Mai’s is the grande dame of late-night dining in the Bayou City, the place where many Houstonians tried their first bowl of pho, and where Midtown clubgoers have descended for many a decade after a long night of drinking and dancing nearby. In 1990, Mai Nguyen took over the restaurant her parents opened in 1978 and began the process of modernizing the old building, though the heart and soul—a menu chock full of Vietnamese comfort food—has remained intact.