Bites & Basil is now open in Hutto.

The gist: The restaurant offers Vietnamese cuisine with a Texas twist, featuring dishes like the pho wagyu, pho beef rib, marinated pork chop and rice, and a variety of vermicelli options.

Customers can also order the wagyu bo luc lac, which comes with a hot cooking stone for diners to cook the wagyu beef themselves.

• 150 Alliance Blvd., Ste. 240, Hutto

Catch up on these five stories from the cities of Hutto and Pflugerville, as well as Travis County.

1. Burn ban in effect for unincorporated Travis County through Jan. 6: A burn ban for the incorporated areas of Travis County—areas outside of any specific city—was put into effect on Dec. 29. It will remain in effect until Jan. 6 unless lifted sooner by the Travis County Judge or the Travis County Fire Marshal, according to a news release.

2. Hutto Fire Rescue finalizes first collective bargaining agreement: The Williamson County Emergency Services District No. 3, or Hutto Fire Rescue, finalized its first collective bargaining agreement with the local firefighters union in December.

3. Doug Weiss sworn in as Pflugerville mayor: Doug Weiss was sworn in as Pflugerville mayor Dec. 22, during a special City Council meeting.

Here are the top Community Impact stories in the Austin area from Dec. 29-Jan. 1:
1. Kohl’s will not open new store in Bastrop
2. Bastrop Sprouts seeks 82 new hires ahead of spring opening
3. Austin ISD names principals for schools affected by closures and turnaround plans
4. AI guardrails, tax rates after disasters: New Texas laws take effect Jan. 1
5. Bastrop concludes $3.5 million Agnes Street extension project
6. Austin Energy planning for 'tremendous strain,' possible billing impacts from new data centers

Fast-casual eatery Jason's Deli is celebrating its 50th anniversary by honoring the fresh food, people and communities that have defined the restaurant, officials announced in a Dec. 30 news release.

The background: The deli was founded in 1976 by Joe Tortorice Jr. in Beaumont and has since branched out to 114 Texas locations and 235 delis nationwide in 27 states, per the release.

What's new: According to the release, the eatery is celebrating its anniversary by spotlighting new soups during the National Soup Month of January, while also rolling out new items, including the Deli-Bration Cookie—a sugar cookie topped with sprinkles—and returning others.