The Modular Trailer

Just wondering how this is American food when half the cuisine they make is not American…

Quick service. Soggy fries. Way too salty. No seasonings used except dry Tony’s on top of EVERYTHING.

loved it!!!

We tried the boar hotdog, wontons and egg rolls. The boar dawg was one of the best we’ve ever had. Absolutely delicious! The rest wasn’t bad either.
Their menu changes regularly, so hubby didn’t get his sprouts, but we will be tracking this truck down again so we can explore their menu further for sure!

I’m pretty sure they got their frozen gyoza and veggie spring rolls from HEB. For the price and the drive, so not worth it. If you’re going to just fry up shit and make me pay $ 6 a serving, at least serve me up like 40 pizza rolls. From the various reviews I’ve seen on Unilocal and Houston Press I was expecting some badass salmon collar, shrimp and grits… Something better than what I got.

Obscenely overpriced. Really not that good. Had some deep fried, microscopic dumplings for six bucks. Never ever ever again.

Tasty offerings. A bit of a wait, but very fresh and worth the wait.
I found this food truck at the downtown Farmers Market. The shrimp tempura sandwich was delicious. The hoagie roll was thick and not too dry. The tempura was cooked just right and blended well with the spicy mayo. I would order the sandwich again.
We ordered the Brussels sprouts and waffle fries along with the sandwich. The sprouts were cooked the way I do at home (although I brush the quartered sprouts with oil and bake them). The one thing that was different is that golden raisins were fried with the sprouts and resulted in another great taste blend. Recommended.
When we received the waffle fries, they did not have much of the advertised «Japanese 5 spices» on them. We walked back and asked to have more of the spices added to the order, which was quickly done without fuss. Good spice, I will remember to order the fries spicy next time.
The only down side was that The Modular ran out of napkins and we had to wait about 15 minutes for the food. I stole some napkins later from my coworker. As far as the wait goes, only four items were on the menu, so I would think the food should arrive a bit quicker.
I would really like to try a lobster dish from this place, although lobster was not in the menu the day I ate there. Will look for it in the future.

The shrimp tempura were cooked perfectly. The spicy mayo was delicious and applied with a delicate hand. The veggies were fresh. Only complaint was the bolillo wasn’t as good as I could buy at HEB, much less what I could buy on airline.
Consistently one of the best food trucks in town.

This was the first time I’ve seen this truck, but the brussel sprouts were so amazing that I cannot wait to leave a review. Seriously. I know brussel sprouts are a new fad, but these were some of my favorites so far.
I caught the truck at the end of the HTX street fest, so they were out of a few items on their menu (like 2 fun sounding hot dogs that I probably would have also gotten), but I saw the «Hustle Sprouts» and knew that was what I needed! Described as flash fried sprouts, with golden raisins. For $ 6 I got a large plate of hot sprouts with almost no wait (so they def got a star added for that!)
I will say that they were a little oily at the end, though I did enjoy the marinade. I saw some other patrons had ordered the burger, and it didn’t look too spectacular to me.
Overall… I thoroughly enjoyed my Hustle Sprouts and hope to see this truck around again!

Just called Josh. Is presently Goro and Gun on Main st. He said that they are bringing back the food truck, probably in the middle of November. He also said the Grape St. Address is his Parents’ address! Unilocal somehow got that address in there wrong. The pork ramen is wonderful! Lived in Japan five years. Can get this wonderful food (without the added radiation!) here. Thanks guys!

The Modular is arguably the best and (self-​proclaimed) ugliest food truck in Houston. I had been trying to hold off writing this review until I got a bite of their «vaunted» lobster and risotto (
), but I haven’t seen that pop up on their menu at all recently. It may be time to give up all hope.
I will say that the caveman bone marrow, also highlighted in that linked article from Phaedra Cook of the Houston Press, is absurdly good. First of all, it’s huge; the word caveman doesn’t do it justice. Second, it’s delicious, coming perfectly seasoned with a salt-​pepper «crust» and a buttery marrow that spreads like something divine. As far as drunk food goes, you could do far worse.
My latest venture to The Modular was to try their lobster roll. I had been jonesing for a lobster roll for about a year – seriously, how hard is it to get a good one in Houston? While The Modular’s filling was good, I felt it was light for the price. The bolillo bun, while a nice shoutout to Mexi-​Houston, was too firm for my liking as well.
Despite my (relative) disappointment with the lobster roll, I was blown away by the crispy poke tacos we ordered along with it. Those suckers, «wrapped» in a fried wonton wrapper, are nothing short of perfect. The sashimi is perfectly seasoned, and Asian-​inspired dressing (soy sauce, sesame oil, wasabi mayo) is the cherry on top.
Likewise for their soft shell crab sandwiches, which when we got it, came with a delightful bright green relish, a la a Chicago-​style hot dog. At The Modular, perfect accompaniments are just as important as fresh, local ingredients.
The best way to describe their food is possibly «Gulf Asian.» To note, their chef, Joshua Martinez, came from Kata Robata. Just saying that, or even the Unilocal-​tagged «American (New)», is probably selling these guys short. It’s just dang good food.
They post up in various places, sticking mostly to The Heights and occasionally Montrose. Twitter is the optimal tracking method (
). Oh, these guys are also the brainchild behind the rotating food truck chef extravaganza at Grand Prize Bar. So they got that going for us, Houston. Which is nice.

