What's Eric Eating

On today's edition of the podcast, Eric is joined by the Swanky Maven herself Felice Sloan to go through some of the latest news from the Houston restaurant and bar scene. The pair discuss the 3 Houston chefs/restaurants that were named James Beard finalists, the upscale tavern concept coming to the Memorial area from Aaron Bludorn,  the announcement of the New England seafood concept coming from Ben Berg, and the Top Golf of baseball opening it's first location in Houston. In the Restaurants of the Week section Kuji Kitchen is featured. In the Guest of the Week portion Eric is joined by June Rodil and Felipe Riccio of Goodnight Hospitality. The pair speak with Eric about how March has evolved in the 2 years since it's been open, the service experience for diners at March, collaboration that goes on at March, why Felipe is the Dave Grohl of March, what June's day to day is like as CEO, what was the inspiration for The Marigold Club, the criticism that's thrown at fine dining, why Houston is right for their concepts, nice things about Sean Gawle, and much more in a long interesting conversation! 

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Today on the podcast Eric is joined by Mary Clarkson to discuss the latest happenings from the Houston restaurant and bar scene including the new grocery store chain that's making it's debut in Houston, Dessert Gallery set to open a new location in The Woodlands, and Muse from the Sundown Entertainment Group opening in the former Emmaline space. In the Restaurants of the Week section PS21 and Theodore Rex are featured. In the Guest of the Week portion, Eric is joined by Lindsay Burleson of I'll Have What She's Having. Lindsay speaks with Eric about what I'll Have What She's Having is, what the organization does, how prevalent the healthcare problem is in the hospitality industry, the initiatives they focus on, expanding their help men's health as well as women's health, programs they've started following SB 8, other organizations they work with, having mental health discussions, what the process is like for people seeking preventative healthcare, they're upcoming events, and much more! To learn more about the organization or find more about the different help they provide, visit I'll Have What She's Having website now to get all the information and details that Lindsay spoke about in this episode. 

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Today's podcast opens on a sad note, Eric Sandler alongside Michael Fulmer and Matt Harris remember longtime Houston restaurateur Lee Ellis who passed away last Monday (3/6) at the age of 63. The guys reflect on Lee's career, his impact on the Houston restaurant scene, and share their memories of Lee. Eric and Matt get into other news from the week that was including Hobby airport's new concessions contract that has Killen's BBQ among it's new options for food and Kraftsmen Café closing in The Heights. In the Restaurants of the Week portion Jun is featured. In the Guest of the Week section Eric is joined by Pace Webb of Daddy's Chicken Shack. Pace speaks with Eric about getting into the food business, coming from a family of entertainers, becoming a chef, the life changing events that led her to the culinary world, making the leap from catering to leaning into the chicken sandwich side of things, the early chicken sandwich grind, how their chicken sandwich is different, developing the different types of sandwiches they offer, educating customers, growing from a 100 foot to go counter to what they are today, bringing the business to Houston, why it was nostalgic for her to come back to Houston, the response so far, expansion plans for Houston, and much more! 

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On the podcast today Eric is joined by Linda Salinas to discuss the latest happenings from the restaurant and bar scene in Houston. The two discuss Sébastien Laval and Philippe Schmit pairing up for a new concept called PS21, the new bar and lounge concept Best Regards making it's home in the space that formerly housed Chivos, and Dallas based restaurant group FB Society bringing it's concept Haywire to Houston for the restaurant's third location. In the Restaurants of the Week portion PrimoHoagies is featured. In the Guest of the Week portion Eric is joined by Justin turner of Bocca Italian Kitchen. Justin speaks with Eric about returning to the podcast for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic back in 2020, reflecting on the decision to close Bernie's Burger Bus amid the pandemic, getting connected with McCord Development, being part of the Generation Park development project, taking on the challenge of an Italian concept, what he's learned about Italian cooking during his time with Bocca, the offerings on Bocca's menu, connecting with the northeast side of Houston, why they pivoted at Lupo Caffe, what's on his radar for other possible concepts that could fill the area, why a hidden omakase style concept is appealing to him, and much more! 

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Today on the show Eric is joined by the Swanky Maven herself Felice Sloan to go through the latest happenings from the Houston restaurant and bar scene. The pair discuss the closing of 1751 Sea and Bar, Ben Berg's latest concept Buttermilk Baby, and Eloise Nichols Grill & Liquors' switch to a more casual format. In the Restaurants of the Week portion Fat Boy's Pizza is featured. In the Guest of the Week section Eric is joined by Michelle Wallace of B'tween Sandwich Co. Michelle speaks with Eric about the development of Gatlin's Fins & Feathers, how fried chicken set the stage for the development of it, when she knew she could step away from Gatlin's, why she decided to go with sandwiches post Gatlin's, what makes a great sandwich, why a pop-up was the right next move, the types of sandwiches on the menu, the response so far, plans for the future of the concept, the many upcoming culinary opportunities she has, being part of BBQ Brawl, and most importantly the ideal PB&J sandwich.  

