A self-taught chef who competed on Gordon Ramsay's "Next Level Chef" runs a Mexican-fusion restaurant out of a gas station on NASA Parkway near Clear Lake.

Trinidad "Machete" Gonzalez, owner of Gordo Niños, operates the restaurant inside the MotuStop convenience store at 1419 E. NASA Parkway. The address sits just inside Houston's city limits, about a block from the NASA area. Gonzalez has built the business over more than six years, starting with $1 tacos sold at a mechanic shop, Coast Monthly reported Saturday, Aug. 29.

"Man there's so many good reasons to be in a gas station … For one, you get free foot traffic. Two: super low overhead, and that also gives you the power to get better ingredients," Gonzalez told Coast Monthly.

He said the extra money goes into food quality, letting him avoid ingredients he considers inferior, including what he calls "lab meats."

Gordo Niños is known for flautas, tacos and its signature Lean Sauce, a day-glo purple creation Gonzalez spent eight months developing. The recipe behind the color is his closely guarded secret. The Spliff Taco, topped with the Lean Sauce, is one of the restaurant's featured items.

The menu also includes deep-fried burritos and the Surf N Turf Killa-Dilla. That quesadilla is stuffed with shrimp, carne asada, french fries, guacamole, two kinds of cheese and Mexican ketchup. Lean Sauce can be added for $1.

Gonzalez competed on Season 5 of "Next Level Chef" as a prefinalist, according to Texas Lifestyle Magazine. The Fox show offered a $250,000 prize, with judges Ramsay, Nyesha Arrington and Richard Blais, CultureMap Houston reported. Gonzalez is also a multi-time winner of the taco competition at the University of St. Thomas's Two Saints and a Taco fundraiser, CultureMap reported.

The restaurant's space-themed décor draws on its proximity to Johnson Space Center. In a May 18 interview with Texas Lifestyle Magazine, Gonzalez said, "As a kid, I loved NASA, so my whole theme is like that NASA area which we are about a block from."

Gonzalez told Coast Monthly that customers are often surprised to find a full restaurant inside a convenience store. Some walk in not realizing the food is there.

The gas-station dining model is spreading across the Houston-Galveston region. Coast Monthly's Saturday feature profiled several convenience-store eateries, noting that inflation-conscious shoppers are turning to gas stations that offer fresh, made-to-order meals.

Gordo Niños is at 1419 E. NASA Parkway and can be reached at (281) 280-0090.