What's Eric Eating

Time to announce the winner of The Ultimate Houston Dessert Draft (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-478-the-ultimate-houston-dessert-draft/id1231236807?i=1000717356356) , who's picking the winner you ask? Michelle Wallace of b'tween Sandwich Co. (https://www.btween.us/?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAafH-_7mY0X85sDcQuprryRnBBpae8YCnp_ufMQKa5x8-E4cySRIhJEv9jhW-A_aem_MqUb1jia8Aw458mRZzF-9A...

On today's episode of the podcast, you're in for something a lot sweeter than normal... because well it's The Ultimate Houston Dessert Draft! Listen as Eric, alongside Local Foods Group's (https://www.instagram.com/localfoodsgroup/) Chelsea Thomas, the Hangry Houstonian (https://www.instagram.com/hangryhoustonian/) Danielle Dubois, Fluff Bake Bar's (https://www.instagram.com/fluffbakebar/) Beck...

Season 4 of The Bear (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOyRo-Yjr2Q) premiered on Hulu a couple of weeks ago so it's time to get our into our now yearly discussion with the Ultimate Date Night Draft winner himself, Justin Yu. Eric and Justin dive into a full spoiler conversation all about season 4 including the financial challenges that the restaurant faced this season, the difficulty of changing...

On today's podcast Eric is joined by Michael Fulmer to discuss Bobby Heugel and Jackie Stromm uniting for a new cocktail bar concept and Michael's beef with an overused word in food media. In the Restaurants of the Week portion Good God, Nadine's (https://www.goodgodnadines.com/) and Ichijiku Neighborhood Sushi (https://www.ichijikuhouston.com/) are featured. Follow Eric on Instagram/Threads @...

Today on the podcast Eric is joined by Bryan Caswell and Allison Knight of Latuli (https://www.instagram.com/latulihouston/) . The pair discuss with Eric why the Memorial area was the right place for Latuli, the scale of it, developing the menu, the nods to previous concepts of Bryan's, the staff, what the opening process has been like for Allison, the unusual design of Latuli, making it kid fr...

Eric's back! Today he's joined by Chelsea Thomas to go through the latest happenings in the Houston restaurant and bar scene. The duo discuss chef Thomas Bille winning Best Chef Texas at this year's James Beard Awards (https://www.jamesbeard.org/stories/the-2025-james-beard-award-winners) , Tristen Epps winning Top Chef, and Austin based Emmer & Rye Hospitality Group (https://emmerhospitality.c...

Bobby Heugel is back for an in-depth conversation with Eric about the current state of the restaurant/bar scene in Houston. Bobby speaks with Eric about a plethora of topics including the current state of Thorough Fare Hospitality (https://www.thoroughfareco.com/) , whether there's oversaturation in the Houston food scene, why Michelin benefits the winners more than the city, the challenges wit...

Today on the podcast Eric is joined by Daniel Vaughn, the BBQ editor for Texas Monthly (https://www.texasmonthly.com/contributors/daniel-vaughn/) and who's also fresh off the release of Texas Monthly's Top 50 BBQ Joints (https://www.texasmonthly.com/interactive/top-50-bbq-2025/) for 2025. Daniel speaks with Eric about how the Houston BBQ scene has changed in the last decade, the turnover for Ho...

Michael Fulmer is back joining Eric on the podcast today! The guys dive straight into the News of the Week with more reactions to Texas Monthly's Top 50 BBQ spots (https://www.texasmonthly.com/interactive/top-50-bbq-2025/) and Cecil's Pub (https://www.instagram.com/cecilspub_hou/) getting a new home. In the Restaurants of the Week portion Silk Road (https://silkroadhtx.com/) and Doko (https://w...

