What's Eric Eating Episode 27

Restaurateur's big move, Astros Series win, and foodie road trip are hot podcast topics

On this week's episode of "What's Eric Eating," Killen's Restaurants director of operations Graham Laborde joins CultureMap food editor Eric Sandler to discuss his role helping acclaimed local chef Ronnie Killen manage his growing company. Laborde, who won the CultureMap Tastemaker Award Rising Star Chef of the Year in 2016, shares some of his family history that led him to the kitchen, as well as the professional experiences he had in New Orleans and Houston prior to joining up with Killen.

So why did Laborde choose to sign on with Killen's after closing Bernadine's, the Gulf Coast-inspired restaurant he led for the Treadsack Group?

"He offered me something that didn't necessarily exist with a number of other offers I had, and that was the ability to really, really learn something," Laborde says. "The ability to learn different kinds of concepts that I hadn't done in the past. I'd never done a fast casual concept. I've never done a burger restaurant. I've never done barbecue before. Not only learning those cuisines, but really learning how to run those different businesses and the different challenges that come with it."

Prior to the interview, Houston Life producer/reporter Stephanie Gerry and Sandler discuss the news of the week. Even though the podcast primarily discusses food, Gerry and Sandler take a couple of minutes to discuss the Astros World Series victory. Then, they move on to Brasserie 19's plans to mitigate the effects of construction at its shopping center, celebrity chef Michael Mina's announcement that International Smoke, his globally-inspired barbecue restaurant with cookbook author Ayesha Curry, is coming to Houston next year, and the latest addition to UberEATS: caviar and truffles from DR Delicacy.

In the restaurant of the week segment, Sandler shares his impressions of two Dallas restaurants: Town Hearth, an over-the-top steakhouse that features a 300-gallon fish tank, and Zoli's, the New York-inspired pizza restaurant from the owner of Cane Rosso. Gerry recommends taking a road trip to Pete's Burger Place in Porter for a classic chili cheeseburger done right.

Subscribe to "What's Eric Eating" on iTunes or Google Play. Listen to it every Saturday at 11 am on SportsMap 94.1.

Killen's Restaurants director of operations Graham Laborde is this week's guest on "What's Eric Eating."

Courtesy photo

Killen's Restaurants director of operations Graham Laborde is this week's guest on "What's Eric Eating."

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Anthony's song

Prolific Houston pizza chef fires up a new Italian restaurant in River Oaks

Courtesy of Anthony's New York Italian

Anthony's New York Italian is now open near Central Market.

One of Houston’s most prolific pizzaiolos has quietly opened a new restaurant in River Oaks. Anthony Russo, founder of Russo’s New York Pizzeria, has opened Anthony’s New York Italian in the former Pie Tap Pizza space at 3748 Westheimer.

While Russo is known primarily for his fast casual restaurants that sling New York-style pies, Anthony’s New York Italian is both more personal and more upscale. It takes inspiration from his Italian heritage — his father grew up in Naples and his mother grew up in Sicily — as well as Russo’s Italian Restaurant, the Galveston eatery his parents operated for almost 20 years.

“We had veal, lobster, Gulf snapper, a lot of nice, classic dishes. There’s where I grew up in the kitchen,” Russo tells CultureMap. “I was always around fine dining restaurants. My mom and dad used to bring in chefs from Italy. They were excellent chefs. That’s what we had in Galveston for 18 years.”

With Russo’s at more than 50 locations, the time felt right to open a more upscale concept. Partially inspired by New York restaurants such as Carbone and Quality Italian, Russo thinks Houstonians will appreciate his high-end take on Italian American fare.

The menu includes lobster fra diavolo, a 24-ounce prime porterhouse, bone-in veal parmesan, frutti di mare (shellfish with tomato sauce over pappardelle), and more. In addition, the dish utilize Italian olive oil that’s pressed by one of the chef’s friends. Anthony’s also makes all of its doughs, sauces, and sausage in house.

Of course, Russo is making pizza, too. They’re baked in imported Italian ovens using slightly different dough and sauce recipes — along with imported mozzarella and burrata — than his more casual restaurants.

And, no, Russo isn’t concerned that a pizzeria lasted less than a year in the space.

“I feel confident this location is going to be a killer for us. We make homemade pasta on site here, fresh from scratch.” he says. “We're bringing fresh lobster. We're bringing fresh clams. We got a nice veal chop. I mean, these are all chef-selected ingredients. I don't think anybody's doing that in town right now.”

The restaurant is still in such early days that it doesn’t have its own website or social media pages yet. For now, diners can follow Russo on Instagram for updates.

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Anthony's New York Italian is open for dinner Monday-Thursday beginning at 4 pm. It’s open for lunch and dinner on Friday and Saturday beginning at 11 am. Reservations are available on OpenTable.

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