This week on “What's Eric Eating,” restaurateur Itai Ben-Eli and chef Yotam Drev talk with CultureMap editor Eric Sandler. OctoOkto, a new Mediterranean restaurant due to open next month at the Montrose Collective mixed-use development, will join sister restaurants Hamsa and Doris Metropolitan under the Sof Hospitality umbrella.
Ben Eli said Octo will serve food inspired by Mediterranean countries such as Greece and Spain, and will also have a seasonally rotating menu of about 16 carefully selected dishes.
“Okto's cuisine will be more detailed and layered than Hamsa's cuisine, which is based on traditional cuisine,” Ben Eli says. “Okto will be a bit more contemporary, layering and leveling up every day.”
“The idea is to bring something that I feel is currently missing,” he adds. “I spent about 10 days in Madrid with my family, and we saw a lot of traditional dishes in Spain and thought, 'Why don't we have anything similar in Houston?' We're bringing the vibrant flavors of what chefs are creating in the Southern Mediterranean right now.”
Dorev added a few more thoughts: “We're really trying to change the rules when it comes to the culinary world and Octo. I just got back from Israel a few weeks ago. The culinary world there is amazing. I thought we needed to bring in a little bit of Italian flavor, a little bit of Greek flavor.”
Listen to the full episode to hear their thoughts on the news. Michelin Guide is coming to Texas, and they could be one of the happy hospitality groups when Texas' first Star and Bib Gourmand awards are presented later this year.
Speaking of Michelin, this week's other episode is a free-flowing conversation about the guide with three Houston-born chefs who have dined in star-ranked restaurants around the world. Chefs RJ Yoakam (George in Dallas), Emmanuel Chavez (Tatemo in Houston) and Ryan Lacheyne (Riel in Houston) join Sandler and the tech entrepreneurs. Misha Gofstein How significant is the introduction of the guide to Houston, and will it change the way restaurants operate? Houston restaurant earns star.
An interesting side note: Yoakam says the opportunity to win a Michelin star could attract talented chefs to follow his path from California to Texas. Chavez adds that just media speculation that Tatemo might get a star has already sparked booking interest. Gobshtein is taking a longer-term view.
“It's not just this year. You'll see a big impact in year five. Think about it this way: how many Texas chefs have cooked in top restaurants around the world and felt they couldn't come back and open a place because they didn't get the support or reach their professional goals,” he says. “Think about all the chefs who worked under Enrique Olvera at Pujol. They're not coming back here. If it becomes a Michelin market, they'll come back.”
