Restaurant Review: Bam Bam, Vietnamese Cajun At Houston Bush Airport (IAH)

people walking in a terminal

Airport food is a mixed bag at best.  There are plenty of really bad options.  Lately, there are many new options that LOOK good but really aren’t anything special.  With a longer than normal layover in Houston (at IAH), I figured I’d test out one of those newer options to see if the food quality matched the look.

OTG is a big operator of airport concessions.  A number of my fellow frequent travelers don’t like their offerings.  I’ve had both good experiences and bad.  I actually had the opportunity to walk through the new C terminal OTG offerings before they even opened, getting an unexpected tour from an OTG executive.  I was curious to see if the food matched the look.

people walking in a terminal

One of the most interesting options was Bam-Bam, a Vietnamese Cajun concept.  When I think of Vietnamese and Cajun, it’s not really a “peanut butter and chocolate” kind of marriage for me.  When I approached the restaurant to look at the menu, I noticed a small grab and go area in front.  It featured a few things you might find on Bourbon Street along with normal offerings like bottled water.

a store with a neon sign

The menu looked appealing.  I was looking forward to trying the wonton egg drop soup.  The OTG concept is one where you select your own seat.  The counters might be a bit of an awkward spot if everything is fill.  They remind me a bit of the lunch counter at the Oyster Bar in Grand Central Station.  There’s an iPad at every seat to place your order.  Unless you have a question, you won’t see a server until they start bringing your food.  It turns out I would have a question pretty quickly.

a menu board with white text

a group of people in a restaurant

people sitting at tables in a restaurant

The first thing the app asks is to scan your boarding pass.  I assume this is so they can make sure you have enough time to dine.  I had plenty of time, and don’t love dumping personal information on random devices (call me crazy), so I chose the “Skip” option below.

a screen shot of a computer

The menu flow was intuitive and I was quickly able to walk through the different categories.  I just couldn’t find that soup.  I hit the help button and a server was there in less than a minute.  She told me the soup had been removed from the menu but they just couldn’t figure out how to remove it from the digital sign board.  Bummer.

a screen shot of a food

a screen shot of a menu

 

I settled on a bowl of gumbo and crawfish fried rice.  I didn’t specifically avoid the hardcore Vietnamese items on the menu.  But, I really do love a good bowl of gumbo.  The combination of crawfish and fried rice sounded really good as well.  I was super psyched they had Badoit, my favorite sparkling water.  I rounded that out with a Coke (not a Pepsi).

As you can see from the menu pictures, OTG will give you the option to pay with a credit card or United miles.  Please, whatever you do, DON’T choose this option.  You’re getting less than a penny a point in “value” when you do.  The only situation where I can see this remotely making sense is if you have only a few thousand miles in your account and really don’t intend on flying United again any time in the future.  Even then, I still might just tell you to fly more!

a menu on a tablet

a screen shot of a checkout

The bowl of gumbo came out first.  From the time I ordered until the time it hit the table was less than 10 minutes.  It might have been less than 5 minutes.  The bowl was piping hot!  I love that for food, but even more specifically for soup/gumbo.  I almost burned my mouth.  And, it was a pretty darn good bowl of gumbo.  I’m not saying it’s “grungy, back alley restaurant in New Orleans” good.  But, I’d absolutely order it again.

a bowl of soup with a spoon

The crawfish fried rice came out next, just a few minutes later.  The temperature on it wasn’t quite where I would have liked it.  The flavor of the dish was quite good, though.  The portion was sizable.  It was a good dish.  I’d probably order it again, but I’d make a note about the temperature.

a plate of rice and vegetables on a table

Interestingly, a few minutes after my food arrived the iPad flashed up a message.  I’ll give them credit for leveraging the tech for upselling.

a tablet with a screen on it

The Final Two Pennies

I was pleasantly surprised with the entire experience.  The food was good, I might even give the gumbo an “excellent”.  If I had been in a hurry, I could have been out in 30 minutes.  The service was attentive as well.  The server who brought me my gumbo immediately noticed I didn’t have my bottle of Badoit and ran to get it for me.

The prices were on the high end of reasonable.  I get why they add tip at the beginning, but I don’t think it does justice for the server or the customers.  Dollar for dollar, there are probably better values in the airport.  But, I really think you should give Bam Bam a try.  You won’t be disappointed.

The post Restaurant Review: Bam Bam, Vietnamese Cajun At Houston Bush Airport was published first on Pizza in Motion

4 Comments

  1. One thing you might be missing out for not scanning your boarding pass is potential surprise and delight – at EWR, they randomly comp appetizers or the entire meal, or 20% off at selected restaurants if you have a MileagePlus credit card.

  2. Sounds great, thanks for posting. I haven’t been in the IAH airport in a couple of years but I’ve always found food to be good, usually eating at another famous Houston based Cajun place but I will definitely try this place. Wow!

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