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What’s Eric Eating — Podcasting
What’s Eric Eating

Every week, CultureMap Editor Eric Sandler examines the Houston culinary landscape, giving you the latest news, restaurant reviews, and interviews with some of the most interesting people in the scene. New episodes of the What’s Eric Eating? podcast drop every Tuesday and Thursday.

Latest Episodes:

Episode 560 - Brock Wagner of Saint Arnold Brewing Company and Asa Hanrahan of Flying Saucer & Rodeo Goat Jun 04, 2026

Show notes

Eric's doing things a little different for the show today. On this edition of What's Eric Eating Eric is joined by Brock Wagner of Saint Arnold Brewing Company and Asa Hanrahan of the Flying Saucer & Rodeo Goat for an extensive conversation about the current state of craft beer. The trio discuss, the early days of the craft beer explosion, whether there was a shift in interest for local craft brews to national brands, the rise of taprooms, the issues smaller breweries face nowadays, how they reach customers, why you can't rest on your laurels, what people are buying at Saint Arnold currently, the current pilsner competition happening in the market, the age of barrel aged beers going away, preparing for the World Cup, 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 559 - Toga and Sip & Skewer Jun 02, 2026

Show notes

On this edition of the podcast Eric is joined by Houston BBQ Festival co-founder Michael Fulmer. Since the news edition of the podcast has been off for a couple of weeks, the duo catch up on some of the biggest news from the Houston culinary scene including Betelgeuse Betelgeuse owner Chris Cusack getting arrested for health code violations, Mack McDonald getting set to open a new steakhouse concept, and Bludorn Hospitality's latest endeavor - a mystery concept in San Antonio. In the Restaurants of the Week portion, Toga and Sip & Skewer 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 558 - Mark Clayton and Terry Williams of Squable May 21, 2026

Show notes

Today on the podcast Eric is joined by Mark Clayton and Terry Williams of Squable. The guys speak with Eric about the opening days of Squable, working with Bobby Heugel and Justin Yu, developing the menu, making some pivots after opening, making the food approachable, the cocktail program, learning what the neighborhood wanted, changes to the front of house over time, being the old heads on 19th street, creating the brunch menu, being #2 on the Houston Chronicle's Top 100 restaurants list, why they're not losing sleep over not being added to the Michelin Guide (yet), goals for the future, and more! Plus, Mark shares about his career leading up to Squable, Terry's time at Trulucks, and we may have to fight a few technical issues.

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 557 - Christopher Huang of Narwhal Jousting Club May 14, 2026

Show notes

Today on the show Eric is joined by Christopher Huang of Narwhal Jousting Club. Christopher speaks with Eric about how computers pushed him towards the restaurant industry, learning on the job, opening Ninja Ramen, why ramen at first, how Ninja Ramen evolved over time, why he decided to close Ninja Ramen last year, Starcraft, opening Narwhal Jousting Club, why they abandoned the initial sandwich first concept Narwhal had, why Houston is considered not a great sandwich city, going the burger route, their burger style, Houston food theories, making things simple, keeping pricing low, goals for Narwhal, food courts, 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 556 - Exilio Latin Flair May 12, 2026

Show notes

Today on the podcast, Eric is joined by Mary Clarkson of Heights Grocer and Montrose Grocer. Eric and Mary discuss some of the latest news from the Houston restaurant and bar scene including Joe & the Juice picking Houston for it's first Texas location and the team behind Mimo debut their new sandwich restaurant concept La Rosa to great success. In the Restaurants of the Week portion Exilio Latin Flair is 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 555 - Benjy Mason and Jason Kerr of Shredders Pizza May 07, 2026

Show notes

On today's edition of the podcast, Eric is joined by Jason Kerr and Benjy Mason of Shredders Pizza. The duo discuss with Eric how the idea for Shredders Pizza came about, finding their audience, pizza delivery being the coolest job for a time, going down a pizza style rabbit hole, developing the dough recipe, the topping options, pushing each other in the right ways, managing the demand, their goals, and much more. Plus, Jason speaks about his career leading up to Shredders Pizza, Benjy shares why or more so how he expanded into pizza, that time when Jason gave a piece of cake away that went horribly wrong, the food truck boom, and the wine wolf... yes the wine wolf... so it's a werewolf and... you know what just listen to the episode. It'll make sense.

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 554 - Jantra May 05, 2026

Show notes

Today on the podcast Eric is joined by Felice Sloan, a.k.a. The Swanky Maven. Eric and Felice cover some of the latest happenings from the Houston food scene including Burger Chan opening it's 2nd location, the upcoming closure of Picos, and Bandista rising up the Best Bars in North America rankings for 2026. In the Restaurants of the Week portion, Jantra is 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 553 - Julian Haynes of Cosmic Ice Cream Co. Apr 30, 2026

Show notes

On today's edition of the podcast, Eric is joined by Julian Haynes of Cosmic Ice Cream Co. to discuss his career, Cosmic, and more. Julian speaks with Eric about why he got into the ice cream business, how he left the oil & gas field, the first iteration of Cosmic, learning to make ice cream, getting the initial ice cream bug from a Portland concept, why Webster was the right location for their first shop, being selective about their locations, building the brand, the decision to take a more old school neighborhood ice cream shop approach with the concept, what they took away from opening their first location, how Christine Ha helped them decide on Spring Branch, getting the call about Pearland/Bellaire, building up the team, plans for the future, and 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 552 - Alba Huerta & Vanessa Alba of Julep and Robin Wong of Blood Bros. BBQ Apr 23, 2026

Show notes

Today on the podcast Eric is joined by Alba Huerta and Vanessa Alba of Julep as well as Robin Wong of Blood Bros. BBQ. Alba shares her insights on the creation of The Parlor at Julep, why the multi-use space at Julep was the perfect vehicle for The Parlor, trying different things with The Parlor that they wouldn't do at Julep, the modern cocktail movement, the new techniques they're using, creating gastro-cocktails, finding a unique way to work with/see others in the industry with Chef's Cut, Houston's place as a bar city, and more. All 3 share their perspectives on the idea of Chef's Cut, how it came about, the chef's that have done it so far, and Robin's DJ skills. Plus, Vanessa speaks on how she first got involved with Julep and Robin talks about the latest happenings over at Blood Bros. BBQ.

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 551 - Johnny Ritas Cocina y Cantina, Pho Prime and Crawfish Cafe Apr 21, 2026

Show notes

On today's edition of the podcast, Eric is joined by Houston BBQ Festival co-founder Michael Fulmer. Eric and Michael cover some of the latest news from the Houston culinary scene including giving a recap of the 2026 Tastemaker Awards, Captain Fred's upcoming affordable seafood concept opening near Third Ward, and the great quest for a Topo Chico replacement. In the Restaurants of the Week portion Johnny Ritas Cocina y Cantina and the new combination of Pho Prime and Crawfish Cafe 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:

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