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May 23, 2012
Snap Kitchen, Kebabalicious, Turf N Surf, Patika moving to make way for new hotel downtown
Snap Kitchen owner Martin Berson knew that he’d eventually have to move his food trailer-in-a-storage pod at the corner of Congress Avenue and Second Street to make way for a new 1,000-room JW Marriott Hotel, but instead of having to move in November, the ground-breaking date got moved up to June.
“The last we’d heard was that we’d have to move in November,” he says, but about a month ago, they said that they’d got the financing lined up to break ground almost six months early. They trailers have to be out by June 10.
But it isn’t as easy as just moving the pod to another lot. “Trailer space is a hot commodity,” Berson says. His current landlord, LAZ Parking, is trying to help find another location, possibly on another of its parking lots downtown, but nothing has come through yet.
Berson isn’t the only trailer owner who is now on the hunt for a new home. Patika owner Andy Wigginton says he and the owners of Turf N Surf Po’ Boy and Kebabalicious, the other trucks on the lot, are hoping to find a place within a few blocks of where they are to move together. Belgian Waffle Co. and Chi’Lantro are also looking for new homes.
Ultimately, though, Wigginton’s goal is to move into a brick-and-mortar spot downtown. “Trailer life is hard regardless, this is just one more wrinkle to that,” he says.
In other Snap Pod news, Berson says that the company is close to opening a location at U.S. 183 near the Arboretum in late summer and that they are finalizing leases on two more stores in Austin, plus another in Houston. If all goes smoothly, Berson says he hopes to open those additional outlets within the next six months.
Photos by Matthew Odam and Martin Berson.
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May 16, 2012
Recipe for Torchy's new avocado sauce
Last month, for the first time in three years, Torchy’s Tacos, the rapidly growing Austin-based restaurant company that now has about a dozen stores (with almost as many in the works in Dallas alone), added a number of new tacos to the menu, including the “Reservoir Dogs”-inspired Mr. Pink and Mr. Orange, which is filled with blackened salmon, grilled corn and black bean relish, queso fresco, cilantro and avocado sauce.
We persuaded owner Mike Rypka to let go of the recipe for the avocado sauce, but the rest of the taco is up to you to re-create.
Torchy’s Avocado Sauce
2 cups oil, divided
1 jalapeño pepper
1 serrano pepper
4 tomatillos, husk removed
2 tsp. diced garlic cloves
1/4 cup lime juice
2 avocados, peeled and seeded
2 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
3/4 tsp. black pepper
1/8 cup diced onions
In a cast iron skillet, heat 1 cup oil to about 350 degrees. Fry whole jalapeño and serrano peppers for two minutes or until golden brown. Set aside on paper towel.
Put remaining ingredients in large blender or food processor and purée. Add peppers and blend until mixed well. Makes 1 quart. Refrigerate for up to 5 days.
— Mike Rypka
Photo by Aimee Wenske.
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May 7, 2012
Art Blondin finds new home for his famous ribs at Jax Neighborhood Cafe
Blondin, who had filed for bankruptcy after running the restaurant for almost 20 years, has teamed up with Jack Malinowski, who owns Jax Neighborhood Cafe, to bring his famous barbecue to the live music venue at 2828 Rio Grande Street, near the University of Texas campus.
Last Monday was Blondin’s first day cooking at Jax, but the barbecue wasn’t the only thing reminiscent of his old place. On stage was Sarah Elizabeth Campbell, who had had a Monday night residency at Artz and who is now filling that same slot at Jax with fellow musician Marvin Dykhuis.
The menu, which is served from 4 to 10 p.m., is limited to burgers and ribs for now, but Blondin says he’ll be expanding it in coming weeks.
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March 29, 2012
UPDATE: Artz Rib House closes, but owner says he has something else in the works
UPDATED AT 4:30 P.M. THURSDAY
Artz Rib House, the longtime South Austin barbecue restaurant that was known as much for its live music as its thick beef ribs, closed its doors on March 19 and filed Wednesday for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which means that the remaining assets of the restaurant will be liquidated to pay his debts.
The bankruptcy filing indicates that he owes $303,000 in back wages and taxes and has assets of $23,400.
Owner Art Blondin said on Thursday that he is holding out hope that he can open another restaurant within a month, but he said he couldn’t reveal details of his plans.
“The customers have been absolutely wonderful. They stuck with us through the hard times. We would not have made it as along as we did if it wasn’t for the generosity and hard working help from all of our customers,” Blondin said Thursday afternoon.
“We’ve got some options. We’re going to be opening up real soon,” he said. “We’ll be keeping the music alive.”
The restaurant at 2330 S. Lamar Blvd. first opened in August 1992. In 2009, he temporarily closed the restaurant when his wife was in the hospital and while he was paying some back taxes. A fund-raiser that year helped raise $10,000 to reopen the restaurant, but in 2010, he filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2010 in an attempt to reorganize the debt.
Charlie Stewart, who manages a number of bands in Austin, had been going to Artz since 1995, and said it was an indispensable venue for his bands who were just getting started. “That’s what was great about them; they were always willing to give new artists a chance,” Stewart said. “If you did well on a Tuesday or a Thursday night, you would work up the ranks.” “You could nourish the body and nourish the soul at that place,” he said.
Former Austin City Council Member Max Nofziger, who now plays in a band called The Harmony Brothers, said Artz was one of the group’s favorite places to play. “It was one of the few places that actually fed you and paid you,” he said. “Now where do I go to get barbecue? I haven’t had to think about this for 20 years”
“It’s awful for Austin; it’s awful for the music scene,” Nofziger said. It was a clubhouse for musicians like Sarah Elizabeth Campbell, who had a Monday night residency at the restaurant. Nofziger has known Blondin and his wife Zenobia Sutton, who put the “z” in Artz, since before the restaurant opened, and remembers eating their barbecue before the restaurant opened, when they would cater city council lunches.
“He took care of the music community for a long time,” Nofziger said. “Artz was a funky place, and the infrastructure of funk is being forced out of town.”
Blondin did this oral history interview with Lisa Powell in 2007, which goes into great detail about how the business started and the particular kind of barbecue that he specializes in.
Photo by Ha Lam for the Austin American-Statesman.
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March 27, 2012
Openings/Closings: Cenote, Cover 2, Tamale House East open; trailers at East Side Drive-In forced to move
• Open: Progress Coffee has opened an outlet in TreeHouse, a home improvement store at 4477 S. Lamar Blvd..
• Open: 400 Rabbits, a restaurant and tequila bar inside the Alamo Slaughter Lane, 5701 W. Slaughter Lane. 861-7069.
• Open: Urban Wine + Liquor, a wine, beer and liquor store in the first floor of the Austonian that is the latest venture from Austinite Buckley Wineholt, formerly of Wines.com and Central Market Westgate. The store at 200 Congress Ave. features delivery to some condos and areas downtown and a number of locally made food products.
• Open: Cover 2, a restaurant at 13701 Research Blvd. from the owners of Cover 3. Like the restaurant on Anderson Lane, Cover 2 offers higher-quality cuisine than you’d find in most sports bars plus plenty of TVs, beers and cocktails to get you through the game. 506-9935.
• Open: Cenote, a coffee shop at 1010 E. Cesar Chavez St. from Austinites Cody Symington and Mary Jenkins. In addition to coffee-based drinks using beans from local roasters Cuvee and Third Coast, Cenote will also sell Rockstar Bagels, sandwiches, salads and other goods from local food companies. The building, which was taken over briefly during South by Southwest to become the Spotify house, was built in 1887 and, according to Cenote owners, appears on Austin’s very first hand-drawn map just a few years later. Last year, they received the Heritage Society of Austin’s “Merit Award for Adaptive Use.” 524-1311.
• Open: Randalls, 5145 N. FM 629 in Steiner Ranch, is the newest Central Texas outlet of the grocery store chain. The store opened Wednesday and is the 14th store in the Austin area.
• Open: Bruegger’s Bakery-Cafe, 3267 Bee Cave Road, a locally owned outlet of the national bakery chain known for its New York-style bagels. This is the first of several Bruegger’s locations that owners Karlene and Roger Cusick, who recently moved to Austin from New York, hope to open in the area. 394-7174.
• Open: Tamale House East, 1707 E. Sixth St., the newest restaurant from the family that runs several other Tamale House restaurants in the area. 495-9504.
• Open: Bar Louie, the first Austin location of the national restaurant and bar chain at 123 W. Sixth St.
• Opening April 4: Spin Modern Thai Cuisine, a fusion restaurant at 14005 U.S. 183 North that serves Thai dishes with Japanese and French influences, 258-1365.
• Closed: East Side Drive In Food Trailer Park, the lot at 1001 E. Sixth St, that was home to a number of trailers, including The Vegan Yacht, Firefly Pies, Pig Vicious, Love Balls Bus and Bits And Druthers, that are now in the process of relocating.
• Closed: Kick Butt Coffee at the Triangle. The original Kick Butt Coffee, 5775 Airport Blvd., remains open.
• Closing April 7: Lux Bakery & Cafe, the bakery at 3601 West William Cannon Drive, will close next month.
Urban Wine and Liquor photo by Johanna Nuding, Cenote photo from Cody Symington and Mary Jenkins.
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March 12, 2012
SXSW Eats: Fed Man Walking launches burger app
Longtime Statesman designer Mike Sutter launched his food and writing career in 2008 as the paper’s restaurant critic. After he stepped down from the position last summer, he created FedManWalking.com, a standalone review site that, as of this week, has a fancy new component: A free iPhone app to help you find the best burgers in Austin.
As one of his first big projects on the site last year, Sutter reviewed 100 burgers in and around Austin — he’s since moved on to successive reviews of eggs dishes and now barbecue — and he has compiled those reviews into an app that lets you search for burgers based on location, rank or quality of the all-important burger companions, fries and onion rings. You can find the app in the iTunes store.
Permalink | | Categories: Eating out, Playing with your food, SXSW
February 14, 2012
Contigo's alternate take Valentine's Day dining
In last week’s 360 entertainment tab, freelancer Claire Canavan gave us a glimpse at the friendship, world travels and culinary aesthetic that went into Contigo, the mostly outside restaurant near Airport Boulevard in East Austin that taking a slightly different approach to Valentine’s Day, which is easily one of the busiest eating-out nights of the year.
Instead of offering prix-fixe menus or candle-lit dining, the restaurant owned by Ben Edgerton, left, and Andrew Wiseheart will serve a communal, family-style dinner. “Singles, couples, or larger groups can socialize with their friends or meet new people while passing plates of roasted chicken with turnips and greens, preserved lemon ricotta gnocchi, or creme puffs with lavender honey ice cream,” Canavan writes. “It’s an event that makes perfect sense for Contigo. The name — “with you” in Spanish — reflects the restaurant’s constant focus on community and hospitality.”
Like many parents with small kids, we’ll be rocking Valentine’s Day at home tonight, but I have a head of cauliflower in the fridge that’s just begging to be cheesed up in a cauliflower gratin. Thanks for Contigo chef Andrew Wiseheart for sharing the recipe.
Cauliflower Gratin
For the cream reduction:
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 cup white wine
2 cups cream
For gratin
2 cups cauliflower florets, blanched
1 Tbsp. sliced almonds
1 tsp. capers
1 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
1 tsp. currants, rehydrated in white wine
1 tsp. reduced balsamic vinegar
In a small saute pan over medium high heat, saute garlic cloves in olive oil, add wine and reduce until almost dry. Add cream and reduce by a third.
In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, combine the cream reduction with the rest of the ingredients until cheese is melted and cauliflower is glazed. Spoon into a cast iron serving dish and top with Parmesan.
— Chef Andrew Wiseheart, Contigo Austin
Photo by Ralph Barrera.
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A tale of a fertility goddess, tequila and the new Drafthouse restaurant, 400 Rabbits
When Alamo Drafthouse CEO Tim League, executive chef John Bullington and team were planning the new Alamo Drafthouse on Slaughter Lane in Southwest Austin, opening in March, they decided to cut the eighth theater in half to create a mini theater that is more suited for private parties and small screenings.
But what to do with that other half theater space? Make a cocktail lounge called 400 Rabbits, of course.
It helped that they had hired cocktail specialist Bill Norris, who had just come back from a trip to Guadalajara, Jalisco, where he learned about the ups and downs of the tequila industry, as well as the myth of Mayahuel, the Aztec goddess of fertility and creativity who was said to have given birth to 400 rabbits, which Mayahuel fed fermented agave. These 400 rabbits became the gods of drunkenness, Norris said on a media tour of the building earlier this month.
In Guadalajara, you’ll find 400 Conejos, a tequila bar that focuses primarily on spirits, but at 400 Rabbits in Austin will be part restaurant, part bar, and it will be open to everyone, even people who aren’t there to see a movie. Though the focus will be on agave-based spirits, which include mescal and sotol, there will be plenty of nonagave drinks, too, Norris says.
The everyday menu will have only seven items, including chicharrones, refried white beans, Sonoran hot dogs, carnitas tortas, queso asado (seared cheese) and alambres (grilled skewers of New York strip), but Bullington says they’ll host a number of special dinners and pairing events at 400 Rabbits, too.
They’ve added an outdoor patio, which will create 88 seats total. The new theater and restaurant are scheduled to open on March 22, but until then, you can sip on this cocktail, which will be on Norris’ drink menu.
The Sherry Darling
As soon as I started working on the menu, I knew I wanted to do a sherry and tequila drink, because they have flavors that marry beautifully together. As soon as I tasted the Duque de Carmona, I knew I’d found the sherry I wanted to use — the orange and nut flavors were so clear and precise.
1 1/2 oz. 100 percent Blue Agave Reposado Tequila
1 oz. Bodegas Gongora Duque de Carmona Orange Sherry
1/2 oz. Grand Mariner
Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with cracked ice. Stir until very cold and strain into a chilled cocktail glass or coupe. Garnish with a spiral cut orange peel.
— Bill Norris
Photos by Cory Ryan.
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February 6, 2012
Antonelli's celebrates second birthday with free cheese plates
When John and Kendall Antonelli opened their Hyde Park cheese shop in 2010, they knew Austinites loved specialty cheese, but little did they know how much.
Antonelli’s Cheese Shop started primarily as a retail store front for customers to buy cheese and accouterments and place for the Antonellis to host cheese classes, but as more restaurants started ordering wholesale, they quickly outgrew the space at 4220 Duval Street.
In the past few months, they’ve opened a headquarters across Duval Street that now houses a huge walk-in cooler that holds most of the cheeses that appear in cheese and charcuterie plates at restaurants across the city including Asti, Bistrot Mirabelle, Chez Zee, Coal Vines, , the Mansion at Judge’s Hill, Truluck’s, Vino Vino and Violet Crown.
The cheese 101 classes that they host each month will also be held in this new space, which you can rent out for private classes, but the original storefront remains the place where everyday customers can walk in and order cheese.
To celebrate the blockbuster two years that the business has had, the Antonellis are giving away cheese plates this week at various restaurants around town, starting today at 5 p.m. at Haddington’s and Snack Bar. (Snack Bar owner Bethany Andree says have Belgian-style beers from Adelbert’s Brewery, one of the newest breweries in town, to go with the cheese plates.)
Here is a list of where they are giving away the cheese plates, while supplies last, on which nights:
Tuesday — 24 Diner, Fino and Hopfields
Wednesday — Bartlett’s, Fion Wine Pub, House Pizzeria
Thursday — Chez Zee, Max’s Wine Dive, The Steeping Room
Friday — Coal Vines, The Seedling Truck
(Kendall Antonelli points out that on Wednesday nights throughout the year, Dive Bar, Star Bar and Gibson Bar give away cheese plates if you buy a bottle of wine.)
Photo by Deborah Cannon for the Austin American-Statesman.
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January 24, 2012
So woo me: Where to eat this Valentine's Day
Valentine’s Day is on a Tuesday this year, which is bad news for lovers who have a hard time fitting a date night like Valentine’s in the middle of the week but good news for restaurant owners who always see a rush on weekend nights but rarely one of the caliber that Valentine’s Day will bring in the middle of the week. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be rounding up the Valentine’s specials, both the weekend before and the night of. Have a special dinner to submit? Send the details in an email to Austin360.com producer LeeAnn Pendley.
• Alamo Drafthouse (Ritz 320 E 6th Street, 476-1320, Village 2700 W Anderson Lane, 476-1320, South Lamar 1120 S Lamar Blvd, 476-1320, Lake Creek 13729 Research Blvd, 219-5408, drafthouse.com): ‘Princess Bride’ quote-along and feast. 7 p.m.
• Asti Trattoria (408 C East 43rd St., 451-1218, www.astiaustin.com/asti/event/): Special Valentine’s Day menu. Feb. 14. 5-10 p.m.
• Austin Cake Ball Kitchen & Bar(3401 Esperanza Crossing Suite #104, 215-3633, www.austincakeball.com/kitchenandbar): Three-course prix fixe dinner menu. Feb. 10-14. $45 per person. $75 per couple.
• Aviary (2110 S. Lamar Blvd., 916-4445, verdesupperclub.com): Verde Supper Club presents ‘Intercourses: A Night of Aphrodisiacs’ on Feb. 14. Six course meal. $90 per person.
• Bistrot Mirabelle (8127 Mesa Drive Ste A100, 346-7900, www.bistrotmirabelle.com): Three-course dinner, including a complimentary glass of champagne. Feb. 14. $37.95.
• Braise (2121 E. Sixth St., 478-8700, www.braiseaustin.com): Four-course fixed-price menu Tuesday, Feb. 14. $49.95 per person, $99.95 per couple.
• Buenos Aires Cafe Este (1201 E. 6th St, 382-1189, buenosairescafe.com) will be offering a five-course prix-fixe menu with a complimentary glass of bubbles. Accepting reservations for 7 and 9 pm for Tuesday Feb 14, $75 per person.
• Cannoli Joe’s(4715 US Hwy 290 West, 892-4444, www.cannolijoes.com): Feb. 14. Lunch from 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. for $8.99 (regular menu). Dinner from 4 - 8:30 p.m. for $17.99, with an extended menu.
• The Carillon (AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center, 1900 University Ave., 404-1900, www.thecarillonrestaurant.com): Seven-course dinner with wine pairings. Feb. 10-11 and Feb. 14. $120 per person. $80 without wine.
• Congress (200 Congress Ave., 827-2760, congressaustin.com/congress): Five-course menu. Feb. 14. $95 per person.
• Contigo(2027 Anchor Lane, 614-2260, www.contigoaustin.com): Three-course family style meal. Feb. 14. $35.
• EZ’s Brick Oven & Grill(3918 N. Lamar Blvd., 302-1800, www.ezsrestaurants.com/): Three-course dinner. Feb. 14. $25 per couple, exchange your two glasses of wine for a full bottle for $32.
• Fabi + Rosi (509 Hearn Street, 236-0642, www.fabiandrosi.com/): Four-course dinner. Includes wine pairings. Feb 14. 7 p.m. $75 per person.
• Fall Creek Vineyards (1820 County Road 222, Tow, 325-379-5361, www.fcv.com): Three course lunch with Fall Creek wine pairings at 11:30 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. Feb. 11. $34.
• FINO Restaurant Patio & Bar (2905 San Gabriel Street, 474-2905, www.astiaustin.com/fino/event/): Special Valentine’s Day menu. Feb. 14. 5-10 p.m.
• Frank (407 Colorado St, 494-6916 www.jivetickets.com/concerts/frank-valentine-s-dinner-w-soul-track-mind): Special three-course dinner with Soul Track Mind. Two seatings at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. $100 per couple.
• The Grille at Rough Hollow (103 Yacht Club Cove, Lakeway, 261-3444, www.roughhollowclub.com/grille.php): Special Valentine’s tasting menu. Feb. 10 - 14.
• Hotel Saint Cecilia (, www.hotelstcecilia.com/): Feb. 14 6 to 10 p.m. $150 per person includes cocktails and wine pairings.
• Hudson’s on the Bend (3509 RM 620 N., 266-1369, www.hudsonsonthebend.com): Seven-course dinner with wine parings. Feb. 8. 7 p.m. $150.
• Hyatt Regency Downtown (208 Barton Springs Rd., 477-1234, www.hyatt.com): Pre-fixe dinner. Feb. 14 at 6 p.m. $49 per person.
• iPic Theaters at The Domain (3225 Amy Donovan Plaza, 568-3400, www.ipictheaters.com ): Special Valentine’s Day menu. Feb. 14.
