On this week's episode of "What's Eric Eating," Goodnight Hospitality chef-partner Felipe Riccio and chef de cuisine Adam Garcia join Eric Sandler to discuss a busy year for the Montrose-based restaurant group. Having opened modern honky tonk Goodnight Charlies at the end of 2017, the company is preparing to open three new concepts next year: Montrose Cheese and Wine, a retail wine shop; Rosie Cannonball: a casual, European-inspired restaurant with a wood-burning grill and oven; and March, a fine-dining restaurant that will utilize Riccio's training at restaurants like Blue Hill at Stone Barns and Osteria Francescana.
As noted above, Riccio used his wife's decision to study in Italy as an opportunity to stage in some of Europe's great restaurants. To help prepare for his role leading the kitchen at Rosie Cannonball, Garcia recently spent time working at restaurants in California and Europe. Sandler asks the chefs whether it was difficult to convince Goodnight Hospitality partner Peter McCarthy to pay them to work for other restaurants for free.
"It wasn't difficult. Pete supported the birth of Goodnight Hospitality, which was developing that relationship between David and me and Adam and me," Riccio says. "Adam was just gone for six weeks staging as well. For Pete and for Goodnight Hospitality, that education is super-important. It costs money sometimes."
Prior to the chefs joining the show, Sandler and co-host Linda Salinas discuss the news of the week. Their topic include the plans by Nobie's owners Sara and Martin Stayer to open a new, tiki-inspired concept called The Toasted Coconut; a fast-casual spinoff of Montrose Tex-Mex favorite La Mexicana that will open in Oak Forest next year; Cloud 10 Creamery's expansion to Midtown; and plans for a rooftop bar to open in EaDo next year. In the restaurants of the week segment, Sandler and Salinas share some first impressions of Finn Hall, and Salinas explains why Houston's wine community has become obsessed with Light Years, the new natural wine bar in Montrose.
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Light Years, the new natural wine bar in Montrose.
