At Lucky Well Incubator, Jacob Trinh’s Nướng is a standout in debut group

The white oak fires are still burning in the smoker and grill on Spring Garden Street. But fueling the Lucky Well’s barbecue? That’s just one part of their calling these days.

How about head-on shrimp marinated in fish sauce and lemongrass? Or bone marrow canoes char-roasted until their cores are molten and ready to scoop onto lettuce wraps cradling rice and Vietnamese pickled vegetables? Oh, yes, absolutely.

“Two-thirds of that grill is now mine!” was chef Jacob Trinh’s first thought the moment he saw that smoldering fire while touring the restaurant this summer to consider becoming part of the first cohort of the Lucky Well Incubator. Owner Chad Rosenthal had decided to transform his barbecue hall into a space shared with three start-up concepts signed to short-term leases. Trinh, 26, a rising talent who’d been active on the pop-up scene the past couple years while also launching the kitchen at Càphê Roasters (which he just left), was uncertain of his next project at the moment. But that wood-fired grill sparked his inspiration for Nướng — and the incubator got its first star.

Nướng means “grilled” in Vietnamese, and though the oak creates a smokiness that’s a departure from the charcoal traditionally used in Vietnamese cooking, the live fire hearth has allowed this chef to continue evolving an original vision for his cuisine — and given him the opportunity to see how it resonates in a real world restaurant setting.

The answer: extremely well, as Trinh’s narrowly focused concept of pick-your-protein cơm tấm rice platters has been the gem of this first incubator class, which also includes Navajo tacos from Marcos Espinoza’s Shiprock and Rob Miskell’s pasta-centric Sauce Boy.

Yes, you can also still get the spice-dusted Memphis-style ribs that launched chef Chad Rosenthal’s pit master reputation on the Food Network and then won him fans at Ambler’s original Lucky Well a decade ago, before also starting this Philly branch. The thickly sliced and juicy Texas-style brisket, its vivid pink smoke ring edged with a black pepper crust, is still legit under the careful watch of head chef Scott Sumsky, who’s added some worthy extra touches to the menu I’ll get to later.

The incubator project was born of this post-pandemic moment, one final Hail Mary pivot for Rosenthal in this space that speaks to some divergent trends. First the disappointment: an undeniable sense that the Lucky Well’s need for a new concept is partly a referendum on Philly’s relatively weak appetite for barbecue. Our scene has clearly produced some promising glimmers of quality barbecue over the past decade. But the local smoked meat audience is still not deep enough to reliably fill the 100 seats inside the Lucky Well’s 4,000-square-foot room on Spring Garden, which also had the misfortunate timing of opening in early 2020. (Another Philly smoke master, Mike Strauss, also left the scene, selling Mike’s BBQ this year.)

“We are just not a barbecue city like Austin where people are always waiting in line,” he says. “It has to be a numbers game. Barbecue is a 24-hour pursuit and at the end of the day, it’s so hard to turn a profit.”

But Rosenthal, who’s also closing his original Lucky Well in Ambler, has created a positive potential next chapter here by tapping into the collaborative pop-up spirit of the times by offering some opportunities for newcomers. He provides the kitchen facilities, support staff, and infrastructure. Start-ups only need to pay rent, buy their own food, and show up to cook four nights a week for several months.

“There’s nothing like it in Philadelphia, and this was an opportunity to do a proof of concept,” says Espinoza, 45, a consulting engineer by trade with a beef jerky business side hustle and an entrepreneurial itch to pay homage to the Navajo tacos he grew up eating in his parents’ restaurant in Salt Lake City. “I didn’t have to fully commit to a restaurant, but I had this nagging need to see if I really liked it. Is this what I was meant to do?”

Philly has always been a supportive restaurant community. But the spirit of pop-ups, chef residencies, and collaborations has gathered maximum momentum as the preferred new path for upstart talents to make a name. They’ve varied greatly in success and impact, including some high-profile residencies that have felt performative, with absentee chefs and themed special menus delivered by staff that had no idea what they were serving. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Diana Widjojo’s monthlong transformation of Dankbaar into Rice & Sambal while owner Joncarl Lachman was on vacation was a thoroughly beguiling modern Indonesian makeover of the tiny South Philly space. I now eagerly await the day her torch ginger chicken finds its permanent restaurant home.

The Lucky Well Incubator gives its chef-operators a longer taste of the daily routines — and grind — that shape a permanent brick-and-mortar commitment, including the feast and famine stretches typical on Spring Garden, which can be disconcertingly quiet between events at Union Transfer and the Met. Rosenthal has shortened his residencies to four-month periods for the coming cohorts to keep a buzzy sense of urgency around them.

The current group is still up and cooking through the end of February, and the food hall-like setup, with its opportunity to graze multiple menus, has been appealing to the incubator’s crowd of preconcert revelers, whose thirst for the appealing menu-themed cocktails overseen by general manager Elise Black help boost Rosenthal’s bottom line.

The time on task has been instructive for the operators as they learn to tweak their systems for a crowd, test out menu specials, and see what it’s like to run a steady operation. In some cases, it’s also been a reality check.

“I tend to romanticize things, but the truth is I’ve not fully committed and leaned into it,” says Espinoza, who’s been balancing his busy day job with the incubator. “If my risk profile was a little different, I might ... but this is such a great opportunity for a younger generation.”

I happened to love Espinoza’s Navajo tacos, the fry bread rounds like deep-fried clouds of dough layered with chili beans, ground beef, and taco fixings. It’s unlike anything else available here, so I’m glad to know he still aims to keep Shiprock alive as a nomadic monthly pop-up.

Miskell’s Sauce Boy concept is less distinctive, with perfectly fine-but-unsurprising takes on familiar Italian American dishes like sausage ragù, meatballs, and eggplant Parm infused with a Calabrian chile marinade. But the residency has served its own purpose for the Zahav alum as Miskell, 33, builds his brand while putting the finishing touches on a self-built food trailer which he says will specialize in spiedini.

Jacob Trinh’s career, meanwhile, has grown so rapidly he’s already got his hands full with his next chapter, simultaneously taking over Little Fish in January for his own three week tasting menu pop-up, then becoming the BYOB’s new chef de cuisine. Nướng’s lemongrass-scented meats will continue to sizzle with the able assistance of Trinh’s sous, Hatim Hamdan, a Moroccan-born chef from Spain, who’s got his own intriguing side project. The decadently pudding-like slice of Basque-style cheesecake he also bakes here under Philly Tartas was among the most irresistible desserts I ate in 2023.

The incubator has even had its benefits for Sumsky, 39, a sort of player-coach who manages the whole kitchen operation, and who’s also tapped his own creative juices to launch a sausage program, including a knockout cheddar-jalapeño link inspired by a trip to Austin. Or the chorizo crumbles that top grilled oysters with lemon butter.

The sausage grinder, meanwhile, also gave birth to the IncuBurger, a fresh brisket-chuck blend that gets pepper-crusted, then smoked, before a fiery finishing turn over the grill. Layered with house bacon, fresh pickles, smoked Thousand Island, and cheddar over a brioche bun, it’s one of the prettiest new patties in town. If Philly’s smoke-seeking barbecue fans don’t covet it first, Philly’s robust burger crowd surely will. As long as those white oak fires keep burning on Spring Garden Street.

990 Spring Garden St., 445-223-2290; theluckywellinc.com

Open Wednesday, Thursday, Sunday, 4 to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, until 10 p.m.

Wheelchair-accessible entrance via lift at main entrance to 990 Spring Garden St.

There are many gluten-free options on the barbecue menu.