On the most recent episode of “What’s Eric Eating,” chefs Christian Hernandez and Priscilla Trevino join CultureMap editor Eric Sandler to discuss Barbacana. Recently opened in downtown, Barbacana is earning attention for Hernandez’s tasting menu, which draws inspiration from Houston’s immigrant culinary traditions.
As CultureMap reported last year, Hernandez brings extensive experience to Barbacana. His resume includes time at pioneering restaurant Oxheart, working at New York City’s Contra when it earned a Michelin star, and serving as the opening chef de cuisine for Mediterranean-inspired fine dining restaurant March. While those fine dining experiences led him to serve a tasting menu, a desire to offer diners more affordable options prompted Hernandez to serve an a la carte menu at both lunch and dinner.
One of the ways Hernandez aims for Barbacana to distinguish itself is by committing to sustainable practices. For example, Hernandez and Trevino found a way to use all of a grapefruit by making items like fruit leather and marmalade rather than just the segments.
“All of that stuff is really important for me,” Hernandez says. “To make a more sustainable, well thought out restaurant concept where we could recreate those influences and those procedures.”
Listen to the full episode to hear Trevino discuss her time at restaurants such as Bludorn and Georgia James. Hernandez also reflects on whether his experiences at Michelin-starred restaurants makes earning a star one of his aspirations for Barbacana.
In another recent episode, Sandler and co-host Michael Fulmer discuss some recent restaurant news. Their topics include the Houston restaurants that received semifinalist nominations for this year’s James Beard Awards; the owners of Leaf & Grain opening two new restaurants in Memorial; and Koffeteria bringing a satellite location to Spring Branch.
In the restaurant of the week segment, Fulmer and Sandler discuss their recent meals at bol and Pok Pok Po, the two new fast casual restaurants in Midtown from the chef and owners of Amrina, an Indian fine dining restaurant in The Woodlands. Tune in to hear each restaurant’s relative strengths, as well as which they’re more likely to return to first.
