New Burger Spot Opens in Houston’s POST Food Hall — Johnny Good Burger Takes Over a Shuttered Austin Import’s Space

While we technically didn’t invent the hamburger — sandwiching a ground beef patty with some sauce, perhaps a slice of cheese, lettuce and tomato between two halves of a bun — there is no disputing the fact that Americans perfected it. Now Paul Qui, the chef consultant hired to oversee the curation of the restaurant scene at the still new POST Market food hall in the former Barbara Jordan Post Office building, is giving Houston his take on the mighty burger.

The James Beard Award-winning chef (and a winner of Bravo’s Top Chef cooking competition) along with business partner Johnny Hoang of FAM Hospitality have just opened Johnny Good Burger. It takes over the food hall space that used to be home to Austin import Salt & Time and its The Butcher’s Burger offshoot, which both closed.

“After careful consideration, both teams agreed that the Salt and Time concept was not a good fit for the market hall at this time,” POST general manager Janice Gorman says. “While we would have loved to have the thriving Butcher’s Burger restaurant continue to operate at POST, its ownership determined that was not an option.

“As a result, both parties agreed to cancel the license agreement.”

Slipping into their vacated space, Johnny Good Burger’s brief but thoughtful beef-centric menu features four burgers. The classic All-American ($8) is a 3.2-ounce patty topped with a slice of American cheese, onions, pickles and Johnny’s special sauce on a toasted bun. Or double it up for two dollars more and feast on the Double Double burger ($10).

The Frisco ($9) is a San Francisco-inspired hamburger (read: it’s wrapped in sourdough), layered with Johnny’s secret Frisco sauce, caramelized onions, and both melted American and Swiss cheeses. Lastly, the Beyond Mushroom Swiss ($12) is for those who desire the taste-alike quality of real beef. But it is vegetarian approved and finished with an umami punch of mushroom ketchup.

You can create a combo with fries and a fountain drink for $5 more. There are also fried pickles with buttermilk ranch for dipping for $8 and Frito Pie for $6. That means crunchy corn chips piled with chile con carne, pickled red onions, queso fresco, and a dollop of crème fraiche. And what would a burger be without a milkshake ($8) beside it? You can even top your strawberry, vanilla, chocolate, or raspberry cheesecake shake with toppings like Snickers, Reese’s Pieces, cereal and even gummy worms.

Johnny Good Burger, The POST, 401 Franklin Street