar a popular mini-chain with locations in Spring Branch, the Galleria area and the East End, has justifiably received critical acclaim for its delectable bánh mì.

LIVING THE WELLNESS LIFESTYLE

Rough Hollow Lakeway and Tuscan Village Horseshoe Bay make healthy living as easy as stepping outside your home

Just outside of Austin are two resort-style communities, Rough Hollow Lakeway and Tuscan Village Horseshoe Bay, which are dedicated to providing their residents fulfilling and active lifestyles. Both communities enable this lifestyle by their masterfully planned amenities, as well as providing a socially rich environment for all ages.

Rough Hollow Lakeway provides direct access to beautiful Lake Travis and the Hill Country. Living in Rough Hollow is “more than a lifestyle, it’s a way of life.” The heart of this community, Highland Village, is the community center that provides yearround activities and fun for residents and guests. The community center is waterthemed with a children’s pool, splash pad, a lazy river and an adult pool with a swim-up bar. Highland Village also provides world-class facilities that contribute to an active lifestyle including tennis, basketball and pickleball courts, a soccer field, sand volleyball, and a playscape for children. These amenities allow Rough Hollow residents to participate in physical activities, without leaving the comfort of their neighborhood. Having an active social sphere is key to living an active life and Rough Hollow also enables this by having an event pavilion with a demonstration kitchen that

residents can rent out to host events. They even have “The Rough Life Director,” whose job is to hold community events for residents to enjoy like yoga in the pavilion, festive holiday celebrations, and resident appreciation events.

Another aspect of an active lifestyle that Rough Hollow provides is unparalleled access to the Hill Country and Lake Travis. There are over 22 miles of hiking and bike trails with spectacular scenic views. Even better, Rough Hollow has three miles of Lake Travis shoreline with access to the Rough Hollow Yacht Club & Marina. Here, residents are provided complimentary paddle boards and kayaks for lake fun. The Yacht Club also features world-class cuisine and residents get a 10% discount. From the world class amenities, stunning Hill Country views and socially active events, Rough Hollow is perfectly designed to promote the active and healthy lifestyle that people today seek.

Another great lifestyle community, Tuscan Village, is located in the prestigious Horseshoe Bay Resort Community. This peaceful oasis is expertly designed for residents aged 55+ to escape the hectic city life. Tuscan Village welcomes residents into “The Good Life,” which consists of rolling hills with beautiful views, active lifestyles, and a plentiful social life. Like Rough Hollow, Tuscan Village offers a resort-style community with world class amenities meant to promote a wellness-oriented lifestyle.

Club Salus is the epicenter of the community, a private resident’s club. Club Salus offers two popular pickleball courts, an

outdoor lap pool, a fully equipped fitness center and a dedicated yoga studio with a trained yoga instructor for private classes. Like Rough Hollow, Tuscan Village believes that part of living an active lifestyle is having access to fresh air and nature and provides walkable nature trails throughout the neighborhood for residents to explore. There is also covered outdoor seating and a grill at Club Salus that residents can enjoy. Tuscan Village also encourages residents to have a fulfilling social life by hosting many different events and has begun an expansion of the facilities including a community great room as well as a multipurpose event space that residents are able to rent out to host their own events and clubs.

“In May of 2021 we came to Horseshoe Bay for the annual Golf on The Rocks tournament,” say Tuscan Village residents Greg & Doree. “After being enthralled with

Left page: 4 golf courses at Tuscan Village Horseshoe Bay

Above: Pickleball at Tuscan Village

Top Right: Lazy River at Rough Hollow

Middle Left: Horsehoe Bay Marina

Middle Right: Rough Hollow Fitness Center

Below Right: Rough Hollow Marina

Below Left: Pool at Tuscan Viillage

Bottom: Yoga at Rough Hollow

AMENITIES

• 4 Renowned Golf Courses

• Tennis

• Pickelball

• Expansive Fitness Center

• Boating, Fishing & Water Recreation at Lake LBJ

• Hiking Trails

• Dog Park

• Community Garden

the area, we thought that perhaps we could leave California and decided on the spot to move forward. The draw for us were the four golf courses, amazing friends we made over the years and a lifestyle that we both enjoy. Here in Tuscan Village, we have wonderful neighbors and a laid-back lifestyle. We enjoy the many activities that the resort offers and are learning that you really DO have to learn to say “no,” as we could be going places every night of the week! This is our forever home.”

Learn more at tuscanvillage.com or call 830.693.0424 & roughollowlakeway.com or call 512.617.1776.

