What's Eric Eating Episode 590

Aaron Bludorn dishes on his new neighborhood tavern in The Woodlands

On this week’s episode of “What’s Eric Eating,” chef and restaurateur Aaron Bludorn joins CultureMap editor Eric Sandler to discuss the new location of Bar Bludorn in The Woodlands. Announced last year, the restaurant officially opened to the public this Friday, October 2.

It’s the fifth restaurant for Bludorn Hospitality Group, the company Bludorn operates with his wife, Victoria Pappas Bludorn, and their business partner, operations specialist Cherif Mbodji. It joins the company’s flagship, French-inspired fine dining restaurant Bludorn; Navy Blue, a seafood restaurant in Rice Village; Perseid, a French-influenced restaurant at the Hotel Saint Augustine; and Bar Bludon’s original location that opened in the Memorial Villages in 2023. Bludorn, Perseid, and Bar Bludorn all hold Recommended designations in the Michelin Guide.

As Bludorn explains, one primary factor drew the company to The Woodlands.

“We noticed a lot of people from The Woodlands come to Bludorn and even Bar Bludorn,” Bludorn says. “Having enough people tell you that over and over again, you feel so grateful they’d travel for a great meal. I wanted to give them a way they wouldn’t have to travel so far for a great meal.”

As a music fan, Bludorn has attended several concerts at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. He likes that Bar Bludorn’s location in The Woodlands Waterway allows diners to have dinner at the restaurant prior to making a five minute walk to the venue to see the performance.

While the interior in The Woodlands looks similar to the Memorial original, it does offer a couple of key improvements. First, the bar is larger, allowing more people to walk in for a burger or steak. Second, it offers a 50-seat private dining room (Memorial doesn’t have a private room at all).

Photo by Claudia Casbarian

Bar Bludorn is now open in The Woodlands.

The menu has some notable changes, too. The beignets are topped with lobster instead of the country ham served at Memorial, and the pasta selections includes pappadelle with lamb ragu and a take on carbonara made with duck confit and duck egg yolk. The short rib pastrami has been replaced with a Cuban sandwich. Bar Bludorn's signature fried chicken is joined by a roast chicken — both are served are served as whole or half birds with a choice of two sides and three sauces.

“When you have a restaurant that’s a neighborhood restaurant, there’s a desire to have a healthy component,” Bludon notes. “We’re launching a roast chicken. Now, you can get a half fried/half roasted chicken with a ton of different sauces, and you can pick your own sides. I’m told we do chicken really well, and I wanted to double down on that here.”

Leading the kitchen is chef Adolfo Lopez, while Malik McLemore, a veteran of both Bludorn and Navy Blue, heads north to serve as general manager.

“Bar Bludorn is meant to be a neighborhood restaurant. It’s meant to sink into the community and be part of everyone’s dining habits. It’s a place you can become a regular very easily. We’re excited about that opportunity here, for guests to take ownership of this restaurant,” Bludorn adds.

Notably, Bar Bludorn isn’t the company’s only opening for 2026. A still-unnamed project in San Antonio will debut before the end of the year, Bludorn shares, although he declined to reveal any details about its menu. He adds that BHG is seeking more opportunities beyond the Bayou City and its suburbs.

“For now, until we come up with a concept that’s different, we’re happy where we’re at in Houston, he says. “As we look to where we’re at today, we’ve got a really strong foundation as a group. We’re looking take more opportunities like we have in San Antonio and other places throughout the state, but they’re just conversations at this point.”

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a truer sound

New Montrose listening bar is a high-fidelity haven for music lovers

Courtesy of Casalu

Grab a seat at the bar.

Montrose’s lively bar scene has welcomed a new listening lounge that’s drawing major buzz. Called Casalu, it aims to have the best-sounding room in Houston.

Owner Lutfi Rukab brings experience as a co-owner of Brookstreet Bar-B-Q to Casalu. The bar’s location at 1001 Missouri allows it to share a parking lot with Brookstreet’s Montrose location. Rukab tells CultureMap that his experience as both a DJ and a patron of listening bars around the world motivated him to open Casalu.

“When I’ve traveled to places like Europe and New York, I always come across these places with impeccable sound,” Rukab explains. “When we go out in Houston, I get a headache or we have to scream. When I started looking around, I noticed no one has proper room treatments or proper sound. That was the first thing I wanted to focus on, and then everything else would follow.”

To achieve the proper sound, Rukab invested in a high-end stereo system made with premium components, obsessing over details like amplifiers and speaker cable. A hand-built, Japanese-made rotary mixer from Alpha Recording Systems allows DJs to mix tracks between Casalu’s two turntables. Custom-built speakers from German manufacturer H.A.N.D. Hi-Fi ensure clean sound at both low and high volumes.

“I toured everywhere to look for speakers,” Rukab says. “[H.A.N.D.] makes bespoke speaker systems for restaurants and cafes and bars and homes all over the world. They talk to you about what you want. Everything is custom-made. Everything is designed for the space.”

A rotating cast of local and regional DJs will make regular appearances at Casalu. Genres will run the gamut, with everything from jazz and French house to ’80s music, disco, and more. Like Rukab, general manager Omar Azhari has hospitality experience and has performed as a DJ. Together, they’re curating a list of performers that will also include live musicians.

“We’re going to play music as it was intended to be listened to from the recording studio, with minimal distortion,” Rukab says.

Rukab let his own taste guide the bar’s interior design. It has the feel of a well-curated living room, with a mix of seating options that includes tables for two, booths for larger groups, and, of course, seats at the bar. An outdoor patio brings Casalu’s total capacity to about 130 people.

Bar manager Fatima Imanli created a cocktail menu that nods to Rukab’s Palestinian heritage by including Mediterranean ingredients. For example, the Closing Track combines espresso and tequila with date-cardamom syrup. Similarly, the Fig & Vinyl blends bourbon with caramelized figs, and the Midnight Luce is an espresso martini riff that’s made with a tahini syrup. As part of a commitment to avoid processed sugars, all of the bar’s syrups are made with either honey or agave nectar.

In addition to cocktails, Casalu offers a tidy selection of wines by the glass or bottle and a few beers. Houston roaster Greenway Coffee is working with Casalu on its coffee program, which is powered by the espresso machine that had been installed at Paulie’s, the neighborhood Italian restaurant that closed last year.

Casalu’s limited food menu also takes inspiration from the Mediterranean. Customers will find options like hummus, olives, labneh, cheese, charcuterie, and more.

After a quiet soft opening, Rukab is feeling good about the investment he made in Casalu. Feedback has been positive, and people seem to appreciate what he’s created.

“We’ve had a great reaction. I couldn’t ask for more,” he says. “It’s a dream when they say ‘wow.’ Those are the best words coming out of somebody’s mouth.”

Casalu is located at 1001 Missouri St. It’s open from 3 pm to midnight Monday through Thursday, and from 3 pm to 2 am Friday and Saturday. Reservations are available online.

Courtesy of Casalu

Grab a seat at the bar.

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