What's Eric Eating

Chef Allie Peña and chef-owner Aaron Bludorn of Bludorn 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 kitchen, how Bludorn has exceeded Aaron's expectations in terms of t...

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 coming this fall from the Mac Haik Restaurant Group , John Avila's new concept Pinballz Pizzeria , and Nancy's Hustle opening daily now for dinner. In the Restaurants of the Week section Agnes and Sherman is featur...

Today on the podcast Eric is joined by Jamie Allen of Juliet . Jamie speaks with Eric about his career before his journey into the culinary world, why he decided to switch careers, creating Candy Shack Daiquiris , the inspiration for Juliet, why the movie theater theme for the concept, developing the menu, his influences in the creation of Juliet, what has made Juliet a hit from day one, his team...

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 opening it's 3rd US location in Houston, and Greg Gatlin of Gatlin's BBQ making his BBQ Brawl debut in June on Food Network. In the Restaurants of the Week...

On today's edition of What's Eric Eating, Eric is joined by Drake Leonards of Eunice . 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 customers, having one of the best burger...

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 closing after 12 years in the Heights, chef Arnaldo Richards new fajita delivery aptly titled FajitaDelivery.com , and CultureMap's list of 9 new bars making an impact in Houston. In the Restaurants of the Week sec...

Today on the podcast Eric is joined by Nick Adair and Katie Adair Barnhart of Adair Concepts . 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 different from Skeeters , how things are going with their Adair Kitchen and larger Los Tios locat...

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 owners adding a new co-owner, the new cowboy inspired concept coming to the inner loop, and chef Jane Wild's new cafe/bakery concept opening in The Heights. In...

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 . 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 choice for the concept, how they...

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 , Jūn becoming the home of a daytime coffee service called Third Place , and Alexandra "Allie" Peña becoming Bludorn's new executive chef. In the Restaurants of the Week portion Camaraderie...

On today's edition of the podcast Eric is joined by Shawn Virene and David Buckley of Succulent Fine Dining . 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 , the decor, growing succulents in preparati...

Today on the podcast Eric is joined by Shawn Gawle of Camaraderie . 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 , creating the program at Rosie Cannon...

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 and Mi Cocina , whether there's been an actual of rash of closings as of late, Dallas restaurants making their way to Houston, and the Kahani Social Group's latest concept Kitchen Rumors . In the Restaurants o...

Today on the podcast Eric is joined by Suu Khin of Burmalicious . 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 through her food, working with Cucharita f...

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 , the space that once held Flying Fish transforming into a new cocktail bar called The Kid , and Eric's road trip to Redbird BBQ . In the Restaurants of the Week portion Annam is featured.  Fol...

Today on the podcast Eric is joined by Casey McNeil of Case Chocolates . 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 more!  Follow Eric on Instagram/Threads...

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 in Montrose, Jeff Harmon bringing a new venture to Montrose called Montrose Country Club (if you're thinking about going there for golf you'd be wrong to do...

On the podcast today, Eric is joined by Kripa and Kirthan Shenoy of Auden & EaDough . 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 pandemic affected the initial stages of the bakery, developing...

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 , Karne Korean Steakhouse , Patton's , & more), Shawn Virene's new wine focused concept Succulent Fine Dining , and the 3 Houston concepts that made Texas Monthly's Best New Restaurants list...

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 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, building a following via the stand in...

Today on the podcast Eric is joined by Wade Schindler of Cotton Culinary . 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 feeding 50,000 people (yes you re...

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 locatio...

Today on the podcast Eric is joined by Larry McGuire of MML Hospitality . Larry speaks with Eric about his journey into becoming a restaurateur, starting Lamberts barbecue, going from barbecue to seafood with Perla's oyster bar, the array of concepts he's overseen, the atmosphere they go for with their concepts, why they decided to come to Houston, why Clark's Oyster Bar was the right concept for...

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 and chef Tristen Epps' ongoing pop-up series at Jūn as part of the opening of BuBoy. In the Restaurants of the Week section,  Mexican Sugar and Killen's Steakhouse are featured. Plus, Felice gives what would have been her date night draft s...

Time to find out who won The Ultimate Date Night Draft 2.0 with special guest, and winner of last year's Ultimate Date Night Draft , Justin Yu of Thorough Fare Hospitality ( Theodore Rex , Squable , Better Luck Tomorrow , & more). Justin explains why [redacted] was the winner of the draft, his thoughts on the selections all around, the picks that stoodout to him, what he would have selected, w...