What's Eric Eating

CultureMap Food Editor and host Eric Sandler hands over co-host duties this week to L’Olivier owner Mary Clarkson. Eric and Mary go through the news of the week from the Houston restaurant and bar scene including, Lopez Mexican Restaurant’s expansion announcement, Former Peska Seafood & Steaks executive chef Omar Pereney suing Peska, where does Treadsack Restaurants go following the closing of both Bernadine and Hunky Dory, and the rumors of what possible concepts might move into the space. Then in the Restaurants of the Week, Eric and Mary discuss Chengdu Taste in Chinatown, Heights Bier Garten, and Kings Bier House.

Eric is then joined by his guest of the week, Ryan Lachaine of Riel Restaurant. Eric and Ryan go into what Riel Restaurant is, the ideas behind the menu, how it’s been since opening earlier this year, how the neighborhood has been treating Riel, what it’s been like seeing/reading reviews of Riel from critics, the challenges of running your own restaurant, and what goals Ryan has for Riel.

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It’s a special BBQ edition of What’s Eric Eating this week as Texas Monthly released their list for the Top 50 Barbecue joints in Texas. To help breakdown the list CultureMap Food Editor and host Eric Sandler is joined by the cofounder of the Houston Barbecue Festival Michael Fulmer. The guys give their takes on the list, why the list is important, who finished where, what it takes to make the list, and look at the list from both the Houston and statewide perspectives.

Eric and Michael are then joined by Will and Nichole Buckman of CorkScrew BBQ to discuss their restaurant finishing 7th on the list, the reaction they’ve gotten since the news broke, how they’ve gotten better since the last time they were on Texas Monthly's top 50 list, their commitment to their restaurant, whether they would ever expand, the trends in the bbq scene, and much more!

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The ladies of the popular Houston food, beauty, and lifestyle blog Urban Swank stop by to co-host this week’s edition of What’s Eric Eating. Shanna Jones and Felice Sloan join CultureMap Food Editor and host Eric Sandler in breaking down the latest news from the Houston restaurant and bar scene including Danny Trace being named executive chef of Potente and Osso and Kristalla, Graham Laborde’s announcement that he’s taking on an operational role with Ronnie Killen’s restaurant group, and more. Then this week’s restaurant’s of the week section features One Fifth Houston and FM Kitchen and Bar.

Jonathan Horowitz then joins the show to discuss how he keeps brands like Ninfa’s and Antone’s still relevant in the growing Houston restaurant scene, the expansion of both brands, the state of the restaurant industry in Houston, where do the upscale national brands fit in the Houston scene, where do new restaurants have opportunities to expand, his tips for restaurants to maintain their existing customer base and more. Plus Jonathan shares his thoughts and impressions on a restaurant that he’s had the opportunity to dine at recently.

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This week CultureMap Food Editor and host Eric Sandler is joined by popular Houston bartender Chris Frankel. Eric and Chris go through the news of the week from the Houston restaurant and bar scene including Chris being brought on to consult Cane Rosso on their bar program, Evan Turner leaving Helen Greek Food and Wine, and the opening of Better Luck Tomorrow, the new concept from Bobby Heugel and Justin Yu. Plus Brennan’s of Houston and Killen’s Steakhouse have hired new chefs, listen to find out who. In this week’s restaurants of the week section Chris gives his take on poke and poke restaurants such as Ono Poke on Richmond Ave. and Moku Bar in the Conservatory downtown, along with his take on Thai food in Houston as Eric and Chris recently took a trip to Rim Tanon on Richmond Ave.

For this week’s guest of the week section, renowned Chef Bryan Caswell and his wife Jennifer Caswell stop by the podcast to deliver some big news regarding their latest endeavor, a new restaurant concept that they’ll be opening this summer in Houston. Eric, Bryan, and Jennifer dive deep into the concept of the new place, the idea behind the name, how the opportunity came about, how it compares to their other restaurants, what ‘elevated bayou cuisine’ is, why this new restaurant is the most personal thing Bryan has ever done, their roles in this new restaurant, and much more! Bryan and Jennifer also share some info about what changes are coming for Reef and when we can expect to see them. Listen to find out all the details!

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In this week's episode, Culture Map Food Editor and host Eric Sandler is once again joined by restaurant consultant Nathan Ketcham to discuss the news of the week from the Houston restaurant and bar scene including Hugo Ortega of Hugo's finally winning Best Chef Southwest at the 2017 James Beard Awards, the popular restaurant chain Dat Dog coming to the Houston area, and Chef Paul Qui opening his new restaurant Aqui in Montrose. Eric and Nathan discuss their Restaurants of the week. This week restaurants, Ramen Tatsu-Ya in Montrose, Dolce Neve in the Heights, and Tacodeli on Washington Ave.

Eric is then joined by Ronnie Killen of Killen's Restaurants which includes Killen's Steakhouse, Killen's Barbecue, Killen's Burgers, and Killen's STQ. Eric and Ronnie discuss Killen's Burgers being the hardest to manage of the group, the challenges when running a burger place, people's expectations versus what Ronnie wants to execute, what defines gourmet, Killen's STQ's success, and what he said to Houston Texans star J.J. Watt when J.J. called about a reservation at STQ. Plus Ronnie reveals some major info regarding expansion. Hint: a barbecue place somewhere other than Houston. Listen to find out!

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