• La Condesa (400 W 2nd St., 499-0300, www.lacondesaaustin.com): Normal menu with special desserts. Feb. 14.
• Manuel’s (310 Congress Ave., 472-7555; 10201 Jollyville Road, 345-1042, www.manuels.com): Three-course menu Feb. 10-14. $35.
• MAX’s Wine Dive (207 San Jacinto Boulevard, 904-0111, www.maxswinedive.com): A special evening of French cuisine on Sunday, Feb. 12th. Tickets include dinner for two with wine pairings. $150 plus tax and gratuity. Tickets purchased after Feb. 1 $199.
• Mesa Ranch Steakhouse(8108 Mesa Dr., 853-9480, mesaranchaustin.com): Four-course fixed price dinner. Feb. 14. $45 per person.
• Messina Hof Winery (9996 US Hwy 290 East, Fredericksburg, 830-990-4653, www.messinahof.com): Five course dinner paired with five different Messina Hof wines. Feb. 11 & Feb. 14. $80 per person.
• Mimi’s Cafe (10515 N. Mopac, 241-0309, mimiscafe.com): Three-course dinner for two. Feb. 9-15. $26.99.
• NXNW (10010 N. Capital of TX Hwy , 467-6969, www.nxnwbrew.com ): Four-course dinner. Feb. 14. $40.
• Paggi House (200 Lee Barton Drive, 473-3700, www.paggihouse.com): Four-course dinner. Feb. 14. $85 per person. Wine pairings available. Limited à la carte menu available.
• Restaurant Jezebel (Address disclosed upon payment. www.jezebeldining.com): Four-course intimate dinner held in chef Parind Vora’s East Austin dining room. Feb. 14 7:30 p.m. $120 per person.
• Sagra (1610 San Antonio St., 535-5988, sagraaustin.net/): Four-course traditional Italian dinner. Feb. 14. $45 per person, $20 for wine pairings.
• Soleil(6550 Comanche Trail, 266-0600, soleilaustin.com): Five-course dinner. Feb. 14, 5 to 9 p.m.
• Sullivan’s Steakhouse (300 Colorado St., 495-6504, sullivansteakhouse.com): Three-course Valentine’s menu for two. Feb. 11-14. $89.
• Taj Mahal Indian Cuisine(12407 N. Mopac Expwy., 837-4444, www.tajmahalaustin.com): Three-course dinner for two. Feb. 14. $39.95
• Trace (200 Lavaca St. at the W Hotel, 542-3660, www.traceaustin.com): Two three-course menus will be featured on Feb. 14th, including a vegetarian option. $65 per person (with wine parings for $90). 5:30 to 10 p.m.
• TRIO at Four Seasons Hotel (98 San Jacinto Blvd., 685-8300, www.trioaustin.com): Three-course prix fixe pre-Valentine’s menu Feb. 10-13. $55 per person. Four-course prix fixe Valentine’s menu. Feb. 14. $95 per person.
• Urban an American Grill at the Domain(11301 Domain Dr., 490-1511, www.urbanatthedomain.com): Three-course dinner. 5-10 p.m. Feb. 10-14. $55 per person, add wine pairings $35.
• Vivo Lake Creek (12233 RR620 Ste #105, 331-4660, www.vivo-austin.com): Five-course menu. $65 per person. Add wine pairings for an additional $20.
• Zed’s (501 Canyon Ridge Drive, 339-9337, www.zeds.bz): Special prix fixe menu with champagne toast. $40 for single, $75 per couple.
• Z’Tejas(10525 W. Parmer Lane 388-7772, 9400 A. Arboretum Blvd 346-3506, 1110 W. 6th Street 478-5355, www.ztejas.com): Special sweetheart dinner menu. Feb. 11-14.
Rodolfo Gonzalez for the Austin American-Statesman.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Eating out
December 27, 2011
Open: Elizabeth Street Cafe serving Vietnamese food with a French twist
South First Street is going to have a big 2012.
First came JMueller BBQ earlier this year on South Congress’s little sister, and just in time to ring in the New Year, Larry McGuire — the chef behind Perla’s and Lamberts Downtown Barbecue who is also taking over the upscale Jeffrey’s in Clarksville — has opened the Elizabeth Street Cafe, a Vietnamese restaurant with a French twist in the space that used to house Bouldin Creek Coffeehouse, which relocated farther south on South First Street a year ago.
In coming months, the La Condesa team is also opening a Thai restaurant just across Elizabeth Street from McGuire’s new restaurant, and former Trio chef Todd Duplechan will open the prix-fixe Lenoir just a few blocks south.
The space is as much a fusion of the two cultures as the food. (Earlier this year, I did a story on making your own bánh mì sandwiches at home and discovered that the sandwiches are a cultural remnant of the French occupation of Vietnam.) Quaint, small tables fill up the dining area underneath an awning outside, and diners can sit at a long bar with tall barstools while they sip on a Vietnamese coffee, made with Stumptown beans, and watch South First Street pass by.
The only sign of Bouldin Creek is the round cement tables in front of the restaurant, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get a cup of coffee and a breakfast sandwich. McGuire says they just added a breakfast menu with pastries, including croissants, savory menu items like beef pho with a poached egg, but the majority of the dishes coming out of the kitchen will be McGuire’s interpretation of Vietnamese classics like bún, pho, bánh mì and appetizers such as spring rolls and fried shrimp and yam cakes.
The restaurant has a full bar, with French wines taking up most of the wine list. McGuire has thrown in a few bottles of sake to give the beverage menu an Asian flair and four punches that are meant to split between a few people.
Don’t expect the jaw-droppingly low prices found at authentic Vietnamese banh mi and noodle shops in North Austin, where a bánh mì sandwich that costs more than $5 is almost unheard of. The bánh mì sandwiches at Elizabeth Street, which are filled with everything from the traditional pork pâté and chicken liver mousse to more inventive takes like the keffir lime fried chicken, run about $7 each, and the least expensive bowl of pho is $11, but McGuire is using Gulf shrimp when he can, and most of the beef, chicken and pork come from sustainable sources.
Save room in your belly and your wallet for a macaron, eclair or other sweet treat from the counter near the register. You can also buy French baguettes, croissants and other pastries to take home.
Permalink | | Categories: Eating out, Openings/Closings
December 25, 2011
Ring in the new year at local restaurants
At Parkside, a four-course meal will be offered downstairs and live music, hors d’oeuvres and desserts can be found upstairs on New Year’s Eve.
A sampling of New Year’s dining options.
• 219West (612 West 6th, 474-2194, 219west.com)
— New Year’s Eve: Pre-fixe dinner reservations available, $60 per person including complimentary champagne toast with 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. seatings. Late night celebration starting at 9:30 p.m. Multiple ticket options available, details online.
• Annies Cafe & Bar (319 Congress Ave. 472-1884, www.anniescafebar.com)
— New Year’s Eve: Seating starts at 5:30 p.m. $55 prix fixe menu.
• Another Broken Egg Cafe (3016 Guadalupe Street Ste. C-100, 777-4482, www.anotherbrokenegg.com)
— New Year’s Eve: Regular menu. 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.
— New Year’s Day: Regular menu. 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Asti Trattoria (408 C East 43rd St. 451-1218, www.astiaustin.com/asti/)
— New Year’s Eve: 3 courses for $60 and 4 courses for $75.
• The Backspace (507 San Jacinto, 474-9899, thebackspace-austin.com)
— New Year’s Eve: Regular menu. 5 p.m. to midnight.
• The Bakehouse Restaurant (5404 Manchaca Road, 443-5167, www.austinbakehouse.com)
— New Year’s Eve: Regular menu, plus prime rib and shrimp scampi special for $15.95. 7 a.m. to midnight.
— New Year’s Day: Regular menu. 7 a.m. to midnight.
• Bar 96 (96 Rainey St, 433-6604, 96austin.com)
— New Year’s Eve: Free entry to the bar and complimentary Champagne toast at midnight. 4 p.m. to 2 a.m.
• Barley Swine (2024 S. Lamar Blvd., 917-8425, www.barleyswine.com)
— New Year’s Eve: 10 course meal with a finishing toast. $125. Add a full wine pairing to your meal for $30. Seatings at 6 and 9 p.m.
• Barton Creek Resort & Spa’s Hill Country Dining Room (8212 Barton Club Drive, 329-7923, http://www.bartoncreek.com/upcomingholidays.aspx)
— New Year’s Eve: Five-course dinner and dancing gala. 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. $135.
• Bistrot Mirabelle (8127 Mesa Drive Ste. A100. 346-7900, www.bistrotmirabelle.com/)
— New Year’s Eve: Dinner specials in addition to our full dinner menu. Open until midnight.
• Braise (2121 East 6th St. 478-8700, www.braiseaustin.com)
— New Year’s Eve: Four-course prix-fixe menu. $49.95 per person/$99.95 per couple, reservations recommended. 6 to 11 p.m.
• The Carillon (AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center, 1900 University Ave., 404-1900, www.thecarillonrestaurant.com)
— New Year’s Eve: Champagne dinner. $85. Seatings at 5:30 p.m. and 9 p.m.
• Carmelo’s (504 E. Fifth St. 477-7497, www.carmelosrestaurant.com)
— New Year’s Eve: Celebration menu. Four sittings at 5 p.m., 7 p.m., 9 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.
• Chon Som Asian Cuisine & Sushi Bar (2013 Wells Branch Parkway, Suite 109, 989-5559, www.chonsom.com)
— New Year’s Eve: Special Thai menu & full sushi bar. Noon to 10 p.m.
— New Year’s Day regular menu, plus free “hangover soup.” 5 to 9 p.m.
• CJ’s Sports Bar & Grill (1010 N. Austin Ave., Georgetown, 930-2200, www.MelsLoneStarLanes.com)
— New Year’s Eve: Noon to 1 a.m.
— New Year’s Day: Noon to close
• Clive Bar (609 Davis St, 494-4120, clivebar.com)
— New Year’s Eve: Free entry to the bar and complimentary Champagne toast at midnight. 4 p.m. to 2 a.m.
• Congress (200 Congress Avenue. 827-2760, www.congressaustin.com/congress/reservations)
— New Year’s Eve: Five and seven course menus at $125 and $185 respectively.
• Contigo (2027 Anchor Lane. 614-2260, www.contigoaustin.com)
— New Year’s Eve: Five-course dinner with a cocktail pairing for each course. Two seatings available 6 p.m. $155, and 9 p.m. $145 concludes with additional cocktails and a Champagne toast.
• Corazon at Castle Hill (1101 West 5th Street, 476-0728, corazonatcastlehill.com)
— New Year’s Eve: Three-course meal. Seating from 5 to 10:30 p.m. $35.95 - $41.95
• El Chilito (2219 Manor Road, 382-3797, www.elchilito.com)
— New Year’s Eve: Regular menu. 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
— New Year’s Day: Regular menu. 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
• Estancia Churrascaria (4894 U.S. 290 W., 892-1225, www.estanciachurrascaria.com)
— New Year’s Eve: Regular menu. 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
— New Year’s Day: Regular menu. 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
• European Bistro (111 E. Main Street, Plugerville. 835-1919, www.european-bistro.com)
— New Year’s Eve: Prix fixe menu $75 per person. 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 5 to 11 p.m. Kids 12 and under $8
• Finn & Porter (500 East 4th St, 493-4900, www.finnandporter.com/Austin)
— New Year’s Eve: Three-course meal. 5 to 11 p.m. $80 per person
— New Year’s Day: 5 to 10 p.m.
• FINO Restaurant Patio & Bar (2905 San Gabriel St. 474-2905, www.astiaustin.com/fino/)
— New Year’s Eve: Nightly menu along with festive specials and a specialty cocktail.
• Fonda San Miguel (2330 West North Loop Blvd, 459-4121, FondaSanMiguel.com)
— New Year’s Eve: Regular menu. 5 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
— New Year’s Day: New Year’s Day brunch buffet. 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Foreign & Domestic (306 E. 53rd St. 459-1010, www.fndaustin.com)
— New Year’s Eve: Five-course menu with wine pairings. $75. Seatings at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.
• Iron Cactus (10001 Stonelake Boulevard 794-8778, www.ironcactus.com)
— New Year’s Eve: Last Dance Party. $60 in advance, $80 at the door. Price includes hors d’oeurves, beer and house wine, complimentary glass of Champagne for midnight toast with party favors, and bottle service with reserved seating available upon request.
• Jack Allen’s Kitchen (7720 Highway 71 West. 852-8558, www.jackallenskitchen.com/)
— New Year’s Day: Brunch. $14.99. $5.99 for children 12 and under. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Lakeway Resort and Spa (101 Lakeway Drive, 261-7379, www.lakewayresortandspa.com)
— New Year’s Eve: Three-course dinner 6 to 10 p.m. in the Travis Restaurant. $45 NYE Party starts at 8 p.m. in Josey’s Grill and Bar.
• Lambert’s (401 W 2nd St. 494-1500, lambertsaustin.com/)
— New Year’s Eve: Open bar, champagne toast, late night tacos, and a photo booth. 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. $125 in advance/$150 week prior.
• The League Kitchen & Tavern(1310 RR 620 S, 263-3279, leaguelakeway.com)
— New Year’s Eve: Dinner, $65. Reservations required. Limited seating available. Seatings begin at 6 p.m.
• Lustre Pearl (97 Rainey St, 469-0400, lustrepearlaustin.com)
— New Year’s Eve: Free entry to the bar and complimentary Champagne toast at midnight. 4 p.m. to 2 a.m.
• Malverde (400 W. 2nd St. 705-0666, malverdeaustin.com/)
— New Year’s Eve: Open bar all night, champagne toast at midnight. $100. 9 p.m. to 2 a.m.
• Monument Cafe (500 South Austin Avenue, Georgetown. 930-9586, TheMonumentcafe.com )
— New Year’s Eve: New Year’s Eve: Regular Menu. 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
— New Year’s Day: Regular Menu. 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
• Mulberry (360 Nueces St. 320-0297, mulberryaustin.com/)
— New Year’s Eve: 3-course pre-fixe dinner. $55. Optional wine pairing for $20. Reservations recommended.
• North at The Domain (11506 Century Oaks Terrace, 339-4400, foxrc.com/north.html)
— New Year’s Eve: New Year’s Eve Three Course Menu. $40 per person from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. and $55 per person from 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.
• Opal Divine’s (The Freehouse: 700 West 6th St. 477-3308, Penn Field: 3601 S. Congress Ave Ste K. 707-0237, Marina: 12709 Mopac & Parmer Lane 733-5353, www.opaldivines.com)
— New Year’s Day: Brunch, black eyed peas with every order. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Paggi House (200 Lee Barton Drive 473-3700, http://www.paggihouse.com/)
— New Year’s Eve: Celebration menu. Four sittings at 5 p.m. $85, 6:30 p.m. $95, 8 p.m. $95 and 10 p.m. $125
— New Year’s Day: New Year’s Day Brunch. 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Papi Tino’s (1306 E. Sixth St. 479-1306, www.papitinos.com/)
— New Year’s Eve: Seven-course prix fixe dinner. 6 p.m. $80, 8 p.m. $95.
• Parkside (301 E. Sixth St. 474-9898, www.parkside-austin.com)
— New Year’s Eve: Upstairs features live music, hors d’oeuvres, desserts, open bar. $100. 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Downstairs in the main dining room Four-course prix fixe menu. $60. Add wine pairings for $35.
• Restaurant Jezebel (Chef Parind’s private residence in East Austin. Address to be disclosed upon payment., www.jezebeldining.com)
— New Year’s Eve: Elegant four-course meal. $200/per person includes tax and gratuity. BYOB. 7:30 p.m.
• Sagra (1610 San Antonio St. 535-5988, www.sagrarestaurant.net)
— New Year’s Day: Celebratory brunch. $24. Add unlimited brunch bar for $6. 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Satay (3202 West Anderson Lane Suite 205. 467-6731, www.satayusa.com)
— New Year’s Eve: $75.00 for two. Wine and champagne pairing included. Limited seating. Reservations required.
• Second Bar + Kitchen (200 Congress Avenue. 827-2750, congressaustin.com/second/)
— New Year’s Eve: NYE specials and celebrating their first anniversary. Open until 2 a.m.
• Snack Bar (1224 S. Congress Ave., 445-2626, www.snackbaraustin.com)
— New Year’s Eve: Regular menu. 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
— New Year’s Day: Regular menu. 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
• Sullivan’s Steakhouse (300 Colorado St. 495-6504, sullivansteakhouse.com/)
— New Year’s Eve: Prix fixe menu for $79 from 4 to 5:45 p.m. and $89 from 6 p.m. to close.
• Trace at the W (200 Lavaca St. 542-3660, www.traceaustin.com/)
— New Year’s Eve: Four-course prix fixe dinner. Starting at 5:30 p.m. $95, with wine parings $145.
• Uchi (801 S. Lamar. 916-4808, www.uchiaustin.com)
— New Year’s Eve: Tasting menu. $75. Walk-in guests are welcome at the sushi bars.
• Uchiko (4200 N.Lamar. 916-4808, www.uchikoaustin.com)
— New Year’s Eve: Tasting menu. $125. Walk-in guests are welcome at the sushi bars.
• Uncle Billy’s on Lake Travis (6550 Comanche Trail, 266-0111, www.unclebillys.com)
— New Year’s Eve: Brewer’s Dinner from 7:30 to 9 p.m. $50
• VIVO Lake Creek (12233 RM 620, 331-4660, Vivo-austin.com)
— New Year’s Eve: New Year’s Eve Masquerade Ball, complete with live music, dancing, plenty of bubbly and a special menu. $50 per person, reserved seating is $100 per person. 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.
• Z Tejas (1110 W. 6th St. 478-5355, 9400 A. Arboretum Blvd. 346-3506, 10525 W. Parmer Lane 388-7772, ztejas.com)
— New Year’s Eve: Special holiday menu. Regular menu available. Call for hours.
— New Year’s Day: Special holiday menu. Regular menu available. Call for hours.
Permalink | | Categories: Eating out
December 16, 2011
Eating out never takes a holiday: Christmas, New Year's dining options
Correction: The Bakehouse is open on Christmas Eve from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• 219West (612 West 6th, 474-2194, 219west.com)
— New Year’s Eve: Pre-fixe dinner reservations available, $60 per person including complimentary champagne toast with 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. seatings. Late night celebration starting at 9:30 p.m. Multiple ticket options available, details online.
• Annies Cafe & Bar (319 Congress Ave. 472-1884, www.anniescafebar.com)
— New Year’s Eve: Seating starts at 5:30 p.m. $55 prix fixe menu.
• Another Broken Egg Cafe (3016 Guadalupe Street Ste. C-100, 777-4482, www.anotherbrokenegg.com)
— Christmas Eve: Regular menu. 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.
— New Year’s Eve: Regular menu. 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.
— New Year’s Day: Regular menu. 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Asti Trattoria (408 C East 43rd St. 451-1218, www.astiaustin.com/asti/)
— New Year’s Eve: 3 courses for $60 and 4 courses for $75.
• The Backspace (507 San Jacinto, 474-9899, thebackspace-austin.com)
— New Year’s Eve: Regular menu. 5 p.m. to midnight.
• The Bakehouse Restaurant (5404 Manchaca Road, 443-5167, www.austinbakehouse.com)
— Christmas Eve: Regular menu. 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
— New Year’s Eve: Regular menu, plus prime rib and shrimp scampi special for $15.95. 7 a.m. to midnight.
— New Year’s Day: Regular menu. 7 a.m. to midnight.
• Bar 96 (96 Rainey St, 433-6604, 96austin.com)
— New Year’s Eve: Free entry to the bar and complimentary Champagne toast at midnight. 4 p.m. to 2 a.m.
• Barley Swine (2024 S. Lamar Blvd., 917-8425, www.barleyswine.com)
— New Year’s Eve: 10 course meal with a finishing toast. $125. Add a full wine pairing to your meal for $30. Seatings at 6 and 9 p.m.
• Barton Creek Resort & Spa’s Hill Country Dining Room (8212 Barton Club Drive, 329-7923, http://www.bartoncreek.com/upcomingholidays.aspx)
— Christmas Eve: Christmas buffet. 6 to 9 p.m. $58.95. $22.95 for children ages 6-12. Children 5 & under cost $1 per year of age.
— Christmas Day: Christmas buffet. 6 to 9 p.m. $58.95. $22.95 for children ages 6-12. Children 5 & under cost $1 per year of age.
