What's Eric Eating?

CultureMap's ace food writer launches podcast that examines Houston culinary scene

Listen to What's Eric Eating for in-depth conversations about the Houston food scene.

Courtesy of Gow Media

If there's one thing we've learned since CultureMap launched seven years ago, it's that Houstonians are crazy about dining out. We want to be the first to know about hot new restaurants, under-the-radar gems, and amazing new chefs, as well as what eateries didn't quite make it and what their replacements will be.

Now, in addition to comprehensive, up-to-the-minute online coverage of the Houston dining scene on the pages of CultureMap, there's a new podcast helmed by ace CultureMap food editor Eric Sandler.

"What's Eric Eating?" launches this week with a lively discussion about all things food-related. The podcast, which runs approximately one hour, is produced by Gow Communications, the parent company of CultureMap.

Each show features three segments. News of the Week recaps CultureMap's recent restaurant coverage; Restaurant of the Week recounts a new eatery that Sandler has visited, and an in-depth interview follows with a leading figure (or figures) on the Houston culinary scene. Each week Sandler will be joined by a co-host with a tie to the restaurant community who will participate in the conversation for all three segments.

"I frequently conduct interviews with chefs and restaurant owners, but only a few sentences might make their way into an article," Sandler says. "The podcast gives these interviews a home and provides listeners with the opportunity to hear in-depth opinions from people who I think are interesting."

Listen to the first episode via this player:

For the first episode, Nathan Ketcham, a restaurant consultant and the former owner of South American steakhouse Samba Grille, serves as guest host, analyzing the winners of the CultureMap Tastemaker Awards, and discussing such hot topics as Cane Rosso's decision to hire chef Jonathan Jones and the announcement that a New Orleans steakhouse will open in the former Triniti space.

Also, Lee Ellis and Jim Mills, the partners in Cherry Pie Hospitality, which operates such acclaimed restaurants as Tastemaker Awards Best New Restaurant State Fare, Pi Pizza, and Lee's Fried Chicken and Donuts, discuss how they developed the concept for Star Fish, their newly opened seafood restaurant, what comes next for the company, and some of their favorite under-the-radar restaurants.

"I really enjoy listening to podcasts like Special Sauce with Ed Levine and the Eater Upsell. Hopefully, the show will reach that level of quality as I make the transition from radio guest to host," Sandler says. "If we manage to break a little news on the show every now and then, that would be even better."

"What's Eric Eating?" is also available on Podcast Arena and on iTunes. It will be broadcast Saturday at 11 am on SB Nation Radio 1560 AM.

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Anthony's song

Prolific Houston pizza chef fires up a new Italian restaurant in River Oaks

Courtesy of Anthony's New York Italian

Anthony's New York Italian is now open near Central Market.

One of Houston’s most prolific pizzaiolos has quietly opened a new restaurant in River Oaks. Anthony Russo, founder of Russo’s New York Pizzeria, has opened Anthony’s New York Italian in the former Pie Tap Pizza space at 3748 Westheimer.

While Russo is known primarily for his fast casual restaurants that sling New York-style pies, Anthony’s New York Italian is both more personal and more upscale. It takes inspiration from his Italian heritage — his father grew up in Naples and his mother grew up in Sicily — as well as Russo’s Italian Restaurant, the Galveston eatery his parents operated for almost 20 years.

“We had veal, lobster, Gulf snapper, a lot of nice, classic dishes. There’s where I grew up in the kitchen,” Russo tells CultureMap. “I was always around fine dining restaurants. My mom and dad used to bring in chefs from Italy. They were excellent chefs. That’s what we had in Galveston for 18 years.”

With Russo’s at more than 50 locations, the time felt right to open a more upscale concept. Partially inspired by New York restaurants such as Carbone and Quality Italian, Russo thinks Houstonians will appreciate his high-end take on Italian American fare.

The menu includes lobster fra diavolo, a 24-ounce prime porterhouse, bone-in veal parmesan, frutti di mare (shellfish with tomato sauce over pappardelle), and more. In addition, the dish utilize Italian olive oil that’s pressed by one of the chef’s friends. Anthony’s also makes all of its doughs, sauces, and sausage in house.

Of course, Russo is making pizza, too. They’re baked in imported Italian ovens using slightly different dough and sauce recipes — along with imported mozzarella and burrata — than his more casual restaurants.

And, no, Russo isn’t concerned that a pizzeria lasted less than a year in the space.

“I feel confident this location is going to be a killer for us. We make homemade pasta on site here, fresh from scratch.” he says. “We're bringing fresh lobster. We're bringing fresh clams. We got a nice veal chop. I mean, these are all chef-selected ingredients. I don't think anybody's doing that in town right now.”

The restaurant is still in such early days that it doesn’t have its own website or social media pages yet. For now, diners can follow Russo on Instagram for updates.

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Anthony's New York Italian is open for dinner Monday-Thursday beginning at 4 pm. It’s open for lunch and dinner on Friday and Saturday beginning at 11 am. Reservations are available on OpenTable.

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