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On today's podcast, Eric is joined by Michael Fulmer to go through some of the latest from the Houston restaurant and bar scene including Dallas Tex-Mex staple Mi Cocina returning to Houston, 3 Houston area restaurants making it onto Texas Monthly's best new restaurants list, and the owners of Traveler's Table introducing a new sister concept called Traveler's Cart. In the Restaurants of the Week portion, LuLoo's Day & Night is featured. In the Guest of the Week section Eric is joined by Seth Siegel-Gardner of the Southern Smoke Foundation. Seth speaks with Eric about getting into the restaurant industry, how his culinary journey led him to New York, what it was like working with Marcus Samuelsson, what brought him back to Houston, getting Pass + Provisions started, the amazing team they assembled at Pass and Provisions, how they innovated at that time, why they ended up closing Pass and Provisions in 2019, his time in Marfa, the latest with Marfa Spirits, Chris Shepherd approaching him about the foundation, what his day to day is like working with the foundation, what they're planning for this year's big festival event, and much much more!  

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It's a special edition of the podcast today, as Eric assembles a panel of Tex-Mex aficionados for the Ultimate Tex-Mex Draft. Eric alongside David Cordúa, Bryan Caswell, Mary Clarkson, Matt Harris, and Michael Fulmer select their favorite Tex-Mex dishes from different restaurants in the greater Houston area to create their ultimate Tex-Mex meal. The panel are picking dishes in the following categories: fajitas, enchiladas, tacos, chips & salsa, chips & queso, and a wildcard selection. Find out which participant picks the ultimate Tex-Mex meal, picked by special guest judge Russell Ybarra of Gringos! 

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Today on the podcast Eric is joined by Avondale Food & Wine owner Mary Clarkson to go through some of the latest news from the Houston restaurant and bar scene. The pair discuss the Cle Group selecting a location for a new concept called the Post Oak Lodge, Chris Cusack bringing a second location of Betelgeuse Betelgeuse to the market, and Café Express' arrival in The Woodlands. In the Restaurants of the Week section Sushi by Hidden is featured. In the Guest of the Week portion Eric is joined by Brooks Bassler of BB's Tex-Orleans. Brooks speaks with Eric about his experience in the restaurant industry, developing the concept of BB's, why po' boys, starting the crawfish side of the business, theories on what created the crawfish boom in Houston, the insane numbers of crawfish they're doing, how crawfish season is going so far this year, the growth of BB's, why San Antonio was the right next city to expand into, what makes an area the right area for a location of BB's, the possibility of other types of concepts, and much more!   

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On today's pod, Eric is joined by Matt Harris to go through the latest from the Houston restaurant and bar scene including the James Beard Foundation releasing it's list of award semifinalists that includes 10 Houston restaurants, Ben Berg's newest concept that has some questions surrounding it, and Hubcap Grill on 19th Street shuttering. In the Restaurants of the Week portion Karne is featured. In the Guest of the Week section Eric is joined by Abbas Dhanani of Burger Bodega. Abbas speaks with Eric about the early days of his career, growing up in a successful restaurant family, what inspired him to launch Houston Eats, the food blogging scene, why he wanted to pursue/open Burger Bodega rather than working within the family business, why he went with burgers for his concept, the research that he put in for Burger Bodega, why the design was so important for him, how things have been going with the restaurant so far, how things came about with the shakes program at Burger Bodega, and much more! 

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Today on the podcast Eric is joined by frequent cohost and co-founder of the Houston BBQ festival Michael Fulmer. The guys discuss the latest news from the Houston restaurant and bar scene including Western Addition Restaurant Group bringing a new seafood concept to Houston, the iconic Spanish Village shuttering in March but the legacy will live on in another project soon, and the newest bar concept from the Kirby Group that has a familiar face from the bbq scene involved. In the Restaurants of the Week section Gatsby's Prime Seafood and Home Slice Pizza are featured. In the Guest of the Week portion Eric is joined by Sherman Yeung and Jio Dingayan of Money Cat. The guys speak with Eric about how they both got started in the restaurant industry, how Sherman acquired Tobiuo, how they started working with each other, getting Money Cat started, why upper Kirby was the right location for Money Cat, why a new concept like Money Cat was the right next move rather than another location of Tobiuo, why Jio wanted to make the leap to savory by becoming the chef de cuisine at Money Cat, the benefits of staging for Money Cat's development, how Money Cat breaks with some Japanese food traditions while honoring others, some of the highlights from the menu, how things have been at Money Cat so far, and much more! 

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