AMENITIES

• Miles of Hike and Bike Trails

• Prestigious Yacht Club & Marina

• Expansive Fitness Center

• Adult Pool with Swim-Up Bar

• The Laziest River

• Children's Playscape

• Tennis, Pickleball & Basketball Courts

• Soccer Field

• Sand Volleyball

• Dog Park

SEASONAL HIGHLIGHTS

This Spring

Bok Choy, Green and Red Cabbage, Kohlrabi, Napa Cabbage

Broccoli, Cauliflower, Romanesco

Easter Egg Radish, Scarlet Turnip, Watermelon Radish Fennel, Beets

Garlic, Leeks, Shallots, Spring Onions, Sweet Onions

Microgreens, Salad Greens

Mustard Greens, Rainbow Chard, Spinach

Texas Ruby Red Grapefruit (until April)

And... Strawberries!

From the Water Crawfish

Soft-shell Crab (from April) Black Drum, Sheepshead, Spanish Mackerel

For more information on farmers markets, seasonal recipes and what’s in season, visit ediblehouston.com

Blackberry Compote

Parfait with Basil Infused Whipped Cream

Recipe and photos by Heather Barnes

Serves 4

½ c. sugar

2 c. fresh blackberries

1 T. corn starch or arrowroot starch

Juice from ½ lemon

2 T. water

PREPARATION

Dissolve the sugar with blackberries in a saucepan over low to medium heat for about 5 minutes until the blackberries become mushy. Add in the remaining ingredients and reduce heat to low. Stir every minute for 10 minutes until it thickens. Remove from heat and cool completely before serving.

WHIPPED CREAM

2 T. fresh basil

1 c. heavy cream

2 T. powdered sugar

PREPARATION

Chop basil to release flavor and add to a bowl with the heavy cream. Let sit in the fridge for 4 to 8 hours. Strain the basil out and beat with a hand mixer until stiff peaks form. Add powdered sugar a tablespoon at a time and continue to beat. Serve right away.

Assemble your favorite yogurt in layers with granola of your choice, a layer of blackberry compote and top with the basil-infused whipped cream.

Butter Lettuce Salad with Roasted Carrots and Beets and Fresh Cilantro

Recipe and photos by Heather Barnes Serves 4

4 beets, quartered

6 carrots, cut in half longways

2 heads butter lettuce, chopped

½ c. strawberries, halved Cilantro, for garnish

VINAIGRETTE

3 T. olive oil

½ T. Dijon mustard

½ T. fresh lemon juice

1 t. honey

Salt and pepper to taste

After going to art school and culinary school, Heather Barnes found her passion for photography and food styling. She loves spending time with her family, cooking, and entertaining. You can view more of her work at HeatherBarnes.com or on Instagram at @heatherbarnesphoto.

photo by Mockup Graphics

Houston Area Chefs Stack Up 2023 James Beard Nominations

WORDS BY JAMIE THREADGILL

The James Beard Foundation has announced their 2023 semifinalists and Houston has 11 chefs and restaurants that are in contention for this esteemed award. Considering the diversity and creativity in Houston's cuisi ne, it is gratifying that so many great people and restaurants in the Houston area have been recognized this year.

Established in 1990, the James Beard Awards recognize exceptional talent and achievement in the culinary arts, hospitality, media, and broader food system and are some of the nation’s most prestigious honors.

Chefs Christine Williams and Tony J. Nguyen were nominated for Outstanding Chef for their restaurant Xin Chào and Victoria Elizondo of Cochinita & Co has been nominated for Best Emerging Chef. Four incredible Houston chefs have been nominated for Best Chef: Texas — Benchawan Jabthong Painter from the restaurant Street to Kitchen, Ai Le from Nam Giao and Kiran Verma from Kiran’s. Since Texas is known for its

barbecue, it is no surprise that Greg Gatlin from Gatlin’s BBQ has also been announced for Best Chef: Texas. Chris Williams has been nominated for Outstanding Restaurateur for his work at Lucille's Hospitality Group. Besides the amazing chefs and restaurateurs, there are two restaurants that have been nominated for an award — Tatemó for Best New Restaurant and Theodore Rex for the Outstanding Hospitality award. Finally, Nancy’s Hustle was nominated for Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages.

T he finalists will be announced on March 29 and the winners will be awarded early June. Edible Houston congratulates the nominees and will be rooting for them throughout the whole process.