On a special episode of What's Eric Eating, Eric Sandler was joined by three people very much in the know about the Texas BBQ scene, to discuss the Texas Monthly Top 50 BBQ (https://www.texasmonthly.com/interactive/top-50-bbq-2025/) restaurants in Texas list! Renowned photographer and entrepreneur Robert Lerma (https://www.robertjacoblerma.com/) The pitmaster and owner of Truth BBQ (https://tr...

Today on the podcast Eric is joined by Mary Clarkson to dive into some of the latest news from the Houston restaurant and bar scene. The pair discuss the recent closings of PostScript (https://www.instagram.com/postscripthtx/?hl=en) and B.B. Lemon (https://www.bblemon.com/) and the recent openings of Succulent Fine Dining (https://www.succulentfinedining.com/?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAadGUydCr0...

Chef Allie Peña and chef-owner Aaron Bludorn of Bludorn (https://www.bludornrestaurant.com/) join Eric on the show today. The pair speak with Eric about Allie taking over as executive chef at Bludorn, why Allie pursued the job, why Aaron felt Allie was the right choice, new ideas Allie has for Bludorn, staples that she plans to keep, her time running the Bar Bludorn (https://www.barbludorn.com/...

On today's edition of the podcast Eric is joined by Lawton Driscoll to go through some of the latest news from the Houston restaurant/bar scene. The pair discuss new restaurant Kirkwood (https://www.kirkwoodrestaurant.com/) coming this fall from the Mac Haik Restaurant Group (https://www.machaik-enterprises.com/mhrg) , John Avila's new concept Pinballz Pizzeria (https://pinballz-pizzeria-104800...

Today on the podcast Eric is joined by Jamie Allen of Juliet (https://www.juliethtx.com/) . Jamie speaks with Eric about his career before his journey into the culinary world, why he decided to switch careers, creating Candy Shack Daiquiris (https://candyshackdaiquiris.com/) , the inspiration for Juliet, why the movie theater theme for the concept, developing the menu, his influences in the cre...

Today on the podcast Eric is joined by a returning Felice "Swanky Maven" Sloan to discuss some of the latest news from the Houston restaurant/bar scene. The pair speak about Jason Goldstein's new non-kosher steakhouse concept, Cactus Club Cafe (https://www.cactusclubcafe.com/) opening it's 3rd US location in Houston, and Greg Gatlin of Gatlin's BBQ (https://www.gatlinsbbq.com/) making his BBQ B...

On today's edition of What's Eric Eating, Eric is joined by Drake Leonards of Eunice (https://www.eunicerestaurant.com/) . Drake speaks with Eric about the evolution of Eunice since he was last on the podcast back in 2018, why it's important that they're open 7 days a week, fixing their patio situation, being part of the Houston chef community, the team at Eunice, the flexibility they provide c...

Today on the podcast, Eric is joined by Garden Oaks expert Monica Danna to dive into some of the latest happenings in the Houston restaurant/bar scene. The pair discuss Good Dog Houston (https://gooddoghouston.com/) closing after 12 years in the Heights, chef Arnaldo Richards new fajita delivery aptly titled FajitaDelivery.com (https://fajitadelivery.com/) , and CultureMap's list of 9 new bars ...

Today on the podcast Eric is joined by Nick Adair and Katie Adair Barnhart of Adair Concepts (https://www.adairconcepts.com/) . The siblings discuss with Eric growing up in the restaurant business, why they wanted to continue on with the family business rather than do something different, working together, how they made Adair Kitchen (https://www.adairkitchen.com/) different from Skeeters (http...

Today on the podcast Eric is joined by a returning Chelsea Thomas. The pair first discuss Chelsea making her return to the culinary scene with her new gig and then they dive into the latest Houston restaurant news. They cover Burger Chan's (https://burgerchanhtx.com/) owners adding a new co-owner, the new cowboy inspired concept coming to the inner loop, and chef Jane Wild's new cafe/bakery con...

