What's Eric Eating Episode 204

Digging into Georgia James Tavern, plus adult mini-golf and green eats in Memorial

Photo by Claudia Casbarian

On this week's episode of "What's Eric Eating," co-host Michael Fulmer joins CultureMap food editor Eric Sandler to discuss the news of the week and their recent meal at Georgia James Tavern.

The news segment begins with a conversation about Tatemó, which recently leased a space for a permanent location. This widely acclaimed restaurant startup uses heirloom corn from Mexico to make artisan tortillas, and chef-owner Emmanuel Chavez creates multi-course tasting menus uses different corn preparations.

From there, the discussion turns to news that The Palm steakhouse will relocate from its current home in Briargrove to a new location downtown. News about The Puttery, an adults-oriented mini-golf concept, prompts a discussion about the wave of other, similar venues that are coming to Houston over the next several months.

The segment concludes with news that the owners of Hungry's Cafe will bring Heartbeet, a plant-based concept, to Memorial. They note that vegetarian and vegan restaurants are becoming more popular in Houston.

In the restaurants of the week segment, the two friends share first impressions of Georgia James Tavern, James Beard Award winner Chris Shepherd's more casual concept that recently opened in downtown's Market Square Tower. With a small interior and a tidy menu with lots of more affordable choices, they note that the restaurant lives up to its "tavern" name.

"One of the criticisms I've often heard of Georgia James is it's not a good value even for a steakhouse," Fulmer notes. "I can tell you that is very aggressively priced, meaning there were many good values on there while maintaining the quality that Chris is known for. That's a difficult tightrope to walk, but I think they walked it well."

In particular, they praise the Texas wagyu ribeye, the warm spinach salad, and the first rate service. "It wasn't just us. We weren't just getting 'the treatment.' I saw the tables around us all getting [the same level of service]."

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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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Farewell, ElRo

Creative Montrose pizzeria will shutter after only a year-and-a-half

Photo by Julie Soefer

ElRo Pizza & Crudo

An acclaimed Houston pizzeria will soon serve its final pies. ElRo Pizza & Crudo will close after service on December 31.

In a post on Instagram, chef-owner Terrence Gallivan thanks his staff for their dedication and his customers for their support. “We hope to see you all over the next couple weeks. Come celebrate with us,” he writes.

Open since June 2023, ElRo intrigued diners who enjoyed Gallivan’s work at pioneering Houston restaurant The Pass & Provisions. At ElRo, the chef served a modified version of the Provisions pizza recipe alongside crudos and shareable small plates such as arancini and housemade sausage. It earned four nominations in this year’s CultureMap Tastemaker Awards, including Best New Restaurant and Chef of the Year.

Sadly, Gallivan tells CultureMap that business has seen “a steady decline in business for many months.” Recently, the restaurant had tried a number of initiatives to draw in diners, such as steak night on Tuesday and fried chicken on Saturday.

The early announcement gives diners two weeks to make one more visit (or two) to the restaurant before it closes. Customers may want to time their visit for happy hour, which takes places from 3-6 pm Tuesday-Friday. It includes half-off glasses of wine, $4 draft beers, $9 select cocktails, and food specials.

Gallivan adds that he doesn’t know yet what his next move will be. Hopefully, he’s got one more comeback in him. Houston is a more fun town to dine in when Gallivan is cooking in it.

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