ORDER TODAY: WindyBarBeef.com 512-474-2855

Photo by Anastasia Belousova

Making a Splash

CRISP FARMS UTILIZES AQUAPONICS TO GROW FRESH, SUSTAINABLE PRODUCE

WORDS BY SARAH MCCONNELL | PHOTOS BY PATTY ROBERTSON

Nestled among the farm and ranch lands west of Houston, in Smithville, sits a seemingly ordinary greenhouse with an extraordinary purpose. Welcome to Crisp Farms, one of only two certified-organic facilities in Texas that uses aquaponics to grow fresh, sustainable produce. What makes this family-owned farm’s produce particularly unique, however, is not just the fresh, pure quality of its produce but the innovative way that produce is grown.

For owners Bob and Chris Nagelhout (a father-and-son team), the idea for an aquaponics farm began with a love for gardening and fishing and a deep appreciation for their environment. “I don’t really distinctly remember the day it happened — I just know that it happened,” Chris says with a chuckle when asked where the idea originated. After discussing the concept with a friend over dinner, Chris and Bob quickly found themselves enamored by the process. They launched into extensive research on aquaponics and consulted with experts to learn the intricacies of and best practices for creating an aquaponics system. Bob has a background in construction, and Chris has a degree in environmental design and passion for localized cuisine from his time studying in Italy. These individual strengths, combined with a shared love of the outdoors, made the Nagelhouts the ideal team to make Crisp Farms a reality. From there, the two developed a unique business plan: create a sustainable, zero-waste aquaponics farm that uses a closed loop system to grow pure, organic produce and humanely raised tilapia.

For Chris, who’d worked with his father, Bob, in the family business before launching Crisp Farms, the appeal wasn’t only in the aquaponics process but also in the prospect of getting to work with his father. “We’re really comfortable working together. We’re always looking for ideas. How can we work together? How can we start something new?” Chris says. In

2017, Chris’ husband, Grant Richardson, also joined the team, bringing his knowledge of environmental engineering and water treatment. When asked what it’s like working together as a family on a day-to-day basis, Bob elbows Chris and says, “Sometimes, you don’t like me.” As the two laugh, the mutual respect and affection for one another is undeniable. Smiling, Chris adds, “You have somebody there who has your back. Sometimes it feels a little lonely working in an office, but if you have someone there that you know you can trust, it makes the hard days a little bit easier.”

While wandering between rows of giant blue fish tanks, Chris breaks down the process of aquaponics. In essence, it all begins with the tilapia. Water from each of the six tanks, which house approximately 600 fish apiece, circulates to separate filtering tanks that remove all solids in a process Chris jokingly calls “compost tea making.” Once the solids are filtered out, a process called nitrification takes place, and that’s the link between the fish and the plants in the greenhouse. As nitrifying bacteria converts the ammonia to nitrate, the water that will feed the produce grown in the greenhouse is infused with nutrients, without the need for fertilizers or other chemicals. From the filtered tanks, the nutrient-rich water makes its way to the greenhouse through a piping system, where it is used to nourish the plants before circulating back to the tilapia tanks to begin the process all over again.

“They’re our fertilizer,” Chris says of the tilapia. “A traditional farmer buys fertilizer and manure and compost, but we just buy fish and highquality fish food. That’s our input.” Approaching one of the tanks, Chris says with a chuckle, “They’re probably pretty hungry at this point in the day. If you get close, they’ll splash, and you might get an aquaponic water bath.” He then demonstrates by throwing a handful of fish food into the tank, setting off a chorus of splashing and flopping as the fish descend.

“It’s fun because we learn every single day,” Chris says while wandering through rows of radiant butter lettuce in the brightly lit greenhouse. Despite the humidity in Central Texas that can sometimes make less than ideal conditions for growing produce, the greenhouse allows greens to grow year-round, even in the shorter winter months when there’s less light.

Chris and Bob worked with a manufacturer to add LED lights to amplify growth time when necessary and counter the effects of UV filters on the greenhouse as needed. Surrounded by lettuce varieties and leafy greens on all sides, Bob says with an eye to the produce, “Yeah … We eat a lot of salads.” Chris laughs and adds, “My mom will text him and say ‘Hey, can you bring home eight heads of lettuce?”

For Chris and Bob, so much of the fun and passion of aquaponics is found in the experimentation. “It’s just so different from regular agriculture. I don’t think anybody has the exact science behind it. Everybody does it a different way because we’re learning,” Bob says.

“We don’t ever, ever pretend to be experts at this. I feel like we’re just floundering our way through this and having more success than failure,” Chris humbly adds, while chuckling at the accidental pun and eyeing the tanks holding approximately 3,600 fish behind him.