On today's edition of the podcast things are little different because Eric is live on-site! Yep, Eric had the chance to catch up with both Fernando Rios and Mike Sammons live at MIMO (https://www.mimohtx.com/) . The guys speak with Eric about how they first started working together, the fun but hard challenge of Da Marco, why the East End needed an Italian restaurant, what made the space the ch...

Today on the podcast Eric is joined by Mary Clarkson to go through some of the latest Houston bar and restaurant news. The pair speak about the 4 Houston chefs/restaurants named finalists for James Beard awards (https://www.jamesbeard.org/stories/2025-james-beard-awards-restaurant-and-chef-nominees) , Jūn (https://www.junbykin.com/) becoming the home of a daytime coffee service called Third Pla...

On today's edition of the podcast Eric is joined by Shawn Virene and David Buckley of Succulent Fine Dining (https://www.succulentfinedining.com/) . The guys speak with Eric about the inspiration for this new concept, why now was the right time for it, the desire for a patio, why David was the right fit to be the executive chef, their vision for the food, how the concept differs from a'Bouzy (h...

Today on the podcast Eric is joined by Shawn Gawle of Camaraderie (https://www.camaraderiehtx.com/) . Shawn speaks with Eric about what got him first interested in becoming a chef, his journey beginning with his Dad's deli to eventually working in Michelin star restaurants, working at his 2nd grade teacher's restaurant, what brought him to Houston, why he decided to join Goodnight Hospitality (...

On today's episode Eric is joined by Mary Clarkson to discuss some of the latest happenings from the Houston restaurant/bar scene. Eric and Mary speak about the recent closings of both Auden (https://www.audenrestaurant.com/) and Mi Cocina (https://www.micocina.com/houston-river-oaks-closure/) , whether there's been an actual of rash of closings as of late, Dallas restaurants making their way t...

Today on the podcast Eric is joined by Suu Khin of Burmalicious (https://www.theburmalicious.com/) . Suu speaks with Eric about how Burmese cuisine is different from other southeast Asian food, starting her food blog, how she got on Master Chef, her experience being on the show, doing the show in the midst of the pandemic, meeting each other for the first time, sharing her Burmese heritage thro...

On today's podcast Eric is joined by Michael Fulmer to go through some of the latest news happening across the Houston restaurant/bar scene. Eric and Michael discuss Shawn Gawle's new restaurant Camaraderie (https://www.camaraderiehtx.com/) , the space that once held Flying Fish transforming into a new cocktail bar called The Kid (https://www.thehoustonkid.com/) , and Eric's road trip to Redbir...

Today on the podcast Eric is joined by Casey McNeil of Case Chocolates (https://www.casechocolates.com/) . Casey speaks with Eric about how he got started down the chocolate career path, the early days of his career, learning how to make chocolates with liquid centers, why he decided to open a speakeasy, wanting to tell a story with cacao, returning customers, plans for the future, and much mor...

Monica Danna is back on the podcast! Eric and Monica catch up a bit and then dive into some of the latest news from the Houston bar and restaurant scene. The duo discuss Matt Toomey opening a brick and mortar location of Little Dreamer Coffee (https://www.littledreamercoffee.com/) in Montrose, Jeff Harmon bringing a new venture to Montrose called Montrose Country Club (https://www.themontroseco...

On the podcast today, Eric is joined by Kripa and Kirthan Shenoy of Auden (https://www.audenrestaurant.com/) & EaDough (https://eadough.com/) . The couple speak with Eric about they first met, how they both got into their respective culinary careers, the decision to comeback to Houston after working in New York, how the ideas for their concepts grew organically, creating EaDough, how the pandem...

Today on the podcast Eric is joined by Lawton Driscoll to discuss some of the latest news from the Houston restaurant and bar scene. The pair speak about the recent string of Steakhouse closures (Andiron (https://www.andironhtx.com/) , Karne Korean Steakhouse (https://www.karnehtx.com/) , Patton's (https://www.pattonsheights.com/) , & more), Shawn Virene's new wine focused concept Succulent Fin...

