What's Eric Eating

Today on the podcast Eric is joined by the Swanky Maven herself Felice Sloan of Swanky Beauty Bar to discuss some of the latest news from the Houston bar and restaurant scene including famed Burt's Meat Market closing, Omar Pereney's new culinary consulting company, and Vanessa Lomeli bringing some El Paso to The Heights with her new restaurant The 915. In the Restaurants of the Week section Killen's in The Heights (or inside the loop) is featured as well as a discussion regarding places for a good steak night. In the Guest of the Week portion of the podcast, Eric is joined by Linda Nguyen of Roostar Vietnamese Grill. Linda speaks with Eric about how she became interested in the restaurant business, developing the idea for Roostar Vietnamese Grill, utilizing family recipes for some of the different dishes, items that they've adapted after getting customer feedback, embracing the moniker of Boss Lady, creating a culture with their employees, deciding on whether to expand, and more!

Today on the podcast Eric is joined by Matt Harris to discuss the latest happenings in the Houston food scene including Crawfish & Noodles opening a 2nd location, Lance Fegen's return, and the closing of Original O.K.R.A. Charity Saloon. In the Restaurants of the Week section Kanau Sushi is featured. In the Guest of the Week portion Eric is joined by Michael Neff of The Cottonmouth Club. Eric and Michael have an extended conversation regarding Governor Greg Abbott's decision to lift all restrictions in Texas. Michael speaks with Eric about the position that bars are in now due to this ruling, why he didn't make The Cottonmouth Club, his efforts in advocating for the bar community during the pandemic, what it would take to reopen The Cottonmouth Club safely, concerns about downtown, the types of customers they dealt with early on in the pandemic, and appearing in John Oliver's opening segment recently.

Episode 184 - Adan Medrano of Truly Texas Mexican, The Movie

Today on the podcast Eric is joined by Michael Fulmer to discuss some of the latest news from the Houston bar and restaurant scene including 8 Houston restaurants being featured in Texas Monthly's best new restaurants list, the closure of Down House, and Berg Hospitality's latest endeavors. In the Restaurants of the Week portion The Taco Stand and Bludorn are featured. In the Guest of the Week section Eric is joined by Scott Hudler of Torchy's Tacos. Scott speaks with Eric about how one becomes chief marketing officer of Torchy's Tacos, his day to day responsibilities, keeping their menu lean, the process to developing their monthly specials, the passionate customer base, why the queso isn't changing, expanding in Houston, educating new out of state locations about queso & Torchy's, the big investment made into the company, the idea of craft casual, goals for their tortilla offerings, operating during these Covid times, and much more!

The podcast is back after a winter storm breaks and well there's something about Mary going on in this latest episode as Mary Clarkson of Avondale Food & Wine joins the show. Eric and Mary discuss the latest news including the devastating impact that the winter storm had on restaurants/bars in an already tough time as operators try to manage during the pandemic. Plus Eric and Mary discuss Blue Sushi Sake Grill opening a location in The Heights and the Houston chefs who will be competing in the latest season of Top Chef which is set to premiere on April 1st. In the Restaurants of the Week section roots is featured.

Today on the podcast Eric is riding solo for the first half! Eric jumps into the latest news from the Houston restaurant and bar scene including Chris Williams announcement of the formation of the Lucille's Hospitality Group, Justin Yu announcing that Theodore Rex will be closed until May, and the shutdown timeline for Luby's has been revealed. In the Restaurants of the Week portion, Toukei Izakaya is featured. In the Guest of the Week section Eric is joined by Antonio Rios and Diego Chiarello of La Sicilia Italian Bakery & Cafe. Antonio and Diego speak with Eric about how they met, why they chose Houston for their location, how they describe La Sicilia, their careers before the restaurant industry, the menu, managing the restaurant during the pandemic, the customer reaction/feedback so far, whether there are any plans for expansion, winning best bakery, and much more!

Today on the podcast Eric is joined by Michael Fulmer to discuss some the latest happenings in the Houston restaurant and bar scene including Cherry Block Craft Butcher + Kitchen opening 2 locations in lieu of their original location which is closing, the Taco Stand opening up in The Heights, and the opening of Cidercade in the east end of Houston. In the Restaurants of the Week portion March and Weights + Measures are featured. In the Guest of the Week section, Eric is joined by Kathryn Lott of the Southern Smoke Foundation. Kathryn speaks with Eric about her years of nonprofit experience, becoming the executive director of Southern Smoke, the foundation getting started right when Hurricane Harvey hit the city, dealing with the pandemic, how the foundation has grown over the years, how the assistance process works, how many people they've been able to help, what makes them different, what David Chang's win on Who Wants to be a Millionaire did for the foundation, 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 the Kirby Group's latest project, Kerry Pauly opening his first restaurant, and Dutch Bros. Coffee making it's way to Houston. In the Restaurants of the Week section The Nash and 93' Til are featured. In the Guest of the Week portion Eric is joined by Chris Shepherd of Underbelly Hospitality. It's been a little over 3 years since Chris was last on the podcast so Eric and Chris catch up as things have changed a lot for Chris since he was last on. Chris speaks with Eric about the biggest change for Southern Smoke since David Chang's big charity win, One Fifth's 4th anniversary, how things are going with Southern Comfort, plans for One Fifth Mediterranean, his new project Georgia James Tavern, why create a new concept instead of using an established brand, the progress on the Houston Farmer's Market redevelopment, social media influencers, and more!

