On this week's episodes of "What's Eric Eating," CultureMap editor Eric Sandler recruits six friends for the Ultimate Houston Bar Draft. Working from the familiar fantasy football draft format, the panelists make selections in the following categories:
- Cocktail Bar
- Neighborhood Bar
- Martini
- Margarita
- Bar Food
- Wild Card
Joining Sandler in the draft are corporate event planner Lawton Driscoll, Reserve 101 co-owner Sean Fitzmaurice, Monkey's Tail director of operations Lainey Collum, Heights Grocer owner Mary Clarkson, The Infatuation Houston staff writer Chelsea Thomas, and Anvil co-founder Bobby Heugel. With such a broad array of backgrounds, their picks show off the depth of Houston's bar scene.
Overall, the draft recognizers both established favorites — one panelist selected Kenneally's Irish Pub — as well as of-the-moment spots like Clarkwood. While you'll have to listen to the whole episode to hear all the picks, the first round proceeded as follows:
Driscoll: Bandista for Cocktail Bar
Fitzmaurice: Refuge for Martini
Collum: Refuge for Cocktail Bar
Clarkson: Catbirds for Martini
Thomas: Bad News Bar for Cocktail Bar
Heugel: Poison Girl for Neighborhood Bar
Sandler: Anvil for Cocktail Bar
In this week's second episode, Houston bar experts Brad Moore (Grand Prize, Big Star Bar) and Lindsay Rae Burleson (Two Headed Dog) pick a winner. They also share some of their own thoughts on the state of Houston's bar scene and suggest a few categories for Sandler to include in the inevitable Ultimate Houston Bar Draft Part II.
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