What's Eric Eating - TopPodcast.com

Latest Episodes:

Episode 580 - Marco Thompson & Mauricio Alvarado of Osteria di Mercato Aug 27, 2026

Show notes

On today's edition of What's Eric Eating, Eric is joined by Marco Thompson and Mauricio Alvarado of Osteria di Mercato. Marco and Mauricio share how they both got into the world of culinary, what brought them back to Houston, working together at Osteria di Mercato, what brought each of them to the concept, why the small menu, developing the menu, the benefits of working in a small concept, the neighborhood restaurant feel, the creation of some of the dishes including the tuna crudo, the wine list, how things are going so far, their goals, a comment regarding Alison Cook's recent blog post, and more! Plus, the guys share a couple stories about the late Grant Gordon.

Got a question for Eric? Email him at eric@culturemap.com. Follow Eric on Instagram @ericsandler and check out some of Eric's latest articles online at Culturemap.com:

Episode 579 - One Roast Aug 25, 2026

Show notes

Today on the show Eric is joined by Raffi Nasr of Craft Pita! The guys dive into some of the latest news from the Houston food scene including Chris Williams' restaurant Late August closing, Agnes and Sherman being recognized by Bon Appetit as one of it's Best New Restaurants of 2026, Pochitos Mariscos y Más soon featuring a new menu created by chef Aquiles Chávez, and the Michelin Guide making changes to how it'll announce this year's Texas recipients... Eric's not a fan. Then in the Restaurants of the Week portion, One Roast is featured.

Plus, Raffi shares a bit about what diners can expect from his upcoming collaborative pop up with Agnes and Sherman called Pepitas, coming this September.

Got a question for Eric? Email him at eric@culturemap.com. Follow Eric on Instagram @ericsandler and check out some of Eric's latest articles online at Culturemap.com:

Episode 578 - Luis Lopez, Jake Granville, & Ryan Penn of Eastbound Barbecue Aug 13, 2026

Show notes

On today's edition of What's Eric Eating, Eric is joined by Luis Lopez, Jake Granville, & Ryan Penn of Eastbound Barbecue. The guys speak with Eric about how they got their respective culinary starts, their experiences working with Ronnie Killen, why the time was right to start Eastbound Barbecue, what aspect about the new concept appealed to them, developing the menu to incorporate other items besides just barbecue, making items very distinct from other places like Killen's, doing their best to keep costs low for themselves as well as customers, mixing up the menu at times, why their burger is special, the birth of Eastbound Gold, the service experience, the cocktail program, how things are going so far since opening, and much more!

Got a question for Eric? Email him at eric@culturemap.com. Follow Eric on Instagram @ericsandler and check out some of Eric's latest articles online at Culturemap.com:

Episode 577 - Angie's Pizza and Bar Angie Aug 11, 2026

Show notes

Today on the podcast, Eric is joined by Mary Clarkson of Heights Grocer and Montrose Grocer. Eric speaks with Mary about some of the latest news from the Houston restaurant and bar scene including the closure of Barbecue Inn after 80 years of service, Pudgy's Fine Cookies/Underground Creamery head to Meyerland to open their 2nd collaborative location, and the hometown chef that Beat Bobby Flay recently. In the Restaurants of the Week portion Angie's Pizza and Bar Angie are featured.

Got a question for Eric? Email him at eric@culturemap.com. Follow Eric on Instagram @ericsandler and check out some of Eric's latest articles online at Culturemap.com:

Episode 576 - The Ultimate Chain Restaurant Draft Winner Reveal with Graham Laborde of Winnie's Aug 06, 2026

Show notes

Time to reveal the winner of The Ultimate Chain Restaurant Draft! Graham Laborde of Winnie's joins Eric on today's podcast to serve as the special guest judge for the draft. Graham speaks with Eric as to why he felt [redacted] won the draft, what stood out from the winners selections, who was closest in beating [redacted], restaurants he was surprised didn't get picked, the rest of the teams selections, and more! Plus, Graham shares with Eric the latest happenings over at Winnie's and what they're doing for Houston Restaurant Weeks.

Got a question for Eric? Email him at eric@culturemap.com. Follow Eric on Instagram @ericsandler and check out some of Eric's latest articles online at Culturemap.com:

Episode 575 - The Ultimate Chain Restaurant Draft Aug 04, 2026

Show notes

It's draft day on What's Eric Eating!

