What's Eric Eating Episodes 341 and 342

Acclaimed Houston Thai restaurant's dynamic duo dishes on Beard Award win and more

Street to Kitchen Tastemaker Awards 2022

The owners of Street to Kitchen are this week's guests.

Photo by Daniel Ortiz

On this week’s episode of “What’s Eric Eating,” Street to Kitchen owners Benchawan Jabthong Painter and Graham Painter join CultureMap food editor to discuss their award-winning Thai restaurant. Last year, Benchawan, known to friends and colleagues as “Chef G,” won the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Texas.

The conversation begins with the couple telling the story of how they met. After living in Asian for several years, they moved to Houston to be closer to Graham’s family. That’s when Chef G began working at Houston restaurants including SaltAir Seafood Kitchen and Theodore Rex. After building a following through pop-ups, events, and a weekly stand at the Urban Harvest farmers market, the couple opened Street to Kitchen’s original location in an East End gas station in the summer of 2020.

Since the location had been a fast food fried chicken franchise, Graham insisted that Chef G serve Thai fried chicken at Street to Kitchen. As he explains, it almost “cost me my marriage.” Chef says she understood serving the dish would come with a lot of challenges.

“I know we have a lot of fried chicken in the neighborhood, but there wasn’t any Thai food,” she says. “I talked to Graham, I said, ‘you won’t make any profit, and you have to have a lot of space.’ I tried to talk him out of it, but he was really sure.”

“We thought people would be fresh to what we’ve offered, and there’s no better catalyst than fried chicken,” Graham says. “The thought was, I’ll win you over with fried chicken, and hopefully you’ll start trying some of the things you’re less familiar with. The opposite happened. The neighborhood has been supportive from the get-go, but the majority of people were coming from Urban Harvest. Cypress, Rice Village, Galveston — we couldn’t believe it. They were getting fried chicken, but they were also getting noodles, curries, and everything else.”

Needless to say, Chef G got her way. Fried chicken is no longer on the menu, and Graham doesn’t tell her what to cook anymore.

Listen to the full episode to hear the couple discuss The Prsv, the tasting menu restaurant they operate in collaboration with Eculent chef-owner David Skinner. They also talk about the experience of winning the Beard award and their aspirations for the future.

In this week’s other episode, Sandler and co-host Mary Clarkson discuss the news of the week. Their topics include: Bar Bludorn, chef Aaron Bludorn’s new restaurant coming soon to Memorial; chef Kaitlin Steets leaving Theodore Rex; and a new Japanese restaurant coming to the former One Fifth space in Montrose.

In the restaurants of the week segment, Clarkson and Sandler discuss their recent meals at two Thai restaurants. First, they share thoughts on Street to Kitchen’s new location in the Plant mixed-use development. Then, they discuss the highs and lows of a dinner at MaKiin, an upscale restaurant in Upper Kirby.

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podcasts chefs interview news-you-can-eat

reboot rejected

Family friendly Houston restaurant shutters after less than 6 months

Photo by Quy Tran

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A Houston restaurant group has abruptly pulled the plug on its Garden Oaks location. Jax on the Tracks has closed, owner Gr8 Plate Hospitality announced.

Opened in February, Jax on the Tracks evolved out of The Union Kitchen, Gr8 Plate’s globally-inspired, full service restaurant that had operated in the neighborhood for almost 10 years. At the time, owner Paul Miller thought Garden Oaks diners would appreciate a more family friendly, affordable concept that centered around classic American fare such as burgers, pizzas, and fajitas. Unfortunately, it didn’t catch on quickly enough.

Gr8 Plate provided CultureMap with the following statement:

After careful consideration, Jax on the Tracks on Ella Boulevard has made the difficult decision to close its doors. While the concept was recently introduced to the neighborhood, many challenges ultimately led to the decision to discontinue operations at this location.

We are incredibly grateful to our guests, team members, and the Garden Oaks community for the warm welcome and support. There are currently no plans for another concept in the space.

In a separate conversation, Miller tells CultureMap that the switch from The Union Kitchen to Jax on the Tracks was too abrupt. It created confusion with regulars who missed dishes they’d been ordering for years.

“The people who had never been to the Union Kitchen loved it. They had a great time,” Miller says. “The people who had been to the Union Kitchen and had an expectation for that kind of food — our hummus, steak night, different cuts of fish — were blasting us.”

With revenues flat or declining, Miller says he made the difficult decision to close rather than using revenues from his other locations to keep Jax on the Tracks open in hopes its fortunes improved. Thankfully, the company’s other restaurants — including The Union Kitchen locations in Kingwood, Memorial, and Cypress; Jax Grill locations on Shepherd Dr. and in Bellaire; and Italian restaurant Passerella in Cypress — all remain open.

“It’s a hell of a lot more fun opening restaurants than closing restaurants. I can tell you that for damn sure,” Miller says.

What's Eric Eating Episodes 341 and 342

Acclaimed Houston Thai restaurant's dynamic duo dishes on Beard Award win and more

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