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    whatadisaster

    Whatafail: Texas' favorite burger spot's new delivery disappoints

    Eric Sandler
    Jun 3, 2020 | 1:02 pm
    Whataburger Double Meat Double Cheese
    Maybe it's better to get it yourself.
    Courtesy photo

    Whataburger’s new delivery program is a victory for any Texan who loves honey butter chicken biscuits but loathes a lengthy wait in a drive-thru line, but the system still needs a little tweaking.

    Introduced last week, the offering allows people to use Whataburger’s website or app to order a meal delivery. Whataburger assigns the transport to a third party company but guarantees orders will arrive in “sealed bags for safety and security.” Opting for delivery adds a $5 delivery fee, a $1 service fee, and a tip for the driver — essentially doubling the cost of a typical combo meal — but no one said convenience would come without a price.

    Intrigued, I placed an order last week for a Number One combo meal with a Dr Pepper shake for dessert. To test the process, I lightly customized the order (no lettuce on the burger, sub large onion rings for fries). Almost immediately, I received a confirmation text that the order had been assigned to a DoorDash driver. It's working.

    Here’s where things went off the rails. The driver called to ask what I wanted on my burger, which I found confusing, since I had specified the toppings when I placed the order online. He told me those details hadn’t been communicated to him. I gave him my order.

    He called back a few minutes later to tell me they didn’t have a Dr Pepper shake, which caused more confusion on my end. Not only does Whataburger offer the delicious frozen beverage; it has been touting it through advertising and social media. At my insistence that such a thing did exist, he spoke to the restaurant's staff, verified they exist, and confirmed he would bring me one.

    When my order arrived, it was not in the “sealed bag” that’s part of the delivery offering. Instead, it arrived in the normal packaging anyone would receive if they placed an order via drive-thru or to-go. Concerned that the contentious nature of our conversations might have prompted the driver to tamper with my order, I threw it away. Adios, $20; hello, leftovers for lunch.

    In the grand scheme of things it's a minor inconvenience, but I worried that others might have the same experience without my ability to bring the problem to anyone's attention. Trying to understand what went wrong, I shared my experience with the Whataburger publicist who sent the press release about the introduction of delivery. He connected me with Whataburger’s corporate office, who have promised to use the experience as part of their training around the new offering.

    In a follow up email, Whataburger representative Donna Tuttle acknowledges that the process didn’t work the way it’s supposed to. As with any new program, training both restaurant employees and third-party delivery drivers is a challenging process. She states that the DoorDash driver should have recognized that the order had already been placed and paid for via the restaurant’s website instead of treating it as a new order made through DoorDash. Because he did that, the Whataburger employees didn’t know to use the sealed bags.

    “Every day, we give feedback to DoorDash and all of our providers to ensure that their drivers understand Whataburger’s process. We’d love to say everything is perfect, but – we’re all human – and so mistakes happen,” she adds. “All parties are trying their best to get this right. We love our customers and want them to have the best experience.”

    Anyone who encounters similar difficulties should use the “Contact Customer Care” option on either the app or website to bring the situation to Whataburger’s attention. They credited me with a replacement meal (as they will for anyone who has this sort of problem), but I’m waiting for another couple of weeks of training and experience before I claim it.

    Maybe waiting in a drive-thru line isn’t so bad after all.

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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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