What's Eric Eating Episodes 390-92

Drafting Houston's best steakhouses, plus Justin Yu on The Bear season 3

On this week’s episodes of “What’s Eric Eating,” CultureMap editor Eric Sandler deviates from his usual format. Instead of one episode devoted to restaurant news and another with an in-depth interview, the podcast’s fan favorite fantasy football-style restaurant drafts return with an episode devoted to steakhouses. Plus, listeners get a bonus episode with James Beard Award winner Justin Yu discussing season three of The Bear, the FX show set in a fictional Chicago restaurant.

For the steakhouse draft, five Houston restaurant experts joined Sandler. They are — Raffi Nasr, chef-owner of Craft Pita; Mary Clarkson, owner of Avondale Food & Wine; Chelsea Thomas, the staff writer for The Infatuation Houston; Aaron Bludorn, chef-owner of Bludorn Hospitality; and Michael Fulmer, co-founder of the Houston BBQ Festival. They selected restaurants in seven categories — Salads, Appetizers, Steak, Non-steak entrees, Potato side, Dessert, and Wild Card. It follows similar episodes devoted to barbecue, Tex-Mex, burgers, and date night.

Drafters could not select the same restaurant multiple times, and no two teams could select the same restaurant for the same category. Pappas Bros. led the way by being on all six teams, followed by Doris Metropolitan, Andiron, and B&B Butchers at four teams each.

Here are the results, in order of selection in the first round:

Team Raffi

Salad: Brenner’s on the Bayou
Appetizers: B&B Butchers
Steak: Pappas Bros.
Non-steak entrees: Perry’s
Potato: Andiron
Dessert: Steak 48
Wild card: Chama Gaucha cheese rolls

Team Mary

Salad: Fleming’s
Appetizers: Rainbow Lodge
Steak: Andiron
Non-steak entrees: the Palm
Potato: Pappas Bros.
Dessert: Mastro’s
Wild card: B&B Butchers wagyu sando

Team Chelsea

Salad: Taste of Texas
Appetizers: Toca Madera
Steak: Patton’s
Non-steak entrees: B&B Butchers
Potato: Doris Metropolitan
Dessert: Andiron
Wild card: Pappas Bros. beverage program

Team Eric

Salad: Doris Metropolitan
Appetizers: Tris
Steak: Saltillo Mexican Kitchen
Non-steak entrees: Pappas Bros.
Potato: Steak 48
Dessert: Guard & Grace
Wild card: Georgia James Baller Board

Team Aaron

Salad: Andiron
Appetizers: Doris Metropolitan
Steak: Tris
Non-steak entrees: Guard & Grace
Potato: B&B Butchers
Dessert: Pappas Bros.
Wild card: Toca Madera’s performers/atmosphere

Team Michael

Salad: Pappas Bros.
Appetizers: Vic & Anthony’s
Steak: Killen’s Steakhouse
Non-steak entrees: Rainbow Lodge
Potato: Tris
Dessert: Prime 131
Wild card: Doris Metropolitan caviar

Listen to the full episode to hear which dishes inspired their selections as well as the other restaurants that had on their draft boards.

Michael Sambrooks, the owner of Houston restaurant group Sambrooks Management (The Pit Room, Candente, and Andiron) joins Sandler. After naming his top three names, he also shares an update on The Pit Room’s new location near Memorial City Mall.

Finally, in this week’s bonus episode, chef Justin Yu, owner of downtown fine dining restaurant Theodore Rex and a partner in Thorough Fare Hospitality (Anvil, Refuge, Squable, Better Luck Tomorrow, and Catbirds), shares his thoughts on season three of The Bear. Drawing upon his experiences opening Oxheart in 2012 — the restaurant where Yu earned a positive review from the New York Times, a Food & Wine Best New Chef award, and a James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southwest — Yu offers unique insight into how the show captures the world of ambitious restaurants.

During the episode, he and Sandler discuss their favorite scenes and answer questions like whether they would want to eat at the restaurant. They also note some of the ways that the show seems a little out of touch with the contemporary restaurant world.