Hi Chris C.
This event has gotten so big in the past few years so I was excited about checking it out. It’s now the August «First Saturday Arts Market in the Heights,» moved to the evening to avoid the daytime heat. Many of the local businesses, restaurants, and bars open up, hang up some white clothing, and put on some music for the masses. Maybe it was obvious, but I didn’t realize there’s a dress code! There was a sea of people in white attire around the Heights. Granted, no one will kick you out if you’re not matchy-​matchy, but it was a sight to behold.
My partner and I happened to run into family walking along Studemont as were heading down to White Oak. They are now with young children so they were heading north towards 11^th. We opted to head down to White Oak, being the young and childless. I think the Yale/​19^th and 11^th St areas had more family-​friendly activities e.g. arts and fashion shows. We wanted to check out the bands and bars.
We walked from Fitzgerald’s down to Onion Creek. There were lots of people, few food trucks parked about, and nearly every bar or restaurant had some kind of live entertainment going. We parked ourselves at the stage in front of Public House where a zydeco band played for quite a lengthy set. There was another stage further down with performance art and dance. OC had a singer-​songwriter musician. Bombay Sapphire ladies in blue gave away drink tickets and were set up all over the place promoting a gin-​cranberry-​ginger ale cocktail. Most establishments had some drink or food specials as well. I stuck to my free drink and enjoyed the zydeco music. What can I say? I’m a cheap date.
There were plenty of pedi-​cabs, a shuttle, and some people on one of those multiperson-​bike-​booze-​carts to get around the neighborhood if you want to check out all the sites. Overall, fun, free entertainment, great people-​watching, nice local flavor.

Despite the heat (can we not do this in October some year??) this was a fun night, in fact we think the event (at least along 19^th St.) was better than last year, although we would have preferred they block more of 19^th off. Seemed to leave out many of the western-​end businesses on the 19^th St. strip, and it compressed the crowd into a smaller area.
Great bands, especially the one inside the M Gallery (complete with very cool light show and surrounded by interesting artwork (in many types of media)). Enjoyed a few of the bands on the street too, and quite an interesting variety. Boomtown coffee had quite a jam going inside.
The art market stalls, along with the interesting stores along the street opening their doors made for a fine time of hunting and gathering for good deals and interesting pieces. Hard to get bored when there’s another shop or another band to witness, as well as some interesting slices of Houston life on display. Note to some: white linen is, umm, slightly transparent.
I’m not complaining, this is a great event, but here are a few suggestions for next year:
1) I can’t figure out why they don’t coordinate spacing and volume; a few of the quieter bands got completely drowned out by neighboring music, and sometimes it turned into a cacophony of competing sound.
2) Making the event mostly BYOB does not cut down on consumption; the number of people burdened with heavy coolers filled with booze saw to that. I would prefer a big area be turned in a beer garden (with bands) with some restriction on consumption in the street area; this would perhaps balance out the desires of families and revelers alike.
Looking forward to next year.

Caught this at the Petrol Station when it was serving wild boar, soft shell crab and Copper River salmon collars.
These guy put together a killer soft shell crab sandwich with what tasted like a roast ancho chile sauce on a fresh Mexican style dinner roll. I would have pulled some of the bread out and stuffed it bit better, but it was fresh and tasty.
I went back for the salmon collar and was pleasantly surprised at the quality, although as with most trailer food, it was a little on the salty side for me. The green onions set off the salmon and its sweet, almost teriyaki sauce, perfectly. It came on a bed of lukewarm and very dull rice, the reason for the lost star I suppose.
Friendly guys, knowledgeable and turning out some interesting food.
Lots of people made good noises around me if they were eating, or asked questions about the food if they weren’t.
I hope they had a killer night.

