On this week’s episode of “What’s Eric Eating,” chefs Felipe Riccio and Austin Waiter join CultureMap food editor Eric Sandler to discuss the latest news from Goodnight Hospitality. Riccio, a partner in the overall group, and Waiter, chef-partner for The Marigold Club, have a lot of news to share.
The conversation begins with Waiter discussing The Marigold Club, a Continental restaurant that will open later this spring in the former Goodnight Charlie’s space. He shares a few of the reasons why he left Tony’s two years ago to join the project and discusses his time staging at restaurants in London as part of the preparations to open it. Waiter shares a few details about the menu, including that it will feature an extensive raw seafood program and offer afternoon tea service.
Sandler asks Riccio how Marigold Club fits in with its sister concepts March and Rosie Cannonball in the Goodnight portfolio.
“Rosie leans so heavily Italian. We play around with French flavors here and there. With Marigold, getting to lean in to that classic technique, through the eyes of London . . . into the rest of Europe, playing off those classic flavors from French cooking will be a lot of fun.”
Waiter adds that one of the lessons he’s brought from Tony’s is the importance of finding a balance between his perspective as a chef and serving food that customers want to order.
“I think that the difficult part is staying true to what Felipe and I and the business partners love about food and what we’re focusing on and still making sure the guest comes first,” he says. “I’m not the one sitting there eating dinner every night. I think our guests need to take priority.”
From there, the discussion turns to March. The Mediterranean-inspired fine dining restaurant will roll out its new tasting menus devoted to Països Catalans — a region where people speak Catalan that includes parts of Spain, Italy, France, and islands such as Ibiza and Mallorca — on January 30.
“What is the through line, what are the differences between these people that share a common language? What’s their food style? What are the ingredients that are important? What are their rituals? All of those things are part of the research,” Riccio explains.
The menu will include freshwater seafood and ingredients sourced from the Pyrenees Mountains. Beverage options will feature an homage to sangria as well as wines sourced from the Penedès, a region south of Barcelona.
In this week’s other episode, Sandler and co-host Michael Fulmer discuss the news of the week. Their topics include Common Bond bringing a new bistro location to Tanglewood, Layne’s Chicken Fingers opening inside the loop, and Hando opening in Spring Branch.
In the restaurant of the week segment, they visit 1891 American Eatery & Bar. Created by the culinary team behind Common Bond, the restaurant combines a comfort food menu with quality cocktails and a casual, sports bar atmosphere.
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Courtesy of Goodnight Hospitality
A rendering previews the interior of The Marigold Club.
