An Array of Piadas About to Roll Out at the Pizza Cave

Posted by on Oct 7, 2020 in Dripping Springs, Italian

If you haven’t tried a Piada, you’ve been missing out. The Pizza Cave on 290 West is about to change that with the introduction of its own take on this Italian classic. A piada is classic Italian artisanal flatbread usually filled with cheeses, vegetables, cold cuts, and other meats. It’s essentially a street food served […]

Things Are Looking up at Homespun Kitchen & Bar

Posted by on Oct 6, 2020 in Casual, Dripping Springs, Neighborhood Favs

I’m a big believer in chatting up restaurant patrons to get a sense of what dishes really resonate, so meet Haley and Heather. They are Homespun regulars. I asked what their favorite dishes were and without pause they both mentioned the salmon. Turns out they were right! I tried it seared with fresh asparagus and […]

P Terry’s Founders Patrick and Kathy Terry Have Elevated Their Austin Stores Into the Must Visit Category and Are Now Eying Houston

Posted by on Sep 24, 2020 in Austin Originals, Backstories, Burgers & More

As a young man in Abilene working for the legendary Mack Eplen, Patrick Terry caught the burger bug and throughout his matriculation at UT Austin and later at a large Dallas advertising agency he never once lost sight of his goal of opening a great burger joint. Like so many former UT alums he returned […]

First Tastes at Le Vacher on Highway 290 in Dripping Springs

Posted by on Sep 15, 2020 in Dripping Springs, French, Reviews

I first stopped in at the new French brasserie Le Vacher last week and took a quick glance at the menu. One dish immediately caught my eye: the duck confit. The last time I’d had duck confit was at Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bistro in Las Vegas at The Venetian. Keller personally prepared the dish for […]

New York City Restaurants Reopen at 25% Capacity

Posted by on Sep 9, 2020 in 2020 Re-openings, News

An announcement that has delighted restaurant fans in New York City was finally made this week: Indoor dining will resume at 25% capacity. Frankly though, I doubt that all of the restaurants are as delighted. Masks and temperature checks at the door will be mandatory. Each party must also leave the name of one person […]

Our Readers Weigh in on the Best Steaks in Austin: The Winner? III Forks

Posted by on Sep 8, 2020 in Best Of, Downtown, Steaks

We’ve been polling our readers periodically about restaurants for their favorite foods in Austin. Normally the results come back in on kind of a bell shaped curve with most scores falling within two standard deviations of the mean. But in the case of Best place for steaks, the bell-shaped curve was blown to bits! Hands […]

Supporting Local Owner Operated Restaurants Is Easy When They Serve Food Like Homespun Kitchen & Bar

Posted by on Sep 6, 2020 in Casual, Dripping Springs

I’ve always been a proponent of owner operated restaurants; the places where the owners are there to welcome you (like Katz’s) where their enthusiasm is tangible, where their imprint can be seen on virtually every facet of the menu, where there are always a significant number of “regulars,” and where the food is almost always […]

French Brasserie Le Vacher Opens on 290 West Near Dripping Springs

Posted by on Aug 30, 2020 in Dripping Springs, French, Openings

I do enjoy French food in both its casual and more sophisticated modalities. The newly opened Le Vacher promises a bit of both.  Chef and owner Jacob Euler has crafted what appears to be a most  appealing menu and though he’s opened his new place at a difficult time, I have a feeling that Le […]

Austin Restaurants I Miss

Posted by on Aug 24, 2020 in Closings

I often ruminate on restaurants that have come and unfortunately gone in the nearly 40 years I’ve lived in Austin. While I’ve only officially been talking and writing about restaurants since 1998 I’ve always been a foodie. So some of these go way back. LA VISTA AT THE HYATTAbsolutely the best fajitas ever. Most nights […]

Austin Restaurants That Emphasize Safety and Maintain Quality

Posted by on Aug 20, 2020 in COVID-19

Amidst the highs and lows of dining in Austin over the past four months, a number of clear consumer concerns have emerged. Most restaurant patrons are very concerned about safety. But they also want to enjoy a good meal. However, as restaurants have reopened, the two concerns have not always coincided. Some restaurants suffered because while […]

Tumble 22 Opens at Former Site of Magnolia Cafe on Lake Austin Blvd.

Posted by on Aug 19, 2020 in Openings

While I’ll miss the Martian Landscape, the Popeye Omelet, and other favorites from the iconic Magnolia Cafe, time does indeed march on. Tumble 22, a Nashville-style fried chicken joint has now opened at Magnolia Cafe’s old location on Lake Austin Blvd. They offer bone-in fried chicken ranging in various levels of heat from “wimpy” to […]

Creek Road Cafe in in Dripping Springs Closes

Posted by on Aug 10, 2020 in Closings, Dripping Springs

For quite some time, we enjoyed a number of memorable meals at Creek Road Cafe in Dripping. It featured high-end cuisine in a relatively casual setting. Chef Chae, who had overcome a lung transplant to work his magic in the kitchen, produced some of the best soups we’d found anywhere in Austin.  Additionally he worked wonders […]

Austin Java Closes Three Stores

Posted by on Aug 6, 2020 in Closings

We awoke the other morning craving breakfast tacos and banana nut muffins, so I googled Austin Java on 290 which is a few minutes from our house in Highpointe to get their phone number. I was shocked and saddened to see “Permanently Closed” in stark red letters. We’ve loved Austin Java: the breakfast quesadillas, the muffins, and […]

Hope for Austin Restaurants: Customers Appear to Be Stepping Up on COVID Safety

Posted by on Jul 26, 2020 in 2020 Re-openings, COVID-19

Several weeks ago I posted an article blasting Austin restaurant customers for their lax attitudes and in many cases almost complete indifference to restaurant safety protocols. Since then based on what I hear from local restaurants things have started looking up. Of course this may be due to the dramatic spike in Austin COVID-19 cases […]

Chinatown’s Downtown Austin Location to Close

Posted by on Jul 18, 2020 in Closings

I got a call from Ronald Cheng friday night. He told me that after considerable thought he had decided to close the iconic Chinatown downtown location on West 5th Street. A decision of this magnitude is not made lightly. Ronald finally had to deal with the combined effects of a lease issue, social distancing (which […]

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