When E’leece Miner moved from Los Angeles to The Woodlands in 2016 to be with her fiance, Josh Lorey, she said she had trouble finding a farm-to-table concept that boasted dishes made with sustainably sourced, local ingredients. To fill this void, Miner and Lorey said they decided to take matters into their own hands with the help of executive chef Lance Kramer. “We looked for a location for probably a year before we actually found one,” Miner said. “We chose Sawdust Road because we saw a void in the market here—it’s a big lunch spot with a lot of businesses and mostly fast food options. So we saw an opportunity and jumped on it.” The couple opened Herb & Beet on Sawdust Road on June 22. The new concept puts a healthy twist on Southern comfort staples like brisket and macaroni and cheese, by using as many locally sourced ingredients as possible, Miner said. “Our idea of healthy is knowing where something came from and being sustainably sourced,” Kramer said. “We do have brisket mac ‘n’ cheese, but you can also get a kale and quinoa salad here. But you’ll know where your meat came from, and you’ll know it’s responsibly sourced. Those are the most important things to us.” Lorey said the restaurant partners with a variety of Texas-based businesses to ensure it serves the freshest ingredients possible. Herb & Beet receives fresh produce daily from Spring-based Atkinson Farms and meat from 44 Farms, located in Cameron, Texas, he said. The restaurant offers Texas Greens, which are all chef-created salads with a variety of protein options, from grilled flank steak and Texas brisket to quinoa and smoked jackfruit as well as House Greens, which are the eatery’s selection of simpler salads that patrons can modify with protein if they choose. In addition to salads, the restaurant also boats a variety of seasonal soups, sides and appetizers as well as a customizable sandwich option and the Lone Star Plate, which patrons can customize with their choice of protein types and two sides. “You can pretty much modify anything here into being a vegetarian or vegan dish,” Miner said. “I’m a vegetarian, myself, so I like choosing the vegetables as my protein. If you wanted the steak salad but with veggies, you can just substitute steak for the veggies. So you can switch up a lot of things on our menu to kind of cater to everybody’s dietary need, which is nice.” To complement the made-from-scratch dishes, the eatery also offers housemade teas and lemonades, such as the unsweetened rosemary mint lemonade. Herb & Beet also serves a variety of Texas wines, such as Becker Vineyards, as well as Houston craft beers from local breweries, such as St. Arnold Brewing Company and 11 Below Brewing Company. As the seasons change, so will the Herb & Beet menu, Kramer said. “It’s all about freshness, so our dishes will depend on whatever the farm is presenting at that time,” Kramer said. “Whatever is fresh that week, that’s what we’ll be rolling with that week.” Although Herb & Beet is serving only lunch and dinner to start, Miner said the owners plan to add weekend brunch options in the future as well as more dinner specials, such as pork chops and smoked salmon. Miner said the eatery offers to-go ordering by phone and in-person, and she also plans to expand to online ordering and delivery in the future. “People don’t have a lot of time on their lunch breaks and people live a busy lifestyle now, especially here in The Woodlands,” Miner said. “We’re putting out very, very good food in under five minutes—our average food ticket is 4.5 minutes from start to finish, so it’s very quick.” In addition to growing her own herbs, Miner said she has hopes of opening an Herb & Beet food truck and expanding into the Greater Houston area with more locations to make farm-to-table food more accessible. “In Los Angeles, there are similar concepts to this, but fast, good food—which is something I think people are striving for—wasn’t here,” Miner said. “I wanted this kind of food and it wasn’t here. So this was a long time coming, and it has just unfolded so nicely and I’m very fortunate for that.” Herb & Beet 488 Sawdust Road, The Woodlands 832-791-2338 www.herbandbeet.com Hours: Mon.-Thu. 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Sun. 10 a.m.-8 p.m.