— New Year’s Eve: Five-course dinner and dancing gala. 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. $135.
• Bistrot Mirabelle (8127 Mesa Drive Ste. A100. 346-7900, www.bistrotmirabelle.com/)
— New Year’s Eve: Dinner specials in addition to our full dinner menu. Open until midnight.
• Braise (2121 East 6th St. 478-8700, www.braiseaustin.com)
— New Year’s Eve: Four-course prix-fixe menu. $49.95 per person/$99.95 per couple, reservations recommended. 6 to 11 p.m.
• Cannoli Joe’s (4715 U.S. 290 W., 892-4444, www.cannolijoes.com)
— Christmas Day: Brunch 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. $10.99 Dinner 5 to 8:30 p.m. $12.99
• The Carillon (AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center, 1900 University Ave., 404-1900, www.thecarillonrestaurant.com)
— New Year’s Eve: Champagne dinner. $85. Seatings at 5:30 p.m. and 9 p.m.
• Carmelo’s (504 E. Fifth St. 477-7497, www.carmelosrestaurant.com)
— Christmas Eve: Celebration menu. Three sittings at 5 p.m., 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.
— Christmas Day: Brunch buffet. $34.95. 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
— New Year’s Eve: Celebration menu. Four sittings at 5 p.m., 7 p.m., 9 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.
• Chon Som Asian Cuisine & Sushi Bar (2013 Wells Branch Parkway, Suite 109, 989-5559, www.chonsom.com)
— Christmas Eve: Regular menu. Noon to 9 p.m.
— Christmas Day: Dinner menu only. Noon to 9 p.m.
— New Year’s Eve: Special Thai menu & full sushi bar. Noon to 10 p.m.
— New Year’s Day regular menu, plus free “hangover soup.” 5 to 9 p.m.
• Clive Bar (609 Davis St, 494-4120, clivebar.com)
— New Year’s Eve: Free entry to the bar and complimentary Champagne toast at midnight. 4 p.m. to 2 a.m.
• Congress (200 Congress Avenue. 827-2760, www.congressaustin.com/congress/reservations)
— Christmas Eve: Three and seven course menus at $75 and $95 respectively, featuring some of the team’s favorite holiday dishes. Early and late seating only.
— New Year’s Eve: Five and seven course menus at $125 and $185 respectively.
• Contigo (2027 Anchor Lane. 614-2260, www.contigoaustin.com)
— New Year’s Eve: Five-course dinner with a cocktail pairing for each course. Two seatings available 6 p.m. $155, and 9 p.m. $145 concludes with additional cocktails and a Champagne toast.
• Cru a Wine Bar (238 W. Second St., 472-9463; 11410 Century Oaks Terrace, Suite 104 in the Domain. 339-9463, www.cruawinebar.com)
— Christmas Eve: Three-course menu for $35. 4 p.m. to close.
• El Chilito (2219 Manor Road, 382-3797, www.elchilito.com)
— Christmas Eve: Regular menu 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
— New Year’s Eve: Regular menu. 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
— New Year’s Day: Regular menu. 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
• Estancia Churrascaria (4894 U.S. 290 W., 892-1225, www.estanciachurrascaria.com)
— Christmas Eve: Regular menu. 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
— Christmas Day: Regular menu. 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
— New Year’s Eve: Regular menu. 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
— New Year’s Day: Regular menu. 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
• European Bistro (111 E. Main Street, Plugerville. 835-1919, www.european-bistro.com)
— Christmas Eve: Prix fixe menu $37.50 per person. 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Kids 12 and under $8
— Christmas Day: Prix fixe menu $37.50 per person. 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Kids 12 and under $8
— New Year’s Eve: Prix fixe menu $75 per person. 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 5 to 11 p.m. Kids 12 and under $8
• FINO Restaurant Patio & Bar (2905 San Gabriel St. 474-2905, www.astiaustin.com/fino/)
— New Year’s Eve: Nightly menu along with festive specials and a specialty cocktail.
• Fonda San Miguel (2330 West North Loop Blvd, 459-4121, FondaSanMiguel.com)
— New Year’s Eve: Regular menu. 5 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
— New Year’s Day: New Year’s Day brunch buffet. 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Foreign & Domestic (306 E. 53rd St. 459-1010, www.foodanddrinkaustin.com)
— New Year’s Eve: Five-course menu with wine pairings. $75. Seatings at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.
• Iron Cactus (10001 Stonelake Boulevard 794-8778, www.ironcactus.com)
— New Year’s Eve: Last Dance Party. $60 in advance, $80 at the door. Price includes hors d’oeurves, beer and house wine, complimentary glass of Champagne for midnight toast with party favors, and bottle service with reserved seating available upon request.
• Jack Allen’s Kitchen (7720 Highway 71 West. 852-8558, www.jackallenskitchen.com/)
— New Year’s Day: Brunch. $14.99. $5.99 for children 12 and under. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Lambert’s (401 W 2nd St. 494-1500, lambertsaustin.com/)
— New Year’s Eve: Open bar, champagne toast, late night tacos, and a photo booth. 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. $125 in advance/$150 week prior.
• The League Kitchen & Tavern(1310 RR 620 S, 263-3279, leaguelakeway.com)
— Christmas Eve: Chef Devan Gernert will prepare prime rib and fish specials for guests beginning 6:30 p.m. Regular menu will continue to be served. No pricing available yet.
— New Year’s Eve: Dinner, $65. Reservations required. Limited seating available. Seatings begin at 6 p.m.
• Luby’s (Austin: 1616 E. Oltorf St.; 13817 U.S. 183 N.; 8176 N. MoPac Blvd.; 1410 E. Anderson Lane. Round Rock: 2000 Interstate 35 S. San Marcos: 200 Interstate 35 N.; www.lubys.com)
— Christmas Day: Open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Lustre Pearl (97 Rainey St, 469-0400, lustrepearlaustin.com)
— New Year’s Eve: Free entry to the bar and complimentary Champagne toast at midnight. 4 p.m. to 2 a.m.
• Malverde (400 W. 2nd St. 705-0666, malverdeaustin.com/)
— New Year’s Eve: Open bar all night, champagne toast at midnight. $100. 9 p.m. to 2 a.m.
• Marie Callendar’s (9503 Research Blvd., Suite 400. 349-7151, http://www.mcpies.com/)
— Christmas Eve: Christmas Day menu. $19.99 for adults and $8.99 for children. Bakery opens at 9 a.m. and restaurant is open through 9 p.m.
• Monument Cafe (500 South Austin Avenue, Georgetown. 930-9586, TheMonumentcafe.com )
— Christmas Eve: Regular menu. 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
— Christmas Day: Special holiday menu available including turkey and cornbread dressing, 10-ounce prime rib, pecan-crusted pork tenderloin, tortilla-crusted tilapia. Regular menu also available. 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
— New Year’s Eve: New Year’s Eve: Regular Menu. 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
— New Year’s Day: Regular Menu. 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
• Mulberry (360 Nueces St. 320-0297, mulberryaustin.com/)
— New Year’s Eve: 3-course pre-fixe dinner. $55. Optional wine pairing for $20. Reservations recommended.
• North at The Domain (11506 Century Oaks Terrace, 339-4400, foxrc.com/north.html)
— New Year’s Eve: New Year’s Eve Three Course Menu. $40 per person from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. and $55 per person from 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.
• Opal Divine’s (The Freehouse: 700 West 6th St. 477-3308, Penn Field: 3601 S. Congress Ave Ste K. 707-0237, Marina: 12709 Mopac & Parmer Lane 733-5353, www.opaldivines.com)
— New Year’s Day: Brunch, black eyed peas with every order. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Paggi House (200 Lee Barton Drive 473-3700, http://www.paggihouse.com/)
— Christmas Eve: Holiday Happy Hour. 50% off select drinks and appetizers. 4 to 8 p.m. Happy Hour from 4 to 6 p.m.
— New Year’s Eve: Celebration menu. Four sittings at 5 p.m. $85, 6:30 p.m. $95, 8 p.m. $95 and 10 p.m. $125
— New Year’s Day: New Year’s Day Brunch. 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Papi Tino’s (1306 E. Sixth St. 479-1306, www.papitinos.com/)
— New Year’s Eve: Seven-course prix fixe dinner. 6 p.m. $80, 8 p.m. $95.
• Parkside (301 E. Sixth St. 474-9898, www.parkside-austin.com)
— New Year’s Eve: Upstairs features live music, hors d’oeuvres, desserts, open bar. $100. 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Downstairs in the main dining room Four-course prix fixe menu. $60. Add wine pairings for $35.
• Restaurant Jezebel (Chef Parind’s private residence in East Austin. Address to be disclosed upon payment., www.jezebeldining.com)
— Friday, December 30: Elegant four-course meal. $120/per person includes tax and gratuity. BYOB. 7:30 p.m.
— New Year’s Eve: Elegant four-course meal. $200/per person includes tax and gratuity. BYOB. 7:30 p.m.
• Sagra (1610 San Antonio St. 535-5988, www.sagrarestaurant.net)
— New Year’s Day: Celebratory brunch. $24. Add unlimited brunch bar for $6. 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Satay (3202 West Anderson Lane Suite 205. 467-6731, www.satayusa.com)
— New Year’s Eve: $75.00 for two. Wine and champagne pairing included. Limited seating. Reservations required.
• Second Bar + Kitchen (200 Congress Avenue. 827-2750, congressaustin.com/second/)
— Christmas Eve: Regular menu. Open until midnight.
— New Year’s Eve: NYE specials and celebrating their first anniversary. Open until 2 a.m.
• Snack Bar (1224 S. Congress Ave., 445-2626, www.snackbaraustin.com)
— Christmas Eve: Regular menu. 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
— Christmas Day: Regular menu. 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
— New Year’s Eve: Regular menu. 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
— New Year’s Day: Regular menu. 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
• Sullivan’s Steakhouse (300 Colorado St. 495-6504, sullivansteakhouse.com/)
— New Year’s Eve: Prix fixe menu for $79 from 4 to 5:45 p.m. and $89 from 6 p.m. to close.
• Trace at the W (200 Lavaca St. 542-3660, www.traceaustin.com/)
— Christmas Eve: Family style menu. 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. $65 for adults and $25 for children under the age of 12.
— Christmas Day: Brunch from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dinner from 2 to 8 p.m.
— New Year’s Eve: Four-course prix fixe dinner. Starting at 5:30 p.m. $95, with wine parings $145.
• Uchi (801 S. Lamar. 916-4808, www.uchiaustin.com)
— New Year’s Eve: Tasting menu. $75. Walk-in guests are welcome at the sushi bars.
• Uchiko (4200 N.Lamar. 916-4808, www.uchikoaustin.com)
— New Year’s Eve: Tasting menu. $125. Walk-in guests are welcome at the sushi bars.
• Uncle Billy’s on Lake Travis (6550 Comanche Trail, 266-0111, www.unclebillys.com)
— New Year’s Eve: Brewer’s Dinner from 7:30 to 9 p.m. $50
• VIVO Lake Creek (12233 RM 620, 331-4660, Vivo-austin.com)
— Christmas Eve: Christmas Eve: Off the menu holiday features and cocktails. 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
— New Year’s Eve: New Year’s Eve Masquerade Ball, complete with live music, dancing, plenty of bubbly and a special menu. $50 per person, reserved seating is $100 per person. 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.
• Z Tejas (1110 W. 6th St. 478-5355, 9400 A. Arboretum Blvd. 346-3506, 10525 W. Parmer Lane 388-7772, ztejas.com)
— Friday, Dec. 30: Special holiday menu. Regular menu available. Call for hours.
— New Year’s Eve: Special holiday menu. Regular menu available. Call for hours.
— New Year’s Day: Special holiday menu. Regular menu available. Call for hours.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: Eating out
December 15, 2011
P. Terry's to donate proceeds on Saturday to Season for Caring
Last year, with only three locations, P. Terry’s gave $12,631, and in 2009, $11,038.42. Owner Patrick Terry believes this year the donation will be closer to $15,000 with the addition of restaurants in Lakeway and on West Ben White Boulevard.
P. Terry’s is at 404 S. Lamar Blvd., 3303 N. Lamar Blvd., 4228 W. William Cannon Drive, 204 W. Ben White Blvd., and 3311 RM 620 S. in Lakeway. The four Austin stores open at 8 a.m. with breakfast. The Lakeway store opens at 11 a.m. and closes at 11 p.m. The West William Cannon store closes at 11 p.m., North Lamar at midnight, and South Lamar and West Ben White close at 3 a.m.
That’s a lot of time to pick up a burger and help families in need out.
Photo by Mike Sutter for the Austin American-Statesman.
Permalink | | Categories: Eating out
December 9, 2011
At Matt's El Rancho, meeting the real Bob Armstrong
Reader Anne Lang sent me this anecdote from a recent trip to Matt’s El Rancho. I thought fans of the famous Bob Armstrong dip might enjoy reading it:
My 22-year-old daughter Amy came home from college this week for Christmas break. As usual, the very first place she wanted to go to was Matt’s El Rancho — specifically, for their world-famous Bob Armstrong dip. We soon found ourselves sitting at a table enjoying a “Large Bob” (and margaritas, of course) when an elderly gentleman approached us.
“Is that the Bob Armstrong dip you’re eating?” he asked, pointing at the bowl.
“Um…yes, it is,” replied my bewildered daughter, clearly wondering: Who IS this random guy?
“Well,” the man drawled, “I’m Bob Armstrong, and that’s my dip. It’s been around for 40 years, long before you were born!” Grinning, he walked off and disappeared as quickly as he had appeared.
A few beats of stunned silence passed at our table. “Did that just happen?” a wide-eyed Amy finally asked.
“Yes, it did,” I said. “And that really WAS former Texas Land Commissioner Bob Armstrong.” (I recognized him from his days of lobbying for pari-mutuel racing, back when I was editor of a state racehorse magazine.) “Too bad we didn’t think fast enough to take a picture with your phone.”Later, as we were leaving, I asked the hostess how often Bob stops by Matt’s to visit with patrons who are enjoying his self-named dip. “Only once every six months or so,” she told us.
Wow. What were the odds? My daughter feels privileged indeed.
Photos by Peter Yang and Dave McNeely for the Austin American-Statesman.
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November 29, 2011
French Quarter Grille carries on legacy of Mama Roux owners
“He always said that someday I needed to have my own restaurant,” Gore says. “After that memorial service it hit home. If I’m going to do this, this is the time.”
Gore partnered up with another former Gumbo’s employee, Scott Stolle, to not only open a Cajun restaurant, but a Cajun restaurant in the former Mama Roux location off Interstate 35 in Round Rock. French Quarter Grille has been open since May, and in a story in last week’s 360, the weekly entertainment magazine inside the Statesman, you can find out more about how Gore and Stolle are carrying on the Mama Roux spirit.
Photos by Laura Skelding.
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November 16, 2011
Eating out on Thanksgiving? Options abound
Don’t want to mess with making an entire Thanksgiving dinner yourself, not to mention cleaning up after one? Many restaurants in the Austin area are offering special Thanksgiving menu options, and here are a number of them. Is your restaurant (or your favorite restaurant) missing from this list? Email me at abroyles@statesman.com.
• 24 Diner(600 N. Lamar Blvd., 472-5400): Open all day and night serving their full menu as well as a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. $24 per person.
• Alamo Drafthouse(All Austin locations, 476-1320): Enjoy a Thanksgiving dinner with your movie at showtimes that start at 8 p.m. and earlier.
• Bakehouse Restaurant and Bar (5404 Manchaca Road, 443-5167): An all-you-can-eat dinner with table service. Turkey, ham, squash casserole, yams, fresh breads, pumpkin pie and more. $14.95, $6.95 for 12 and younger. $11.95 for take out. 10:30 a.m. to midnight.
• Barton Creek Resort & Spa (8212 Barton Club Drive, 329-7923): Thanksgiving buffet featuring cherry chipotle-glazed ham, braised short ribs and sauteed baby shrimp tagliatelle pasta from noon to 5 p.m. Cost is $62.95 for adults and $22.95 for children ages 6 to 12. Children 5 and younger cost $1 per year of age.
• B. D. Riley’s Irish Pub (204 E. Sixth St., 494-1335): Turkey dinner with all the trimmings ($12.99), plus the full dinner menu. 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
• Buca di Beppo (3612 Tudor Blvd., 342-8462): Turkey with Italian sausage stuffing, pumpkin cannoli. Call for prices. 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
• Cannoli Joe’s (4715 U.S. 290 W., 892-4444): Brunch and dinner buffets, with turkey and fixings alongside Italian standards. $17.99, $5.99 for children 4-12, free for 3 and younger. 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• The Carillon (AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center, 1900 University Ave., 404-3655): Thanksgiving brunch. $55, $16.95 for kids. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Carmelo’s (504 E. Fifth St. 477-7497): Special turkey dinner. $19, $12 for kids. Regular menu available. 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
• Congress 200 Congress Avenue, 827-2760): Five-course prix fixe menu at $95 per person, with a selection of two different menus.
• Corazon at Castle Hill (1101 W. Fifth St. 476-0728): Three-course fixed-price lunch. $29.95. 12 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Cru a Wine Bar (238 W. Second St., 472-9463; 11410 Century Oaks Terrace, Suite 104 in the Domain. 339-9463w): Three-course, fixed price dinner. $35, $17.50 children younger than 12. Noon to 9 p.m.
• Estancia Churrascaria (The Arboretum, 10000 Research Blvd., 345-5600; 4894 Highway 290 West, Sunset Valley, 892-1225): Traditional Thanksgiving dinner with all the fixings, as well as Estancia’s Southern Brazilian offerings. Lunch ($31.50) from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and dinner ($33.50) from 3 to 9 p.m.
• European Bistro(111 E. Main St., Pflugerville, 512-835-1919): Four-course fixed-price menu. $39.95. 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
• Finn & Porter (500 East 4th Street, 493-4900): Three-Course fixed price menu $45, $20 for children as well as their regular dinner menu. from 5 to 10 p.m.
• The Frisco Shop (6801 Burnet Road, 459-6279): Thanksgiving dinner from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Hank’s Garage(115A San Jacinto Blvd., 512-520-8060): $25, children 6-12 $15, free for 5 and under. 12 to 8 p.m.
• Hoover’s Cooking (2002 Manor Road, 479-5006; 13376 Research Blvd., 335-0300): Traditional Thanksgiving dinner, plus options like jerk chicken and Cajun pork roast. $16.99 per person. 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Hyatt Regency Austin (208 Barton Springs Road, 477-1234): Brunch buffet. $54, $27 children 5-12, free for 4 and younger. 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• Hyatt Regency Lost Pines (575 Hyatt Lost Pines Road, Bastrop. 512-308-4860): Brunch buffet. $49, $24 children 4-12, free for 3 and younger. Call for hours.
• Hyde Park Bar & Grill(4206 Duval St., 458-3168; 4521 Westgate Blvd., 899-2700): Thanksgiving dinner. $16.95 regular, $12.95 vegetarian, special price for children 10 and under. 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Lakeway Resort and Spa(101 Lakeway Drive, 261-7323): Brunch buffet. $49.95, $16.50 for children ages 5 to 11. 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Luby’s: (Austin: 1616 E. Oltorf St.; 13817 U.S. 183 N.; 8176 N. MoPac Blvd.; 5200 Brodie Lane; 1410 E. Anderson Lane. Round Rock: 2000 Interstate 35 S. San Marcos: 200 Interstate 35 N.) The cafeteria chain and perennial Thanksgiving fallback will serve a dinner of sliced turkey or ham, cornbread dressing, giblet gravy, two sides, a roll and dessert for $10.99 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
• McCormick & Schmick’s (11600 Century Oaks Terrace, Suite 100 in the Domain, 836-0500; 401 Congress Ave., 236-9600): Three-course turkey dinner with traditional sides and dessert. $23.95, $7.95 for kids. 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Domain, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. downtown.
• ReVive! in the Wyndham Garden Hotel (3401 S. Interstate 35, 744-4841) Thanksgiving Day brunch buffet from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., featuring rosemary roasted turkey breast with traditional sides and brunch offerings. $21.95 for adults, $12.95 for children 12 and under.
• Romeo’s Italian Bar and Grill. (1500 Barton Springs Road, 476-1090): Deep fried turkey dinner, plus regular Italian menu. $13.95 per person. 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., with live music from 1 to 9 p.m.
