Bare Bowls Kitchen

Currently at the University of Houston, University Center

I really like Chef James Ashley’s philosophy on his truck: simple, local, farm fresh.  There’s more on the website but what caught my attention was the explanation of simple:  "Simple ingredients, simply prepared, enhanced by natural herbs and spices we make ourselves."  So much of what I encounter these days is overwrought, too much emphasis on the sizzle rather than the steak, for my taste, and I really looked forward to trying the fare on the Bare Bowls truck.

I caught up with them at the MFA,H, a great place to catch some of Houston’s finest food trucks every day for lunch.  I had my taste buds set on The Moroccan listed on the online menu but it wasn’t available that day so I opted for the Texan Vegan because I do love my veggies: mushrooms, heirloom tomatoes, spinach, summer squash and zucchini on a bed of plump, golden lentils.   I was not disappointed.  The bowl (biodegradable) was brimming with flavorful veggies, nicely seasoned, perfectly crisp/tender.  My only disappointment was that all the seasoning was toward the top and by the time I got down toward the bottom, it was pretty much unseasoned lentils and nothing else and rather boring.  I’ll have to remember to stir next time before digging in, I guess. 

I’ll be looking forward to more visits but that will be a problem for quite some time to come.  Bare Bowls has signed up to fill in at the University of Houston for lunch service while the University Center is undergoing remodeling.  Some very bright mind at UH arranged for several of Houston’s food trucks to make daily appearances on campus in the interim which is all well and fine for students, of course, but not such good news for the rest of us.  I’ll just have to bide my time I guess.

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