Though tilapia is sold on occasion, at Crisp Farms, it’s really about the produce. With offerings that include kale, chard, collards, spinach, bok choy, parsley, basil, oregano, cilantro, mint and other specialty vegetables in addition to the various lettuce varieties, consumers can take heart knowing that what they’re buying is pure Texas produce grown in a way that protects the environment and honors nature’s processes.

Left page: Packaging produce

Left: Final product

Below Left: Grant Richardson

Below Right: Bob and Chris

Left page: The farm

Below Left: Growing area

Top Right: Grant lifts lettuce from water

Below Right: Some of the 3,500 fish

Chris says he loves all their produce, but if he had to choose, he might be slightly partial to the spring mix and the microgreens, which he describes as “babier baby greens.” On average, these greens are 10 to 14 days old when harvested, so they never develop into full-grown plants. In this state, the greens can be described as nothing less than cute, and creative names like “Make it Mighty,” “Amazing Asian” and “Little Italy” on their packaging only make them cuter.

Altogether, the word that comes to mind when looking at this produce is “clean.” Because everything is grown in a greenhouse, the produce doesn’t suffer the harsh effects of the environment. Other than a small root ball at the bottom of the lettuce, the produce is ready to be eaten at the moment of harvest without needing to be washed. No soil or dirt lingers on the leaves. No animals or pests have mingled with it. The produce is nothing but organic and sustainably grown, and it’s harvested on average 24 to 36 hours before being shipped to Central Markets, Whole Foods and Wheatsville Food Co-ops around Texas.

As Crisp Farms continues to expand, their hope is to one day be Texas’ source for organic salad produce — a dream well on its way to becoming a reality.

“It’s just so different from regular agriculture. I don’t think anybody has the exact science behind it."

EDIBLE INK

Beets were used by the ancient Romans as an aphrodisiac. In fact, the nitrates in beets increase blood flow, and they contain high amounts of boron, which aids in the production of human sex hormones.

Sliced pickled beets are often served on burgers in Australia.

Beet leaves were used by Hippocrates to bind and dress wounds.

“The beet is the most intense of vegetables. The radish admittedly, is more feverish, but the fire of the radish is a cold fire, the fire of discontent not of passion. Tomatoes are lusty enough, yet there runs through tomatoes an undercurrent of frivolity. Beets are deadly serious.”

—Tom Robbins, Jitterbug Perfume

Beet juice can be used to determine the acidity or alkalinity of a solution. The juice turns pink in an acid solution, and yellow in an alkaline solution.

Tractor tires are often filled with liquid to increase traction and allow them to pull heavier loads. Beet juice is commonly used, as it weighs about 30% more than water, and resists freezing to about -37ºC.

Beet juice is also added to rock salt for de-icing roads—it can melt to lower temperatures, and its stickiness helps keep the salt on the road.

Bumper beet crop?

Make beet chips!

Thinly slice beets using a mandoline.

Toss with olive oil, place on a non-stick baking sheet, and put in the oven immediately. Bake at 300ºF for about 20 minutes, then reduce to 225ºF and bake for about an hour. Remove from the oven just as they begin to brown to avoid overcooking. Toss with sea salt and serve.

Beets are said to have grown in the Hanging Gardens of Babylon

by Bambi Edlund

Get fresh updates on our work to ensure the future of agriculture includes all Americans.

farmland.org

COME AND SHOP LOCAL

FARMERS MARKET

URBAN HARVEST FARMERS MARKET

Every Saturday; 8:00 am to Noon

2752 Buffalo Speedway

URBAN HARVEST MOBILE MARKET

Visit www.urbanharvest.org for locations

Urban Harvest cultivates thriving communities through gardening and access to healthy, local food. We are improving the lives, soil, and plates of all Houstonians through: the Farmers Market, Organic Gardening & Nutrition Education, Healthy Food Access, and Community Gardens.

Discrimination against marginalized groups in agriculture negatively affects all Americans by limiting the opportunities for farmers, workers, and consumers.

AFT is raising up diverse voices in agriculture, because we believe diversity contributes to a more resilient agricultural system, a stronger economy, and a more equitable society.

CLASSES LEARN MORE

Growing Your Own Cut Flower Garden, Texas Native Plants and eir Indigenous Uses, Forest Gardening and Nutrition Education, Forest Gardening: Care of Trees, and much more.

EVENTS

Dig It Days! March 4 and 25, April 15 and 22, May 13

Pollinator Festival Farmers Market

May 13 from 9:00 am – 11:00 am

Visit urbanharvest.org

At American Farmland Trust, we believe agriculture is strengthened through diversity.