• Second Bar + Kitchen(200 Congress Ave., 827-2750): Full menu available as well as a traditional Thanksgiving offering for $26. 11 a.m. to Midnight.
• Snack Bar(1224 South Congress Ave., 512-445-2626): Limited breakfast menu starting at 9 a.m. Prix fixe holiday menu from 1 to 8 p.m.
• Threadgill’s (6416 N. Lamar Blvd, 451-5440; 301 W. Riverside Drive, 472-9304): Thanksgiving standards plus many of Threadgill’s chicken-fried favorites and creative vegetable sides. Turkey with cornbread dressing and two vegetables is $12.95. 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.
• Travaasa Austin (13500 Farm to Market Road 2769, 855-868-7282): Thanksgiving favorites, plus a few other dishes with a Southwestern twist, like butternut squash risotto with chipotle peppers and Texas bourbon pecan pie. $55, which includes a glass of sparkling wine or cider, plus tax and 18 percent gratuity tip. No children under 16. Reservations only from 1 to 5 p.m.
• Trace at the W Austin (200 Lavaca Street, 542-3660): Prix fixe three-course from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. $49 for adults and $19 for children under the age of 12.
• Trio at Four Seasons Hotel (98 San Jacinto Blvd. 685-8300): Buffet featuring traditional favorites and holiday dishes. $75 at Trio, $68 in the ballroom, $20 children 6-11, free for children 5 and younger. 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Photo from Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort.
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November 3, 2011
Austin, meet the döner kebap and the world's smallest food truck
Do these guys look like the future of fast food?
Dominik Stein, left, and Michael Heyne are Germans who moved to the U.S. to enroll at the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas and start Verts Kebap, a company that aims to show Americans the beauty of the doöer kebap, a Turkish fast food staple throughout Europe.
Much is made of all the American fast food companies that have invaded Europe, in Germany alone, there are more than 17,000 mom-and-pop döner shops, compared to just 1,300 McDonald’s.
Similar to a gyro, but different enough to rile up both Greeks and Turks if you get them confused, döner kebaps are filled with a combination of beef and lamb that is seasoned differently than gyro meat and are topped with a dill-based yogurt sauce instead of tzatziki, which is heavy on the cucumber.
I first tried döner (pronounced “duhr-nah,” light on the “r”) not in Germany, but in Spain, where they seem to be as numerous as in other parts of Europe, and Heyne is right, the gyro and shawarma wraps that you can find here just aren’t the same.
But, for the Verts owners, it isn’t just about recreating one of their favorite foods from home. Heyne and Stein are dissatisfied with the quality of “healthy” fast food here. Most chains underestimate the number of calories per serving by using smaller-than-average portions when they calculate the nutritional information, but Heyne and Stein have tested and retested their sandwiches and they consistently come in at less than 580 calories per wrap, fully loaded with toppings and sauce. In their research, the places that do offer bonafide low-calorie options scrimp on flavor to hit the “healthy” mark.
As if the sandwiches aren’t enough of a selling point, the Verts owners have created the “world’s smallest food truck,” which isn’t an exaggeration if they are, in fact, using the world’s smallest car. The cabinets and hand- and utensil-washing stations tucked in the back of the car are so compact you’d think they were designed for a space shuttle, but Heyne and Stein went back and forth with city officials for six months to make sure they were in compliance with city code for mobile vendors.
It’s a cool operation that is really just getting underway. They are adding breakfast sandwiches (a breakfast taco/döner mash-up) this weekend and should have another truck on the road soon.
Heyne says they’ll be adding more brick-and-mortar locations next year, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they expanded outside of Austin and, surely, Texas, soon thereafter.
Photo by Jay Janner for the Austin American-Statesman.
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November 1, 2011
Parkside's Shawn Cirkiel to open Italian restaurant called Olive & June in old El Arbol space
Shawn Cirkiel isn’t turning on his Polish roots, but the chef/owner of Parkside isn’t just dabbling in Italian with his Backspace pizzeria that opened a year ago — he’s turning the former El Arbol space at 3411 Glenview Ave. into an Italian restaurant called Olive & June (the combined middle names of his grandmother and his wife’s grandmother), which he’s hoping to open early next year.
“The goal is to beat South by Southwest,” he says.
It’s been a decade since Cirkiel jumped into the spotlight of Austin’s food scene when he bought Jean Luc’s Bistro. Cirkiel, who was in his mid-20s at the time, ended up closing the five-star French restaurant three years later to put the wheels in motion for a restaurant that he could call his own.
He chose an unlikely space — a worn building in the heart of East Sixth Street that had housed Dan McKlusky’s steakhouse since 1990, and in 2008, opened Parkside, an upscale but comfortable eatery that serves things like raw oysters and raw fish dishes, guanciale (pork-cheek)-wrapped quail, grilled venison with pickled blueberries and marrow bones topped with an herb salad.
It’s mix of cuisines that’s hard to classify, which is why Austin diners perked up when Cirkiel went Italian last year when he opened a pizzeria behind Parkside called Backspace a year ago.
Like many chefs, Cirkiel’s travels to Italy have influenced his cooking, but the roots of his love of Italy go back to the Italian American hub of Arthur Avenue in the South Bronx, where his dad grew up and where Cirkiel remembers enjoying jovial family dinners as a kid.
The focus at Olive & June will be Southern Italian menu, “with a little Northern mixed in,” he says, with half a dozen antipasti and 15 to 20 even smaller bites called piccoli piatti, as well as handmade fresh pastas and entrées — with dishes like grilled swordfish topped with mint, capers and olive oil, roasted eggplant and breadcrumbs that play on the traditional meatball, baby lamb and polenta — but no pizzas. (You’ll have to go to Backspace for that.)
Italian food culture is based on the premise of eating what grows well where you live, so expect to find food that reflects the seasons, Cirkiel says. Eventually, he plans to add brunch on Saturdays and Sundays, as well as Sunday nights that only feature the small plates and a family-style supper that would change every week.
With the help of his chef de cuisine, Justin Rupp, and pastry chef Steven Cak, Cirkiel will run all three kitchens, floating from restaurant to restaurant, depending on the day. General manager Harlan Scott will oversee all three restaurants as well.
They plan to turn the offices on third floor at Glenview Avenue into private dining spaces and to “soften” the look of the patio with a lot of greenery and flowers. “Imagine a cross between Santa Barbara and the Amalfi Coast,” Cirkiel says.
Updated 11/3 to correct name of Arthur Avenue in the South Bronx. Photo by Jay Janner for the Austin American-Statesman.
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October 27, 2011
After almost 52 years, Mike's Pub closes -- for now
Don’t throw in the towel on Mike’s Pub just yet.
The longtime downtown burger joint is trying to renegotiate its lease to stay in a small upstairs space off Seventh Street and Congress Avenue, but owner Chris Lavas says he’s put in his final offer and that while it’s “possible” the property owner will accept it, “I wouldn’t say likely.”
Mike’s Pub has been open in various locations downtown since Lavas’ grandfather, Mike Lavas, opened it in 1959. It’s been at 108 E. Seventh St. since 1973, serving burgers to everyone from lawyers to construction workers who work in the downtown area. “We are closed right now,” Lavas said on Thursday. “It’s looking bleak whether or not we can resign the lease at this location.”
But Lavas, who bought the place from his dad in 2001, says he still wants to stay in the restaurant business and is looking at other locations.
“I would like to open it back up,” Lavas said. “There have been tons of people that have expressed how much they would like to see us reopen somewhere.”
Lavas said that they’ll update the website with details if they work out an agreement with the property owner or if they find another home for the restaurant.
Photos by Marla Brose for the Austin American-Statesman.
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October 13, 2011
JMueller BBQ opens with a bang, some killer brisket
John Mueller is back.
It’s been a bumpy road to get here, but after five years since closing his eponymous barbecue joint on Manor Road, one of the living legends of Texas barbecue is smoking briskets again out of a trailer in South Austin.
Mueller, who hails from the great barbecue family whose name is pronounced “Miller” for those of you new to town, opened up JMueller BBQ last weekend at 1502 S. First St., right across the street from what will be Elizabeth Street Cafe (from Perla’s chef Larry McGuire and company) and a Thai restaurant (from La Condesa chef Rene Ortiz and company), and today, I finally got to check out the new operation.
I had a lunch date with Tiffany Harelik of Trailer Food Dairies (who is coming out with a trailer cookbook on Oct. 22, the same day as her Gypsy Picnic Trailer Food Festival at Auditorium Shores, but more on that next week) and her PR rep, Karen Frost, and we all went for the same thing: brisket sandwiches.
Mueller is known for his brisket and sausages, and both were exceptional, especially for city ‘cue. The chipotle slaw was good, but the butter, cheesey baked squash was downright sinful. (I’m already planning on bringing some to my family’s Thanksgiving dinner. Another side note: I was so hungry and excited to eat that I forgot to actually take photos of the food. My bad.)
The good food, I expected. The number of businessmen in white collared shirts, on the other hand, was a little surprising. Out of the thirty or so people eating lunch at 11 a.m. today, there were only four women, including the three at my table.
Not that businessmen don’t eat barbecue, but there were just so many of them, including a few at the table next to ours who were fans of his when he had the Manor Road restaurant and who were just so excited about the food I had to put a camera in their face so they could tell you themselves.
After lunch, I chatted briefly with John, who seems to be doing really well considering the immense amount of pressure he’s experienced this week. In addition to running a trailer that everyone knew would be popular from the minute it opened, he’s having to be in the middle of the media spotlight, which isn’t an easy feat for a guy who is more comfortable tending his pits at 3 a.m. when everyone else is asleep.
Permalink | Comments (3) | Categories: Chewing the fat, Eating out, Openings/Closings
September 26, 2011
Gypsy Picnic announces trailer lineup
The second Gypsy Picnic is coming up from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Oct. 22 at Auditorium Shores, and producers C3 Presents and Trailer Food Diaries owner Tiffany Harelik have announced which of Austin’s food trailers will be featured in the line-up.
Like last year, the event is free, which means you shouldn’t be surprised if you show up at 3 p.m. to find more lines than food. The good news is that there will be live music from bands like Hacienda and Dale Watson to carry you through the afternoon, and that a portion of the proceeds will go to the Sustainable Food Center.
Here’s a sampling of the vendors, and you can find the full list on the website: Chi’Lantro BBQ, La Fantabulous, The Zubikhouse, Rockin Rolls, Irie Bean, Snarkys Moo Bawk Oink, Treys cuisine, Fresh Off the Truck, 86 This!, Bananarchy and Be More Pacific.
Photo by Kelly West for the Austin American-Statesman.
Permalink | | Categories: Eating out, Playing with your food
Let the prix-fixe begin: Austin Restaurant Week underway
More than 50 restaurants, including Fabi + Rosi, Fion Wine Pub and Bistro, Olivia, Haddington’s and Paggi House, are offering prix-fixe dinners or lunches as part of Austin Restaurant Week, which runs Sept. 25-28 and Oct. 2-5 (that’s Sunday through Wednesday this week and next), and this year, diners can help navigate the participating eateries and menus with a new iPhone/Android app.
As in recent years, restaurants are offering two-course lunches ($10-15) and three-course dinners ($25-35), as well as brunch ($15-20). A portion of the proceeds will go to Austin Meals on Wheels. You can make reservations and find a list of restaurants and the app on the website.
Want to find a screaming deal or share your own extraordinary experience? You can follow the chatter via the #ARW hashtag on Twitter or the Austin Restaurant Week Facebook page. (I haven’t been able to figure out why there are two Twitter accounts for Austin Restaurant Week, but it looks like @austinrestweek is the more active of the two. I’ve confirmed that @austinrestweek is the official handle. Thanks, Taylor!)
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September 13, 2011
As Paradise Cafe on Sixth closes, Old School Bar and Grill moving in
After 30 years at the corner of Sixth and Trinity streets downtown, Paradise Cafe closed last weekend, and in its place will be Old School Bar and Grill, an extension of the Old School restaurant and food trailer operated by Austin restaurateur Dan Parrott.
In July, more than a year after he opened the roaming barbecue trailer in a yellow school bus, Parrott opened Old School Grill, a restaurant at 6301 W. Parmer Lane.
Parrott says that the downtown location will incorporate much of the menu of the restaurant, minus the dishes that have to be cooked on a saute line because the new location at 401 E. Sixth St. has a smaller kitchen.
In the upstairs space will be Austin Cotton Exchange, a live music venue that will feature music from “different genres on different days of the week,” Parrot says. The new restaurant will also feature the same cocktail and wine menus of Old School Grill.
“We want to bring a level of service to Sixth that you don’t typically get in a lot of places,” Parrott says. He plans on opening every day at 11 a.m. and closing at 2 a.m., with the menu changing as the crowd inevitably changes. “I know there’s lunch down there… and dinner is sitting there waiting. I know happy hour is, too,” he says. But after that, he plans to offer a reduced menu with dishes such as sliders for what he calls “drunk 30.” “From 10 p.m. on, it is what it is down there,” Parrott says of that section of Sixth Street between Congress and Interstate 35.
Parrott says he is shooting for an Oct. 24 opening date.
Old School BBQ and Grill, the school bus food trailer, has been closed this summer while they got the first restaurant off the ground, but look for the bus to be back in a few weeks in a new location at 27th and Guadalupe.
Photos by Mike Sutter and Dan Parrott.
Permalink | | Categories: Eating out, Food in the news, Openings/Closings
September 12, 2011
Todd Duplechan leaving Trio to open Lenoir in former Somnio's space
Todd Duplechan and Jessica Maher, one of Austin’s top husband-and-wife culinary teams, is opening a restaurant called Lenoir in the South First Street space that used to house Somnio’s Cafe, which closed last month.
Duplechan tweeted last week that he had put in his notice with Trio, the fine dining restaurant in the Four Seasons downtown. Maher, who has most recently been working with Dai Due, and Duplechan moved to Austin four years ago from New York City, where they were working at restaurants two doors down from one another. The two restaurants shared a locker room, so they were always crossing paths.
Maher says that they hope to open the restaurant in December and that it will have two prix-fixe menus: A three-course menu with several choices and a five-course chef’s tasting, which will be set but able to be modified for dietary restrictions.
They’ll launch with dinner only, and then add brunch. “Todd will be cooking every night, and I’ll be doing front of house,” she says. “I want this to be a neighborhood place. We’re calling it casual fine dining. I want people who live near here to be able to afford it and come in once a week.”
Instead of butter-heavy sauces and rich food, Maher says they are planning to serve what she’s calling hot weather food. “We’re taking cues from other hot climates around the world and making our food lighter, more acidic and spicy,” she says. The ingredients will also have a sense of place. “We are devoted to local, no matter where we are.”
The name comes from the black grape varietal that originated in France but adapted to Texas. She says she knows it sounds cheesy, but the ability for the grape to evolve to its surroundings reminded them of how they’ve adapted to living here. “It’s awesome to work together. We really understand each other in the kitchen.”
No word yet on when will be opening or what the menu will look like, but I expect great things from this pair. They’ve been looking to open their own places for several years, and Duplechan’s menu at Trio has always been one of the most interesting, well-executed in town. His last day at Trio is Oct. 9.
Photo by Todd Duplechan.
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Eating out Monday or Tuesday? Restaurants raise money for AIDS Services of Austin
Dining out tonight or tomorrow?
You might consider going to one of the dozens of local restaurants that are donating a portion of their sales on Monday and Tuesday to AIDS Services of Austin, a local nonprofit that helps people and their families dealing with AIDS/HIV.
Dining for Life is an annual fundraising tradition that is now in its 19th year.
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August 18, 2011
Frank heading to East Texas for its second location
White Denim frontman James Petralli. “Rainbows End” filmmakers Eric Hueber and Andy Cope. The small town of Nacogdoches has sent Austin several excellent additions to our cultural scene. Now it seems Austin is providing payback to the oldest town in Texas.
Purveyors of artisan sausages, cold beer, inventive booze drinks and high-end coffee, Frank has announced it will be opening its second location in the historic East Texas town.
Frank has partnered with Aaron Montes, who will open the inventive hot dog restaurant’s second spot, which will be constructed around the oldest existing restaurant in Nacogdoches, according to Frank’s website.
No word yet on when the restaurant will open. UPDATE: The restaurant will open on August 26.
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August 17, 2011
The Blind Cafe heightens diners' spacial awareness, mindfulness
For the past year, musician Brian Rocheleau has been traveling to a handful of cities across the U.S., including Austin, to host the Blind Cafe, a pop-up restaurant in which guests experience dinner in the dark. Rocheleau is bringing the event back to Austin on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at St. Martin’s Lutheran Church, 606 W. 15th St.
The waitstaff, all of whom are blind, will serve a family-style vegetarian meal prepared by Austin chef and Natural Epicurean Academy of Culinary Arts graduate Brian Henderson. “We can’t do soup, and dipping sauces are out of the question,” says Henderson, who helped cook at the last Blind Cafe in Austin. “It’s hard to see where the food is, floating on a fork in the dark, so honestly, many people end up eating with their hands.”
There will also be a Q&A with the staff, live music by Rocheleau’s band One Eye Glass Broken, a poetry reading and a guest speaker who will talk about spatial awareness and the senses. Rocheleau, who goes by Rosh, says that by taking away the sense of sight, people are forced to really feel the music, hear the words of their dining partners and taste the food. “It slows people down,” Rosh says. “Some people get really anxious, and they have to work with that. We’re bringing mindful awareness practices back into people’s lives.”
Check-in at 6:15 p.m. and dinner starts at 6:30 p.m. Tickets, available by calling (800) 838-3006 or by going to the website, cost $45 or $35 for students and seniors, but to find out about sliding scale pricing, call (720) 495-7797. A portion of the proceeds will go to the Austin Blind Student DC Experience Scholarship Fund.
Photos by Anna Floyd.
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August 3, 2011
UPDATE: Chef Paul Petersen joins Vivo Lake Creek
Updated with photos of Petersen’s new dishes and link to story on Thursday’s Austin360 magazine.
Petersen, who competed on the TLC show “BBQ Pitmasters” a few years ago, is focusing on Tex-Mex barbecue fusion, adding dishes like brisket tacos, crab enchiladas and pan-seared queso fresco with mango and papaya salsa to the menu. Margaritas will likely always be a bestseller at the restaurant, but Petersen has revamped the wine list since starting there, too. (To find out more about Petersen’s return to Central Texas, check out this story in Thursday’s Austin360 magazine.)
Petersen first made a splash on the Austin scene with Little Texas Bistro in Buda, which he was opening at the same time Roger Diaz was opening the original Vivo on Manor Road. They knew each other then and reconnected as Petersen was leaving Rick’s ChopHouse in McKinney.
Photos by Ralph Barrera for the Austin American-Statesman.
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July 27, 2011
Subway has nothing on bánh mì
The Vietnamese sandwich bánh mì is in many ways a perfect sandwich.
Sure, it lacks the American sandwich staples of cheese, mustard and tomatoes, but the jalapeños, cucumber, cilantro, pickled carrots and mayonnaise more than make up for it.
In today’s paper, we deconstruct the bánh mì into its parts so you can put your own spin on the inexpensive sandwich that is perfect for summer.
A number of Vietnamese restaurants around Austin sell bánh mì, and if you live near North Lamar Boulevard, you have more choices than anyone. A lot of people prefer Tam Deli or Baguette House, but Thanh Nhi could be considered the dark horse favorite. South Austinites will have another option when Larry McGuire of Perla’s and Lamberts Downtown Barbecue opens a Vietnamese shop called the Elizabeth Street Cafe late this year.
Do you have a favorite bánh mì in town? Have you ever tried to make it at home?
Permalink | Comments (4) | Categories: Cooking, Eating out
July 26, 2011
Benefit at Chuy's to help woman who lost leg in accident
Austinites really know how to rally behind one of their own.
Just as I get a press release with word that the Benefit for Daniel dinner earlier this month raised more than $65,000 for Carillon assistant food and beverage director Daniel Curtis, who was hurt in an accident over Memorial Day weekend, I learn of another benefit for an injured member of the food community.
KVUE had a story last night about Kari Williams, a server at the Chuy’s at 10520 N. Lamar Blvd. who was hit by a car while waiting at a bus stop last week. She ended up having to have one of her legs amputated.
To raise money for Williams, who like most in the food service industry does not have insurance, co-workers at the North Lamar location of Chuy’s are donating all their tips and any extra donations that come in all day on August 5. That’s during both lunch and dinner next Friday, if you are inclined to help out.
