Openings

• Cafe Bleu
• Yoli's
• New from the Big Apple

Question of the Month

Heard on the Street

• Wolfgang on the prowl?
• Girasole Scores Award
• Packwood in the Top Ten

Transitions

• Jean Luc's Bistro
• Lemongrass Downtown
• Thus endeth
  the Donut Poll

News Archives

Cafe Bleu

A new venture from Mezzaluna and Hudson's veteran Jeff Courington, this open-air style restaurant near Volente Beach opened in late April and features Mediterranean cuisine. Fans of the recently departed mediterranean classic Tocai will no doubt rejoice. Cafe Bleu is open weekdays from 5-10 PM and S-S from 12-10 PM. The bar stays open later. Call 401-6669 for more information.

Yoli's

The original Gumbo's in the Wells Branch area on North Mopac had many fans. Well, as you may know, the founders, Yoli and Micheal, moved to I-35 at 620 in Round Rock [where I first found them] and later added a downtown location at 8th and Colorado. After selling out to Creed Ford and his group, Yoli and Micheal took a brief hiatus. But they're back, doing Mediterranean cuisine [do we have a trend going here?] in the original location off North Mopac. Recently opened, and one of the few owner operated restaurants in that area, Yoli's is aleady packing them in. For more information call 670-2788.

New from the Big Apple. Chef Tom Colliccio has recently opened a restaurant called Craft. It's on 43 E.19th St. Tom is the author of "Think Like a Chef" and he's created a restaurant where guests can design their own meals. While this may require a bit more instrospection than most diners care to summon up, word has it that the place is quite popular. For example, Tom maintains that peas and asparagus are both green vegetables and can replace one another, depending on individual taste, in any recipe without compromising the dish. And so it goes. If you're heading that way, you might want to check it out.

For more info: 212-780-0880

Wolfgang on the prowl?

Rumor has it that celebrity chef and founder of Spago Wolfgang Puck has had agents scouring the Austin area searching for the "right" space for a new restaurant. Seems that the WOLFMAN has a new concept that he's just dying to try and feels that Austin is the right spot. I wonder what he's got up his sleeve? Strudel Enchiladas perhaps????

Girasole Scores Award

One of my favorite Italian eateries, Girasole, on 4th and Lavaca, has received an Award of Excellence from the prestigious Wine Spectator magazine. Girasole was the only new Central Texas restaurant to receive the award. They also have a new chef, Daniel Nemec to complement their excellent wine selection. Girasole has made my Top 15 list and for good reason.

Packwood in the Top Ten

Continuing in the award vein, Will Packwood, chef at upscale Emilia's on 3rd St., has been named one of the ten best new chefs in America by Food and Wine Magazine. Will, who had his first restaurant job at 13 and who was an accomplished cook by 15, is only 29 and has already stamped his imprimatur all over that fine restaurant.

Jean Luc's Bistro

One of the River City's best cooks, the inimitable Jean Luc has gone back to Paris to care for his ailing parents. His Colorado Str. bistro of the same name has been placed into the capable hands of Sean Cirkiel with desserts by Philip Speer. Cirkiel has a strong background in French cuisine and was schooled at the CIA. He was one of the driving forces behind the excellent 22. The Jean Luc name will stay. And the food? Well, the opening is August 14th. And I, for one, am excited about the possibilities. Call 494-0633 for more information.

Lemongrass Downtown.

When Tocai on W. 6th St. near Hut's closed several months ago, many restaurateurs considered the space. Sean Sun of the Cong Ly Vietnamese restaurants looked at it but passed. Several others did as well. But Chef Ped at the Lemongrass restaurant off Hwy 620 in Lakeway liked what he saw, and soon Thai and other Asian goodies will be scorching in the wok. Call 263-2221 for more information on the opening.

Well, the donut poll is officially over and Round Rock Donuts is the runaway winner. Congratulations to them! However, the poll was not scientific and the sample, as in all Internet polls, was self selecting. Respondents could not cast multiple votes but some merchants could and did exhort people to log on and cast a vote. Imagine that? These polls are meant for fun. And let's leave it at that.

Readers: Do you have suggestions for this list?

Drop us an e-mail and we'll share your opinions next month.

Question of the Month

This month's question comes from Thomas Franel of Round Rock, He writes: " Dear Rob: I greatly enjoy your reviews and find them very helpful. But you obviously derive your revenue from the site from those same restaurants that you review. IS there a conflict there?"

Fair question, and a good one. The answer is absolutely not. No conflict at all. We have ads from restaurants we've reviewed and some from places we haven't reviewed.[Last time I looked, so did the Statesman, The Chronicle, and Texas Monthly].

The reviews are not for sale. And we go one step further. We won't take an ad from a restaurant, club, vineyard or merchant whose product we do not enjoy. And if a restaurant is an advertising client and we find that their food preparation slips or declines over a course of time, we reserve the right to remove their ad from the site.

And even though an advertiser may not have had a formal review posted, believe me, I've tried the product and liked it. Otherwise, no deal.

We don't want to be another dot com horror story. We believe that our site holds value for both our readers and our advertisers. And if we can make the financial model work, well then, God Bless America!

IF YOUR QUESTION IS CHOSEN FOR PUBLICATION, YOU'LL RECEIVE A DINNER FOR TWO AT ONE OF OUR FEATURED RESTAURANTS.