What's Eric Eating Episodes 396 and 397

Chef Ronnie Killen is ready to reclaim his crown as Houston's meat king

Ronnie Killen is this week's guest.

Photo by Kimberly Park

On this week’s episode of What’s Eric Eating, chef Ronnie Killen joins CultureMap editor Eric Sandler to discuss his restaurant group. Killen has been a guest twice before — on the show’s second episode in 2017 and again in 2020 — so there’s quite a bit to catch up on.

Speaking with his usual candor, Killen details some of the health issues he’s been dealing with over the last three years. After undergoing multiple surgeries, he’s finally on the road to a sustained recovery.

Known for making Pearland a dining destination with his upscale steakhouse and being among the first Houston-area restaurants to serve craft barbecue, Killen acknowledges he may have fallen off the media radar a but, but he’s ready to get back in the spotlight.

“People say the barbecue place isn’t what it used to be. We don’t have the lines anyone. I didn’t want the lines. I wanted it to be approachable, not where people drive by it and see a two hour line. Our local people who come on a more frequent basis can’t wait two hours in line,” he says.

“When we first opened, we were a $3 million restaurant. Now we’re a $7 million restaurant. Would I throw away $4 million just to have a big line? No, I wouldn’t,” he adds.

Listen to the full episode to hear the chef opine on a number of other topics, including potential changes to Killen’s, his comfort food restaurant near the Heights and his recent departure from NRG Stadium. Sandler also shares memories of his first meal at the original Killen’s Steakhouse in 2008.

On this week’s other episode, Sandler and co-host Mary Clarkson discuss the news of the week. Their topics include the sudden closure of Japanese restaurant Molihua after only three months; Jonathan’s the Rub’s plans to add a fourth location in Cypress; and Winfield’s Chocolate Bar opening a new location just west of the Galleria.

For the restaurant of the week segment, they share first impressions of The Marigold Club, the French-influenced, English-inspired new restaurants from the owners of March and Rosie Cannonball. They discuss the restaurant’s eye-catching design and offer some opinions about their favorite dishes from chef Austin Waiter’s menu.

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What's Eric Eating Episode 584

Beard Award-winning Latin chef dishes on big Houston move and menu overhaul

Courtesy of Exilio Latin Flair

James Beard Award winner Douglas Rodriguez is the executive chef of Exilio Latin Flair.

On this week’s episode of “What’s Eric Eating,” chef Douglas Rodriguez and Bari Hospitality Group co-owner Pedro Teyuca join CultureMap editor Eric Sandler to discuss Exilio Latin Flair, the company’s pan-Latin restaurant in Montrose.

Opened in April in the former Verde Garden space, Exilio recently recruited Rodriguez to serve as executive chef and revamp its menu. Known as the “Godfather of Nuevo Latino Cuisine,” the chef brings an impressive resume to his role, including winning Rising Star Chef in the 1996 James Beard Awards, competing on season one of Top Chef Masters, and earning a Recommended designation in the Michelin Guide for Nikos, a Greek restaurant in Durham, NC. As he explains in the episode, he and Bari co-owner Tommy Nally first developed the idea for Exilio when they worked together in Vegas, so he jumped at the opportunity to bring the restaurant to life.

Rodriguez just rolled out a new menu for Exilio that includes a total revamp of the restaurant’s ceviches and entrees. Specific dishes include tuna watermelon ceviche, mixto seafood ceviche with leche de tigre, Colombian-style chicken empanadas, snapper Veracruz, and a smoked ribeye.

“The sauce is made with panca peppers (Peruvian red pepper), watermelon juice, yuzu juice. Then it’s slices of tuna and slices of watermelon. I kind of single them,” Rodriguez says about the tuna watermelon ceviche. “The sauce has red onion, Thai basil, tarragon, a herb you don’t usually find in a ceviche. It’s very light, refreshing, herbaceous — hits a lot of different areas in the palate for a simple, two ingredient dish.”

The chef adds that he’s been getting to know Houston through its restaurants. He cites Mala Sichuan and Hugo’s as two places that have impressed him. He also hails Love Croissants, whose owner, chef Omar Pereney, worked for Rodriguez prior to moving to Houston.

“I have a long list of places to explore, and I’m excited that this is a big food city,” Rodriguez adds. “I haven’t been to Maximo yet. That’s at the top of my list. I’m excited to be here and get people into the restaurant to try the food.”

For his part, Teyuca provides an update on Bari’s plans to open a second location in The Woodlands later in September. He also shares exciting news about the company’s plans to add a sushi bar to the lounge above Georgia James, the Montrose steakhouse it purchased from Underbelly Hospitality in 2024.

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Subscribe to "What's Eric Eating" on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Hear it Sunday at 8 am on ESPN 97.5.

Courtesy of Exilio Latin Flair

James Beard Award winner Douglas Rodriguez is the executive chef of Exilio Latin Flair.

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