If you’d just like to make a donation, call the restaurant directly at 836-3218.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Eating out
July 25, 2011
Go Texan adds iPhone app for 2011 Restaurant Roundup
The Texas Department of Agriculture is hosting its fourth annual Go Texan Restaurant Roundup, which starts today.
To help promote the Go Texan program and celebrate the roundup, the department launched a new free iPhone app that lets you search participants by cuisine and by location. A spokeswoman says that the app will soon be updated to include wineries, farmers markets, flower shops and any other businesses that participate in the Go Texan program.
About 500 restaurants are part of the Go Texan program, which requires eateries to use at least some Texas ingredients and wine in their food. More than 50 those restaurants are participating in the restaurant roundup this week, which benefits area food banks.
If you go out to eat this week at Moonshine Patio Bar & Grill, Opal Divines, Red’s Porch, Chez Zee American Bistro, Sagra, Manuel’s, Garrido’s, Judge’s Hill, TNT/Tacos and Tequila or Quality Seafood, a portion of the money you spend will go to the Capital Area Food Bank of Texas.
Permalink | | Categories: Eating out
July 20, 2011
Out and About at Hank's Garage, a Belgian pub downtown
Jeffrey Kuhn and Mike Newfrock
When Jeffrey Kuhn was doing all the demo work to turn a bar at Second Street and San Jacinto Boulevard into a new restaurant, he found remnants of a garage that operated in the space in the 1940s and 1950s.
“We were wrecking the walls and pouring the floors, and we discovered a pneumatic pump that was used to lift up the cars and little tidbits of things throughout the garage from this Hank guy,” he says. Eventually he found the full name — Henri Beaulac — on a piece of paper and realized that Hank was really Henri, whose family had roots in Belgium.
That was the inspiration Kuhn needed to create Hank’s Garage, a Belgian pub that opened recently at 115A San Jacinto Blvd.
Kuhn, an Austin native who graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in 1992, has cooked in kitchens across the country and even worked for a few years as a migrant worker, processing beets into sugar in Minnesota and raking wild blueberries in Maine.
Hank’s Garage is his first venture as a chef/owner, and the concept is spot-on. Kuhn is calling it a Belgian pub that is “more gourmand than gourmet.” Beer-braised beef carbonnade was the highlight of a media tasting last week, but I could have easily made a meal out of the perfectly fried calamari and duck fat French fries, which were served with four mayo-based dipping sauces. (Out and About columnist Michael Barnes also stopped by to have a look around the new place. He snapped a few of his signature party pics that he has graciously allowed me to post here.)
Using either the duck fat fries or just regular fried spuds, Kuhn puts a new spins on poutine, the Canadian specialty of fries slathered in gravy and cheese curds, by serving them smothered in chicken tikka masala or red wine mushroom sauce.
Cathy Cochran-Lewis and Aspen Lewis
The menu has a few salads to balance out the heavier fare, and you can tell as much thought has gone into the drink menu as the food. Beer finds its way into a number of cocktails, including the orange blossom, a summery drink that gets some of its sweetness from a splash of citrusy suds like Blue Moon.
Tom Thornton and Peter Tsai
If you’re going to spend $6 on a pint of Stella, you might as well break outside the box and try one of the even higher priced, but lesser known and more complex beers like the Ommegang Hennepin Farmhouse Saison or Duchesse de Bourg, a Flemish sour-brown ale. (Ask for a sample first. Not all of these specialty Belgian-style beers are suited for all palates, but the bar staff, including Mike Newfrock, in the top photo with Jeffrey, can help you find something new that you’ll actually enjoy drinking.)
Mariam Parker and Ross Cooper
For the Sunday brunch, which runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, bartenders make two kinds of bloody Marys, a traditional one spiced with smoked paprika and a green bloody Mary, made with green tomatoes, cucumbers, celery and white grapes.
Open from 11 a.m. to midnight Monday through Wednesday and until 2 a.m. Thursday through Saturday, dependent upon last customer. Brunch starts at 10 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday. hanksgarageatx.com, 520-8060. 115A San Jacinto Blvd..
Photos by Michael Barnes and Addie Broyles.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: Eating out
July 19, 2011
With chef Alma Alcocer in charge, El Chile reopens as El Alma
Replacing Mexican restaurant El Chile, El Alma Café y Cantina opened its doors at the corner of Barton Springs and Dawson roads on July 7.
It is the newest addition to the El Chile Restaurant Group, which also includes El Chile Café y Cantina, El Chilito Tacos y Café and the Red House Pizzeria. After a brief stint in catering and 16 years at fine dining restaurant Jeffrey’s, Chef Alma Alcocer joins the El Chile team to make the restaurant her own.
“I’m most excited to have Alma working with me,” said Carlos Rivero, who owns all four of El Chile’s restaurants and worked with Alcocer at Jeffrey’s. “I decided to dedicate one of our spaces to her and her menu because I love her food.” Rivero’s favorite dish? The chile relleno with shrimp in chipotle tomato sauce, which Alcocer is holding in the top photo. Another highlight: the ensalada callejera, above, made with jicama, cucumber, carrots and mango.
Alcocer is originally from Mexico City and studied at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris before coming to Austin in 1989.
“The concept is for (Alcocer) to provide her interpretation of Mexican food as she either grew up eating it or as entrées that she would make in her own household,” said Maribel Rivero, the restaurant group’s marketing director.
El Alma serves both lunch and dinner, and its menu showcases a variety of spices and flavors, including pineapple, mango and coconut, which is in the the lime flan, above. In addition to regular lunch and dinner hours, the restaurant also serves a weekend brunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.
Photos by Zach Ornitz for the Austin American-Statesman.
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July 7, 2011
Jezebel set to reopen in new W. Sixth building
The much-loved upscale Congress Avenue restaurant owned by Parind Vora closed last year after a fire gutted the space, and Statesman reporter Gary Dinges reports in today’s business section that Vora is planning to reopen the restaurant — and add two more eateries — in the Cirrus Logic building that is under construction on West Sixth Street, just a few blocks east of Whole Foods Market.
Bar Zino and Cafe Zino, a bar and grill and a coffeeshop, will be located next to the new Jezebel, Vora says.
Vora also owns Simplicity and Braise, two other restaurants in Austin that he has opened in recent years.
But Jezebel has always been his signature space. Known as one of the most intimate, yet unpretentious dining experiences in the city, a new location for Jezebel will help increase its profile and help it stand out in what is now a crowded field of top-tier restaurants.
Photos by Mike Sutter and Kelly West for the Austin American-Statesman.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: Eating out
June 30, 2011
Local chefs host benefit for injured Carillon food and beverage director
The Austin restaurant community is rallying behind Daniel Curtis, the assistant director of food and beverage for the Carillon who was seriously injured in an accident over Memorial Day weekend. (David Alan of TipsyTexan.com has a nice introduction to Daniel for those who haven’t met him.)
Curtis is in a rehabilitation facility in Houston, and local chefs Josh Watkins, David Bull, Shawn Cirkiel, Shane Stark, Philip Speer and Paul Qui are hosting a benefit at 6:30 p.m. July 13 at Grand Ball Room at the AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center (1900 University Ave.) to help pay his medical bills. Cocktails by the Tipsy Texans and music by the Derailers. Buy tickets ($75-$125) or make a donation on the website.
Permalink | | Categories: Eating out
June 28, 2011
Austin Food Trailer Alliance uniting food cart community
With more than 1,300 mobile food vendors opening, closing and moving all the time, it’s hard to keep up with the Austin food cart scene, even for owners.
A few months ago, Tony Yamanaka, who runs FoodTrailersAustin.com and is the marketing coordinator for the Better Business Bureau in Austin, launched the Austin Food Trailer Alliance, which had its second meeting last week. (Cincinnati and New York City have similar alliances.)
Yamanaka saw an opportunity to help connect people involved in the industry, but mostly, he wanted to give them a voice. When the Austin City Council approved changes to the regulations that govern the mobile food vendors last year, Yamanaka says that both trailer owners and outsiders were misinformed.
“People weren’t really sure what was going on,” he says. “I didn’t want that to happen again.” Yamanaka says that trailer owners are usually eager to help their peers, but they might not know others in the industry who work on the other side of town.
Trailers are still a relatively new aspect of the food scene, and people who are looking to open one, even those who have worked in the restaurant industry, aren’t entirely sure what to expect. R.J. Oliver, who runs Bufalo Bob’s Chalupa Wagon at 600 S. Lamar Blvd., says he talked to a lot of trailer owners before opening his own, but it hasn’t been easy. “I’m new to this industry, and I’m trying to network as much as possible,” he says. “It’s hard to get people to realize what you have.”
Yamanaka also sees the alliance as a way to help connect trailers with potential customers. “You might know 10 trailers off the top of your head, but there are so many more out there,” he says. He hopes to set up trailer tours and other events to introduce Austinites to trailers they haven’t tried.
By building a network of people with various skills and specialties, Yamanaka wants to encourage alliance members to help one another find new locations, learn how to use social media to attract customers or troubleshoot problems that only fellow trailer owners would understand, like how to build a grease trap in an Airstream or dispose of gray water properly. Yamanaka hopes members will also go in on large purchases together so they can get a discount on things like recyclable cups or grease disposal for biodiesel.
The Austin Food Trailer Alliance, which is free to join, meets once a month, usually on a Monday. They haven’t set the date for the next meeting, but you can stay abreast of news through the group’s website or Twitter page.
Photo by Rodolfo Gonzalez for the Austin American-Statesman.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Eating out
May 6, 2011
Navigate Austin food scene with blogger's new book
The book is divided into eight geographical sections, which includes a chapter about the Hill Country, and for each part, Esquivel writes about a restaurant’s food, ambiance and even cocktails. The book, which is available online at various retailers and in store at BookPeople, also includes a guide to local farmers’ markets, food events and grocery stores and even has a few recipes from local chefs.
Crystal was one of the first Austin bloggers I met when I started this food job three years ago. She was already a blogging professional by then and was so sweet to embrace a newbie like myself.
In the acknowledgments of her new book, she wrote a very nice line thanking me for my work in the food community, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that if it weren’t for longtime food bloggers like her being so inviting from the get-go, I don’t think we’d have the unified community that we do.
When I first reached out to her and others to get together for a drink, they responded to my invitation with enthusiasm. If they would have seemed hostile to the idea of getting to know each other offline, we wouldn’t have persevered to form the group that we now have.
Thanks, Crystal, for helping set the welcoming tone, which is what Austin bloggers have come to expect from one another.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Eating out
February 24, 2011
SXSW Eats: Foodspotting Street Food Fest
After some headaches at last year’s Foodspotting Street Food Fest, the organizers have teamed up with the South by Southwest crew to present the official Foodspotting SXSW Street Food Fest from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, March 13, at the corner of Second and Brazos streets.
(A hint to food trailers wanting to capitalize on the downtown foot traffic: Don’t try to get near the convention center without checking with SXSW about permits. The Foodspotting folks had a permit with the city last year to allow trailers to park on a road outside the convention center, above, but it conflicted with a SXSW permit and all the trailers were booted off.)
To give visitors a taste of Austin’s crazy good trailer food scene, mobile food vendors Along Came a Slider, Boomerang’s Pies, Chi’Lantro, Lucky J’s Chicken & Waffles, Old School BBQ, One Taco and Phoebe’s Mud will be serving food two blocks from the convention center.
The site will also be hosting a scavenger hunt during the entire SXSW Interactive Conference. Stay tuned to Foodspotting’s SXSW page for details on the hunt and the street food fest.
Photo from Foodspotting.com.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: Eating out, Playing with your food, SXSW
February 1, 2011
'Next Food Network Star' contestant opens restaurant, cooking class venue
Dzintra Dzenis didn’t win last season’s “Next Food Network Star,” but she’s getting to fulfill her chef dreams anyway.
The New Jersey-born chef, who spent 20 years cooking in Paris before moving to Austin a few years ago, has recently opened Plates by Dzintra, a hybrid space in the Shops at the Galleria at the intersection of Texas 71 and RM 620 in Bee Cave that serves as a place for cooking classes, supper clubs and a restaurant.
Dzenis says she learned a lot during her stint on the Food Network reality show, but the ultimate prize is having a space where she can have total creative freedom. Dzenis and husband Allen Eudy have turned the former ice cream shop into a brightly colored, art-covered room that is as suited for a quick lunch meeting as a Saturday evening cooking class.
The lunch menu, offered five days a week, is limited to a salad, soup, entree and dessert, but it rotates nearly every day so Dzenis can prepare different dishes, including seafood pot pie, split pea soup and a French bistro salad with a perfectly poached eggs on top.
Dzenis has recently added Friday evening hours for wine and small plates and might expand to dinner service eventually, but right now, she’s having fun hosting supper clubs and cooking classes on the weekends and on special occasions like Valentine’s Day. (The schedule and lunch menus are available online.) Open for lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
Photos by Ralph Barrera for the Austin American-Statesman.
Permalink | | Categories: Celebs in the Kitchen, Eating out, Playing with your food
October 8, 2010
Restaurants have arrived at ACL
Serving at the festival for the first time, Austin restaurants Olivia, Hyde Park Bar & Grill, and Bess Bistro have tweaked their usual menus and prepared boatloads of food for the ravenous ACL-goers.
Even though James Holmes, the chef and owner of Olivia, previously assisted Austin’s Best Burger at the festival, this is the first time he has brought his own restaurant’s food to ACL. Holmes ordered 200 pounds of cayenne pepper and assembled 15,000 bacon wrapped cheddar jalapenos ($5) to serve over the next three days.
In the midst of the madness of preparation, Holmes said he knew he wanted his menu to represent the South as well as Olivia, by including Southern comfort food such as a colossal bucket of fried chicken ($29, serves 4 people) and a Creole-inspired baked potato topped with okra ($6).
“We wanted to make food that would be easy to eat,” Holmes said. “And It doesn’t get any better than a bucket of fried chicken.”
Hyde Park Bar & Grill also wanted to maintain the integrity of its restaurant’s menu by serving their signature fries ($7). Preparing to come to the festival for the first time, executive chef Martin Frannea said he consulted previous vendors The Best Wurst and Boomerang’s Pies for advice on how much food to prepare for the stampedes of fans.
“The most important step in preparing is meeting with other vendors who can be honest about what to expect,” Frannea said. “We have close to 10,000 pounds of food for the weekend.”
He values how the ACL’s offering stay away from the traditional carnival food.
“The food here doesn’t come from huge corporations,” Frannea said. “We aren’t a corndog town. Austin loves to highlight their restaurants and we are glad to be a part of that this year.”
Amy Hughes, an attendee at the festival, had never heard of Bess Bistro before, but said she came running when she saw their semolina-crusted artichokes. She appreciates the unique menu options many of the vendors have.
“I have to have something unusual at a concert like this,” Hughes said. “I wouldn’t want fast food.”
Permalink | | Categories: Austin City Limits, Cooking, Eating locally, Eating out
September 29, 2010
"Meat & Potatoes"
For all the carnivores and carb lovers out there, a new Food Network show, “Meat & Potatoes” will be featuring a stop in Austin this Friday, Oct. 1 at 9 p.m. on the network. The show recently premiered Sept. 24.
On this Friday’s episode, appropriately entitled “BBQ Madness,” host and chef Rahm Fama will be stopping at Austin barbecue restaurant, Lambert’s Downtown Barbeque on 401 West 2nd Street. The episode will feature the restaurant’s fancy brisket and their Frito pie.
Following this week’s Austin episode, Fama will continue on to two Forth Worth restaurants, Bonnell’s Fine Texas Cuisine and Cowtown Diner, in two separate episodes on Oct. 8 and Oct 15 at 9 p.m. For more information about the show and Fama, visit the Food Network online.
Permalink | | Categories: Celebs in the Kitchen, Eating out, On the road
September 23, 2010
Hospital food can provide a comforting meal when you need it most
Hospital food is usually about as worth looking forward to as the hospital stay itself.
Bowls of slightly melted Jell-O, grainy Salisbury steak swimming in unsalted gravy, mealy pastel yellow macaroni and cheese. You know the stereotypes because, if you’ve been a patient in a hospital, you know the food there often lives up to its reputation.
But oh, how things have changed in the almost four years since I had my first child. The meals, which I don’t remember playing a role in choosing the first go around, were served on plastic compartmentalized trays at a predetermined times, and I’m pretty sure they almost always contained gravy and mushy vegetables.
Two weeks ago, I again found myself at St. David’s, this time recovering from the birth of baby No. 2, and the food experience couldn’t have been more different.
A few years ago, St. David’s replaced their old meal delivery service with a new room service-like program operated by Sodexho Health Care Services.
Three times a day, I called up the friendly operator and placed an order from the surprisingly extensive menu, which featured everything from beef stir fry to turkey burgers.
Less the 45 minutes later, another nice staff person would wheel in a cart with my food, served on real plates and with real utensils.
Still nauseated from the surgery, I was only able to peck at my first meal, a large fruit salad and chicken noodle soup that I’d bet $100 was straight up Campbell’s. (And if anyone knows Campbell’s chicken noodle soup from the knock-offs, it’s me.)
By the time dinner rolled around on Day 1, I had my appetite back, and, thank the food gods, the hospital pulled through for me. A small, but well-seasoned portion of rotisserie chicken, perfectly steamed broccoli and thick, rich macaroni and cheese were the perfect comfort food for my weary body. It might not look so great from the picture, but believe me, this meal was better than any I could have hoped for.
I was still buzzing from the good meal the night before when I ordered — what else? — breakfast tacos and hash browns the next morning. Once again, the food filled my soul as much as my belly. Both the bacon and the hash browns were crispy, an unbelievable feat that not even Denny’s can get right every time, and for a moment, I thought that I might have discovered what were quite possibly the best breakfast tacos in South Austin.
After a hum-ho chicken stir fry filled with mostly vegetable chum (broccoli stems aren’t quite a fulfilling as their lush green tops), the hospital won me back with crispy-around-the-edges chicken fried steak that was better than that served at many of the often-recommended homestyle cafes in Austin. (Let’s just say that after several trips, I now go to the Broken Spoke only to dance, not to eat.) Oh, and did I mention the fudge brownie topped with whipped cream?
But by the time Day 3 rolled around and my second round of breakfast tacos and hash browns tasted like the old hospital food I thought was gone for good (hey, even the best restaurants in Austin have problems with consistency), I knew it was time to head home.
The food during my brief stay tasted the best when I needed it the most, an accomplishment that any hospital should be proud of, and even though friends have been providing us with home-cooked meals for almost two weeks now, I’m still thinking about that chicken fried steak.
Have you had any good experiences with hospital food in the past few years? I’d also love to hear any particularly traumatizing hospital food stories if you’ve got them.
Permalink | Comments (7) | Categories: Eating out
August 24, 2010
Meet and greet with 'Next Food Network Star' contestant Brad Sorenson
Brad Sorenson didn’t win this season’s “Next Food Network Star,” but he got pretty close to the finals, winning millions of fans along the way.
Make reservations online or by calling 451-1218.
Permalink | | Categories: Celebs in the Kitchen, Eating out
July 20, 2010
In the mood for Indian? Curries by Design offers same-day delivery
Some nights, especially during the workweek, you just don’t feel like cooking.
Eating out is always an option, but Curries by Design, a local catering and meal delivery service company, allows you to order Indian fusion meals for same-day delivery during the first half of the week.
Owner Aparna Nayani says that as long as you order online by noon on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, one of her staff will deliver your order between 6 and 9 p.m. the same day. (Delivery to just about anywhere in Central Texas is free for orders over $40.)
Nayani, who first started to cook as a teenager living in Houston, says the menu is different each week because she’s always coming up with new dishes like tikka paneer quesadillas, spicy creole pasta and kebab-inspired sliders and meatballs to serve alongside traditional fare including samosas, curries, korma and keema. “I take world cuisine and try to incorporate Indian flavors into it,” she says. “It’s a never-ending process.”
During the second half of the week and weekends, Curries by Design switches gears into catering mode, preparing food for corporate events and weddings.
In a few weeks, the company is launching “Lap of Luxury,” a line of cookies that will feature flavors including masala chai, rose pistachio and saffron cardamom.
Photos by Jarrad Henderson for the Austin American-Statesman.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: Eating locally, Eating out
June 18, 2010
At Swoop House, blurring the line between a supper club and a restaurant
Stephen Shallcross calls his Supper Friends Supper Club the most unusual restaurant in Austin, “because it’s only available when we’re able to cook.”