Eric returns for a new edition of the podcast! Sorry about Tuesday (insert oops emoji face here). On today's podcast Eric is joined by Sean Carroll of Melange Creperie (https://www.houstoncrepes.com/) which is celebrating it's 15th anniversary! Sean speaks with Eric about this awesome milestone, how he first started selling crepes, being ahead of the curve on the food truck boom, why crepes, bu...

Today on the podcast Eric is joined by Wade Schindler of Cotton Culinary (https://cottonculinary.com/) . Wade gives Eric the rundown on what Cotton is, what Cotton Culinary does, how Cotton Culinary got started, and more Plus, he speaks with Eric about how he first got into the culinary industry, the challenges of responding to an area that's just experienced a natural disaster, the process of ...

Today on the podcast Eric is joined by Mary Clark, the owner of Heights Grocer! They discussed... The Houston Chronicle announcing that Bao Ong will be their new restaurant critic, replacing Alison Cook, who retired in November after 22 years in the position Ronnie Killen's decision to close down his steakhouse in The Woodlands Ramen Tatsu-ya announcing it will open its second Houston-area lo...

Today on the podcast Eric is joined by Larry McGuire of MML Hospitality (https://mmlhospitality.com/) . Larry speaks with Eric about his journey into becoming a restaurateur, starting Lamberts (https://lambertsaustin.com/) barbecue, going from barbecue to seafood with Perla's (https://perlasaustin.com/) oyster bar, the array of concepts he's overseen, the atmosphere they go for with their conce...

The Swanky Maven returns! Felice Sloan joins Eric to discuss the latest happenings from the Houston restaurant and bar scene including the closure of Money Cat (https://moneycathtx.com/) and chef Tristen Epps' ongoing pop-up series at Jūn (https://www.junbykin.com/) as part of the opening of BuBoy. In the Restaurants of the Week section, Mexican Sugar (https://www.mexicansugarcocina.com/) and K...

Time to find out who won The Ultimate Date Night Draft 2.0 (https://open.spotify.com/episode/5pKK3fxHK2YQ1Hq6LjbeIt?si=kK4x5poKTuWTHJiZfs8sYw) with special guest, and winner of last year's Ultimate Date Night Draft (https://open.spotify.com/episode/0ID94P3MKCYKkyh6dbJHEZ?si=hqHeyUf1SQSTotyys9WaeQ) , Justin Yu of Thorough Fare Hospitality (https://www.thoroughfareco.com/) (Theodore Rex (https://...

Planning out where to go for a first date can be hard, I mean there's so many places where could you take that special someone what do you even choose? If only there was an episode of a podcast that not only picked some of the best first date spots but also third date spots, casual weeknight date spots, and even breakup spots. Oh, well it turns out this episode of What's Eric Eating is all abou...

On today's podcast Eric is joined by Christian Hernandez and Priscilla Treviño of Barbacana (https://barbacanatx.com/) . The pair speak with Eric about how their respective culinary careers began, where their careers have taken them, Christian's experience opening/working at March (https://www.marchrestaurant.com/) , the vision for Barbacana, what was it about Barbacana that attracted Priscill...

After a week off, Eric is back with a brand new episode of the podcast. Today he's joined by Houston BBQ Festival co-founder Michael Fulmer to dive into some of the latest news from the Houston restaurant and bar scene. The guys discuss the Houston chefs/restaurants that were named James Beard Award Semifinalists (https://www.jamesbeard.org/blog/the-2025-james-beard-award-semifinalists) , Leaf ...

Today on the podcast Eric is joined by Marcos Juarez of Hidden Omakase (https://hiddenomakase.com/) . Marcos speaks with Eric about how he got into the culinary world, what led him to becoming a sushi chef, his time at Uchi (https://uchi.uchirestaurants.com/location/houston/menu/) , how he made the transition from Uchi to Hidden Omakase, working alongside Niki Vongthong, the changes he's implem...