Obviously, the conversation includes spoilers throughout, so don’t listen until after watching all 10 episodes. Sandler and Yu discussed season two last year; it just received a record-breaking 23 Emmy nominations.

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Subscribe to "What's Eric Eating" on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Hear it Sunday at 10 am on ESPN 97.5.

Courtesy of Pappas Bros. Steakhouse

All six participants selected Pappas Bros. Steakhouse.

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Let's Get Boozy

Houston restaurant celebrates 3 years with new cocktail program

Photo by Luke Chang Jia Media

To celebrate its third anniversary, Jun has introduced a cocktail program to its menu with a newly-acquired liquor license.

Heights restaurant Jūn has an additional reason to celebrate its third anniversary this year: liquor is officially on the menu.

The Heights restaurant, led by owners Evelyn Garcia and Henry Lu, has built a loyal following and earned major recognition since its 2023 opening, including a 2026 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards nomination for Restaurant of the Year and two James Beard Award semifinalist nods.

But one complaint has remained consistent throughout the years.

“People will give us one star because we don't have the whiskey they want or we don't have a martini,” Lu tells CultureMap. “They're like, ‘Food is great. Service is amazing. We'll never come back here.’”

That’s about to change.

With a newly acquired liquor license, patrons can pair dishes like mussels with sour chorizo or tandoori-marinated lamb belly with drinks like the Pink Lady — a reimagining of the Texas classic White Lady made with beet-infused gin, citrus, and egg white.

Several drinks are closely tied to Lu and Garcia’s own stories, including the Post/Shift, an homage to the spicy margarita that Lu has sipped nightly at 9 pm for the past 15 years. The Jūn iteration adds ginger and tamarind, with mezcal as the spirit.

“We want to bring in things that are special to us, like the artwork in (Jūn), the food, the pottery — it all means something,” Lu says.

Other creations include the Good Old Fashion Fun, Very Dirty Martini, and The Bronx, a play on The Manhattan.

Before opening in 2023, Lu and Garcia looked into obtaining a liquor license but learned that installing a fire sprinkler system would be required due to an undefined occupancy limit. The pair planned to move forward with the installation, until they learned the wait time was at least a year.

“We're a legitimate mom and pop restaurant — I cannot delay this project for a year. We wouldn’t have opened,” Lu recalls saying.

After chatting with an industry colleague who had recently secured a license, Lu decided to revisit the process. With construction complete and an established occupancy limit, the restrictions had changed and a liquor license was easy to obtain. Jūn was in business.

When Jūn opened, Garcia and Lu developed a low-ABV “cocktail” program focused on wine and sake, emphasizing flavor through smoke and infusions of herbs and spices.

“We ran with what we had and we were really proud of it,” Lu says. “It really spoke of the creativity that this whole team strives for.”

That approach to flavor development carries into the expanded program, such as the carajillo, Jūn’s twist on the beloved coffee cocktail. The addition of smoked sake to the tequila-forward drink nods to the restaurant’s earlier beverage program.

“It gives it this well-rounded, beautiful, smoky flavor,” Lu says. “It's very homey. It's very reminiscent of a warm summer day.”

To mark both the restaurant’s third anniversary and the addition of liquor, Lu and Garcia are inviting the community to a celebration on Tuesday, March 31.

Attendees will find food by chefs Suu Khin of Burmalicious, Nina Fonte of Aleng Nina, and Ivan Chavez of Chavos BBQ, all regular pop-up participants at Third Place, Jūn’s daytime cafe and coffee concept.

A live sketch artist will capture portraits of guests for a group composite illustration that will hang on the restaurant’s wall. A photo booth, mariachi band, and live DJ are a part of the festivities, with drag bingo occurring later in the evening. The event begins at 6 pm. Tables are first come, first served, and RSVPs are required through OpenTable.

Jūn is open Wednesday through Monday from 5 pm to 10 pm at 420 East 20th Street, Suite A. Cocktails are not being served at Third Place.

To celebrate its third anniversary, Jun has introduced a cocktail program to its menu with a newly-acquired liquor license.

Photo by Luke Chang Jia Media

To celebrate its third anniversary, Jun has introduced a cocktail program to its menu with a newly-acquired liquor license.

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