Inside ‘Top Chef’ Star Evelyn Garcia’s First Restaurant in Houston
At Houston’s Jūn, the chefs Evelyn Garcia and Henry Lu are building the sort of restaurant they would want to eat at.
Garcia, the Top Chef fan fave, and Lu both have “very eclectic” backgrounds, Garcia told Robb Report. She grew up in a Hispanic-Salvadorian household in Houston, while Lu’s Chinese-American family put down roots in the Bronx. Both were raised on a diet including a lot of Asian flavors, and they’ve brought that influence into their own cooking, which they call “new Asian American”
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It’s apt in a city like Houston, where “a lot of different flavors and cultures kind of meld together,” Garcia said. “There are some things that just organically happen here in Houston, and they don’t feel forced.”
That’s how Jūn’s menu feels, too. The mishmash of inspirations and ingredients work together seamlessly, throughout small, medium and large plates that are meant to be shared by the table.
Garcia will always order beef tartare when it’s available, and here the meat is tossed in a toasted rice powder aioli, topped with fresh herbs, chili citronette and a sesame buñuelo. “A lot of people ask for me for buñuelos because I made them on the show. So now it’s gonna haunt me forever,” Garcia said with a laugh. “I definitely wanted to do a nod to that, but kind of just showcase it in a different way, and making a savory version instead of a sweet version.”
Jūn’s charred carrots are a particularly meaningful dish to the chef, as the Salvadorian cheese that accompanies the root vegetable comes from her grandparents’ farm in El Salvador. The carrots are tossed in a house-made salsa matcha with sesame, garlic and shallots, and pickled quail eggs give the dish some acidity. Curry was another must-have, and Garcia’s uses Thai techniques and Indian flavors in a version packed with lamb, pickled daikon and pistachio.
Garcia and Lu have decided to forgo hard liquor, opting instead for beer and wine-based cocktails. The Thai One On mixes junmai sake with Thai basil, ginger, cucumber and tonic, and their version of a Michelada includes fish sauce (one of Garcia’s favorite ingredients) and hoisin. The restaurant also has an extensive wine list featuring a number of Mexican wines, which Garcia said she has loved learning about.
As her first full-service restaurant, Jūn is a bit of a departure for Garcia, but she’s hoping that her fans experience it more as an evolution. “We’re trying to pour our soul into it,” she said. “I hope people see that and feel it … It’s just like all the things I’ve been through, and it feels very organic to me in the restaurant. It felt like we were falling into place.”
Click here to see all the images of Jūn.
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