Houston Chronicle

A helping of community, creative freedom at Jūn

- By Bao Ong STAFF WRITER

Any talk of Jūn, one of Houston’s most highly anticipate­d restaurant openings this year, comes in the same breath as Evelyn Garcia. The Houstonian shot to fame as a finalist on “Top Chef” last season and was a bright spot for the local restaurant industry enduring the challenges of a global pandemic.

But as Garcia opened Jūn to the public on Tuesday, the 33-year-old chef made it clear that her co-owner, chef and friend Henry Lu, 35, is an equal. After all, they had plans for the restaurant long before the Bravo reality show came calling.

The pair cooked sideby-side in New York City kitchens but when Lu, a native New Yorker, moved to Houston on a whim during the middle of the pandemic, they began plotting a restaurant project together.

At Jūn, the menu is inspired by their love of Asian cuisine and their families’ cooking. Throw in a healthy dose of ambition and similar working styles, they said, and diners will find a restaurant that reflects both chefs.

“What affects him, affects me,” Garcia said.

“It’s great that she was on ‘Top Chef,’” Lu said. “I’m perfectly fine standing next to her — or behind her.”

Jūn — a nod to June, the birth month of Lu’s sister and Garcia’s mother — is the first restaurant for both chefs.

In 2016, Garcia moved back to Houston after years of toiling in New York City kitchens, including buzzy spots like Jean-Georges Vongericht­en’s Spice Market and Kin Shop, a Thai restaurant by the inaugural “Top Chef” winner Harold Dieterle.

Lu, who grew up helping out at his family’s Chinese American restaurant in the Bronx, went on to cook at respected restaurant­s such as Pearl and Ash and

Llama Inn. He moved to Houston in 2020 and partnered with Garcia to start a catering company called By Kin HTX.

Since Garcia narrowly missed out on winning “Top Chef,” the duo have been growing their business while also throwing pop-ups and events around town. Their cooking, almost exclusivel­y drawn from Asian cultures, was often a preview of things to come.

At Jūn, all 12 dishes on the menu are meant to be shared. They’ve described the overarchin­g theme as “new Asian American.”

“What is ‘American’ or ‘New American’ food?” Lu asks. “It’s what we’re cooking.”

From starters of beef tartare with pops of toasted rice to fried chicken marinated in shrimp paste, many of the recipes show off familial influences.

Garcia said her mother’s al pastor was one of her favorite dishes growing up, and she employs a similar seasoning on a whole branzino dusted with aromatics such as guajillo, cinnamon and clove.

A salmon dish, which incorporat­es oolong tea but is also brightened up with gremolata, is a nod to Lu’s heritage.

But beyond the recipes for a lamb curry or oysters topped with fermented mango, the cooking is meant to come “from a chef ’s perspectiv­e,” Garcia said.

There’s a list of wines and local beers, and cocktails are mostly sake- or soju-based because the restaurant doesn’t have a full liquor license.

Every dish is served on ceramics sourced from a family of potters in Oaxaca, Mexico. The bowls, plates and cups are handmade and thrown on wheels with no electricit­y.

During the pandemic, Garcia and Lu also started making their own ceramics and even took classes at Third Coast Clay in the neighborho­od. They have placed vases in the restaurant made by a favorite teacher and included the work of local artists. The utensils at each table rest on a piece made by Garcia.

“So many people have embraced us in the community,” Garcia said. “We wanted to showcase the same support.”

The duo also wants to give their employees more autonomy than the traditiona­l brigade system prevalent in many kitchens. A monthly wine dinner will feature a menu created by their cooks.

“We’re not trying to create robots here,” Garcia said.

The same sense of community and openness is one of the reasons foodies have embraced Garcia, who drew on Houston’s diverse culinary scene on “Top Chef.”

Opening Jūn hit a road bump just as the chefs found the right space. Real estate negotiatio­ns could have fallen through when Garcia learned she had to leave for two months of “Top Chef ” duty and couldn’t reveal why. She jokes that her ghosting forced Lu to stall the deal at 420 E. 20th in the Heights.

The boxy warehousel­ike space, which used to be a location of the gluten-free popsicle shop Steel City Pops, is filled with natural light.

It seats 65 people and has an industrial feel but is warm with a neutral color palette. There are three distinct areas between a dining room, bar and open kitchen.

Opening a restaurant in Houston versus New York, where Garcia and Lu cooked for nearly a decade, meant they could have more space for Jūn.

“I can twirl in the kitchen and not bump into people,” Lu jokes.

Once the opening for Jūn settles down, they plan to continue showing up at markets in town as well as taking on catering and hosting events, which they did throughout the pandemic.

But for now, the chefs are giving all their energy to Jūn.

“We want people to come in and feel like they’ve been here before,” Lu said.

 ?? Elizabeth Conley/Staff photograph­er ?? Evelyn Garcia, a “Top Chef ” finalist, has opened her first Houston restaurant with chef Henry Lu.
Elizabeth Conley/Staff photograph­er Evelyn Garcia, a “Top Chef ” finalist, has opened her first Houston restaurant with chef Henry Lu.
 ?? Photos by Elizabeth Conley/Staff photograph­er ?? Evelyn Garcia sautés carrots in the kitchen at Jūn, her new restaurant concept described as “new Asian American.”
Photos by Elizabeth Conley/Staff photograph­er Evelyn Garcia sautés carrots in the kitchen at Jūn, her new restaurant concept described as “new Asian American.”
 ?? ?? The bathroom décor at Jūn features many personal pieces from chef Evelyn Garcia’s collection.
The bathroom décor at Jūn features many personal pieces from chef Evelyn Garcia’s collection.
 ?? ?? Carrots with everything salsa matcha, Salvadoria­n cheese and a quail egg is one of the dishes at Jūn.
Carrots with everything salsa matcha, Salvadoria­n cheese and a quail egg is one of the dishes at Jūn.
 ?? ?? The dining area features ceramics sourced from a family of potters in Oaxaca, Mexico.
The dining area features ceramics sourced from a family of potters in Oaxaca, Mexico.

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