Mai's

Mai's
Map
Mai's is located in Texas
Mai's
Location within Texas
Mai's is located in the United States
Mai's
Mai's (the United States)
Restaurant information
Established1978
Owner(s)Anna Pham[1]
Food typeVietnamese
Dress codecasual
Street address3403 Milam Street
CityHouston
CountyHarris
StateTexas
Postal/ZIP Code77002
CountryUnited States
Coordinates29°44′28″N 95°22′48″W / 29.741192°N 95.379959°W / 29.741192; -95.379959
Websitemaishouston.com

Mai's is a Vietnamese restaurant in Houston, Texas that first opened in 1978.

It is located in Midtown.[2]

History

Originally opened in 1978 by Phin and Phac Nguyen,[1] Mai's was the first restaurant in Houston to feature Vietnamese cuisine.[3] The couple named the restaurant after their daughter, who took over the business in 1990.[1] Her name means "golden flower", and this meaning, of significance to the family, along with its relatively simple pronunciation, was a reason for its selection.[4] Mai had a signature dish, a beef stew.[5]

A fire on February 15, 2010 caused most of the roof to collapse.[6] The fire did not cause any injuries reported to authorities.[7]

Authorities determined the incident was caused by a wok that caught fire.[3] The restaurant re-opened on April 16, 2011.[3] The business has since been passed down to Mai's daughter Anna.[1] Phin Nguyen died in 2017.[8]

Anthony Bourdain visited Mai's when he went to Houston in 2015. That year he stated the restaurant gave him "The first great meal and most memorable great meal I had in Houston".[9]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d "The History of Mai's Restaurant". Mai's. Retrieved September 15, 2012.
  2. ^ There are separate boundaries for the Midtown Super Neighborhood and the Midtown Management District. See City of Houston maps: Midtown Super Neighborhood and Management district map. Retrieved on June 4, 2019. - Also see: 2006 Midtown Management District Land Use Map and "SERVICE AND IMPROVEMENT PLAN AND ASSESSMENT PLAN FOR FISCAL YEARS 2015-2024." Midtown Houston Management District. Retrieved on April 4, 2009. Map on page 25/25 of the PDF.
  3. ^ a b c Abrahams, Tom (April 18, 2011). "Mai's re-opens a year after devastating fire". KTRK-TV. Archived from the original on April 19, 2011.
  4. ^ Roth, Hope (2017-09-21). "Little Saigon (Houston, Texas)". In Ueda, Reed (ed.). Content from America's Changing Neighborhoods: An Exploration of Diversity through Places (3 volumes). ABC-CLIO. pp. 770–772. ISBN 9781440828652. - Previews of book pages CITED: p. 771.
  5. ^ Morago, Greg (2011-05-01). "Mai's is better than ever". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2022-06-12.
  6. ^ Glenn, Mike (February 15, 2010). "Popular Midtown restaurant Mai's catches fire". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved September 15, 2012.
  7. ^ "Two-alarm restaurant fire blamed on wok cooking". KTRK-TV. 2010-02-15. Archived from the original on 17 February 2010. Retrieved 2022-06-12.
  8. ^ Alfonso, Fernando III (2017-08-07). "Phin Nguyen, founder of Mai's Restaurant, has died". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2022-06-12.
  9. ^ Bishop, Amy (2015-11-05). "Anthony Bourdain On Food, Art, And His Favorite Place To Eat In The Bayou City". Houston Public Media. Retrieved 2022-06-12. - Audio file
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