What's Eric Eating

Episode 215 - Mary Clarkson of Avondale Food and Wine

Today on the podcast Eric is joined by Matt Harris to discuss some of the latest happenings in the Houston bar and restaurant scene including El Burro and the Bull opening a full sized location in Cypress, Billy Kin and Brandon Silva teaming up to unveil Kinokawa, and Better Luck Tomorrow adds some major talent. In the Restaurants of the Week section Neo, Beso, and Brett's BBQ Shop are featured. In the Guest of the Week section Eric is joined by Dodie Wilson and Rebecca Masson of Dodie's Beer + Wine Shoppe. Dodie and Rebecca speak with Eric about what inspired Dodie to open a beer/wine spot, what she knew about beer/wine going into it, focusing on smaller/female owned wineries/wine makers, what customers should know about the shop, customer reactions so far, working with Eureka Heights Brewery, and more! Plus Rebecca let's us know how Fluff Bake Bar is doing, why Gail Simmons is awesome, and any plans for a collab between Fluff and Dodies.

Today on the podcast Eric is flying solo for the first half. Eric talks about some of the latest happenings in the Houston restaurant and bar scene including Blood Brothers BBQ being included on the New York Times 50 Exciting Restaurants list, Blacksmith adds some top tier talent, and a new non-alcoholic spirits shop called Sipple pops up in Rice Village. In the Restaurants of the Week portion d'Alba Craft Kitchen & Cocktails is featured. In the Guest of the Week section Eric is joined by frequent co-host Linda Salinas to speak with today's guest Mary Ellen Angel of Angel Share HTX. Mary speaks with Eric and Linda about she got into the bar business, what she learned from Linda, how her and Linda met, what OKRA was like in the beginning, going from bartender to owner, the current state of downtown, what's changed with the bar, giving back to the community, the charities Angel Share HTX is giving to currently, plans for themed months centered on various charities, other goals, and more!

It's a special bonus episode of the podcast this week! Eric is joined by Michael Fulmer and Patrick Feges to discuss Texas Monthly's Top 50 BBQ joints. The guys discuss the top 10, the biggest surprises from the list, why so many newcomers are in the top 10 this year, whether any spots where snubbed from the list, Patrick's reaction to Feges BBQ being on the list, Houston area joints that made the top 50, the geographic diversity, and much more!

Today on the podcast Eric is joined by Linda Salinas to discuss some of the latest news from the Houston restaurant and bar scene including beloved bar Pastry War closing up shop, Night Moves Hospitality parts ways with Lyle Bento while also announcing an expansion in the Spring Branch area, and new Mexican restaurant Maize set to make it's debut soon. In the Restaurants of the Week Winnie's is featured. In the Guest of the Week section Eric is joined by Win Campbell and Molly Voorhees of Becks Prime. Win and Molly speak with Eric about how Becks Prime started back in the 80's, what all went into putting Becks Prime together, testing their milkshakes, the quality you get at Becks Prime versus other establishments, what made Molly leave the tech industry to go work with her dad at Becks Prime, how Becks Prime has evolved over the years, assessing the competition, plans for The Chocolate Bar, their new cafe Agnes, future plans that include something different, and much more!

Today on the podcast the Eric is joined by Avondale Food & Wine owner Mary Clarkson. Eric and Mary discuss the latest news from the Houston restaurant and bar scene including Post Houston revealing concepts/opening date, Houston having a new entry into the master sommelier club, and new Italian restaurant Lulu's is now open. In the Restaurants of the Week Casa Nomad is featured. In the Guest of the Week section Eric is joined Steve Marques and Kim Kaase of Craft Creamery. The pair speak with Eric about how they got started, why an ice cream shop was the right next move for Steve, what it was like for Kim during the creation phase of the business, Steve's approach to the creation of the flavors, what goes into brisket ice cream... spoiler it's brisket, their approach to flavor development, what's the perfect ice cream texture, long term plans for Craft Creamery, and whether we'll see milkshakes on the menu.

Today on the podcast Eric is joined by the Swanky Maven herself Felice Sloan to discuss some of the latest news from the Houston restaurant and bar scene including Top Chef beginning to shoot season 19 in Houston, Becks Prime in The Heights closing, and Mico's Hot Chicken getting some online hate for a secret menu item. In the Restaurants of the Week JOEY Uptown, Mozambik, and Ember & Greens are featured. In the Guest of the Week section Eric is joined by Meredith Davis and Adam Garcia of the PX Project. Meredith and Adam speak with Eric about what exactly the PX Project is, how it's different from culinary school, what made the opportunity appealing for Adam, what makes a student a great candidate for PX Project, students finding success after the program, long term goals for the project such as opening their own restaurant eventually, dishes students enjoy making, how they'd like to see the program grow, whether Adam misses the restaurant scene, and how people can get involved.