Eric, Sarah Dowling of Baso, Abbas Dhanani of Burger Bodega, Raffi Nasr of Craft Pita, and Chelsea Thomas are drafting The Ultimate Chain Restaurant line up on today's edition of the podcast. First though, what is the definition of a chain restaurant?

For podcast drafting purposes, The Ultimate Chain Restaurant Draft defines a chain restaurant as having at least 20 locations in at least five states. For example, this would exclude a place like Steak 48 (only has 8 locations), but does include Nobu (locations on 5 continents).

The Chain Restaurant categories our drafters will drafting in are; Breakfast, Burgers, Fast Casual, Ice Cream Steakhouse, and a Wild Card.
The winner will be announced on the next episode of the podcast as selected by special judge, so stayed tuned to your podcast feeds to find out who the winner of the first ever Ultimate Chain Restaurant Draft is.

The Draft Rules
Rule 1: For burgers, you can pick any restaurant that serves a burger, it doesn't have to be a dedicated burger concept but no selections from a fast food concept.
Rule 2: Steakhouses are restaurants with at least 6 different a la carte steaks on the menu that cook orders to temperature.
Rule 3: All 6 selections must be from different places for each drafter. Once a restaurant has been selected for any category, it's off the board for all other categories/drafters.
Rule 4: Snake draft format. The draft order will go one through five in round 1 then go backwards five through one in round 2, and so on.
Rule 5: Categories may be selected in any order.

Got a question for Eric? Email him at eric@culturemap.com. Follow Eric on Instagram @ericsandler and check out some of Eric's latest articles online at Culturemap.com:

Episode 574 - Paul Friedman of Chef's Table Jul 30, 2026

Show notes

Today on the show Eric is joined by Paul Friedman of Chef's Table. Paul speaks with Eric about pursuing a career in culinary, designing restaurants at first, wanting to become a professional chef, working with Mike's Kitchen, coming to Houston, losing everything, how he and Thomas Nguyen started Peli Peli, why Chef's Table was the right next move for him following Peli Peli, why his son Kyle is partially to blame for starting the concept, what it's like working with Kyle, developing the Chef's Table menu, ostrich becoming a best seller, why he decided to add go to River Oaks for the 2nd location of Chef's Table, the challenges he's face so far, installing sprinklers being a problem, what the goals are moving forward, and the monkey gland sauce story.

Got a question for Eric? Email him at eric@culturemap.com. Follow Eric on Instagram @ericsandler and check out some of Eric's latest articles online at Culturemap.com:

Episode 573 - Charolais and Coarse Jul 28, 2026

Show notes

On today's edition of the show, Eric is joined by Houston BBQ Festival co-founder Michael Fulmer to discuss some of the latest news from the Houston food world including Relish Restaurant & Bar moving to a new location, Island Grill already claiming the former home of Relish, and the return of Houston Restaurant Weeks. In the Restaurants of the Week portion Charolais and Coarse are featured.

Got a question for Eric? Email him at eric@culturemap.com. Follow Eric on Instagram @ericsandler and check out some of Eric's latest articles online at Culturemap.com:

Episode 572 - Justin Yu of House of Louie Jul 23, 2026

Show notes

Time for part 2 of Eric's conversation with Justin Yu of Thorough Fare Hospitality. Today Justin speaks with Eric about his new concept House of Louie. Justin shares with Eric why he decided to do another restaurant, why he went with a French/Italian style, where the name came from (sadly it's not named after Eric), the excitement for fried lasagna, the other menu items they're excited for people to try, what he learned from his travels, hopes for people's perception of the restaurant, when they're expected to open, good Texans' vibes, and how the NFL is trying to break up relationships on Valentines Day next year.

Got a question for Eric? Email him at eric@culturemap.com. Follow Eric on Instagram @ericsandler and check out some of Eric's latest articles online at Culturemap.com:

Episode 571 - The Bear Season 5 Recap with Justin Yu Jul 21, 2026

Show notes

No news or restaurants of the week on today's podcast because it's time to get our yearly spoiler filled discussion about The Bear with Eric and Thorough Fare Hospitality's Justin Yu! The guys speak about the choice to center the final season around one day of service, how they related to the story, the chaos of the kitchen, customers taking a long time at a table, getting to relive the chaos the next day, what The Bear doesn't get right about the food media aspect, and more. Plus, they try to avoid the wrath of Taylor Swift fans.

Got a question for Eric? Email him at eric@culturemap.com. Follow Eric on Instagram @ericsandler and check out some of Eric's latest articles online at Culturemap.com:

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