What's Eric Eating Episodes 441 and 442

Meet the chef duo behind downtown Houston's buzzy new restaurant

On the most recent episode of “What’s Eric Eating,” chefs Christian Hernandez and Priscilla Trevino join CultureMap editor Eric Sandler to discuss Barbacana. Recently opened in downtown, Barbacana is earning attention for Hernandez’s tasting menu, which draws inspiration from Houston’s immigrant culinary traditions.

As CultureMap reported last year, Hernandez brings extensive experience to Barbacana. His resume includes time at pioneering restaurant Oxheart, working at New York City’s Contra when it earned a Michelin star, and serving as the opening chef de cuisine for Mediterranean-inspired fine dining restaurant March. While those fine dining experiences led him to serve a tasting menu, a desire to offer diners more affordable options prompted Hernandez to serve an a la carte menu at both lunch and dinner.

One of the ways Hernandez aims for Barbacana to distinguish itself is by committing to sustainable practices. For example, Hernandez and Trevino found a way to use all of a grapefruit by making items like fruit leather and marmalade rather than just the segments.

“All of that stuff is really important for me,” Hernandez says. “To make a more sustainable, well thought out restaurant concept where we could recreate those influences and those procedures.”

Listen to the full episode to hear Trevino discuss her time at restaurants such as Bludorn and Georgia James. Hernandez also reflects on whether his experiences at Michelin-starred restaurants makes earning a star one of his aspirations for Barbacana.

Barbacana Priscilla Trevino and Christian Hernandez

Courtesy of Barbacana

Chefs Priscilla Trevino and Christian Hernandez of Barbacana.

In another recent episode, Sandler and co-host Michael Fulmer discuss some recent restaurant news. Their topics include the Houston restaurants that received semifinalist nominations for this year’s James Beard Awards; the owners of Leaf & Grain opening two new restaurants in Memorial; and Koffeteria bringing a satellite location to Spring Branch.

In the restaurant of the week segment, Fulmer and Sandler discuss their recent meals at bol and Pok Pok Po, the two new fast casual restaurants in Midtown from the chef and owners of Amrina, an Indian fine dining restaurant in The Woodlands. Tune in to hear each restaurant’s relative strengths, as well as which they’re more likely to return to first.

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Pivot to catering

Houston barbecue joint will soon shutter due to $72,000 of unpaid rent

Fainmous BBQ/Facebook

Fainmous BBQ is asking for help.

Unpaid rent is forcing a Houston barbecue joint to shutter its brick-and-mortar location, but the restaurant’s popular catering business will live on. In an emotional social media post, Jamie and Karen Fain shared that Fainmous BBQ, their restaurant in Sawyer Yards, will soon close due to unpaid rent of $72,000.

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A post shared by Fainmous BBQ (@fainmousbbq)

Widely considered the only East Tennessee-inspired barbecue restaurant in Houston, Fainmous moved from its original location in Westbury to Sawyer Yards in 2019. In a 2025 article in the Houston Chronicle, the Fains explain the location didn’t pan out the way they thought it would, prompting them to focus on catering. When the restaurant reopened for dine-in, it offered barbecue sandwiches for as little as $8, but it hasn’t been sufficient to pay back the rent they owe.

The social media post also discusses their challenges with other tenants at the property. With the unpaid rent due by Sunday, February 15, the restaurant's time at the development appears to be coming to an end.

Lovett Commercial, which owns the property, provided CultureMap with a statement about the situation:

We’re aware of the recent fundraising effort and the public conversation surrounding it. Like many businesses, we experienced significant impacts during COVID, particularly related to development timelines and operations. With that context in mind, ownership has worked extensively and in good faith with Fainmous BBQ over a prolonged period, providing meaningful flexibility on rent, including a structured payment plan that ultimately was not fulfilled.

The accumulation of several years of incomplete payments has contributed to the current outstanding balance and situation. Our priority remains finding a responsible and equitable resolution for all involved, and we remain hopeful that a constructive path forward can be achieved.

For the Fains, the path forward is to leave. Towards that end, the couple have started a GoFundMe to facilitate their exit from Sawyer Yards and a move to a new catering kitchen. So far, it has raised approximately $2,000 out of $3,500 requested.

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