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    Burger Confessions

    Confessions of a Whataburger addict: True love includes a bundle of joy

    Marene Gustin
    Feb 15, 2014 | 12:00 pm

    What did you get for Valentine’s Day? Chocolates? Flowers? Maybe jewelry?

    Me, I got a Fancy Ketchup Lover’s Bundle from Whataburger. And we aren’t even dating.

    The kit contains a big bottle of Fancy Ketchup, the kind you can now buy at H-E-B; a Fancy Ketchup fleece blanket; T-shirt, mouse pad; and reusable grocery bag. The bundle retails for $49.99 and can be ordered at Whataburger.com. It could make a cute gift for ex-pat Texans in far away places who miss their Fancy Ketchup.

    I refuse to get into arguments with foreigners who claim that In & Out is better and I refuse to justify my addiction. It’s Whataburger: It’s not heroin.

    I’ve admitted to being a Whataburger addict. Even though there’s one right down the street from me, if they actually delivered I’d probably weigh 200 pounds. It’s just the kind of Texas food I learned to love when I first came to this great state. Burgers with jalapenos and mustard, biscuits with sausage gravy, honey butter chicken biscuits and that box of chicken fingers with fries, Texas toast and cream gravy.

    And I’m not the only one. Check out @SorryImTexan and @TexasHumor on Twitter for amusing sayings about how Texans love their Whataburger.

    I refuse to get into arguments with foreigners who claim that In & Out is better and I refuse to justify my addiction. It’s Whataburger: It’s not heroin. And, OK, I don’t eat at any other fast food places and I try to keep Whataburger down to an occasional treat. I don’t eat sweets and work out every day. (If you think those statements aren’t accurate, hey, this is a column not a news report.)

    But I did begin to wonder about the source of those chicken tenders. I dislike Big Farm, I dislike processed and packaged foods. I like to eat at restaurants where they can tell you the name of the rancher, farmer and cheese maker who provided the raw ingredients on the day’s menu.

    And yet I still like Whataburger.

    Seeking information

    So I tried to find out a little more information. Unfortunately, it turns out that Whataburger has a company policy of not providing source information. A spokesperson did explain that “What I can tell you is that a Whataburger today is made the same way it was in 1950: using the original recipe and original size, made to order, right when it's ordered, never frozen using fresh-cut vegetables and 100 percent pure beef.”

    Actually that is USDA-inspected American beef, as the company said last year during the whole pink slime scare.

    And I’m pretty sure that when Harmon Dobson opened the first Whataburger in Corpus Christi 63 years ago he was sourcing locally. Maybe that’s not the case today since the chain has grown and spread to more than 700 restaurants but I still think the food is better and possibly healthier than other fast food joints. They even have a menu of items under 500 calories.

    And, on the plus side, H-E-B, another Texas company, not only sells bottles of Fancy and Spicy Ketchup, Original Mustard, Whataburger gift cards and now the new Salt and Pepper Whatafries. And H-E-B takes pride in its sourcing, they even do those commercials, like the bacon jam one during the Super Bowl, touting how they search the Lone Star State for the best products. So I’m hoping H-E-B knows the source of Whataburger’s beef and chicken and produce and they’re OK with it.

    So I feel better. I really do, as I dip the last of my Whatafries in the cream gravy.

    And yes, I’ll do an extra mile in the morning and go on a juice fast.

    Everything in moderation.

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    What's Eric Eating Episodes 516 and 517

    Food experts draft the best dishes at Vietnamese restaurants in Houston

    CultureMap Staff
    Dec 12, 2025 | 5:15 pm
    Moon Rabbit food spread
    Moon Rabbit/Facebook
    Two panelists selected dishes from Moon Rabbit in the Heights.

    On this week’s episode of “What’s Eric Eating,” CultureMap editor Eric Sandler recruited five of his friends and colleagues to select their favorite dishes at Vietnamese restaurants in Houston via a fantasy football-style draft.



    The panelists — Stevie Vu of the Chowdown in Chinatown Facebook group and Asia Society, Texas; Chelsea Thomas of Local Foods Group; Heights Grocer and Montrose Grocer owner Mary Clarkson; Have A Nice Day AAPI pop-up market co-founder Isabel Protomartir; Houston BBQ Festival co-founder Michael Fulmer — joined Sandler to draft Vietnamese dishes and restaurants in six categories. They are:

    • Appetizer/Salad
    • Entree
    • Sandwich
    • Soup
    • Viet-Cajun
    • Wildcard

    In the first round, Vu kicked things off by selecting the sandwiches from Chinatown institution Nguyen Ngo. Thomas followed with the duck salad at Thien An. Clarkson took the mango-papaya salad from Old Saigon Cafe, and Sandler scored the Beef 7 Ways at Chinatown favorite Saigon Pagolac. Protomartir took the Duck House’s crispy egg rolls, and Fulmer closed round one with the beef rolls at Nam Giao, which holds a Bib Gourmand designation in the Michelin Guide.

    Sandler shared the full results on Instagram.


    View this post on Instagram
    A post shared by Eric Sandler (@ericsandler)


    As he noted, the draft results include some of Houston’s most prominent Vietnamese restaurant as well as a few under-the-radar choices that will give listeners some new options to try. Listen to the full episode on any podcast platform to hear the panelists explain the choices and recommend a few places that they could have drafted instead.



    In this week’s second episode, chef Christine Ha and her husband John Suh join Sandler to review the results and pick a winner. Since no one selected their restaurant The Blind Goat, each drafter is on an equal footing.

    Listen to the full episode to hear who won. Ha and Suh also share thoughts on their favorite selections by each panelist. They also catch us up on the latest happenings at both The Blind Goat and Stuffed Belly, their sandwich shop, including the recent addition of a gumbo pot pie to The Blind Goat’s menu.


    View this post on Instagram
    A post shared by The Blind Goat (@theblindgoathtx)


    -----

    Subscribe to "What's Eric Eating" on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Hear it Sunday at 9 am on ESPN 97.5.

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