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    What's Eric Eating Episode 56

    Houston barbecue couple reveal hot bakery plans, plus major Montrose food news

    CultureMap Staff
    Jun 21, 2018 | 11:35 am

    On this week's episode of What's Eric Eating, Veronica and John Avila join CultureMap food editor Eric Sandler to discuss their three concepts: barbecue restaurant El Burro & The Bull, modern general store Henderson & Kane, and upcoming bakery Sweet Mary's.

    The conversation begins with John Avila describing his roots in the restuarant business, which go back to sweeping the floors at his grandparents' barbecue restaurant in Bryan, Texas. Ultimately, Avila made his way to Austin where he worked for Melissa Brinckmann at Cake and Spoon before spending time at Franklin Barbecue. He met Veronica in Houston shortly before moving to Brooklyn to open restaurants there. After returning home, he and Veronica launched El Burro & the Bull, which serves both barbecue and Mexican-inspired dishes at the Conservatory food hall in downtown Houston. The couple shares the various influences that shaped the restaurant's menu, as well as the steps they're currently taking to open a brick and mortar version of the restaurant.

    From there, they move on to Henderson & Kane, the modern general store they just opened in the Old Sixth Ward that will celebrate its official grand opening on July 4. The new business provides another outlet for the Avila's barbecue and sells a range of retails items including eggs and produce from Texas farms, wine and beer, and crafts. Veteran barista Jeremy Masters oversees H&K's coffee program. So far, the shop is off to a strong start, drawing people from its neighborhood to visit multiple times per week and expanding its offerings to include vegan food items.

    Although the couple has spent over a year working on Sweet Mary's, the podcast is their first time discussing it publicly. Inspired by the bakeries that John Avila patronized while growing up in Houston's East End, Sweet Mary's will offer a full range of pastries, breads, and sweets. Veronica Avila has created the design, which will utilize shipping contains and be located on the esplanade directly across from The Original Ninfa's on Navigation. While all of the couple's projects reflect elements of their heritage, Sweet Mary's is particularly special.

    "It's a cultural thing. A lot of us grew up with it. An opportunity to have those things again, to eat those things again, to show up every weekend, we were just waiting for the opportunity to do this kind of thing," John Avila says. "It's near and dear to our heart, because it's been our way of life our whole childhood to go to these places and grab stuff. We want to be able to put it right in the middle of Navigation."

    Prior to the Avilas joining the show, Sandler and co-host Nathan Ketcham discuss the news of the week. The segment begins with Ketcham recounting the various ways Anthony Bourdain shaped his career in the restaurant industry and the loss he feels since Bourdain's recent death by suicide. Sandler notes that Bourdain's death has prompted some important conversations in the restaurant community, including via writer Kat Kinsman's group Chefs With Issues, which is devoted to helping people in the restaurant community who are struggling with mental health issues, and David Chang, who spoke movingly about his battle with depression on a recent episode of his podcast.

    The rest of the segment is considerably lighter, with the duo sharing some thoughts on Goodnight Hospitality's plans to open three new concepts in Montrose and commenting on the recent openings of Pitch 25, Brian Ching's soccer bar and beer garden that's been a smash hit in EaDo, and Calle Onze, the new Mexican-inspired restaurant from the owners of Edison & Patton. In the restaurants of the week segment, Sandler and Ketcham recount their recent meals at Robard's Steakhouse in the Woodlands, which has some new energy since the arrival of chef David Morris, and Dream Tacos TX, the new concept from Jenni's Noodle House owners Jenni and Scott Tranweaver.

    ---

    Subscribe to "What's Eric Eating" on iTunes or Google Play. Listen to it every Saturday at 11 am on SportsMap 94.1.

    Anyone in crisis, or who knows someone in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741-741.

    John and Veronica Avila are this week's guests on What's Eric Eating.

    John and Veronica Avila
      
    Photo by Robert Jacob Lerma
    John and Veronica Avila are this week's guests on What's Eric Eating.
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    That's Amore!

    Pioneering Mexican chef and chic speakeasy popping up at Houston hotel

    Brianna Griff
    May 23, 2025 | 10:00 am
    Chef Alejandro Ruiz of Casa Oaxaca
    Photo courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel Houston
    Four Seasons Hotel Houston is hosting a two-night pop-up dinner featuring chef Alejandro Ruiz of Casa Oaxaca.

