"Celebrity chef Nikki Tran has been featured on two Netflix shows recently, Ugly Delicious and Somebody Feed Phil, and is best known for her efforts to bring “Viejun” (Vietnamese Cajun) cuisine to the forefront of public consciousness. (Houston is home to the largest population of Vietnamese people in the USA outside of California, and the diaspora has created its own unique genre of dishes.) Tran’s restaurant, Kâu Ba Kitchen (pronounced “cow-bah”), is located in Houston’s swanky Montrose neighborhood and is a testament to Tran’s own Vietnamese and Texan roots. At Kau Ba, diners can expect inventive cocktails like the paloma-inspired Pho Loma, which is served in a bowl with vermicelli bean noodles, and the colorful #LycheeGang, a vodka-based drink infused with lychee and elderflower extract. Don’t miss out on Tran’s street egg rolls, stuffed with taro, pork, greens, and pickles, or the combination pho, with just the right balance of savory goodness and fragrant aromatics." - Mae Hamilton