Several times a month, the owner of 2 Dine 4 catering, along with Jeffrey’s alum chef Chris Chism, hosts a multi-course, BYOB meal at the Swoop House, a renovated Hype Park house that Shallcross moved over to East Austin in 2008.
2 Dine 4 operates out of a commercial kitchen space and the house-turned-office at 3012 Gonzales St., just off East Seventh Street, but about a year ago, Shallcross realized that the Swoop House was more than just a pretty office space. He acquired a restaurant permit so he and his staff could host dinners when they weren’t preparing food for a wedding or event.
Called the Supper Friends Supper Club, the dinners cost between $40 and $60 and, because it’s a restaurant/supper club hybrid, feature whatever kind of menu Chism is in the mood to serve.
At a dinner in early June, it was South American-themed with pappas rellenas, black bean tamales, a saffron-infused Brazilian shrimp stew called moqueca baiana and chicken served over a roasted garlic and caramelized onion tart.
Dinners usually start around 7:30 p.m. with cocktails based recipes from Austin’s Tipsy Texans starting at about 6:45. Because they often plan the dinners on short notice, the best way to find out about them is to join the mailing list.
Shallcross says that because weddings and other events slow down in July and August, they’ll be hosting several dinners a week. The full schedule should be posted on the website soon.
Here’s a look at the dinners they are planning in July:
- Tuesday, July 6
- Friday, July 9
- Wednesday, July 14, featuring guest chef Miguel Hernandez
- Thursday, July 15, featuring guest chef Miguel Hernandez
- Thursday, July 22, featuring guest chef Larry Kocurek
- Saturday, July 24, featuring guest chef Holly Ratcliffe
- Tuesday, July 27
- Thursday, July 29
- Saturday, July 31
Top photo by Casey Woods.
Permalink | | Categories: Eating out
May 17, 2010
Queso Bowl creators are hunting for Austin's best cheese dip
Tim Brown and Liz Cass are serious about queso.
Two years ago, they set up a bracket-style competition to find Austin’s best queso. The Alamo Drafthouse won the first Queso Bowl, and on Friday, I helped them pick the new winner.
We met up at El Azteca, the colorful East Seventh Street landmark that was in the finals with Enchiladas Y Mas.
What you need to know about Tim, a drummer, and Liz, an Austin Critics’ Table Award-nominated opera singer, is that they aren’t joking around about this judging business.
As primary judges, they hand pick who gets to be a quest judge. In order to judge, I had to tell them in three words or less why I love the ubiquitous cheese dip. After almost a year on the waiting list, I got the call.
El Azteca. 7:30 on Friday. Be there.
With a margarita and Dos XX in hand, they explained how the tournament got started and how the voting works. We were to judge the dip on four categories: taste, viscosity, stamina and overall queso aesthetic. We couldn’t mark down scores until after 15 minutes had passed, and they didn’t allow any chatter about the queso until after we read our scores.
The queso at Azteca, to my palate, was pretty perfect. Thick and substantial, the dip could have sufficed for a meal, despite the mediocre chips. It had not hint of fake cheese taste or color and was full of flavor — you could tell there were several kinds of cheese involved — and just a hint of heat. I scored the dip pretty high, but when we finally revealed our scores and compared them to the scores from a previous trip to Enchiladas Y Mas, El Azteca was just 1.5 points shy of the Queso Bowl title.
Enchiladas Y Mas is technically the 2009 winner (they got a few months behind due to, well, life), and Tim and Liz are eager to get the 2010 tournament underway. They are accepting both queso suggestions to help fill out the bracket and quest judge requests. E-mail them at quesobowl@yahoo.com if you have a favorite queso or want to judge.
Permalink | Comments (6) | Categories: Eating out, Playing with your food
February 15, 2010
Sugar Mama's offering trial run of breakfast items
Cupcakes and cookie bars aren’t exactly considered a breakfast of champions, so starting Tuesday, Sugar Mama’s Bakeshop, 1905 S. First St., is testing the breakfast waters by offering scones, brioche cinnamon rolls, pound cake and buckles, which are like steusel-topped muffins. Prices range from $1.75 to $3.
For the next month, the bakery will open at 7 a.m. instead of noon, which means you can grab a cinnamon pecan scone and coffee while picking up a dozen cupcakes for your colleague’s birthday at work.
Owner Olivia O’Neal says she’ll decide whether to make breakfast a permanent offering in March. She says she hopes to make the expanded hours permanent so she can use in-season fruit from local farmers markets like peaches and apples. “We’ll see what people want and what they ask for,” she says.
Permalink | | Categories: Eating out
February 9, 2010
At Rio's Brazilian Cafe, a little piece of Brasil in East Austin
For Elias Martins and Ben Googins, Rio’s Brazilian started in 2006 as a side project after the couple moved to Austin from Rio de Janeiro, where they met.
Martins continued to work in local restaurant kitchens, while Googins chipped away at building up the company, which sold malagueta sauces, pastries and cheese breads at area farmers markets. Eventually, the sauces — sold in original, mango and pineapple coconut flavors — took on a life of their own and were picked up by local Whole Foods and Specs as well as smaller stores like Whip-In and Royal Blue and the online food retailer Foodzie.com.
But it wasn’t until last year that they were able to start the wheels on their newest expansion: Rio’s Brazilian Cafe, a small but bright and energy-filled restaurant at 408 N. Pleasant Valley Road in East Austin that opened earlier this month. (The patio in the front of the building easily doubles the restaurant’s seating capacity.)
The cafe sells Rio’s signature savory pastries (or salgadinhos), including risolis, empadãos, pasteles and breakfast pockets made with egg and cheese, as well as sandwiches, salads, soups (caldo verde and sweet potato bisque) and, of course, their gluten-free cheese breads. Yuca root is a key ingredient in the cheese breads, and Martins and Googins also fry the root to create something similar to a French fry.
To lure morning commuters, they are selling breakfast and coffee through a drive-thru on the side of the building. (The coffee is from Casa Brasil, a local company that works directly with coffee growers in Brazil and even offers after-school programs and scholarships to kids in need in Brazil.) If you’re not in the mood for the savory breakfast-taco like pockets, try the banana pastel, a banana and cinnamon-stuffed pastry.
Googins says that the restaurant is BYOB until their liquor license is in place, and for Valentine’s Day this weekend, they are offering free champagne with a purchase and a special trio of desserts. Stay tuned to their Twitter and Facebook streams for more specials, especially for Carnaval, which starts this weekend.
Permalink | | Categories: Eating locally, Eating out
February 8, 2010
IHOP, Denny's bring back free breakfast days
There were hundreds of more interesting moments during last night’s Super Bowl than the silly chicken ads from Denny’s announcing free Grand Slam breakfasts on Tuesday, but a free meal is a free meal, and come Tuesday, hundreds of thousands of folks across the U.S. will be lining up for theirs.
A year ago, both Denny’s and IHOP scored major press by giving away food during two days in February. This year, IHOP’s National Pancake Day celebration is also a fundraising venture for Children’s Miracle Network. From 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 23, IHOP will be giving away one short stack of pancakes per customer, and in return, it is asking customers to make a voluntary donation to support local children’s hospitals.
Rather than go the charity route, Denny’s splurged on several ads during the Super Bowl promoting Tuesday’s deal: one free Grand Slam breakfast per customer from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The commercials also reminded folks that they can get a free Grand Slam on their birthday, which unless it is Feb. 9, will be a whole lot less crowded than Tuesday.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Eating out, Food in the news
January 29, 2010
Sip, snack and shop at Aviary
There aren’t many places in Austin where you can sit with friends, sip on a glass of wine and then buy the chair on which you sat and the glass from which you drank.
Three months ago, Aviary Home Decor owners Marco Fiorilo and Shanna Eldridge started selling wine and beer as well as charcuterie and cheese plates in their South Austin furnishings store. Fiorilo says he was inspired by hybrid stores in New York and Buenos Aires that sell food and drinks in addition to clothes or other goods.
“We always wanted to be a wine bar,” he says. Fiorilo now sells more than 20 old-world wines by the glass and by the bottle, as well as 10 beers. (Bottles of wine start at $20.) “If you’re drinking from the glass and you like it, you can buy it,” he says. Same with the tables, chairs, plates and napkins.
Daniel Hunt of A Noble Beast Charcuterie makes the duck liver mousse, terrine, duck prosciutto, rabbit confit and sausages that appear on the meat-and-cheese menu. Hunt says he’ll soon be expanding his business to include sales directly to customers. (E-mail him at anoblebeast@gmail.com for more information.)
Aviary is open 11 a.m. to midnight Tuesdays through Saturdays and 1 to 10 p.m. Sundays. On Saturdays and Sundays, Fiorilo offers flights of three wines for $10. Bottles of wine are half-price on Wednesdays and $10 off on Fridays.
Photos by Rodolfo Gonzalez for the Austin American-Statesman.
Permalink | | Categories: Eating out
December 31, 2009
G'Raj Mahal's food, decor blur line between trailer, restaurant
At G’Raj Mahal Cafe, tucked a block south of Cesar Chavez Street near the corner of Red River and Davis streets downtown, chefs Sidney and Anthony Fernandes have created one of Austin’s most unique trailer concepts.
Technically, the restaurant, which opened a few weeks ago, is a mobile food truck, but with a half dozen tables set up under a pavilion and a server taking your order and delivering your food, it’s more like and outdoor restaurant. Sheer cloth hanging from the ceiling blows in the wind, strings of white lights help illuminate the seating area and small candles flicker on the tables.
Giant bike-art sculptures from the Austin Bike Zoo lurk outside the dining space, almost as if the butterfly and 80-foot long snake are eying the rich, colorful food being brought to the tables.
Austin native Sidney Fernandes, whose husband was born in India and earned his cooking chops at several upscale hotels there, says the design was inspired by Indian weddings and parties. “I liked the idea of a trailer, but I wanted more of an upscale trailer,” she says. (The name is a play on Taj Mahal and the fact that the site the trailer sits on was a car dealership for many years.)
Inside the decked-out silver bullet is a tandoor oven, which is the key to authentic naan and several of the grilled meats like lamb or chicken tikka. In many Indian restaurants in the U.S., Fernandes says, there’s this idea that “Americans like this and Americans don’t like that,” but she wanted to include dishes like rechard masala ($13), made with fish or shrimp and a fragrant red chili sauce, from her husband’s native state of Goa that you won’t find on many Indian menus in the U.S.
She says customers can also expect fresh instead of frozen spinach in the saag paneer, real butter instead of margarine and no food coloring. “Tandoor doesn’t have to be bright red,” she says.
Just a few days before Christmas, I took my parents, who were visiting from Missouri, to G’Raj Mahal and enjoyed classic onion curry with chicken ($11) and malai kofta ($9), or vegetable dumplings simmered in cream sauce, which were bursting with flavor and just enough of a kick. Garlic naan ($2), fresh from the tandoor oven, didn’t overpower the entrees.
You could make a fine (albeit light) meal out of the less-expensive starters, including samosas, breads, pakoras and soup, but the entrees range from $9 to $14, another reminder that you’re not at just any old food trailer.
If you forget a bottle of wine or beer (like many mobile food vendors, G’Raj is BYOB), try lassi ($4), chai ($3) or, for a real mash-up of cultures, a Mexican Coke or Topo Chico. We didn’t get to try desserts, but I’ve got my eye on the pistachio-cardamom kulfi and lemon sorbet as soon as the weather warms up.
G’Raj Mahal Cafe is only open for dinner (5 p.m. to 3 p.m.), but Sidney Fernandes says she hopes to be able to expand the daytime hours in 2010. Delivery is available downtown during their regular operating hours, and catering orders for at least 15 are available from noon to 8 p.m. (Place catering orders 24 hours ahead of time.)
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Eating locally, Eating out
November 11, 2009
Giving thanks: Free meals for Austin veterans
Russell Williams, a pedicab driver, student and veteran of the U.S. Navy, picked up on reports yesterday of free food for area veterans, so he enlisted friend Jason Soliz, who is also a student/pedicabber/veteran, to help him visit each of the places in Austin honoring them with free meals.
Together than have more than 13 years of service to the U.S. military.
I met up with them for lunch at Wing Zone, where owner Brad Meltzer was giving away T-shirts and handshakes and heartfelt thanks to customers. Meltzer is giving away meals at Wing Zone until 2 a.m. Thursday and will be giving away dinner at his Austin and San Antonio Benihana restaurants from 5 to 10 p.m. Applebee’s is giving away an entree to veterans, and Outback Steakhouse has an onion blossom and a drink to honor folks who have served.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: Eating out, Food in the news
October 14, 2009
Tis' the season for food fundraisers
Food is one of the best ways to persuade people to open their wallets for nonprofits. Fall is one of the busiest fundraising seasons, especially when it comes to food events. The next few weeks are packed if you’re looking to eat good food and support a local nonprofit:
On Thursday from 6 to 9 p.m., the grounds of the Austin Museum of Art-Laguna Gloria, 809 W. 35th St., will be transformed into a scene straight out of an Italian movie set for the museum’s 20th annual La Dolce Vita fundraiser, with food from more than 50 restaurants and an array of wines and spirits. Tickets are $100, $20 more for the cigar-and-scotch lounge. 495-9224, ext. 223.
Oyster Club, an ongoing fundraiser for the Rude Mechanicals performance group, is back for its second year. Membership to the group costs $200 ($300 for two people) and gets you into monthly food and art events from September through April. The biggest event of the year is on Sunday, Oct. 18 at the Plant in Kyle, with locally sourced dishes from local chefs and cocktails.
Slow Food Austin is having its first annual fundraiser Oct. 21 at the Barr Mansion with raw milk cheeses, Round Rock Honey and beer from (512) Brewing. $50, $40 for Slow Food members.
At the Driskill Hotel next week, enjoy great food and drinks from local restaurants and support local young filmmakers at the Austin Film Festival’s seventh annual Film & Food event from 7 to 10 p.m. Oct. 21. $85, $70 for AFF members. 478-4795.
For the third year, the Austin Discovery School is hosting a Slow Food Feast in the Field dinner at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 24 to raise money for the East Austin charter school. Jesse Bloom of Ecstatic Cuisine will prepare a multi-course using local ingredients, most of which will come from the school and nearby Green Gate Farms. Tickets are $100 and can be purchased online.
The Green Corn Project, which builds organic gardens for area families and schools, is hosting its 11th annual fundraiser at Boggy Creek Farm, 3414 Lyons Road, from noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 25. Restaurants including Wink, Blue Star Cafeteria and La Traviata will be serving food and drink, and three chefs will be teaching cooking classes. There will also be live music, a silent auction. Tickets ($35 before the event and $40 at the gate) are available online and at Wheatsville Co-Op, The Natural Gardener and Boggy Creek Farm. Children under 12 are free.
The Sustainable Food Center has snagged some of Austin’s most renowned chefs for a fundraiser Nov. 8 at La Condesa. Rene Ortiz (La Condesa), Tyson Cole (Uchi, Uchiko), Todd Duplechan (Trio), Shawn Cirkiel (Parkside), Laura Sawicki (La Condesa) and Jesse Griffiths (Dai Due Supper Club) will create the first of a series of chef dinners to raise money for the center, which is in charge of the downtown and Triangle farmers’ markets and a handful of other programs around town. Buy tickets ($150) online.
Slow Feast in the Field photo by Cliff Cheney for the American-Statesman.
Permalink | | Categories: Eating out, Playing with your food
Driskill pie contest winner opens trailer on S. Congress
When Jaynie Buckingham won the Driskill Hotel’s Pie Bake-Off last year with her silky Betty Lou’s Buttermilk Pie, she was a nurse with no plans of becoming a full-time baker. But winning the contest was just the push she needed to pursue her passion for pies, she says.
Just more than a year later, Buckingham has walked away from her nursing job to start Cutie Pies, a pink trailer on South Congress Avenue next to the Mighty Cone and Hey Cupcake where she sells mini pies, including the buttermilk pie that is still on the menu at 1886 Café & Bakery inside the famed Driskill downtown.
She says that with more than 500 pie recipes, she’ll rotate the pies on the menu, but buttermilk always will be available. The 5-inch pies cost $5. Whole pies ($15) and custom orders are also available.
Open Wednesday 1:30 to 5 p.m., Thursday and Friday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday noon to 8 p.m.
Permalink | | Categories: Eating out
September 22, 2009
Hot Cuban sandwich for a rainy day
What better than a hot-pressed Cuban sandwich on a rainy day?
I got to try The Texas Cuban, one of Austin’s newest trailers, today with food photographer Penny De Los Santos, who is probably the only person crazy enough to get food from a trailer while it’s pouring down rain.
Good thing we fought the chilly raindrops. The El Cubano sandwich we split was awesome, as were the fried plantain chips that came with it and the croquettes and black beans we got on the side. The beans are vegetarian, disproving my long-held theory that meat is required to make legumes enjoyable to eat.
The Texas Cuban opened last week near the Plant K on South Lamar, and the owner says they’ll be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Look for more info on the place in next week’s 360.
Permalink | Comments (4) | Categories: Eating out
September 16, 2009
Former Clay Pit owners open fast-casual eatery Tarka
Fast-casual is a popular restaurant concept these days, and Tarka Indian Kitchen, 5207 Brodie Lane, is the newest eatery in Austin where customers order food at a counter and sit down to wait for a staff person to bring out their order.
Sure, several kinds of masala and curry are available on the well-thought-out menu and the food doesn’t take long to arrive, but other Indian standards such as saag, tandoori chicken, tikka masala, vindaloo and kabobs also fight for attention. And the fast service doesn’t mean Tarka — which means the sizzling sound of sauteed ingredients — isn’t serving some of the best Indian food in town.
General manager Rajina Pradhan, who opened the popular downtown Indian restaurant Clay Pit a decade ago but sold it last year, says she teamed up with the new Clay Pit owners, above, to open what they hope to be the first of many fast-casual Indian restaurants under the Tarka name.
Wine and beer are available, but at lunch today, my dining companion Chaya Rao, a chef instructor in Austin, and I had Limcas, a delicious Indian lemon lime soda distributed by Coca-Cola. After devouring vegetable kebobs (her), chicken tikka masala (me), a side order of garlic naan and Madras soup, we decided that, unlike many fast-casual concepts around town, the food at Tarka doesn’t taste like the cooks cut corners to get the dishes out faster. Chaya went so far as to say that it’s the best Indian food she’s had in Austin.
Parents will be delighted to see a kid’s menu, including chicken fingers with masala fries, basmati rice with chicken or vegetables and a mild tikka masala curry over rice.
It will take several trips to try everything we wanted on the menu, from the samosas, chaat and curried mussels to specials, including pan-seared tilapia, that are served only after 5 p.m.
Permalink | Comments (6) | Categories: Eating out
August 18, 2009
Zen from the still-under-construction Snack Bar
The Snack Bar, the diner-by-day, lounge-by-night on South Congress Avenue that is still under construction, has had blue tarps up since spring. The owners were hoping to open months ago, but anyone who has opened a restaurant know that things rarely go as planned. (Looks like you can buy a “Keep the Faith” gift card through their Web site to help them get there.)
They must know we are eagerly awaiting the opening, because this one word appeared on the marquee earlier this week.
It’s a good reminder for more than just the opening of a new restaurant.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: Eating out, Playing with your food
August 7, 2009
Free family movie night at the Hyatt
The folks over at the Hyatt know what it’s like to have kids. Or at least Mark Bedford, the executive director of food and beverage and father of two young boys, does. The hotel has been hosting free kids’ movies this summer and will continue to do so for the next few weeks.
Bedford says they’ve turned part of the restaurant into a mini theater, where kids can watch movies so the parents grab a bite to eat or have a drink at Marker 10. The movies start at 6:30 p.m. on Friday nights.
Tonight, they are showing Wall-E, followed by Ratatouille (August 14), Bee Movie (August 21), Surf’s Up (August 28), Hannah Montana: The Movie (September 4) and Open Season 2 (September 11).
Permalink | | Categories: Eating out
August 4, 2009
California tacos: The fish, the plane and the ugly
California just doesn’t do tacos like we do.
Well, California north of Los Angeles doesn’t do tacos like we do. As we drove from Portland, Ore., to San Diego last month, we couldn’t find a decent taco stand or restaurant until we hit Los Angeles, and even then, we ended up eating pretty mediocre tacos. (In fact, $8 breakfast burritos near Big Sur were the only tortilla-wrapped foods we stumbled upon along Highway 1.)
