Joe Cervantez and Raz Halili of Parkwood American Grille and Pier 6 Seafood & Oyster House join Eric on the podcast today. The pair speak with Eric about the initial idea of the Parkwood American Grille concept, why this style of cuisine, developing the menu, building the steak program, the vast array of caviar options on the menu, making chicken nuggets in house, balancing the steaks/seafood at the concept, the secret to great fried shrimp, increasing their sushi options, working with the Ladies of Libation on their cocktail program, what inspired the design of the restaurant, how things are going so far, and more! Plus, Joe and Raz give an update on how things are going at Pier 6, what's going on over in Galveston with Fish Company Taco, possible future concepts, and they hear Eric's pitch for a restaurant concept that could work here in Houston... or be a complete bust... you be the judge.

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Felice Sloan, a.k.a. The Swanky Maven, is back! Felice joins Eric to discuss some of the latest happenings from the Houston food scene including H&H Bagels opening their first Houston location, Ronnie Killen's push to get a Michelin Star, and the closure of the final remnants of Underbelly Hospitality. In the Restaurants of the Week portion Parkwood American Grille and chrôma are featured.  

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Today on the podcast, Eric is joined by Douglas Rodriguez and Pedro Teyuca of Exilio Latin Flair. Pedro was unable to join for the first portion of the podcast so Douglas speaks with Eric about his career, where it's taken him, why he came to Houston, getting the "Godfather of Nuevo Latino Cuisine" moniker, winning a the James Beard Rising Star Chef Award back in 1996, redesigning the menu at Exilio to reflect his style, and being on the hunt for marlin. Then Pedro joins the discussion and speaks about why Douglas was the right fit, why Exilio was the right next step for the company, their service standards, and more. Plus, the group discuss the must have dishes on the menu, their goals, and Pedro drops some exclusive breaking news.

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It's a Post Labor Day edition of What's Eric Eating! Today Eric is joined by Houston BBQ Festival co-founder Michael Fulmer to discuss some of the latest happenings from the Houston food scene. The pair speak about the decision by Pappas Restaurants to close the original location of Pappasito's and Graham Laborde's new gulf coast seafood concept called Little Bird. Then in the Restaurants of the Week portion, the focus is on the mini barbecue boom of 2026. The guys speak about 3 relatively recent openings including; Eastbound Barbecue, Willow's Smokehouse & Tavern, and Terry Black's BBQ.

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Today on the podcast Eric is joined by Juan Antonio Hernandez, a.k.a. Tony, and Aquiles Chávez of Pochitos Mariscos y Más. The duo speak with Eric about working together, where the name of the concept came from, creating the new menu for Pochitos Mariscos y Más, the fusion of ideas in creating some of the menu items, the origin story of the sushi hot dog, Aquiles being happy to be back in Houston for this project, goals, and more. Plus, Aquiles speaks about what he's been up to, Tony shares what took him from music to the restaurant business, having stars do TikTok dances to his music, and more.

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On today's edition of What's Eric Eating, Eric is joined by Marco Thompson and Mauricio Alvarado of Osteria di Mercato. Marco and Mauricio share how they both got into the world of culinary, what brought them back to Houston, working together at Osteria di Mercato, what brought each of them to the concept, why the small menu, developing the menu, the benefits of working in a small concept, the neighborhood restaurant feel, the creation of some of the dishes including the tuna crudo, the wine list, how things are going so far, their goals, a comment regarding Alison Cook's recent blog post, and more! Plus, the guys share a couple stories about the late Grant Gordon. 

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Today on the show Eric is joined by Raffi Nasr of Craft Pita! The guys dive into some of the latest news from the Houston food scene including Chris Williams' restaurant Late August closing, Agnes and Sherman being recognized by Bon Appetit as one of it's Best New Restaurants of 2026, Pochitos Mariscos y Más soon featuring a new menu created by chef Aquiles Chávez, and the Michelin Guide making changes to how it'll announce this year's Texas recipients... Eric's not a fan. Then in the Restaurants of the Week portion, One Roast is featured.

Plus, Raffi shares a bit about what diners can expect from his upcoming collaborative pop up with Agnes and Sherman called Pepitas, coming this September. 

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On today's edition of What's Eric Eating, Eric is joined by Luis Lopez, Jake Granville, & Ryan Penn of Eastbound Barbecue. The guys speak with Eric about how they got their respective culinary starts, their experiences working with Ronnie Killen, why the time was right to start Eastbound Barbecue, what aspect about the new concept appealed to them, developing the menu to incorporate other items besides just barbecue, making items very distinct from other places like Killen's, doing their best to keep costs low for themselves as well as customers, mixing up the menu at times, why their burger is special, the birth of Eastbound Gold, the service experience, the cocktail program, how things are going so far since opening, and much more!

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Today on the podcast, Eric is joined by Mary Clarkson of Heights Grocer and Montrose Grocer. Eric speaks with Mary about some of the latest news from the Houston restaurant and bar scene including the closure of Barbecue Inn after 80 years of service, Pudgy's Fine Cookies/Underground Creamery head to Meyerland to open their 2nd collaborative location, and the hometown chef that Beat Bobby Flay recently. In the Restaurants of the Week portion Angie's Pizza and Bar Angie are featured. 

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