What's Eric Eating Episode 102

The best steak in The Woodlands, plus a first taste of Midtown's savory spot

On this week's episode of "What's Eric Eating," chef Austin Simmons of Tris in The Woodlands and Jordan Beeman of HeartBrand Beef, a Texas ranch that raises wagyu-derived akaushi cattle, join CultureMap food editor Eric Sandler to discuss an innovative collaboration they've developed. Known as HeartBrand X, the beef program provides a new use for the ranch's 10-year old breeding cows. Instead of being "harvested" for generic burger grind, Simmons is serving the animals as steaks at his highly acclaimed restaurant.

The conversation dives into how the program got started and what Beeman's plans for it are in the future. Currently, Simmons serves the beef in flights alongside HeartBrand's traditional, two-year old beef, as well as dry-aged HeartBrand beef, and even A5 Japanese wagyu. Asked about the flavor, Simmons can barely contain his excitement.

"This animal eats as good as any steak I've ever served in the restaurant — and sometimes, better," Simmons says. "Currently, the 10-year old we have right now is out-cutting everything on the menu, and we're doing these steak boards just to prove it. We'll put all these different [steak brands] — Creekstone, 44 Farms, HeartBrand 100-day dry-aged, HeartBrand two-year old, 10-year old, A5 — and everybody picks the 10-year old because of the beefiness of it."

Prior to the beef-focused interview, Fluff Bake Bar owner Rebecca Masson and Sandler discuss the news of their week. Their topics include bartenders Lindsay Rae and Billy Boyd's plans to open a new bar in Midtown; local farm Loam Agrnomics' decision to suspend customer-facing operations, including its popular CSA program; and the imminent arrival of California-based sandwich shop Mendocino Farms to Rice Village.

In the restaurant of the week segment, they share some impressions of Taste Bar + Kitchen, chef Don Bowie's Midtown restaurant that serves creative variations of chicken and waffles and other Southern specialities. Masson also briefly discusses her appearance on The Chef Show, a Netflix series that stars director Jon Favreau and Los Angeles chef Roy Choi.

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Beef flight: 100-day dry-aged, 10-year old, two-year old

Austin Simmons Tris HeartBrand Beef steak flight

Courtesy of Tris

Beef flight: 100-day dry-aged, 10-year old, two-year old

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Houston's smallest restaurant?

Michelin-recognized Houston sushi chef fires up 4-seat Japanese skewer spot

Courtesy of Sip & Skewer

Diners sit in front of chefs cooking on a grill.

The team behind one of Houston’s Michelin-recognized sushi restaurants is opening an intimate new izakaya. Sip & Skewer is the newest concept from Hidden Omakase owner Tuan Tran and chef Marcos Juarez.

Opening Friday, February 13, Sip & Skewer is a four-seat restaurant devoted to skewered meats that’s located within Sushi by Hidden, the group’s affordable omakase restaurant in Rice Village. At Sip & Skewer, diners sit across from the chefs as they cook a 10-course, $90 meal on a Japanese binchotan grill.

“Sip & Skewer is small, loud, and intentional. The kind of hidden experience you’d find in Tokyo,” Tran said. “And with Chef Marcos guiding the team at Sushi by Hidden, this space is getting new energy from every angle.”

A four-seat restaurant within a 10-seat restaurant might seem kind of superfluous, but Tran explains that it’s part of a larger plan for his group of restaurants, which also includes West U. hand roll restaurant Norigami. It also builds on the success of Hidden Omakase, the Galleria-area sushi counter that earned a Recommended designation in the Michelin Guide.

“Sip & Skewer is part of a larger vision. It’s designed as a stepping stone toward our next concept, Kōri, a new hand roll and craft cocktail bar opening in the Heights. Our plan is to open Sip & Skewer directly next to our hand roll spot, creating a small alley of Japanese concepts that feed into one another,” Tran explains.

“This allows us to build awareness, train our team in a new format, and introduce guests to Japanese charcoal grilling in a very personal way before we scale the idea into a larger setting with Kōri. The four-seat format keeps overhead extremely low while serving as a live test kitchen and brand builder for what’s coming next,” he adds.

On a related note, Juarez and the other chefs at Hidden Omakase are dividing their time between all three restaurants. Tuam explains that it’s a deliberate strategy to ensure a consistent customer experience.

“The same team that works Michelin-recognized omakase service also runs the grill here, which keeps quality and execution consistent while allowing the chefs a creative outlet in a very different format,” Tran said. “Because Sip & Skewer is only four seats and reservations only, it does not require a dedicated full-time staff. It’s an extension of the team rather than a separate operation.”