Home > The M.O. > Archives > 2007 > February > 08 > Entry
Go Bites prepares to launch
The downtown dining scene is about to get a serious injection of flavor.
After spending the past three months building a successful catering business, Pink Avocado, chef Brenton Schumacher is set to bring some delicious dinner and late-night eats to Austin’s downtown bar-going crowd.
I was one of the lucky few who got to swing into his new kitchen and take a taste-drive around the new menu. Schumacher plans to offer fancy grilled cheese sandwiches, gourmet sliders and hand-cut fries to his (most likely) boozy patrons. Judging by the items sampled last night, the young chef will most likely be the preferred stop for folks looking to add a little sustenance to their bar-hopping plans.
We sampled each of the grilled cheese sandwiches, which resembled something I would try to make for friends after a late night out on the town, given I had the ingredients and/or energy to do so. The grilled-cheese menu consists of mango and swiss, gruyere and onion, prosciutto and fresh mozzarella, and fresh mozzarella and white truffle oil. Yes, white truffle oil. Each sandwich comes served on the customer’s choice of sourdough, wheat or white bread and is spread with a choice of delectable butters, such as the sumptuous curry butter that was on our mango and swiss sandwich. Each of the sandwiches was better than the one before, but if I had to pick a favorite, I would go with the prosciutto and fresh mozzarella. I could scarf down about five of those without thinking twice. Each sandwich comes with a side of hand-cut fries. The potato sticks are lightly fried and seasoned to perfection and will come offered as a separate side for patrons who just want a quick snack.
Although I was near capacity after snacking on the assortment of grilled cheeses, I bashed on regardless, and took down one each of the assortment of sliders. For those who miss Reido’s on Lamar Boulevard or long for a classy White Castle burger, Go Bites will be heaven for you. The blue cheese and grilled leek concoction was as savory as any full-sized burger I have had in town, and then I ate the BBQ, grilled onion and jalapeno-jack slider. The blue cheese burger hid its face in shame. At this point I had reached man-in-“Monty Python’s the Meaning of Life” status, but I promised the cheddar burger I would have a bite of it. So I did. And I was pleased with the flavor but maybe not the decision to fearlessly eat my weight in food.
The new quick eats joint is located at the serving window just feet away from the entrance of Emo’s on Red River Street. Originally the kitchen for the now defunct K Bar, the location was purchased by Emo’s and housed Stella’s Tacos for six months. After Stella’s lease ran out, Schumacher decided it was time to see his baby come to life.
Originally from Detroit, Schumacher came to Austin 12 years ago and worked in various capacities for Central Market since his arrival. He left his position as executive sous chef there late last fall and began his catering business, which handles about 20 big events a month, along with corporate lunches. Schumacher attests to having had the idea for Go Bites for 12 years, and after years of networking and feeling out the market, he finally felt ready to take the leap downtown. With the helpful hands and creative flair of Jessie Burkhart (who recently quit his job preparing sushi at the Hilton to come on board) and Hollace Geneveux, along with a few part-time employees, Schumacher deeply believes it is his team that helps set him and his dream apart from others in the competitive and difficult restaurant industry.
“I’ve got so many great people on board. I think that’s what sets me apart. The people behind me have so much enthusiasm and are passionate about what they do. I am very lucky to have them in my corner.”
While Schumacher praises his dedicated team, it is obvious after spending just a few minutes with him that his boundless enthusiasm is the engine behind his growing ventures. In addition to running a successful catering business and a quality street-side food venture, Schumacher finds time to drum in local band the Score, which was born of the band Dead End Cruisers. His bandmates were recently featured on the TLC show “Flip That House,” an appearance that received such positive feedback from the network that Schumacher and the boys will soon be featured in a new reality show about his band that goes behind the scenes and shows the rockers on stage and off. Expect scenes of the enthusiastic chef to feature him grueling over a hot stove at his new locale, determined to bring quality food fast to downtown denizens.
“Im just looking to do something different down here … some really good food downtown” he told me last night.
Go Bites officially debuts March 1 and will be open from 6 p.m. to 3:30 a.m. Schumacher plans to incorporate breakfast and lunch service once the nighttime business is flying.
Permalink | Comments (7) | Post your comment | Categories: Food
Comments
By rob
February 8, 2007 02:57 PM | Link to this
Matthew, you were at Austinist so you know how RSS feeds work. Please use your power to get the crappy RSS feeds here to display the entire contents of a story instead of simply the title of a blog post.
By Bre
February 8, 2007 04:19 PM | Link to this
Damn, that sounds like my kind of place.
And do you really know how RSS feeds work?
By MO
February 8, 2007 05:15 PM | Link to this
try this, folks, for RSS http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/mo/index.xml
and, bre, OF COURSE i know what RSS is, it’s like rabbit sleeper syndrome. or something.
By Willis
February 9, 2007 08:39 AM | Link to this
Wow, the guy couldn’t have picked a better location. I’ll have to give them a shot the next time I’m catching a show at the Red Eyed Fly or Beerland.
By JennyJenny
February 9, 2007 10:13 AM | Link to this
Please keep up the great blogging about food. Yum!
By omit
February 9, 2007 06:12 PM | Link to this
It’s just headlines, as with all the Statesman feeds. Not that I have a problem with that.
By ConanTheLibrarian
February 9, 2007 09:26 PM | Link to this
Ummm. Gourmet sliders. Growing up in the Deep South, we had Krystals, a basic rip-off of the White Castle menu. Many a late night or early morning was spent getting those mini-burgers because Krystals were the only places open after 10PM. The phrase, “eat ‘em while they are hot before the grease coagulates” was given to folks new to the cuisine. Nawlins also has a variation of the mini-burger. This place has great potential to become a new Austin landmark.