3 MEALS TO TRY 1 Brisket & Rice ($13 per half- pound) is sliced brisket served over white rice. 2 BBQ Fried Rice ($14.75) consists of brisket, sausage, eggs and onions wok fried in rice. 3 Pork Ribs ($9.75 per half- pound) comes with a side of pickles, onions and jalapenos.
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ETHAN PHAM COMMUNITY IMPACT
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DINING FEATURE
Brisket & Rice opened in spring 2022 o FM 529 in Cy-Fair. The family- owned eatery serves barbecue dishes in uenced by their Asian heritage.
ETHAN PHAM COMMUNITY IMPACT
Brisket & Rice Local eatery brings unique menu to Cy-Fair’s barbecue scene B risket & Rice co-owner Hong Tran decided to make brisket the main focus of his family’s restaurant for one reason: Every- BY DAVE MANNING
Brisket & Rice.’ ... I’m just [going to] do it,” he said. In addition to the brisket and rice dish, Tran said the barbecue fried rice—cubed brisket, sausage, eggs and onions fried in a wok—is a popular item. Tran said the family decided to grind meat in-house to make their own sausage by hand rather than getting it from a vendor as a lot of their competitors do. “I think we got a pretty good sausage. We do a beef and pork house sausage, and we do a beef jalapeno sausage. It’s about a two-day process,” he said. Tran maintains his “day job” working in part- time production for the energy industry, and he said opening a restaurant with no experience was “probably the toughest thing” he has ever done. “It was March 17. I remember that date specif- ically because ... [we] never did a dry run. So we just opened, and then we didn’t even have change in our register, and people were lined out the door waiting,” he said. Along with his wife, Michelle, and Phong, they opened the restaurant in a space that was once a Church’s Chicken inside of a Phillips 66 gas station. “I love the fact that everybody can come; we’re not secluded somewhere in a rich area. Because they are all di erent kinds of work and lifestyles ... but they’re here together,” Tran said.
ETHAN PHAM COMMUNITY IMPACT
one loves to eat it, but they do not have the time to make it. In Texas, every barbecue joint is judged by just how well they do their brisket, he said. “Because brisket, I think, is very critiqued, ... especially here in Texas. It’s very hard to make good brisket that people like because there are a lot of barbecue restaurants around, and everybody has their particular spot,” Tran said. Tran, who grew up in Brenham, said smoking meat is a way of life there. The smell of slow- smoked barbecue harmonizes with the old-school blues music that is always playing, making for an authentic Texas barbecue joint experience, he said. Hong and his brother Phong were brisket enthusi- asts long before they ever thought about opening a restaurant. Tran said his mother cooked meat and rice to serve together when he was growing up, so he thought it was a great restaurant concept. The eatery serves meats by the pound and traditional sides, but the Asian in uence sets them apart. “When I told people we were gonna call it Brisket & Rice, they said, ‘No, you can’t. It has to be something barbecue.’ And I’m like, ‘No, I like
From left: Phong and Hong Tran are two of the owners of Brisket & Rice. DAVE MANNING COMMUNITY IMPACT
Brisket & Rice 13111 FM 529, Houston 713-936-9575 www.brisketnrice.com Hours: Wed.-Sun. 11 a.m.- 7 p.m. (or until sold out), closed Mon.-Tue.
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CYPRESS EDITION • JUNE 2023
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