What's Eric Eating Episode 37

Sandwich shop owner dishes on Heights plans and Washington Ave. 'diner' in this week's podcast

On this week's episode of "What's Eric Eating," Benjy Levit and Dylan Murray, the owner and chef-partner of Local Foods, join CultureMap food editor Eric Sandler to discuss the rapidly growing sandwich shop. Later this month, Local Foods will open its fifth Houston-area location at the Heights Mercantile mixed-use development.

Murray and Levit discuss the reasons for Local Foods' success, the way the concept has evolved over the years, the reasons they thought The Heights would be a good fit for the fifth location, and where they think additional locations might open (hint: not in Houston). The conversation then turns to Levit's new project, The Classic - All Day, which will replace Benjy's on Washington. Sandler asks Levit to describe what patrons can expect when they visit The Classic.

"What we're trying to do is to create a gathering spot for the neighborhood. That was the first thought with the location," Levit says. "As far as 'diner' goes, in the sense that we're going to have a considerable amount of counter service, I think it's 35 seats that wrap the kitchen, and people will be able to see us preparing the food, which I think will be fun and exciting. It's going to have primarily booth seating, so I think those are two features of a typical diner. The menu will be what we're calling an all-day menu. We're going to be serving the same menu throughout the day. It will be a mix of breakfast items, sandwiches, as well as hot entrees that will be available seven days a week, starting at about 10 am and going until 11 pm."

Prior to Levit and Murray's interview, L'Olivier owner Mary Clarkson and Sandler discuss the news of the week. Their topics include Common Bond's plans to expand to The Heights, Felix Florez's signing on to The Bravery Chef Hall, Pappa Charlies Barbeque's new location in Cypress, and Clarkson offers take on the situation between Jennifer and Bryan Caswell and the owners of the Le Meridien hotel downtown. In the restaurants of the week segment, the duo describe their visits to Holman Draft Hall in Midtown and Houston's fourth Snooze location that just opened in The Heights.

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

Benjy Levit and Dylan Murray are this week's podcast guests.

Photo by Julie Soefer

Benjy Levit and Dylan Murray are this week's podcast guests.

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Beard Award-winning Houston chef's new restaurant now open in Montrose

Photo by Kirsten Gilliam

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Houston may be home to an ever-increasing number of James Beard Award-winning chefs, but a new restaurant from a JBA winner is still a special moment in the city’s culinary landscape.

Which means the city’s dining enthusiasts are undeniably excited to welcome House of Louie, the new project Justin Yu, winner of Best Chef: Southwest in 2016 for Oxheart, his groundbreaking, vegetable-focused tasting menu restaurant. He placed it with Theodore Rex, a modern American restaurant that holds a Bib Gourmand designation in the Michelin Guide. Part of Thorough Fare, the company he co-owns with Anvil founder Bobby Heugel, House of Louie is the group’s first new restaurant since Squable opened in 2019 and first opening since Heights cocktail bar Donna’s debuted last year.

As Yu explained on a July episode of CultureMap’s “What’s Eric Eating” podcast, the decision to open House of Louie came about from the opportunity to buy the property at 1931 Fairview that had been home to the original location of healthy-eating concept Vibrant.

“The real estate came at the right time. The space is beautiful. We’re so lucky to be part of this neighborhood,” Yu explained.

As for the name, Yu is honoring a Chinese restaurant his aunts operated in Southern California for more than 30 years. The original House of Louie hosted many family celebrations, and it’s also the first restaurant he worked in as a dishwasher.

“It was one of those places where there was a little more to it than what you expected. That’s the restaurant I want to have here,” Yu said. Later, he added, “It’s how I fell in love with restaurants.”

Inspired primarily by French and Italian cuisine, meals at House of Louie begin with cold dishes such as the house salad with lettuce, cheese, charcuterie, and quail eggs; marinated plums; yellowtail crudo; or “Nervetti,” thinly-sliced beef tendon with onions that’s finished with sherry and vinegar.

“I think beef tendon is really accepted in Houston, especially because we have a strong pho culture. Tendon can be a little out there, but it has a beautiful melting texture,” Yu said.

From there, diners may choose from a selection of shareable small plates such as mushroom and peppers with spicy ratatouille, squash with king salmon, or one of three pastas, all of which are made in house. The pici pasta is a thin, handmade pasta that gets some crunch from crispy chicken skin.

Entrees lean classic, with items like red snapper with beurre blanc, grilled duck that gets a boost of umami from colatura (an Italian take on fish sauce), and a Texas wagyu couotte that’s served with a sauce of madeira and onions. The French dip from Yuston’s, Yu’s homage to celebrated American grill Houston’s, is also available.

“The type of place we want to be is — if you feel like you’re a little underdressed, it’s okay to come in and get amazing service and great food. And also spend hours ahead of time picking out your outfit and coming out for a date night or a friend’s night or a night out with the guys,” Yu said.

“It’s a place that’s going to have a sandwich and makes its own fries. We’re also going to have really aggressive dishes that swing for the fences and push the limits of creativity, even though its slightly rustic.”

Yu worked with Garnish Design (Milton’s, Tiny Champions), ObjektFab, and Ford Design Finishes to transform Vibrant into House of Louie. Overall, the room has a modern feel — almost like your cool uncle’s living room. The design speaks to the kind of atmosphere Yu is aiming to achieve.

“More than anything, I want people to connect with the restaurant. If we accidentally get a Michelin Star because we do all the things the right way, and cook excellent food, and take care of all the little details . . . I wouldn’t be mad. That’s our goal in the first place,” he said.

Joining the project are general manager Tyler Jay Wang (most recently of Donna’s) and executive chef Kirk Thompson, who worked for various Underbelly Hospitality concepts and served as the executive chef at Leo’s River Oaks when it won Best New Restaurant in the 2025 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards. Diners may also recognize bartenders Lainey Collum (most recently of Monkey’s Tail) and Máté Hartai (Lee’s, Refuge).

House of Louie is currently open for dinner daily beginning at 4:30 pm. Friday lunch and weekend brunch service will begin in the coming weeks.

Photo by Kirsten Gilliam

House of Louie is now open in Montrose.