The Swanky Maven herself Felice Sloan joins Eric on the podcast today. The pair speak about Bagel Bob's HTX (https://www.instagram.com/bagel_bobs/) finding a new home in a space formerly occupied by Berg Hospitality (https://www.berghospitality.com/) , the opening of Aaron Bludorn's newest concept Perseid (https://www.bunkhousehotels.com/hotel-saint-augustine/eat-drink/perseid) , and Goode Comp...

On today's episode Eric is joined by Cary Attar and Edel Goncalves of Fielding's Culinary Group (https://www.fieldingsculinarygroup.com/) . Cary and Edel return to the podcast for the first time since 2017, when the podcast first got started, so there was plenty to catch up on. The guys speak with Eric about how things have gone with Fielding's Culinary Group since they first appeared on the sh...

On today's podcast Eric is joined by Chelsea Thomas of The Infatuation Houston (https://www.theinfatuation.com/contributor/chelsea-thomas) to talk about some of the latest happenings from the Houston restaurant and bar scene. The pair discuss Bobby Heugel saving yet another local dive bar, Maximo (https://www.maximo-htx.com/) getting rebooted, and the closure of Roka Akor (https://rokaakor.com/...

Aaron Bludorn and Cherif Mbodji of Bludorn (https://www.bludornrestaurant.com/) , Navy Blue (https://www.navybluerestaurant.com/) , and Bar Bludorn (https://www.barbludorn.com/) join Eric on today's podcast. The guys speak with Eric about the current state of the restaurant group, what they're excited about coming up in 2025, how the Perseid project came about which is set to open this year at ...

Today on the podcast Eric is joined by Michael Fulmer to go through some of the latest and in this case surprising news from the Houston restaurant and bar scene. The surprising news being Austin Simmons sudden resignation from Tris (https://www.instagram.com/triswoodlands/?hl=en) plus the immediate closure of the restaurant. The guys also discuss Burger Bodega's (https://www.burgerbodega.com/)...

Happy New Year! On the first podcast of 2025, Eric is joined by Alex Smith of Atlas Restaurant Group (https://atlasrestaurantgroup.com/) . Alex speaks with Eric about how he get started in the restaurant business, the Baltimore dining scene, why they decided on Houston rather than somewhere northeast, why River Oaks District was the right spot, the decision to close Ouzo Bay, what he's learned ...

Since it's the last day of 2024, it feels like a good time to look back at the year the Houston food scene had. Today Eric is joined by the Swanky Maven Felice Sloan, the owner of Heights Grocer Mary Clarkson, hospitality veteran & Houston BBQ festival cofounder Michael Fulmer, and Infatuation Houston writer Chelsea Thomas. The group discuss everything from the Michelin Guide's impact on the ci...

Today on the podcast Eric is joined by Ali Mesghali and Stephen Kaplan of Rumi's Kitchen (https://www.rumiskitchen.com/) . The pair speak with Eric about what led to the creation of Rumi's Kitchen, the tough early day's of the concept, the Persian influences, the passion for the concept as the restaurant has evolved, the beverage program, why Houston was the right next market for them, Houstoni...

Today on the podcast Eric is joined by Michael Fulmer to discuss some of the latest news from the Houston bar and restaurant scene. The pair discuss ElRo Pizza & Crudo (https://www.elrohtx.com/) closing down after service on December 31, and also the opening of Mercato and Company (https://mercatoandcompany.com/) , a European grocery store offering items including Italian wines, pastries, chees...

On today's podcast Eric is joined by Tim Reading of Leo's River Oaks (https://www.leosriveroaks.com/) . Eric and Tim discuss Tim's journey into the culinary scene, his time in Boston, coming to Houston, working with Hugo Ortega, what he would have changed with his first solo concept, his mission at Georgia James Tavern, the golden age of roast chicken (I couldn't not put that quote in the descr...