What's Eric Eating Episode 43

Anvil's prolific owner shakes it up in rare interview, plus hottest dining news

On this week's episode of "What's Eric Eating," acclaimed Houston bar owner Bobby Heugel joins CultureMap food editor Eric Sandler to discuss his various businesses: Anvil Bar & Refuge, Better Luck Tomorrow, Tongue-Cut Sparrow, The Pastry War, The Nightingale Room, and the OKRA Charity Saloon. In a lengthy conversation, the two men hit on a wide variety of topics, including mezcal's increased popularity, the status of downtown Houston's bar scene, and how the first years have gone at both Better Luck Tomorrow and Tongue-Cut Sparrow.

After Sandler expresses his opinion that small, neighborhood focused breweries like Holler and Baileson might represent a new spin on the icehouse, Heugel shares his thoughts on what's missing from Houston's bar scene.

I think those places aren't trying to take the icehouse model and update it with craft beer. I think instead they're mimicking places like San Diego. I like when that happens in Houston in some ways — I travel a lot and try to stay updated on different concepts and what people are doing around the country and bringing some of those ideas home — but I also wish we didn't mimic places as much as we tend to in Houston in the bar scene. I wish that there were more of those original, 'I just want to do it for this reason.' I was talking a friend of mine in Oaxaca, he's from San Francisco, and he said his favorite bars when he moved to San Francisco were weird places with crazy personalities behind the bar like the Zam Zam Room. He said, 'nobody calls a bar the Zam Zam Room anymore.' I do think we're missing some of that 'why the hell not?'

Stick around for the lightening round, to hear which band temporarily spoiled Heugel's desire to see concerts.

Prior to Heugel's interview, Sandler and co-host Mary Clarkson discuss the news of the week. Their topics include Reef's imminent reopening, Jinya Ramen's plans to open in The Heights, and the closure of Washington Avenue sushi restaurant Kukuri. In the restaurants of the week segment, Sandler shares his first impressions of Fig & Olive and some notes from his recent trip to Dallas.

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Bobby Heugel is this week's guest on "What's Eric Eating."

Photo by Julie Soefer

Bobby Heugel is this week's guest on "What's Eric Eating."

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SUDDEN SHUTTERS

Cracker Barrel shutters Houston suburb's biscuit sandwich spot

Maple Street Biscuit Co./ Facebook

Maple Street Biscuit Co. is done, but Biscuit Belly is still coming to the Heights.

Cracker Barrel is flaking out on its Maple Street Biscuit Co. brand. On Tuesday, July 21, Louisville, Kentucky-based brunch chain Biscuit Belly announced it had acquired 35 locations of the breakfast sandwich favorite. An additional 16 units will close altogether.

Neither Biscuit Belly nor Cracker Barrel confirmed which stores were converting, but Maple Street’s location map offers some clues. It no longer lists the restaurant's Katy location at 4906 FM1463. A recording on the location's voicemail states that it has permanently closed. Biscuit Belly does not currently have any Houston-area locations, but its website lists a Heights location (3601 White Oak Dr.) as coming soon.

In a release, Biscuit Belly says it plans to convert all remaining stores over the next 18-24 months, starting with Cincinnati, Ohio, and Richmond, Virginia. It’s unclear whether or not that will require major renovations. A request for clarification was not immediately returned.

Maple Street first debuted in Katy in 2022. It was most known for its oversized biscuit sandwiches like the Squawking Goat with a fried chicken breast, crispy goat cheese, and jalapeno jelly. The chain also served chicken and waffles and Southern-inspired bowls filled with grits or a potato hash.

Biscuit Belly offers a little more variety with toasted BLTs, pancakes, and yogurt parfaits, but some of the biscuit sandwiches might look suspiciously familiar. The G.O.A.T. has a fried chicken breast, goat cheese, and sweet pepper jelly.

The other key difference can be found in a cup. In addition to a lineup of juices and coffee drinks, Biscuit Belly pours “breakfast cocktails” like mimosas and espresso martinis. It places an old fashioned inside this category, which might require a few extra eggs.

As Cracker Barrel pours one out for Maple Street, it hopes to recover from a plunging stock price and falling revenues. Biscuit Belly, meanwhile, says the acquisition helps it along its 10-year plan to become the “largest gourmet biscuit brand in the U.S.”

“Acquiring an iconic brand like Maple Street, one of the original gourmet biscuit sandwich concepts, was not on my 2026 bingo card," said Chad Coulter, co-founder and CEO of Biscuit Belly, in a release. "Two of the biggest headwinds that growing brands encounter are the time required to find and build locations, and the difficulty of finding great teams. When we looked at Maple Street's geography, footprints, and established teams, a light bulb went off."

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