On the most recent episode of “What’s Eric Eating,” Thy and Matthew Mitchell join CultureMap editor Eric Sandler to discuss their two, globally-inspired restaurants, Traveler’s Table and Traveler’s Cart.
The conversation begins with Matthew Mitchell explaining his decision to leave behind a successful career in the pharmaceutical industry in favor of culinary school and becoming a restaurateur. Thy Mitchell brought experience from working at her family’s restaurant as well as others to the endeavor.
Owners Matthew and Thy Mitchell with culinary director Stanton Bundy.
Courtesy of Traveler's Cart
After Houstonians responded favorably to Traveler’s Table — as anyone who’s attended its popular weekend brunch service will affirm — the couple created Traveler’s Cart as a more affordable sister concept that would potentially be easier to grow into additional locations. As Matthew explains, choosing to serve street food came with certain requirements.
“The first thing you have to do, which is to be exhaustive in this. You’re not going to have every food cuisine in the world. Some cultures don’t do a ton of street food,” he says. “There’s some things you have to have. Dumplings, some kind of satay or kebab, we debated where to enter the burger or taco wars. You have to enter the game a little bit, but I think there’s some things other people don’t have.”
Listen to the full episode to hear the Mitchells share some behind-the-scenes details from their appearance on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, including how Guy Fieri helped influence the decision to open Traveler’s Cart.
In the previous episode, Sandler and food writer Chelsea Thomas of The Infatuation Houston discuss the news of their week. Their topics include the new dining district coming to downtown’s GreenStreet development as well as the openings of the first Houston-area locations of Portillo’s and P. Terry’s.
In the restaurant of the week segment, Thomas and Sandler discuss their recent meal at the recently-opened Heights location of Dandelion Cafe. Thomas praises the restaurant’s take on breakfast staples such as pancakes and omelets, while Sandler discusses how far the restaurant has come since its first location opened in 2016.
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