On this week’s episodes of “What’s Eric Eating,” CultureMap editor Eric Sandler deviates from his usual format. Instead of one episode devoted to restaurant news and another with an in-depth interview, the podcast’s fan favorite fantasy football-style restaurant drafts return with an episode devoted to steakhouses. Plus, listeners get a bonus episode with James Beard Award winner Justin Yu discussing season three of The Bear, the FX show set in a fictional Chicago restaurant.
For the steakhouse draft, five Houston restaurant experts joined Sandler. They are — Raffi Nasr, chef-owner of Craft Pita; Mary Clarkson, owner of Avondale Food & Wine; Chelsea Thomas, the staff writer for The Infatuation Houston; Aaron Bludorn, chef-owner of Bludorn Hospitality; and Michael Fulmer, co-founder of the Houston BBQ Festival. They selected restaurants in seven categories — Salads, Appetizers, Steak, Non-steak entrees, Potato side, Dessert, and Wild Card. It follows similar episodes devoted to barbecue, Tex-Mex, burgers, and date night.
Drafters could not select the same restaurant multiple times, and no two teams could select the same restaurant for the same category. Pappas Bros. led the way by being on all six teams, followed by Doris Metropolitan, Andiron, and B&B Butchers at four teams each.
Here are the results, in order of selection in the first round:
Team Raffi
- Salad: Brenner’s on the Bayou
- Appetizers: B&B Butchers
- Steak: Pappas Bros.
- Non-steak entrees: Perry’s
- Potato: Andiron
- Dessert: Steak 48
- Wild card: Chama Gaucha cheese rolls
Team Mary
- Salad: Fleming’s
- Appetizers: Rainbow Lodge
- Steak: Andiron
- Non-steak entrees: the Palm
- Potato: Pappas Bros.
- Dessert: Mastro’s
- Wild card: B&B Butchers wagyu sando
Team Chelsea
- Salad: Taste of Texas
- Appetizers: Toca Madera
- Steak: Patton’s
- Non-steak entrees: B&B Butchers
- Potato: Doris Metropolitan
- Dessert: Andiron
- Wild card: Pappas Bros. beverage program
Team Eric
- Salad: Doris Metropolitan
- Appetizers: Tris
- Steak: Saltillo Mexican Kitchen
- Non-steak entrees: Pappas Bros.
- Potato: Steak 48
- Dessert: Guard & Grace
- Wild card: Georgia James Baller Board
Team Aaron
- Salad: Andiron
- Appetizers: Doris Metropolitan
- Steak: Tris
- Non-steak entrees: Guard & Grace
- Potato: B&B Butchers
- Dessert: Pappas Bros.
- Wild card: Toca Madera’s performers/atmosphere
Team Michael
- Salad: Pappas Bros.
- Appetizers: Vic & Anthony’s
- Steak: Killen’s Steakhouse
- Non-steak entrees: Rainbow Lodge
- Potato: Tris
- Dessert: Prime 131
- Wild card: Doris Metropolitan caviar
Listen to the full episode to hear which dishes inspired their selections as well as the other restaurants that had on their draft boards.
Michael Sambrooks, the owner of Houston restaurant group Sambrooks Management (The Pit Room, Candente, and Andiron) joins Sandler. After naming his top three names, he also shares an update on The Pit Room’s new location near Memorial City Mall.
Finally, in this week’s bonus episode, chef Justin Yu, owner of downtown fine dining restaurant Theodore Rex and a partner in Thorough Fare Hospitality (Anvil, Refuge, Squable, Better Luck Tomorrow, and Catbirds), shares his thoughts on season three of The Bear. Drawing upon his experiences opening Oxheart in 2012 — the restaurant where Yu earned a positive review from the New York Times, a Food & Wine Best New Chef award, and a James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southwest — Yu offers unique insight into how the show captures the world of ambitious restaurants.
During the episode, he and Sandler discuss their favorite scenes and answer questions like whether they would want to eat at the restaurant. They also note some of the ways that the show seems a little out of touch with the contemporary restaurant world.
Obviously, the conversation includes spoilers throughout, so don’t listen until after watching all 10 episodes. Sandler and Yu discussed season two last year; it just received a record-breaking 23 Emmy nominations.
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