Episode 9 - Mike Sammons of 13 Celsius, Mongoose Versus Cobra, and Weights + Measures

This week on What’s Eric Eating, restaurant consultant Nathan Ketcham returns to co-host the podcast with CultureMap Food Editor and host Eric Sandler. Eric and Nathan first discuss arguably the biggest news from the food world, Amazon’s agreement to buy Whole Foods for $14 billion and what that means moving forward. The guys then take a look at the local news from the Houston restaurant and bar scene including, Dallas based Ascension Coffee’s announcement that they’re coming to Houston, Tilman Fertitta's purchase of 50% of New York based restaurant group EMM Group, and Ronnie Killen’s response to his restaurant Killen’s BBQ being left out of the top 10 of Texas Monthly’s Top 50 barbecue joints in Texas. Spoiler Alert: Ronnie was not happy. Then in the Restaurants of the Week section Eric and Nathan discuss their trips to Alice Blue in the Heights and Dot Coffee Shop’s new location off of I-10 East. One trip went well and the other… not so much, listen to find out more. In this week’s Guest of the Week section, brought to you by 8th Wonder Brewery, Mike Sammons of 13 Celsius, Mongoose Versus Cobra, and Weights + Measures joins the show. Eric and Mike discuss how Mike got into the restaurant industry, what it took to build 13 Celsius, where did the passion for wine come from, how Houston’s bar scene has grown, the direction Mongoose Versus Cobra has taken, why Mike scaled back the initial concept of Weights + Measures, how the east side of Houston is similar to Midtown 10 years ago, and much more! Plus Eric puts Mike through the What's Eric Eating lightening round and Mike brings a gift to the podcast. What’s Eric Eating’s Guest of the Week segment is brought to you by 8th Wonder Brewery. Visit 8thwonderbrew.com for brews, events, taproom info, and more! #EricSandler #WhatsEricEating #NathanKetcham #MikeSammons #13Celsius #MongooseVersusCobra #WeightsandMeasures #WholeFoods #Amazon #AscensionCoffee #TilmanFertitta #EMMGroup #KillensBBQ #RonnieKillen #TexasMonthly #AliceBlue #DotCoffeeShop #Restaurant #Food #Bar #Houston #8thWonderBrewery #Beer #CraftBeer #WineBar