DINING FEATURE Vietwich Vietnamese fare meets modern air at Sta ord banh mi restaurant I t was April 20, 2019, when Viet Tran opened Vietwich, his rst brick-and-mortar Vietnamese
BY HUNTER MARROW
to television network NBC for “Amer- ica’s Next Great Restaurant,” its new cooking reality show. The young chef complied and was selected as one of 20 contestants on the show. Though Viet was eliminated from contention in the rst show alongside nine other contestants, that experience solidi ed the desire to open his own restaurant, Viet said. “From that point on, even though I didn’t make it, that experience cemented to me that I was going to go
Viet Tran rst opened his Vietnamese-focused restaurant, Vietwich, in 2019. (Photos by Hunter Marrow/Community Impact Newspaper)
banh mi restaurant. The opening marked a decadelong journey for the restauranteur, whose passion for cooking began at an early age from the in uence of his mother, Van Tran, and grandmother, Sau Tran, he said. “My mom, being the oldest, was like a second mom to the family,” Viet said. “Everyone goes to her house to eat. I
A TIMELINE OF SUCCESS Vietwich owner Viet Tran gained recognition early in his cooking career through YouTube, a cooking reality TV show and in his subsequent restaurant.
2010: Viet is featured on NBC’s “America’s Next Great Restaurant.” 2009: Viet starts a Vietnamese cooking show called TranCanCook on Youtube.
Vietwich Classic Pork ($6.99) includes banh mi with lemongrass grilled pork.
started to think, ‘It would be a shame if nobody was able to pass it down.’ So I wanted to make sure I knew how to cook.” Viet had looked to create a cookbook to pass along those family recipes, but in 2009 quickly shifted the idea over to using
forward with open- ing a restaurant,” he said. “I felt there was a unique niche in the market that needed to be lled.” By 2015, Viet had opened his rst brick-and-mortar location under the same name in a Valero gas station
"IT’S REFRESHING TO BE NOT SO AUTHENTIC BECAUSE WHILE CUSTOMERS WANT SOME NEW THINGS, THEY ALSO WANT THE SAME ELEMENTS.” VIET TRAN, VIETWICH OWNER
2015: Viet opens a small restaurant in a gas station for Friday and Saturday lunches.
April 2019: Viet opens Vietwich in the Sta ord area.
Enoki Tofu Banh Mi ($7.50) includes fried tofu glazed with a vegetarian oyster sauce and enoki mushrooms.
the internet as a platform and the relatively new online video sharing and social media platform, YouTube, which was founded in 2005. YouTube served as the site for Viet to create his online Vietnamese cooking show called TranCanCook. “I saw a couple of people do well on YouTube and blow up in popularity, and so I thought, ‘You know what, I need a certain niche,’ and that tied up nicely with the idea for the cookbook,” Viet said. In 2010, Viet’s YouTube subscribers recommended the chef pitch a video
on West Airport Boulevard, serving Friday and Saturday lunches. In 2019, he opened the current location on Dulles Avenue in the Sugar Land/ Sta ord area. Vietwich o ers a modern take on banh mi, made distinctive through no-frills sandwiches featuring house- made mayo, pate, pickled carrots and lemongrass marinated meats in a toasted French baguette, Viet said. “It’s refreshing to be not so authen- tic because while [customers] want some new things, they also want the same elements,” Viet said.
Vietwich 203 Dulles Ave., Ste. 100, Sta ord 832-539-1642 www.vietwich.co Hours: Mon.-Sat. 11 a.m.-7 p.m., closed Sun.
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Hawaiian Sunset ($5.99) has passion fruit, guava, hibiscus tea, butter y pea tea and aloe vera jelly.
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SUGAR LAND MISSOURI CITY EDITION • JUNE 2022
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