    Houston diners won’t need a passport to explore Mexico’s culinary capital next month. On June 16 and 17, Four Seasons Hotel Houston will host From Oaxaca, With Love, a five-course experience that teams celebrated chef Alejandro Ruiz of Casa Oaxaca with Oaxaca City cocktail bar Sabina Sabe and agave-spirits producer The Lost Explorer.

    The evening begins with Sabina Sabe bartender Mike Prado greeting diners with a cocktail in Bandista, the hotel’s speakeasy bar and lounge. The libations promise to be divine, with Sabine Sabe currently ranked No. 54 Best Bar in North America, and Bandista sitting at No. 59.

    From there, the party moves into a dining room filled with contemporary works supplied by Oaxaca Serrano Contemporary Art Gallery and underscored by live music.

    Ruiz, whose flagship Casa Oaxaca earned a spot in Mexico’s inaugural Michelin Guide, built his reputation by elevating the dishes he learned as a child cooking alongside his mother on the family farm.

    The chef stays close to his roots with recipes crafted using native ingredients such as chiles, corn, insects, and seeds purchased directly from local producers. Ruiz has long been considered an ambassador of the southern Mexican state — his enfrijoladas caused Noma’s famed Chef Rene Redzepi a moment of rapture.

    For his Houston appearance, diners can expect a true taste of Oaxaca: think a mini tostada topped with heirloom chapulines, chicatanas, and gusanos de maguey (grasshoppers, flying ants, and agave worms); red snapper cured in a bright tomatillo-rice-vinegar broth; and a slow-braised short rib finished in a fruit-laced mole.

    Prado will pair each course with cocktails such as the Pimiento Margarita, combining The Lost Explorer Tobalá mezcal with vermouth, peach, pimiento, cinnamon, and lime.

    “It is our great pleasure to welcome chef Alejandro Ruiz and Sabina Sabe to Houston, Texas,” Tom Segesta, Four Seasons Hotel Houston’s general manager, said in a statement. "These dinners, featuring these awarded ambassadors of Oaxacan food and drink, are sure to be enjoyed by our local community and guests from around the world.”

    The pop-up continues the hotel’s ongoing dinner-series format, which has previously spotlighted restaurants ranging from Emeril’s in New Orleans to Employees Only in New York and an Italian-American steakhouse from James Beard Award winner Chris Shepherd.

    From Oaxaca, With Love begins at 7 pm on Monday, June 16, and Tuesday, June 17. Seating is limited, with tickets priced at $250 per person plus tax and gratuity. Each reservation will receive a signed English-language copy of Ruiz’s cookbook The Food of Oaxaca: Recipes and Stories from Mexico's Culinary Capital. Reservations are available via OpenTable.

    Those who wish to linger can book the hotel’s Advance Purchase offer, which discounts room rates by up to 25 percent when reserved three or more days ahead.

    The menu features:

    Starter Trio

    • Mini tostada with heirloom insects
    • Zucchini blossom stuffed with ricotta and roasted banana purée
    • Hoja santa “taco” with quesillo, beans, and wild mushrooms

    Green Aguachile

    • Red snapper cured in tomatillo-rice-vinegar broth, Persian cucumber, red onion, cilantro, ginger-toasted peanuts
    • Cocktail: Pequeño Gigante – Madre Cuishe mezcal, hoja santa, ginger, lime, Oaxacan spices

    Tortilla Soup

    • Tomato-pasilla mixe broth, crispy tortillas, fresh cheese, cream, pork cracklings, mint-celery garnish
    • Cocktail: Pimiento Margarita – Tobalá mezcal, Mistela vermouth, peach, pimiento, cinnamon, lime

    Braised Short Rib

    • Anchamanteles mole, seasonal fruit relish, banana purée, crispy plantain
    • Cocktail: Agave Xerez – The Lost Explorer tequila, Palomino sherry, green apple, pear

    Textures of Oaxacan

    • Chocolate Mousse, sponge cake, ice cream, tuile, passion-fruit jelly, cacao nibs
    • Neat pour of Tobalá mezcal
    • Traditional water-based hot chocolate infused with cacao flower

    Chef Alejandro Ruiz of Casa Oaxaca
      

    Photo courtesy of Four Seasons Hotel Houston

    Four Seasons Hotel Houston is hosting a two-night pop-up dinner featuring chef Alejandro Ruiz of Casa Oaxaca.

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