Today on the podcast Eric is joined by a new cohost! Isabel Protomartir, host of ATE, makes her podcast cohosting debut! Eric and Isabel discuss some of the latest happening in the Houston restaurant and bar scene including Eric's 40 restaurant fall preview, Casa Nomad opening, Bon Appetit recognizing Lucille's, and Isabel's Have a Nice Day Pop Up happening this weekend! In the Restaurants of the Week section HaiDiLao is featured. In the Guest of the Week portion Eric is joined by Travis Lenig of Field & Tides. Travis speaks with Eric about what it's been like now that he is the sole proprietor of Field & Tides, what things have changed about the restaurant since his sole proprietorship, how they utilize the space, how important private dining can be, the evolution of the menu, being inspired by his travels, vegetable dishes he's excited about on his menu, the growth of the Heights, the biggest surprise he experienced once he became an owner, where he's been eating, and much more!

Today on the podcast Eric is joined by Avondale Food & Wine owner Mary Clarkson to discuss the latest news from the Houston restaurant and bar scene including Golden Bagels & Coffee closing, the folks behind Dish Society bringing a new concept to CityCentre, and 2 chefs suddenly departing their restaurants. In the Restaurants of the Week section Concura is featured. In the Guest of the Week portion Eric is joined by Benjy Mason and Graham Laborde of Winnie's. Benjy and Graham speak with Eric about how Winnie's came about, why this was the right move for Graham, what it's been like for Benjy moving into the bar world coming from the culinary side, the vision for Winnie's, why the location is the right venue for Winnie's, what to expect food wise from the menu, their bar style service model, sourcing locally, the plans for the cocktails, Graham being excited to be the face of something again, and much more!

Today on the podcast Eric is joined by Michael Fulmer to discuss some of the latest news from the Houston restaurant and bar scene including Chris Shepherd dropping some big news about a couple of his concepts, a new ambitious restaurant Baso coming to The Heights, and Night Moves Hospitality getting ready for their 3rd concept. In the Restaurants of the Week Union Kitchen is featured along with a few stops at some BBQ spots. In the Guest of the Week portion Eric is joined by Justin Ware and Patrick Abalos of Night Shift. Justin and Patrick share with Eric how they got into the industry, why Justin wanted to work with Patrick, how they didn't really like each other at first, how their background in competitions helped them, the design of Night Shift, why the name, developing the cocktail and food menus, how Night Shift is going, future plans for Night Shift, the changes they've made, and much more!

Today on the podcast Eric is joined by Matt Harris to discuss the latest happenings in the Houston restaurant and food scene including Bosscat Kitchen's sister concept Ten Sushi + Cocktail Bar is coming to Houston, Peli Peli ending it's run now becoming Mozambik, and Daddy's Chicken Shack opening it's flagship in The Heights. In the Restaurants of the Week section Urbe and Ixim are featured. In the Guest of the Week section Eric is joined by Daniel Vaughn, BBQ editor of Texas Monthly. Daniel speaks with Eric about his career before he started with Texas Monthly, how the opportunity with Texas Monthly came about, whether he's used to getting recognized at this point, how his top 50 list is coming along, the research that went into making the list, the changes to the BBQ scene in Texas, how big city BBQ spots distinguish themselves, the different types of influences that have entered into Texas BBQ, how important sides/desserts are, the Houston BBQ scene, and much more!

No guest again so this week it's just Eric and Linda Salinas going through the latest news from the Houston restaurant and bar scene including Hotel Granduca switching up their fine dining restaurant and The Loop Handcrafted Churros opening this weekend in the Hanover Rice Village. In the Restaurants of the Week section ReikiNa and Night Shift are featured.

Today on the podcast Eric is joined by Michael Fulmer to discuss some of the latest happenings from the Houston restaurant and bar scene including Tatemó finding a home near Karbach Brewery, The Palm moving downtown, a new mini putt golf course coming to Sawyer Yards, and the team behind Hungry's unveiling a new concept called Heartbeet. In the Restaurants of the Week section Georgia James Tavern is featured.

Today on the podcast Eric is joined by Avondale Food & Wine owner Mary Clarkson to discuss some of the latest happenings in the Houston bar and restaurant scene including Sambrooks Management opening a new concept called Andiron, two new nightclubs hitting Washington Avenue, Railway Heights Market opening, and more. In the Restaurants of the Week section Studewood Grill and Theodore Rex are featured. In the Guest of the Week portion Eric is joined by Ryan Hildebrand and Efrain Villareal of Palace Social. Eric speaks with the guys about how the opportunity was presented, coming up with the menu, how things have been going so far, guiding customers to certain items, what Ryan's told people about putting this program together, trying to do things differently, where they're sourcing from, their cocktail program, their gameday environment during sporting events, and much more!

No guest on today's podcast so it's another full Eric and Felice Sloan episode. Listen as Eric and Felice go through some of the latest news from the Houston restaurant and bar scene including the results of the 2021 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards, Goode Company leasing a space in The Heights, Bun B debuting a new burger pop up, and Pho Binh opening a location in Finn Hall. In the Restaurants of the Week section Shoot the Moon and Trash Panda Drinking Club are featured.