What's Eric Eating Episode 161

Houston's clever new self-service bar and restaurant, plus first taste of a blooming cafe

Shoot the Moon Dax McAnear Kevin Floyd Jonas Herd

Kevin Floyd, center, will open Shoot The Moon with chef Dax McAnear, left, and desinger Jonas Herd.

Photo by Amy Scott Photography

On this week's episode of "What's Eric Eating," Houston restaurateur Kevin Floyd joins CultureMap food editor Eric Sandler to discuss his latest project, Shoot The Moon. Their conversation begins with Floyd recounting the early days of Anvil Bar & Refuge, the bar he opened with his childhood friend Bobby Heugel. Over the course of 10 years, Floyd would participate in the creation of Underbelly, Hay Merchant, Blacksmith, Julep, the OKRA Charity Saloon, the Pastry War, the Nightingale Room, One Fifth, UB Preserv, and Georgia James.

Floyd has taken the lessons from all of those experiences and applied them Shoot The Moon. Expected to open in Spring Branch later this fall, Shoot The Menu blends a menu of accessible fare with a extensive selection of beer, wine, and cocktails — all of which are dispensed from a self-service system. As Floyd explains, the system allows customers to purchase as little as 1-ounce of beer or wine or a quarter-ounce of spirits at a cost closer to retail than the typical bar or restaurant markup. Ultimately, Floyd says he hopes to grow the concept and agrees with Sandler that five locations in five years would be a reasonable target.

In addition, Floyd sees the format as ideally suited to dining during the coronavirus pandemic, because its combination of ordering at a counter and self-service limits interactions between customers and employees.

"When COVID happened and we started to analyze what the market looked like, we realized everything we needed to do to make Shoot The Moon work in a post-COVID world, we were already doing. The only thing we redesigned was we took some tables off the main dining room," Floyd says

"For example, in a normal restaurant experience, the guest is going to interact with the staff between eight and 12 times, which is a problem in a COVID environment. For Shoot The Moon, the guest will interact with the staff between two and three times. That's not a response to COVID. That's the way we designed Shoot The Moon to work to give the guest more flexibility with their experience."

Prior to the interview, Avondale Food & Wine owner Mary Clarkson joins Sandler to discuss the news of the week. Their topics include the announcement by Luby's that it will seek to liquidate its assets, the opening of Giant Leap Coffee in Uptown Park, and chef Daniel Wolfe's plans to open the City Cellars wine bar in the Museum District.

In the restaurants of the week segment, Sandler and Clarkson discuss their recent meals at Brennan's of Houston, where recently hired executive chef Joey Chavez is injecting some fresh ideas into the Houston institution. They also share first impressions of White Elm Cafe Bakery, the Memorial-area restaurant that combines Bread Man Baking Company breads and pastries with savory dishes created by the chef-owners of Humble's acclaimed French restaurant Chez Nous.

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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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they're back

2 treasured Houston Mexican restaurants reopen after brief closures

Courtesy of Picos

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Two staple Houston-area Mexican restaurants are making comebacks after brief closures. Picos has already returned to service, while El Tiempo Cantina’s Webster location isn’t far behind.

After closing its Upper Kirby location on August 30, Picos reopened Saturday, September 12 in the former Cyclone Anaya’s space in River Oaks (3736 Westheimer Rd.). The move is only about two miles from Picos’ former home at Kirby and Richmond.

Chef-owner Arnaldo Richards partnered with Cyclone Anaya’s owners The Dhanani Group to transform the space into Picos. It allows Richards to preserve Picos, which opened on Bellaire Blvd. in 1984 and operated on Kirby Dr. for 12 years. Last year, Richards announced Picos would close due to declining sales but later stated his intentions to find a new, slightly smaller home for the restaurant. That dream was realized via a “last-minute agreement” with Cyclone Anaya’s owners The Dhanani Group according to press materials.

“After spending the past year searching for a new home, it truly feels like the stars aligned,” Richards said in a statement. “We were willing to do anything we could to keep Picos, and we finally found the right space for this next-generation evolution of Picos.”

Picos Westheimer River Oaks interior The new Picos features an indoor-outdoor bar.Photo by Becca Wright

At over 6,000 square feet, the new Picos still offers a spacious environment that includes an indoor-outdoor bar. It will serve the same menu as the prior locations, including fan favorites such as moles from all seven regions on Mexico, enchiladas, and the signature shaker margaritas.

“As native Houstonians, we understand what Picos means to this city and the generations of Houstonians who have supported the restaurant for more than 40 years,” said Usman Dhanani of The Dhanani Group, which still operates five other locations of Cyclone Anaya’s across Houston. “We’re excited to partner with Arnaldo and his family to carry the Picos tradition forward and ensure that a restaurant so deeply rooted in Houston remains part of the city’s dining community for years to come.”

The Houston Chronicle was first to report that Picos had reopened.

El Tiempo Cantina Post Houston El Tiempo is returning to Webster. Courtesy of El Tiempo Cantina

As for El Tiempo, franchisee Liquid Gold Hospitality surprised Bay Area diners when it abruptly closed the location at 20237 Gulf Fwy at the end of August. In a Facebook post, El Tiempo announced the location will reopen under direct management of the Laurenzo family, which founded El Tiempo and operates most of its other locations.

Notably, the post did not specify an opening date, merely that the restaurant is “reopening soon.”

El Tiempo’s Webster location opened at the end of 2017 after significant delays, including a lawsuit between the Laurenzo family and Liquid Gold. Overall, Houston is home to 18 locations of El Tiempo, with its outpost at The Post in downtown Houston being the most recent to open.

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