On the way back from our West Coast adventure last week, we enjoyed, yes enjoyed, a meal on a Continental flight to Houston. I can’t remember the last time I was served hot food on a plane, especially a domestic flight over just three states. They served an iceberg lettuce salad and chicken enchilada, a dangerous choice for a flight headed to one of the capitals of Tex-Mex cuisine. Nothing about the tortilla-wrapped chicken, rice, cheese and corn resembled anything close to an enchilada, but it was actually pretty good.
In a lucha libre match between Continental’s chicken enchilada and the tacos we’d eaten in Los Angeles just a few days before, the airline would have emerged as the masked hero, kicking the three taco plate (above) from El Paseo on the historic Olvera Street back to the tourist trap, where it belongs.
But it was a fish taco from the original Rubio’s in Mission Beach that was worth writing home about, which in 2009 terms means recording a video to send back to your taco-loving peeps from Taco Journalism at home.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Eating out, On the road
July 27, 2009
Dreamy lunch in a treehouse at Chez Panisse
Halfway through our road trip from Portland to San Diego, we passed through the Bay Area on Saturday. A month before, I’d made reservations at Chez Panisse Cafe, the lunchtime version of Alice Waters’ famed Berkeley restaurant. Thing is, Chez Panisse isn’t so much a restaurant as an institution.
Waters opened the place in 1971, at the forefront of what we now know as the Slow Food movement. Seasonal dishes showcase the ingredients, not fancy chef magic. If I wanted that, I would have stayed up the road in Yountville and dropped a few weeks’ worth of day care at Thomas Keller’s The French Laundry. Both Panisse and Laundry are among the top restaurants in the U.S., but my mission on this trip is to do it on the cheap. Clearly, a pizza purchased across the street from Panisse at Cheeseboard would have saved us some cash, but being a food writer who’s never eaten at Chez Panisse is like being an arts writer who’s never strolled through the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
So we opted for lunch at Cafe at Chez Panisse, which has been open above the main dining room since 1980. Unlike dinner, which is always a three or four course, fixed-price meal ($75 per person, not including wine), lunch is a la carte. My friend Emily, who went to college up the hill from Chez Panisse, came up to the Bay Area from Los Angeles to join us.
(When I made reservations a month ago — you have to call exactly a month ahead to get a seat at the cafe, two months for dinner — I made them for four, hoping I could convince a friend or two to join us. Emily flew up from L.A. for lunch. Chez Panisse has that effect on people.)
We weren’t disappointed.
First off, we sat among the trees in a small room off to the side of the main dining room upstairs. Surrounded by green leaves, we ordered courses of fragrant salads, solid entrees and ended with a delicate blackberry ice cream and cobbler. I’ll let the pictures do the talking, but I’ll note that I didn’t get a photo of my favorite dish, which — to my surprise — ended up being the cheapest: A frisee with green beans with anchovy, garlic and egg ($9) that our fourth dining companion, Kyle, ordered.
Blue Heron Farm Little Gems lettuce with smoked Alaskan salmon, creme fraiche and tarragon ($11)
Terra Firma tomato and fennel salad with anise hyssop ($10)
Liberty Farm duck confit with sweet peppers, kale and almond salsa ($22)
Californian sea bass with romano beans, beets, roasted potatoes and aioli ($23)
Grilled James Ranch lamb leg with spinach, fried new onions and olive relish ($22)
Peach and blackberry cobbler with blackberry ice cream ($9.75)
We spent more than $200 for the four of us (including a bottle of wine), but it was well worth it for the experience. Friendly, not-too-formal service, memorable food in a spectacular setting.
Permalink | Comments (5) | Categories: Celebs in the Kitchen, Eating out, On the road
July 17, 2009
Austin burgers on Texas Monthly's Top 50 list
Where can you find the best burgers in the state?
Texas Monthly food editor Pat Sharpe and her team have canvassed the state to find the best hamburgers, and although an Austin restaurant didn’t claim the top spot, we fared pretty well on the list, which will appear in the August issue that comes out next week.
The Counter Burger from Counter Cafe on North Lamar Boulevard earned second place behind the classic cheeseburger from The Grape in Dallas.
Other Central Texas highlights:
- Cheeseburger with green chiles on a jalapeno-cheese bun from Alamo Springs Cafe in Fredericksburg (No. 3)
- Chop-house burger with cheese and bacon from Cover 3 (No. 12)
- Bulgogi burger from Burger Tex II (No. 14)
- Kobe beef burger from Max’s Wine Dive (No. 16)
- Cheeseburger from Parkside (No. 26)
- Black buffalo burger from Black Sheep Lodge (No. 27)
- Half-Ass Burger from Roaring Fork (No. 30)
- Hamburger from Mighty Fine (No. 37)
- Jalapeno cream cheese burger from Roadhouse in Bastrop (No. 38)
- Cheeseburger from Classics Burgers and “Moore” in Kerrville (No. 40)
The list heavily favors newer establishments in Austin such as Cover 3, Black Sheep Lodge, Mighty Fine and even Parkside, which has only been open for about a year and a half.
No Hut’s, no Five Guys, no P.Terry’s, no Hill-Bert’s or Phil’s Ice House (one of my personal favorites).
What do you think of the list? Which places were overlooked or overrated?
(Photo of the Big-Ass Burger from Roaring Fork by Kelly West for the Austin American-Statesman.)
Permalink | Comments (34) | Categories: Eating out
July 7, 2009
Get Sum Dim Sum from the Golden Gate to you
When Austin chef Foo Swasdee first started hosting Iron Chef-style competitions at Asia Fest in Austin four years ago, chef Chan Chi Keung kept winning them. “I recognized how talented he is with dim sum,” says Swasdee, the owner of Satay restaurant on Anderson Lane. When Chan, who ran Chef Chan Tea House in San Antonio, approached Swasdee about opening a dim sum restaurant in Austin, she said she was honored but made him promise to serve only MSG-free food. Chan agreed.
Get Sum Dim Sum opened at the end of May. Chan - the former executive chef at Yank Sing, one of the most famous dim sum restaurants in San Francisco - is now serving handmade and MSG-free dumplings, noodle rolls, pot stickers, soup, baos and rolls in the brightly colored, light-filled, fast-casual restaurant at 4400 N. Lamar Blvd. Open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. 458-9000.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Eating out
June 14, 2009
Readers' picks on where to watch Horns in College World Series
Tonight’s a big night for sports fans in Austin.
On ESPN and ESPN360 at 6 p.m., the Longhorn baseball team takes on Southern Miss in the first round of the College World Series in Omaha, Neb.
On ABC at 7 p.m., it’s the Los Angeles Lakers versus the Orlando Magic in the fifth and possibly final game of the NBA Finals. The Lakers are up 3-1 in the series.
I’m betting that most of the watering holes with televisions will probably have both games on, but this being a UT town more than an basketball town (even with former Mizzou coach Quin Synder at the helm of the Austin Toros — Long time no see, Quin!) I asked folks on Twitter where was the best place to watch the Longhorns in their first College World Series game in four years.
Here’s what they said:
Restaurant critic Mike Sutter and Pat Beach of Liquid Austin: Cover 3, Cuatros, Doc’s Motorworks on Congress, Little Woodrow’s on Sixth, Third Base
Raeanne Martinez on Facebook: Third Base is good if you don’t plan to eat. Blergh.
Ben Marroquin on Facebook: Two of my fave: Third Base and Billy’s on Burnet
ATX on Twitter: Third Base
DtotheRyver on Twitter: Some fun UT bars are @Cuatros, Posse East, Schultz’s, @LittleWoodrow
Gary Novosel on Facebook: “If it’s beer you crave then Little Woodrow’s on 620/Bee Caves.”
It’s worth noting that Austin360 readers have picked Third Base and Lavaca Street Bar as the best sports bar in the past two A-List contests.
What die-hard baseball bars have we missed?
Permalink | | Categories: Eating out, Playing with your food
May 26, 2009
Whole Foods launches delivery by bike
Get Whole Foods. Delivered. By bike.
Starting on Wednesday, you can have lunch or dinner from the flagship Whole Foods Market store downtown delivered to your home or office by bike for a fee of $5 (free for orders over $50).
The delivery menu includes salads (Caesar, spinach, garden; $3.99-$4.49), chips (99 cents) sandwiches (turkey, roast beef, ham, caprese, burgers; $6.99-7.49), pastas (alfredo, marinara, peso; $8.99 to $10.00), pizzas (cheese, pepperoni, meat trio, veggie; 16” for $13.99), barbecue (wrap or sandwich; $3.99-$4.99) and dessert (cookies for 99 cents, brownies for $1.79), but spokesperson Elizabeth Smith says the menu might change if customers are interested in other foods from the store.
The delivery area is from Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd to Cesar Chavez, Mo-Pac to Interstate 35, and tipping bikers is accepted but not expected, Smith says. Call 542-2243 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. to place your order.
Whole Foods is hosting a “Kickstand Kickoff” this afternoon — free food and all — from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the culinary center on the corner of 6th Street and Bowie.
(Photo courtesy of Whole Foods Market)
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: Eating out
May 18, 2009
Free beer to help open Black Sheep Lodge, El Chile
Nothing like free booze to draw folks in to a new restaurant.
Two new restaurants — if you count El Chile’s third location downtown as new — are serving up complimentary drinks as they await full licensing from the state:
After a few coats of paint and some renovations, El Chile took over the location of its taco-focused little brother El Chilito on North Congress earlier this month, and it is offering complimentary beer or wine until the liquor license is established in a few weeks. (Open Monday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and closed Sunday.)
Also serving complimentary drinks as it waits for a liquor license is Black Sheep Lodge, which opened over the weekend at 2108 S. Lamar Blvd. Serving smart pub food such as Gorgonzola sliders, wings, sandwiches, sweet potato fries, Black Sheep has a full bar, several big screen TVs, darts, pool and a dog-friendly patio. (Open 11 a.m. to midnight, 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Saturdays.)
Permalink | Comments (3) | Categories: Eating out
May 4, 2009
Fro-yo craze officially hits Austin
Frozen yogurt certainly isn’t new, but the so-called fro-yo craze that has consumed the coasts for years has finally hit Austin. Several shops have opened in recent months, including the Central-Texas based Yummy Yo, 360 Nueces St., at the bottom of the 360 condominium tower.
General manager Judy Yoon says the store, which opened just before the South by Southwest festivals, serves eight to ten fat-free flavors, some of which are gluten-free and all contain live and active cultures found in regular yogurt. Like a handful of other places in town, Yummy Yo charges by the ounce ($.45 per ounce) and is self-serve, including the toppings, which range from fresh fruit and Asian fruit jellies to graham cracker crumbs and chocolate syrup.
Tomunchi, 1701 W. Parmer Lane., and Sprinkles Frozen Yogurt, 10700 Anderson Mill Road, are two other locally owned yogurt stores that feature self-serve yogurt and toppings.
Other area yogurt stores include:
- Swirll, 2310 Guadalupe St.,
- Yogurt Planet, 4601 N Lamar Blvd
- The Yogurt Spot, 2815 Guadalupe St (a new location is set to open this summer at 500 N. Lamar Blvd.)
- Mambo Berry, available at various events on the weekends, check www.mamboberry.com for information
- Yogurt r’ Rock, 2711 La Frontera Blvd.
(Photos by Alberto Martínez)
Permalink | Comments (6) | Categories: Eating out
April 30, 2009
Eat out, without the gluten, on Sunday
Gluten-free products have popped up all over the place in recent years after a jump in awareness of Celiac’s disease, an autoimmune disease that damages the small intestine when proteins from wheat, rye or barley are eaten.
However, restaurants are a little behind in offering gluten-free options for the 15 million people with gluten intolerance.
On Sunday, three Central Texas restaurants — Brick Oven South, 9911 Brodie Lane, Ka-Pow Restaurant, 1200 W. Howard Lane and Oaxacan Tamaleo, 1634 Highway 71 West in Cedar Creek — will offer gluten-free menus as part of a Chef to Plate Awareness Campaign for Celiac Awareness Month.
Last year at Brick Oven South, general manager Christine Moore, who has Celiac’s, started using corn starch to thicken sauces and serving gluten-free pastas and pizza dough in order to provide options for people with gluten intolerance.
Permalink | Comments (9) | Categories: Eating out
April 17, 2009
Wine & Food Fest: Where Terroir Meets Tradition lunch
Like the South by Southwest festivals, the daytime programming for the Hill Country Wine and Food Festival isn’t so much about bells and whistles as it is examining the nuts and bolts of the industry. On Friday afternoon, Texas terroir — the combination of soil, climate and the less tangible “sense of place” — that so profoundly affects the wine produced in the state was the focus of a lunch at the AT&T Conference Center & Hotel, moderated by Jane Nickels, an engaging instructor from the Texas Culinary Academy.
Chefs Octavio Benavides (Maria Maria), Paul Petersen (soon-to-be-formerly of the Gage Hotel in Marathon) and Josh Watkins (former Driskill Hotel executive chef who now watches over four restaurants at the AT&T conference center) paired courses with six Texas wines.
Benavides served a taco with chipotle and orange marinated shrimp with a side of mango habanero sauce and melted blackberry pasilla sorbet to go with a melange from Llano Estacado Winery and the Angel Riesling from Messina Hof Winery. Nickels explained that sweet, salt and heat, all present in Benavides’ dish, are the “psycho wine killers of the food world,” but the catch is that a sweet wine takes away some of the heat of the dish and sweetness in the food can take away from the sweetness of the wine (which in the riesling was close to overbearing, likely a far cry from the Angel Riesling that Wine Spectator gave 90 points to in 1990).
Watkins’ tomato fennel soup, he admitted, was his first attempt to pair wine with soup at such a pairing, but the acidic nature of tomatoes did a great job cutting down the acidity of the sangiovese from McPherson Cellars and the Prairie Rôtie from Becker Vineyards.
Petersen, applauded at each festival event when he confirms he’s coming back to Austin from three years at the helm of Cafe Cenizo in Marathon, served another version of the quail he presented at the Culinary Masters Dinner Thursday night at the Four Seasons. Everything on the plate was from Texas, he told the crowd of about 25, and the dish paired well with the near-legendary Meritus wine from Fall Creek Vineyards and the Norton from Stone House Vineyard.
“We can grow, within our borders, almost every grape variety — almost,” said Ed Auler, whose winery in Tow was one of the pioneering ventures in Texas winemaking. It’s a matter of learning what grows best in the kind of soil you’re working with and embracing the unlimited possibilities you have with blending, he said. Sangiovese, viongnier, for example thrive in the Texas heat; cabernet does well in the high plains. Expect to see more tempranillo in the future. Plant to the land, said John Bratcher of McPherson.
Echoing a familiar saying of winemaker Greg Bruni of Llano Estacado, Auler said, as much to his fellow winemakers as to the crowd: “The best wines in Texas have yet to be made.”
Permalink | | Categories: Eating out
Wine & Food Fest: Match the dish with the culinary master
Last night’s Culinary Master’s dinner was the glamorous kick-off for the Hill Country Wine and Food Festival, which really gets underway today. The food, as you would hope for when tickets cost $150, was exquisite, each dish a signature of the chef who prepared it.
You can read the luscious details of the menu on Mike Sutter’s Forklore blog and the witty recap from beer columnist Patrick Beach on Liquid Austin, but if you haven’t seen the menu, could you match the chef with his or her dish?
Here are the chefs: Tyson Cole of Uchi, Monica Pope of t’afia, Paul Petersen of the Gage Hotel and Elmar Prambs and Naomi Gallego of TRIO at the Four Seasons.
Here are the dishes, from bottom left:
a) Endive and cremini salad with Bosque bleu, spiced Texas pecans, white truffle white balsamic dressing
b) Banana Bavarian, mocha sabayon, lemon banana salsa, candied pistachios
c) Buri crudo with compressed strawberry, golden beet, hydroponic basil and olive oil
d) Wild boar mousse stuffed quails with huckleberry demi
e) Smoked prime beef tenderloin, beef glazed cippollini onion, garden greens with truffle vinaigrette, creamed jumbo lump crab meat
I’ll post the answers in the comment section below later this weekend, but you can find the answers on the Forklore blog post.
One of the highlights of the night was surely the Four Season’s superb servers. Dozens of them, practically unseen or noticed by hundred plus diners, brought course after course out in record time. No lulls between dishes, the food was at proper temperature and no one at my table had to request water, bread or extra utensil. Bravo, servers. You made it so that the chef’s dishes could really shine.
Look for coverage of the Wine & Food Festival all weekend from Addie Broyles, Mike Sutter and Patrick Beach on austin360.com/food.
(American-Statesman photos by Addie Broyles)
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April 13, 2009
Free dinner this week at Threadgill's on N. Lamar
Threadgill’s owner Eddie Wilson caused quite a commotion this morning when on KGSR 107.1 he announced that all this week he would be giving away dinners at Threadgill’s - Old No. 1 on 6416 North Lamar Blvd. (Sorry, the free meal deal doesn’t apply to Threadgill’s World Headquarters on Riverside Drive.)
The north location was closed for more than three months recently for renovations, and to draw people back to that eatery, Wilson decided to give away selected dinners after 4 p.m. all this week. All you have to do is mention you heard about it on the radio or in INsite magazine and you can get a free chicken-fried steak, chicken-fried chicken, fried catfish plate or a vegetable plate.
Just don’t forget to tip your servers.
In other chicken-fried steak news, the CFS from Leakey Feed Lot near Kerrville was just named in Bon Appetit magazine’s “United Plates of America” travel guide as one of the three things you must eat from Texas.
(Photo from Threadgill’s)
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February 23, 2009
Free pancakes tomorrow at IHOP
Or maybe not so much throwing, but they will be serving one free short stack per customer from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. tomorrow. (Find a location near you.) The ‘cakes are free, but IHOP is accepting donations for the Shriners Hospitals for Children in Houston.
Interesting factoid about national pancake day, from the IHOP Web site:
Known also as Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras, National Pancake Day dates back several centuries to when the English prepped for fasting during Lent. Strict rules prohibited the eating of all dairy products during Lent, so pancakes were made to use up the supply of eggs, milk, butter and other dairy products…hence the name Pancake Tuesday, or Shrove Tuesday.
So, get your pancake on. Responsibly, of course.
Permalink | Comments (4) | Categories: Eating out, Playing with your food
February 20, 2009
GQ hearts Polvo's breakfast
In the March issue of GQ, hitting newsstands on Tuesday, Polvo’s gets a nod for its fantastic breakfast, which reporter Robert Draper says is guaranteed to “lift you out of yesternight’s gutter.”
The ten-page breakfast guide, which finally declares the death of brunch (not a day too soon, if you’d ask me), highlights the coffee, fresh produce, migas and salsa bar at the “slacker-filled” South Austin Tex-Mex joint.
Does that mean March cover boy Justin Timberlake can’t eat there?
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February 3, 2009
Buy a massage, eat for cheap(er)
My hard-working massage therapist friend, Scot Maitland, has a cool deal for Valentine’s Day. If you buy a 90-minute gift certificate by Feb. 14th, you get a $25 gift certificate to Wink, Zoot, Starlite, Asti Trattoria, Imperia or Louie’s 106. Book the massage online to get the deal.
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January 22, 2009
The hottest dinner parties in town
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January 15, 2009
Bowling for turkeys, greasy fries
I can’t actually remember the last time I bowled a turkey — three strikes in a row — but my friend Chris did last night and my dad did when we went bowling in Missouri over the holidays. I can’t even remember my score from any of the four games I’ve bowled in the past month, but I can remember the delicious food. In Austin, The Dart Bowl has long been known more for its cheesy enchiladas and cheap beer nights than its bowling lanes, but as a rule, food at bowling alleys seems to taste better than it should.
Take, for instance, the fries and bacon cheeseburgers at both The Strike Zone in Aurora, Mo. (left), and Westgate Lanes in South Austin (right). Most fast food places can’t serve a burger with crispy bacon and piping hot fries, but these bowling alleys can. (In fact, I’d venture to say the burger and fries at the bowling alley in Aurora — pop. 7,000 — is probably the best in town.)
Baseball and football stadiums have figured it out, too. Sports are more enjoyable when accompanied with a cold beer (especially when served in bottles shaped like bowling pins) and greasy food.
Just don’t forget to eat with your non-bowling hand. Who knows what’s in those germ-filled finger holes.