Today on the podcast Eric is joined by the Felice Sloan of Swanky Beauty Bar to discuss some of the latest happenings in the Houston restaurant and bar scene including the Museum of Fine Arts Houston revealing 2 restaurants being run by Michelin star chefs, James Harden's new restaurant 13 opening up, and one of Eric's favorite places closing :(. In the Restaurants of the Week section Bocca Italian Kitchen and Lupo Pizzeria are featured. In the Guest of the Week section Eric is joined by Brandon Silva of Degust. Brandon speaks with Eric about how he started his journey into cooking which was definitely not a cliche beginning, how he ended up at Uchi, reaching a breaking point in his life/career, his wife's motivation, falling in love with food again, working with Mark Holley, his time staging, finally getting to open his own tasting menu restaurant, why picked the tasting menu format for Degust, not having cliche stories, and much more!

Today on the podcast Eric is joined by Avondale Food & Wine owner Mary Clarkson to discuss some the latest news from the Houston restaurant and bar scene including some of the new restaurants/bars that are opening in 2021 they're looking forward to, the new owners of Shipley Do-Nuts, and the possibility that restaurants could be allowed to sell alcohol to go permanently based off new legislation. In the Restaurants of the Week section Hidden Omakase is featured. In the Guest of the Week portion, Eric is joined by Justin Yoakum of Culinary Khancepts. Justin speaks with Eric about how he became interested in cooking, his professional journey from Houston to California and back, working with Jessica Biel, getting started with State Fare, what they've kept at State Fare, how they keep Liberty Kitchen different from State Fare, what's coming next for Liberty Kitchen, opening a new State Fare location during the pandemic, plans for expansion, being happy where he's at, and more!

Episode 176 - Ryan Lachaine of Riel

What's Eric Eating - Episode 175 - Year in Review with Matt Harris, Linda Salinas, and Felice Sloan

Today on the podcast Eric is joined by Felice Sloan of Swanky Maven and her new endeavor Swanky Beauty Bar. Eric and Felice discuss some the latest news from the Houston restaurant and bar scene including Post Houston revealing their first 6 vendors for their new food hall hitting Houston, Armando's owners bringing a new Italian restaurant to River Oaks, Postino opening a new location, and Palm Steakhouse getting a 2nd location. In the Restaurants of the Week Acadian Coast and Chef Dominick Lee's pop-up are featured. In the Guest of the Week section Eric is joined by Gabriel Medina of Click Virtual Food Hall. Gabriel speaks with Eric about how he got into the restaurant industry, life at Kata, his work in Japan, working with Paul Qui, being part of Aqui, why he decided to go with a virtual food hall instead of a sit-down in spot, how they've evolved the food that they offer at Click, favorite concept, their partnerships with restaurants, possibilities growth, 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. Eric and Michael discuss Houston Rockets star player James Harden jumping into the restaurant industry with a concept called 13, a new intimate sushi restaurant called Hidden Omakase opening up in the Galleria area, and the closing of Morningstar. In the Restaurants of the Week section Masraff's and OSTIA are featured. In the Guest of the Week portion Eric is joined by Ben Williams and Wendell Robbins III of Highway Vodka. Ben and Wendell speak with Eric about how they both got into distilling spirits, the benefits of hemp in their vodka, going from distilling hobbyist to creating a business, the growth of their distilling, how it's been so far, their work with The Nearest & Jack Advancement Initiative, how operating during Covid hasn't slowed their success, plans for the future, and 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. Eric and Mary go over some of the latest openings and closings in the city and the amazing win by David Chang on Who Wants to be a Millionaire to benefit Chris Shepherd's Southern Smoke Foundation. In the Restaurants of the Week section Bludorn and Angie's Pizzas are featured. In the Guest of the Week section Eric is joined by Monica Danna of REVIVE Development. Monica speaks with Eric about how she became part of the real estate industry, creating a following in the early days of social media, what tenants they currently are working with, some of their upcoming projects, what they're doing at REVIVE to help tenants amidst Covid-19, how Covid has changed dining, types of concepts we'll see moving forward, people changing their needs based off the new normal, dispelling some landlord myths, and more!