Randomly decided to attend this event after several friends called me from this event. I met them out in the middle of the multi-​block party filled with people that wouldn’t normally be hanging out in the heights. You could tell because they were looking for a bar to go to but little do they know there aren’t any bars in that part of town (19^th & Ashland).
Barriers blocked off the major portions of the event. There were some great bands playing at every block, city council candidates soliciting votes, really cool classic cars decked out in campaign material and some enterprising guys selling beer out of their cooler. All of that while people have a good reason to wear white linen in the city! What I found funny were the tent that had fastened mist fans… not a ladies friend when she is wearing white linen… but hey, a guy can hope that she doesn’t notice right? Before we left that block we saw an Elvis impersonator. Or was it Elvis?
Bounced around for a bit. Shade was completely packed as it was probably the few places that could sell beer and wine. We ended up at BB’s in the Heights. Again there was a live band and lots of people having a grand old time. Friends grabbed a big table and I made my way to the bar. The line was long so I ordered 12 Lone Stars and bartender gave it to me in a box.
BYOB to an event like this is cool…

Wow for being new to the street they serve some pretty darn good food! Since they have such a short menu I ordered one of everything to share with the bf. Portion size are pretty small, if I wasn’t drinking a beer along with my meal I would probably still be hungry.
The chicken was really moist and flavorful, I liked the peanuts that went with it.
The tuna tacos were not bad although I wished it had more sauce.
shrimp and grits — grits were creamy and almost melted in your mouth
pork belly — bf said it was good
One thing they can work on though is being a little more friendly.

Quite tasty and very nice presentation. Tried all 4 of their menu items, they are currently making till they are more consistent with other items to be added to the menu in the future.
Crispy Tuna Poke Tacos $ 6 = very good
That Chicken got Thighs $ 5 = alright
Pork Belly Up $ 5 = very good
Shrip & Grits $ = very good
Very light and tasty, I’m not sure if I stomach can be fully satisfied, not enough food for me. My bf and I shared all four, and we were both still hungry, had to find dessert.

I think The Modular Trailer wins for lowest cost food truck — no digital displays, photo booths or extravagant exterior paint jobs. Their menu is actually just a piece of paper taped to the side of the trailer — probably, because the change the menu for highlighted items like duck wings. I have no problem with that! I have had the chance to try almost every current menu item and I must say, the food is very solid. Here are the highlights:
Sous vide pork belly with apples, pickled onions resting on a bed of short grain rice — probably the best pork belly I have had in the city. The apples and the pickled onions were a nice compliment. The rice was slightly al dente for my liking, but they are fairly new and I am going to give them the benefit of the doubt.
Poke Tacos — my first reaction was three tacos that were not at all skimpy on the tuna. The taco shell itself was just ok, but all in all a very good dish.
Shrimp and Grits — I will first say, the grits were done well — very creamy and had a great butter flavor. The shrimp were so-​so. A nice spice, but they seemed a little overcooked. Again, they are new, so I will try this dish for a second time.
Chicken Thighs — I really liked the chicken as well as the sauce (good teriyaki sweetness). It is served over a bed of short grain rice.
They did not have the duck wings on both of my visits, but they sound very interesting.
One other note — all of their menu items are between $ 5 – 6 and the portion size is ample. This is a pretty good deal compared to their competition.
The Modular Trailer really impressed me. I will be back and I want duck wings!

I am a pig. I have had just about everything on the menu minus the duck wings. Yes. DUCK. WINGS. How awesome does that sound? (They just are never on the menu when I’m outs and abouts).
The Pork Belly is by far the best. Sous vide for 48 hours… I mean who doesn’t want their pork belly cooked in a water bath? Served with slices of apple and rice… my only complaint was that the rice wasn’t completely cooked in all the areas. But the pork belly made up for it for sure. $ 5 well spent.
Poke tuna tacos — 3 for $ 6. Great deal. And pretty darn good. But OMG, just thinking about the pork belly makes my mouth water.
Scrimp and gritz? Southern must. The scrimpies were nicely seasoned although slightly overcooked. Gritz were definitely ON. POINT! Also $ 6.
Chicken teriyaki was also delicious — dark meat chicken with pickles over a bed of rice.
I think this newbie on the block is definitely going to work it’s way up. I’m impressed so far with the general concept and the items they have put out being on the mean streats with just two weeks under their belt.
I’ll be back!

It was a night of white linen and heat!
My first trip to this event was just okay.
My daughter and I got there with enough time to get to some of the events, like the fashion show!
That was our main POI!
That was fun and we loved just about all the styles that were put together!
Now I have never, honestly, never been to any of those shops or even that area before… as long as i have lived in Houston.
It was very surprising to see so many shops like that. almost reminds me of small towns and the main street you would go shopping on. Very cool.
For this event a lot of the stores are open for you to shop and even offer some good discounts. We were not so lucky in finding anything, but I may have to come to the area again to peruse the stock.
They had a lot of vendors out for all different kinds of companies and charities. I didn’t get to shop much as my child was a little bored and her feet were killing her.
We ended the night by waiting in line for about 20 – 30 minutes for a snow cone. from the «What’s Up Cupcake» trailer… pretty good. I had a strawberry cheesecake one and she had a ice cream one.
I would like to go back again, maybe with friends… but that heat is just such a turn off… can we move this even to like October maybe. lol