Most of us know Truong Le via his excellent Uptown 23rd spot Chick N Beer, which closed temporarily, sort of. More on that in the episode. Le was also one of the primary driving forces behind the development of Bungalow 23, and he and his family still run Egg & CàPhê in one of the Bungalows along 23rd. Rather than food, Le’s professional background has been centered around tech, plus food. He worked for Dell here in OKC for many years, and like many in the tech sector, the pull of restaurants proved irresistible, both as an investor and operator. We think you’ll be happy to hear what he says about the future of Chick N Beer, the increased focus on Asian-inspired flavors and techniques, and how he and his family have dealt with potentially life-threatening allergies in all three of his children.

It was the allergy issue that got him thinking about the app that is the reason he’s on this week’s podcast. He called a few weeks ago and asked to meet. When he told me the idea — really it’s way beyond an idea at this point — the first thing I said was, “We have to get you on the podcast to talk about this!” Without giving too much away, imagine an app that can drill down to dish and ingredient level at local restaurants to help you find gluten free, vegan, vegetarian, omnivore, specific flavor preferences and ingredients, etc. As he points out, it’s only possible with recent advances in AI business applications, and here’s where his tech background came in handy. The app is in final testing, and he’ll fill you in on all the details in this episode. We will let you know when you can download it and be part of the first test group.