J.A.M Viet Kitchen & Bar

My uncle took me out for lunch at J.A.M viet kitchen in Houston. I got their bò né which is Vietnamese style steak and eggs. It comes with skirt steak, eggs, pate and butter, bread, Vietnamese ham, chinese sausage, corn, tomato sauce, and a side salad. The steak was very tender. I like to put pate, butter, and soy sauce on my bread, dunk it in the egg and sauce, and add a piece of steak on top like the fatty I am. The Chinese sausage was smoky and tasty as well. The salad has a vinegary sauce that helps balance all the meat. They also gave us complimentary shrimp chips when we walked in and I used them in place of the bread when I ran out. A little on the pricy side but a hefty amount of food

In a city saturated with Vietnamese eateries, J.A.M. (#1) has attempted to separate itself by offering a modern and contemporary take on arguably the city's most popular cuisine. Saigon born Chef / owner Jimmy Nguyen's is largely self-taught but has managed to become a rising star in these parts, where the competition is undoubtedly fierce. In a very weird way, the place reminds me of other modern Viet places I've seen in New York. It has all the trendy vibe dining feels that Houston has become synonymous with; like a pseudo date friendly Vietnamese establishment which doesn't sound like the usual thing. The prices match the vibe, and they even have a full-on cocktail program with a bar to boot. It's not the largest restaurant, but it definitely has the ambiance of a place I would enjoy spending lots of time in. The difference between JAM and the places I've seen back home boils down to the food. It is worlds apart in terms of how good it is. Their banh trung nuong is really a classic fish that has been dubbed as a "Vietnamese pizza" and I'm not mad at it. I was half laughing at the idea of pad thai (#2) and garlic noodles, but having bad both I was pretty surprised at how tasty they were. The nui xao (Vietnamese macaroni?) and banh mi were also on point, and I was very impressed with the pho. The meat was also very tender and the broth was on point. The areas that shined the most were the service. I've been here with large groups and they were able to accommodate, and my smaller group encounters have been just as outstanding. The wait staff is professional and very customer service oriented. At the end of the day, the people that make this run as well as the people who cook the food make it one of the most ideal places in the Westchase area. At the end of the day, it's easy to sleep on a place like J.A.M. The higher prices alienate and give a bit of a false impression to Viet purists, while also trying to maintain an identity that challenges the notion that many other places have failed to successfully capture. Perhaps there's more to the acronym after all, because I think they really are having quite "the moment." ____________ (#1) "Just Another Moment" (#2) Let us not forget there's also orange chicken as well.

This place has been on my bookmarks for a long time so i was thrilled to finally stop by c: The service was super friendly and the restaurant was very clean and well decorated! We tried their banh bot chien, bo ne and pho and they were all pretty good! My favorite was the banh bot chien - the pieces of rice cakes were crispy and chewy and rlly yum! The bo ne portion was really large so def good for sharing. We also tried their egg coffee and viet coffee and both were good! I would come by next time to try their drinks as they had a pretty nice drink menu!

Yummy food! Tried the beef pho, seafood eggroll, and pad thai tofu with lychee tea. Will have to go again and try out more items...especially their huge cocktail menu.

Food was fresh and delicious! Entree portions are pretty large and filling. I got the crab udon dish and WOW! It had crab meat, crab claws, and a fried soft shell crab. Udon is not traditional but the clear udon which I prefer. Broth was hearty and flavorful. Saigon oi (broken rice dish) probably the best I've ever had. Most broken rice dishes are very basic but this is more elevated. Bigger portions and flavorful. Highly rec giving this place a try. So much to try on the menu.