What's Eric Eating Episode 200

Houston's Top Chef star teases hot new restaurant, plus smokin' Spring Branch BBQ

Chef Dawn Burrell is this week's guest.

Photo by Jenn Duncan

On this week's episode of "What's Eric Eating," chef Dawn Burrell joins CultureMap food editor Eric Sandler to discuss both her appearance on Top Chef and her upcoming restaurant Late August. Burrell, who earned a James Beard Award semifinalist nomination for her work at Kulture, made it to the finals of Top Chef season 18.

The conversation touches on many aspects of Burrell's time on the show, including her motivation for joining the cast, her favorite challenges, and how her life has changed with her expanded celebrity. She also responds to those who have said she should be named Top Chef after sexual harassment allegations emerged about winner Gabe Erales.

After breaking down the show, Burrell and Sandler move on to Late August, the restaurant she'll open in partnership with Lucille's chef Chris Williams later this year. Sandler asks the chef to elaborate on the "Afro-Asian" cuisine she plans to serve there.

"What I like to say is that this is going to be food from the African diaspora with Asian techniques or flavor profiles, but we will also discover those cross sections where cuisines are similar like the useage of rice, the useage of specific vegetables, and the uses of very similar sauces and fermentation processes," Burrell says. "We're going to develop a new style, which is Afro-Asian cuisine. A lot of cultures like Guyana, they have all those flavor profiles because of migration."

Prior to the interview, Sandler and co-host Michael Fulmer discuss the news of the week. Their topics include: the upcoming closures of Spanish Village and Tony Mandola's; the deal that will keep over 30 locations of Luby's open statewide; and chefs Angelo and Lucianna Emiliani's plans to open Cafe Louie in the East End.

In the restaurant of the week segment, the two hosts discuss the new, Spring Branch location of Feges BBQ. They discuss when a restaurant crosses from being a barbecue joint to being a restaurant that serves barbecue.

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Subscribe to "What's Eric Eating" on Apple podcasts, Google Play, or Spotify. Listen to it Saturday at 1 pm on ESPN 97.5.

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Yay, Canada

Casual Canadian restaurant updates Houston opening plans

Courtesy of Cactus Club Cafe

Cactus Club Cafe's interior will feature a two-story tall tree.

One of Uptown Houston’s newest restaurants is slowly taking shape. Cactus Club Cafe is on track to open next year.

As CultureMap reported in 2025, Cactus Club Cafe is a Vancouver-based restaurant that describes itself as “Canada’s leader in elevated casual dining.” It's known for an eclectic menu, lively atmosphere, and polished service.

The restaurant will occupy a two-story, 12,900-square foot space next to North Italia in BLVD Place (1700 Post Oak Blvd). At 345 seats, it will the restaurant’s largest location. The space will be divided into a main dining room, bar and lounge, and an outdoor patio. Design details include a custom mural by Taylor Smith, Western-inspired pop art, and pieces by Giovanni DeCunto, according to press materials.

The menu, created by executive chef of culinary development Gregory McCallum, offers a crowd-pleasing array of dishes that includes sushi, shareables such as chicken wings and lettuce wraps, salads, sandwiches, burgers, pastas, steaks, and seafood. Generally, the restaurant is known for putting flavorful spins on familiar fare, with signature dishes such as Truffle Parmesan Chicken and Blackened Creole Chicken.

Along with an update on its opening timeline, Cactus Club announced a hiring event on December 1 and 2. More details are available here.

“Joining our team in Houston is an exciting opportunity for ambitious hospitality professionals,” Cactus Club Cafe president Andrew Latchford said in a statement. “As we expand into these new markets, we remain committed to what defines Cactus Club Cafe: food people love, a consistently great dining experience, and a vibrant atmosphere.”

Cactus Club Cafe is one of a few new restaurants coming to Post Oak Blvd. in 2027. The neighboring Central Park Post Oak development will be home to a number of newcomers, including neighborhood restaurant The Henry, sushi hand roll concept Handies Douzo, Arizona-based seafood restaurant Buck & Rider, and Sparrow Italia, a luxurious Italian steakhouse from the owners of Toca Madera.

Courtesy of Cactus Club Cafe

Cactus Club Cafe's interior will feature a two-story tall tree.

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