What's Eric Eating Episode 196

Houston chef spreads the love of new Heights restaurant, plus fine French dining at the MFAH

On this week's episode of "What's Eric Eating," Lance Fegen joins CultureMap food editor Eric Sandler to discuss Fegen's. Best known for Glass Wall and Liberty Kitchen, the veteran chef opened his new establishment in April.

As Fegen explains, this new restaurant is more personal than his previous projects, and not just because it's his name on the sign. Part of the menu features the Italian-American fare he grew up eating in New Jersey. Overall, it's brought a whole new energy to the space on Studewood that was home to the original Liberty Kitchen.

"I'll be honest. I didn't always love walking into Liberty Kitchen. It became a monster, and it got out of hand, personally and professionally," Fegen says. When I walk into Fegen's, I feel relieved that we have this really nice little place, and we've got a culture that's developing nicely.

"The food is simple and easy to understand. I just watching the dining room — I'm shucking oysters at the bar — and I can see every human in the building. What I'm seeing is this close knit camaraderie between the tables. They're not on their phones . . . Now I love being in my restaurant."

Tune in to hear the restaurant of the interview, in which Fegen discusses his new path as a professional coach who helps people with both their businesses and in recovering from addictions. The work has also led him to adopt a new approach in the kitchen.

Prior to the interview, Avondale Food & Wine owner Mary Clarkson joins Sandler to discuss the news of the week. Their topics include: Atlas Restaurant Group's plans to open a new Italian restaurant in Montrose; Mastro's Ocean Club coming to The Woodlands; and the recent openings of Agnes Cafe, Homestead, Badolina Bakery, and Shokku Ramen.

In the restaurants of the week segment, Clarkson and Sandler review their meal at Le Jardinier, the recently opened fine dining French restaurant at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Listen in to hear whether they think it lives up to reputation of its sister location in New York that holds one Michelin star.

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Subscribe to "What's Eric Eating" on Apple podcasts, Google Play, or Spotify. Listen to it Saturday at 1 pm on ESPN 97.5.

Badolina is one of many recent restaurant openings.

Photo by Eric Sandler

Badolina is one of many recent restaurant openings.

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baked fresh daily

Longtime Houston kolache bakery opens new Memorial location

Photo by Becca Wright

Michael Horne and Randy Hines.

One of Houston’s most reliable kolache bakeries has opened its new location. The Kolache Shoppe is now open near Memorial City Mall.

Located in the same shopping center as the second location of The Pit Room and the newly-opened Katz’s (10321 Katy Fwy), the new Kolache Shoppe occupies 1,400 square feet, giving the mostly grab-and-go concept a limited amount of indoor and outdoor seating. Like its sister locations in Greenway Plaza, the Heights, and Pearland, it serves a mixture of more than two dozen sweet and savory pastries using a dough recipe first developed by founder Erwin Ahrens.

Choices include everything from breakfast sandwich-style fillings such as bacon, egg, and cheese to savory options like kielbasa, cheese, and jalapeno or the classic sausage and cheese and classic sweet flavors like peach, blueberry, and poppy seed. Like the other locations, Memorial will serve rotating monthly specials that will include collaborations with area chefs.

For the Memorial location, Kolache Shoppe owners Lucy and Randy Hines partnered with director of operations Michael Horne. It’s a big move for Horne, who started at the bakery in 2018 as a part-time employee while attending grad school.

“Opening a new location as co-owner has given me a new respect for what our franchisees and other owners have been through,” says Horne. “That said, this next step brings me closer to the brand and allows me to serve in a different way. We’ve built an excellent team to maintain the level of service we’re known for and are excited to be open and operating within the Memorial community.”

“This is technically our third bakery to open as owners, so some of the edge is taken off, but for the first two, we didn’t have Michael’s help,” Randy Hines added. “Both the experience and know-how of another key player have made it less stressful. It’s nice to be able to bounce ideas and problem-solve together — and to spread both the rewards and challenges with a great support team. From our growing team to the restaurant community reaching out to collaborate on fun specials, this feels like a moment of abundance.”

Kolache Shoppe will celebrate its grand opening from Monday, November 3 through Sunday, November 9 with a number of giveaways and promotions. They include:

Monday, Nov. 3: Loyalty Member Appreciation Day — Loyalty members will receive a complimentary sweet or savory kolache.
Tuesday, Nov. 4: Early Bird Gift Cards — The first 50 guests in line will receive a $25 gift card, redeemable at any Kolache Shoppe location.
Wednesday, Nov. 5: Benefit Day — 20 percent of all proceeds will benefit the Houston Food Bank.
Thursday, Nov. 6: Customer Appreciation Day — Buy one, get one pastries for all guests while supplies last.
Friday, Nov. 7: Free Coffee Drink Day — Complimentary coffee drinks all day; the first 25 guests receive a free Kolache Shoppe mug.
Saturday, Nov. 8: Free Savory Kolaches — Complimentary savory kolaches while supplies last. One per person.
Sunday, Nov. 9: Free Sweet Kolaches — Complimentary sweet kolaches while supplies last. One per person.

The Kolache Shoppe Memorial is open Monday through Friday from 6 am-12:30 pm and Saturday and Sunday from 7 am-1 pm.

Photo by Becca Wright

Michael Horne and Randy Hines.

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