What bowling food — and drinks for that matter — am I missing out on in Austin? I’m thinking about hosting an Appetizers with Addie at the Dart Bowl to check out those enchiladas.
Permalink | Comments (5) | Categories: Eating out, Playing with your food
January 9, 2009
We want your restaurant recession busters
Some restaurant deals are well-known: Freddie’s free brisket during weekday happy hour, half-priced oysters and champagne at Parkside on Wednesday and two-for-1 burgers at Hut’s on Wednesdays.
We’re gathering all the restaurant deals we can for an upcoming story. Do you have a favorite standing special? Shoot an e-mail to Mike Sutter at msutter@statesman.com with your favorite deals.
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December 16, 2008
Win a book: Where is the best BBQ in Texas?
Congratulations, Russell! You won a copy of Rebecca Rather’s “Pastry Queen Christmas.” Thanks for sharing your holiday tradition of hanging out in Salado and eating at the Stagecoach Inn. Hope you get to do that this year!
Pit master (and full-time janitor) Tootsie Tomanetz knows her meats and without a doubt is serving some of the finest barbecue in the state, which means some of the finest in the country. One of my dining companions said he still preferred City Market in Luling. John DeMers, the Houston writer who published “Follow the Smoke: 14783 Miles of Great Texas Barbecue” a few months ago and spoke at the Texas Book Festival in November, didn’t include Snow’s, but offers short profiles of 119 other noteworthy barbecue joints.
It’s a good book, one I’ve actually used on a trip or two this fall, but if you want to own it, tell me: Where is your favorite barbecue in Texas?
Update: Here is that video we shot last weekend at Snow’s.
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December 3, 2008
Eat local tonight at Cipollina
Eat Local Week is next week, but you can get a head start by either shopping at the farmers’ market tonight at The Triangle or by checking out the new Farm to Table dinners at Cipollina.
The monthly dinners, on the first Wednesday of the month, feature a locally sourced meal created by chef Parker White. One of the farmers whose hard work went into the dinner will be on hand to talk with diners. The three-course meal costs $35 and wine pairings are available.
I ran into some of the Cipollina folks at Boggy Creek Farm this morning — they were picking up some greens and veggies for tonight’s meal — and they said Loncito Cartwright of Loncito’s will be there tonight.
The first Wednesday of the month might be the official local dinner at Cipollina, but Chef White told me a few weeks ago that 80 percent of their everyday produce is from the area. Only a couple of other restaurants in the area are regularly using that much local food.
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November 21, 2008
Top Notch to reopen
After closing a few weeks ago after the death of its manager, Top Notch, the beloved hamburger restaurant on Burnet Road, will reopen on Monday.
“We’ve had a lot of feedback from people almost begging us to try to stay open,” says Janet Stanish-Knue, whose brother and Top Notch manager James Stanish died unexpectedly in his sleep earlier this month.
To the heartbreak of many in the community, they closed the restaurant, which played a prominent role in Richard Linklater’s 1983 film “Dazed and Confused,” and had doubts they could reopen without Stanish’s leadership.
We’re going to give it a try, she says, but “it’s going to be different, though, to do it without my brother.”
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November 12, 2008
Another restaurant closes in Marble Falls
On the heels of the recent closing of Cafe 909 in Marble Falls comes news of another restaurant closing in that city. Patton’s on Main, which showcased the cooking of Pat Robertson, shut its doors on Nov. 8.
Patton’s Web site, www.pattonsonmain.com, reports that Robertson will work with the Wolfgang Puck Corp. on a new restaurant in Dallas’ Reunion Tower.
The closing leaves Marble Falls gourmands with few fine-dining options. The Falls Bistro also closed this summer. Still standing is Russo’s Texitally Cafe (602 Steve Hawkins Parkway, Marble Falls. 830-693-7091, www.texitally.com), where owner John Russo serves Italian dishes with Texan and Mexican influences.
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November 11, 2008
Carlos Santana says his corazón is in new Austin restaurant
Carlos Santana has a new restaurant downtown, and he wants you to know that he’s not just in it for the money.
Although the name, Maria Maria, is cringe-worthy — you can thank me later for getting that song stuck in your head — the food is good and the motive seems as heartfelt as Santana himself.
At a media event at Maria Maria on Monday night, Santana, clad in brown and his trademark stocking cap, said he sees the restaurants — there are four total — and even his line of shoes as a way to return the blessings he’s received, to invest in people to give them an opportunity to financially, psychologically and spirituality grow.
Former Fonda San Miguel chef Roberto Santibañez developed the menu, which is the same for each of the four Maria Marias. (The first opened in Walnut Creek, Calif., a year ago.) Apparently it was Santibañez’ dream to open a cooking school in Oaxaca that won him the job, which fits with Santana’s goal sharing the literal and proverbial wealth with those who aren’t Grammy-winning artists or world-class chefs.
Despite rough times for both the music and restaurant industries (His spirited response: “Music puts wings in your heart; we’ll never get rid of it.”) he is planning several more Maria Marias in the next few years, including in Boca Raton, Fla., and Houston.
He spoke freely about his feelings about the country and its president-elect. After the past eight years (“Halloween with no candy,” he calls it), “we’re believing in the intangibles again,” he says. If you invest in trust, hope and faith, you can go beyond a life inside a hamster wheel, he reminded the half dozen journalists scribbling away each of his words during our 20 minutes together.
As for his favorite dishes? He likes the pato (duck) tacos that we sampled before he arrived. Rich duck inside tortillas covered in a sweet, smoky and spicy tomato-habanero cream.
“The secret of life is in the sauce.”
Sounds cheesy — his words, not the sauce — but I couldn’t help but believe the guy. He’s known these days as much for his devout spirituality as his signature guitar solos, so I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt (and awfully sugary sweet Maria Maria sangria).
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November 10, 2008
For 20th birthday, Mangia Pizza offers deal on pies
It’s been 20 years since Mangia Pizza brought Chicago-style deep-dish pizza to Austin, and the six Central Texas locations are celebrating this weekend with 20 cent pizzas. Buy one pizza and get a second of equal or less size for 20 cents. They are also giving away $5 gift certificates for every purchase of $10 or more.
That piping hot sauce on top. That stringy cheese. Mangia’s carnivore pie is my favorite, but I won’t ever, ever turn down any of their slices.
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November 7, 2008
Stortini shutters doors; Red House still open
Stortini, the Italian restaurant on Manor Road operated by the owners of El Chile, has closed its doors in favor of focusing on the pizza-and-drinks Red House Lounge, which is housed in the back lounge of the former barbecue joint, and the new El Chilito on South Congress that opened late last month.
With Café 909 announcing its move to Houston yesterday, it looks more and more that the economy is hitting Central Texas restaurants hard.
Some good news, though. Russell’s Bistro at Jefferson Square, the second location of Russell’s Bakery and Coffee Bar (3339 Hancock Dr.), will open in the old Vin Bistro location on Kerbey Lane sometime in December, says owner Russell Millner.
Russell, whose original location is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, says he wants to introduce Sunday morning brunch and eventually a full-service dinner menu at the new location.
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November 6, 2008
Cafe 909 in Marble Falls closes
Café 909, the well-regarded “Rustic Gourmet” restaurant run by Mark and Shelly Schmidt, has served its last meal in Marble Falls.
The Schmidts are moving to Houston, where Mark Schmidt said they hope to open another restaurant with the same level of quality but with a larger potential customer base. “We didn’t have to close,” he said. “We did well enough to stay open, but just that.”
The decision to close Oct. 31 arose from a combination of factors, Schmidt said, including lingering effects of flooding in 2007, a change in Marble Falls laws that allowed liquor sales in more downtown businesses, difficulties attracting staff and the spike in gas prices, which kept some of the restaurant’s Austin customer base from making the hourlong drive.
Schmidt made a name for Café 909 — placing in the American-Statesman’s Top 10 lists from 2004 to 2007 — with innovative twists on classic dishes, including escargot “pot pie” and foie gras with caramelized-onion-and-smoked-bacon oatmeal with a maple syrup demiglace.
The Schmidts opened Café 909 in 2003. Before that, Mark Schmidt served as executive chef at one of Stephan Pyles’ famed spots, Aquanox in Dallas, and worked at the Compound in Santa Fe, N.M.
Marble Falls Mayor Raymond Whitman called the closing of Café 909 “heartbreaking and a great loss for our community.” Whitman, who said the restaurant’s stuffed pork chop and pistachio parfait were among his favorites, said the 2006 flood and the recent economic downturn have hurt many Marble Falls businesses.
The closing leaves Marble Falls gourmands with few fine-dining options. Patton’s on Main and the Falls Bistro have closed. Still standing is Russo’s Texitally Cafe (602 Steve Hawkins Parkway, Marble Falls. 830-693-7091, www.texitaly.com), where owner John Russo serves Italian dishes with Texan and Mexican influences.
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November 4, 2008
Freebies on Election Day
Ben and Jerry’s wants to give out free ice cream to voters. Krispy Kreme is offering free donuts.
You can also face the lines and get a free coffee at Starbucks or head to possibly shorter lines and undoubtedly worse coffee for a free cup at McDonald’s.
All these national chains have freebies lined up for voters today. Are any local businesses doing the same?
Update: NoRTH, up at The Domain, is offering half-price bottles of wine.
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November 2, 2008
Second El Chilito opens downtown
El Chilito, the little brother of the El Chile, Stortini family, now has a second location at 918 Congress Ave., where Will Packwood’s Cibo closed down earlier this year. El Chilito, whose Manor Road location is always hopping, is following the Monday-through-Friday-only hours of so many other downtown eateries, which doesn’t do much for the City’s efforts to revitalize Congress Avenue.
It also closes at 2 p.m., so plan ahead if you get a 3 p.m. taco craving and happen to work downtown.
Update: Over the weekend, the new El Chilito switched its hours to 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. every day of the week, which is much better in my book than the original hours of operation. (Downtown folks need tacos on the weekend, too!)
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September 22, 2008
Bistro fare and a broken collarbone at Starlite
The restaurant was showing off Hines’ new(ish) upscale bistro menu that is served on the lower dining level (the fine dining menu is reserved for upstairs, where the tables are still covered in white tablecloths) for both lunch and dinner.
So what exactly is upscale bistro? The menu, served from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., includes a handful of well-made and flavorful sandwiches, pappardelle carbonara and a pork tenderloin. You could hear the entire room of food writers whispering about the lovely duck confit and warm frisee ($16) and the New York strip with fries ($17). Two grilled sandwiches — grilled cheese with brioche ($8) and croque madame with Gruyere, ham and and topped with an egg ($11) — were comfort food at its best, and there’s nothing that makes me happier than seeing a bed of well-seasoned lentils (with roasted salmon, $14) cleared even without the watchful, health-conscious eye of your mother in site.
As for appetizers, my table of food bloggers enjoyed every last light and fluffy potato gnocchi ($6), which rested happily on basil pesto. It was hard to tell if the Caesar salad ($7) had any dressing on it, but the caprese salad ($8) was well-dressed, even if the tomatoes weren’t as bright and flavorful as you’d hope.
A spoonful of rich chocolate mousse rounded out the delicious meal, solidifying Starlite as a not-your-average Warehouse restaurant.
Just make sure you order the gnocchi.
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September 9, 2008
Interactive guide to UT eats
We blazed through the University of Texas campus in recent weeks, and, with your help, found some of the best places to fuel this semester’s academic — and social — activities.
Which of your favorite near-campus eateries did we leave out?
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September 2, 2008
Gettin' greasy at Cooper's Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que in Llano
How do you improve on juicy barbecue meat served on soon-to-be-greasy paper? Let the carnivores have their pick from the pit. That’s the way they roll in Llano at Cooper’s Old Time Pit Bar-B-Que, a well-deserved perennial favorite on Texas barbecue lovers’ lists. Customers walk right up to the pit, and in true caveman style, point and grunt, indicating which ribs, sausage, brisket, pork chops or sirloin they want. (Well, grunting may be an exaggeration, but when you’re standing there in the holy presence of such fine meat, picking the right words to tell the lovely man with the tongs what you want isn’t always so easy.)
They also buck the “low and slow” theory of traditional barbecue. Rather than cook meat on low heat for a long period of time, Cooper’s rocks it cowboy style: Meat cooks close to the fire, then finishes on low heat. Also to the dismay of barbecue traditionalists, Cooper’s gives customers the option of a hefty dousing of peppery barbecue sauce after selecting the meat.
Another bonus: Free — and quite delicious — beans, available right there alongside the onions, condiments and sauce.
There will soon be a new Coopers in Central Texas: While we were stuffing ourselves with links and the juiciest brisket I think I’ve ever had, the Wooten family was putting the finishing touches on a Cooper’s in New Braunfels. It was supposed to open over Labor Day weekend, but I haven’t been able to confirm that it’s officially ready for the public.
As for the original Llano location, they are open from 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 9:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Permalink | Comments (4) | Categories: Eating out, On the road
August 29, 2008
Ranch 616 closing to prepare for new patio
A heads up if you’re planning a dinner at Ranch 616 in September: Chef/owner Kevin Williamson is just about to finish a new patio in front of the restaurant at the corner of Nueces and Seventh Street, but he’s closing the place from September 2-12 to put on the finishing touches. In 10 years of operation, this is the first time the restaurant has had to close outside its normal schedule.
A reopening party will be Saturday, September 13, so you can enjoy live music on the brand new porch!
One cool thing happening in the meantime is this photo contest with a prize of eating dinner with Alexandre Renoir, the 35-year old great grandson of Pierre-Auguste Renoir.
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August 20, 2008
Say goodbye to your favorite Torchy's trailer
When Torchy’s Tacos owner Mike Rypka told me he was closing Torchy’s original trailer on South First Street, I almost started to cry.
What about the basketball goal! The poison-ivy coated creekside! The grassy back yard where Julian learned to walk! With so many memories at the lot across the creek from the Texas School for the Deaf, how could he think of shutting it down?
Don’t get too sad, he reassured me. Not only was the original trailer moving just two lots down the street, it was also getting a neighbor — Shuggie’s, a burger and seafood trailer whose menu he’s been working on for months.
So, the original Torchy’s will close down on Sunday, August 24, only to reopen alongside Shuggie’s on Friday, August 29 (the date on the sign hanging on the trailer now is a misprint, Mike says).
“It’s gonna be a lot of fun once we get that thing up and rollin’,” Mike says. He’s planning a game room with pinball machines and pool tables, a tire swing, horseshoes and a kids’ area at the new spot, which will also have more parking.
Oh, and as for Shuggie’s: Prepare yourselves, folks. Greasy, hand-formed meat patties, po’ boys, onion rings, hush puppies. Need I say more?
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Chewing the fat, Eating out, Food in the news
August 13, 2008
A quick tip to save you some clams, er, oysters
The restaurant’s oyster bar is one of the best in town (they fly in oysters from all over North America most days of the week). Pair some of those oysters with a shooter of one of their fabulous raw fish specialties, and you’ve got yourself one damn fine meal.
Also of note: Martini Mondays, where you can get $3 cocktails from bartender Heather Kowal. Check out fresh cocktails on the brand new drink menu.
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August 12, 2008
Tax-free weekend means free burritos
Chipotle has a deal going this week that if you eat at any Austin Chipotle today or tomorrow and keep your receipt, you can get a free meal (burrito, salad or tacos) this weekend, which is also tax-free weekend for those back-to-school items.
Sounds like a pretty good deal if you’re into Chipotle. Yes, I know it’s a part of the McDonald’s corporate family, but I still eat there when Freebirds isn’t nearby.
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August 6, 2008
We want your tips on the best UT eateries
We’ll probably do categories. You know, Best Pizza, Best Late Night, Best Sushi, Best Asian, Best Place to Gain your Freshman 15, Best Hole-in-the-Wall (oh wait…), so feel free to submit multiple suggestions. If you have a particular dish that you can’t help but recommend to newbies on campus, let us know.
(And on a personal note, can you spare some campus food advice for a foreigner here? I’ve done some campus exploring, but I don’t know it like the back of my hand like the tens of thousands of you Longhorns out there. You say UT eateries can beat Mizzou’s? Prove it. :))
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July 28, 2008
TGI Friday's Guy Fieri hits up Casino El Camino
I’m stoked any time an Austin eatery or foodie gets the national spotlight, but it makes me crazy that Fieri, who won the second season of The Next Food Network Star, is also a spokesman for TGI Friday’s, a chain that may be partially responsible for the deaths of hundreds of these beloved dives. I don’t know Fieri, so I can’t say for sure, but the guy is on his third Food Network show, so he can’t be hurting that badly for dollars, especially from a company so antithetical to the mission of this show.
Of course, Fieri isn’t alone. Tyler Florence hooked up with Applebee’s to promote healthier menu options. Rachael Ray looooves Dunkin’ Donuts (and if you can believe it, she just came out today with a charitable line of premium dog food), and remember, Paula Deen talks ham, not unions.
The celebrity chef sellout question is your call, but thank God — for many reasons — we’ve still got Anthony Bourdain. From this interview:
I’ve had pretty much a full spectrum of offers for business, as well as personal services! Endorsements and reality shows, you know the usual kind of (expletive). It’s a quality-of-life issue, I don’t want to wake up in the morning, look in the mirror and see the Tidy Bowl guy or the spokesman for Lomotil. I won’t be doing a set of steak knives
Personally, Fieri drives me nuts (or maybe it’s just the hair), but like I said, I’ll watch anything with Austin in it.
And at least he snagged a recipe for El Camino’s Amarillo Burger.
Permalink | Comments (5) | Categories: Chewing the fat, Eating out, Food in the news
July 15, 2008
Tequila time!
To get yourself ready for National Tequila Day (July 24, a week from Thursday) head over to Ranch 616 on Nueces Street in Austin for Tequila Tuesday tonight, where you can get an appetizer, entree, dessert and a tequila drink for $29.95.
I took some friends last week and had a fabulous time enjoying margaritas and some very delicious food, including a blueberry pudding cake that was to die for.
The items on the Tequila Tuesday menu change each week, but the live music is always the same: Lucas Hudgins and the First Cousins rock the Ranch with some awesome honky tonk. Pretty soon, there will be a big ol’ patio on which you can feast outside and enjoy your tequila under the stars.
Permalink | | Categories: Beer/Wine/Spirits, Eating out
July 14, 2008
Make your dinner reservations online
If you go to austin360.com/food and click on the “Make online reservations” link in the center box, you’ll get to a window where you can select one of the 40 restaurants in Central Texas, from Asti to Uchi to Zoot, and make your reservation in seconds.
The only bad thing is now you don’t have an excuse come the next anniversary/birthday/Mother’s Day for not getting a seat at one of Austin’s finest dining establishments.
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June 5, 2008
Farewell to a towering elm at Z'Tejas
Z’Tejas won’t be the same without the 50-year-old elm tree in front of the West Sixth Street restaurant. Recent storm damage to the tree is forcing the restaurant to remove it on Monday, but arbor-lovers are invited to a celebration Sunday in honor of the tree that will feature live music by Kat’s Meow.
The farewell party will start at 5 p.m. and proceeds from the event will benefit Tree Folks, a local nonprofit dedicated to tree issues in Central Texas.
Oh, and never fear, two Cedar elm trees will be planted after the old one is removed, according to the restaurant.
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May 22, 2008
Breakfast tacos of champions
Breakfast tacos are a thing of legend in Central Texas, and everyone has favorites. Mine are at Taqueria Los Jaliscienses in South Austin. There are two other locations in Austin, one up north on Wells Branch Parkway and the other one off East First Street.
The location closest to me, on the eastbound frontage road of Ben White Boulevard just east of Manchaca Road, offers three breakfast tacos for $2.69 until 11 a.m. on weekdays. I load up with egg, cheese, bacon and potato, which means the tacos are extra greasy and extra good. For breakfast, I go with flour tortillas because they are homemade and taste like they are fresh off the skillet. The bacon is the thick, salty, already-cut-into-pieces kind, and the cheese is a strong cheddar, adding even more yumminess to each bite.
You might think about calling ahead if you want them “para llevar,” or to go, because they make the tacos from scratch when you order them, so it’s not exactly fast food. But if you were looking for fast food tacos, you’d hit the run-of-the-mill chain across the street.
Taqueria Los Jaliscienses, 815 W Ben White Blvd, 445-4866
If you’re still looking for that breakfast taco to call your own, there’s a pretty good forum over at Chowhound with good suggestions. I’ve got some friends in town who are looking for some more places to get great breakfast tacos. What suggestions do you have for them?
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