What's Eric Eating 336 and 337

Acclaimed chef reveals big plans for his 2 hot Vietnamese restaurants, plus our trip to Mi Cocina

Tony Nguyen is now the big fish after Christine Ha's departure.

Tony J. Nguyen/Facebook

On this week’s episode of “What’s Eric Eating,” chef Tony Nguyen joins CultureMap food editor Eric Sandler to discuss his career. He is the chef and owner of both Saigon House, a Viet-Cajun restaurant in north Houston, and Xin Chao, a modern Vietnamese restaurant near downtown.

As the chef explains, his interest in restaurants goes back to childhood when he ate at local staples such as Kim Son. After attending hospitality school at Syracuse University and working in New York City, Nguyen made his way back home where he co-founded the Wokker food truck, which earned attention for its fusion of Vietnamese and Texas cuisine.

The chef shares the story of learning Viet-Cajun cuisine and achieving success at Saigon House, which ultimately led to his meeting Masterchef winner Christine Ha and her husband John Suh. The trio opened Xin Chao in 2020, earning a CultureMap Tastemaker Award for Best New Restaurant in 2021 and finalist status for Best Chef: Texas in the 2022 James Beard Awards.

Now, Nguyen is looking to the future following Ha’s recent announcement that she’s parting way with Xin Chao to focus on her other two restaurants, The Blind Goat and Stuffed Belly.

“I’m going back to my roots of Viet-Cajun. I really love seafood,” Nguyen says. “We’re going to introduce a lot more seafood. Live lobster, the king crab is coming back. It’s excited to get back into the kitchen. What kind of food do I want to showcase now that I have a platform?”

Listen to the full episode to hear Nguyen discuss Sin City, a speakeasy-style bar he plans to open in Xin Chao’s private dining room. He also predicts when Saigon House will start serving crawfish.

In this week’s other episode, Sandler and co-host Monica Danna discuss the news of the week. Their topics include: Esquire’s best new restaurants list; chef Michael O’Connor joining the team at Andiron; and the opening of 1891 American Eatery & Bar in the Heights.

In the restaurant of the week segment, the two friends discuss their recent visits to Mi Cocina. Tune in to their thoughts on the Dallas Tex-Mex staple’s return to the Houston market.

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Best of 2026

Classic Houston steakhouse ranks No. 2 in America on Yelp top 100

Taste of Texas/Facebook

Taste of Texas took the No. 2 spot on the list.

When it comes to Yelp's top restaurants, people have the power: the online reviews platform has compiled user opinions to find out which restaurants across the country have the best reputations. Seven Houston-area restaurants made the Top 100 US Restaurants 2026 list, out of a total of 17 in Texas.

Yelp compiled its list mostly by weighing the total volume and sentiment of reviews, plus some other factors it doesn't disclose. The platform is popular enough for casual dining that it shows up all over the list, but there are a few upscale restaurants that broke through.

Leading the way is Houston steakhouse Taste of Texas, which ranked No. 2 in the country. Yelp users enjoy the ability to pick their steak in the kitchen, its "warm Texas hospitality," and artifacts from Texas history — including interior chapel doors from the Alamo. Other Houston restaurants include Xiaolong Dumpling (No. 43), a Chinese restaurant in Montrose, destination worthy Indo-Pak restaurant Aga’s Restaurant & Catering (No. 50), all-you-can-eat concept Mikiya Wagyu Shabu House (No. 55), Heights vegetarian restaurant The Ginger Mule (No, 63), hot pot restaurant Shabu En (No. 69), and The Chef’s Table (No. 73), an upscale South African restaurant in Vintage Park.

Yelp used its data to identify several trends influencing dining over the next year: "grandma-core" dining, sandwiches for dinner, breakfast all day, Japanese flavors, and places to dress up.

In Houston, diners embraced Japanese flavors at both Mikiya Wagyu and Shabu En, and they dressed up at both Taste of Texas and The Chef's Table.

Elsewhere in Texas, another impressive eateries joined Taste of Texas in the top 5. First place went to New York Italian restaurant Ci Siamo, in Manhattan. In San Antonio, Comfort Cafe comes in at No. 5, praised not just for the generous diner food but for its mission to support workers in addiction recovery.

All the Texas restaurants on the list are as follows:

2. Taste of Texas, Houston
5. Comfort Cafe – San Antonio, San Antonio
36. Hatsuyuki Handroll Bar, Fort Worth
37. Gold Spoon, Carrollton
43. Xiaolong Dumpling, Houston
47. Taqueria De Diez, Austin
49. Hutchins BBQ, Frisco
50. Aga’s Restaurant & Catering, Houston
51. Gino’s Deli Stop N Buy, San Antonio
55. Mikiya Wagyu Shabu House, Houston
57. Sushi Yume, Round Rock
59. Edmond’s Burgers & More, Plano
62. Whip My Soul, Austin
63. The Ginger Mule, Houston
66. Bird Bird Biscuit, Austin
69. Shabu En, Houston
73. The Chef’s Table, Houston

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Eric Sandler contributed to this article.

bests lists awards yelp news-you-can-eat

What's Eric Eating 336 and 337

Acclaimed chef reveals big plans for his 2 hot Vietnamese restaurants, plus our trip to Mi Cocina

Best of 2026

Classic Houston steakhouse ranks No. 2 in America on Yelp top 100

Ramen joint that served super hot broth will shutter after only 18 months

Memorial Park previews new playground and visitor's center coming in 2027

Shuttered Houston restaurant's iconic cookies revived with new name