TRIBEZA May 2023 Food Issue

FOOD THE ISSUE

CONTENTS

MAY

DEPARTMENTS

Social Hour p. 08

Kristin’s Column p. 12

Tribeza Talk p. 14

Karen’s Pick p. 54

Dining Guide p. 56

Arts & Entertainment Calendars p. 68

FEATURES

Bird’s of a Feather p. 18

Somethin’ to Taco ’Bout p. 32

Soul Food for All p. 38

Groove is in the Heart p. 44

Fast Foodies p. 48

THIS PAGE

ON THE COVER

Photo by Weston Carls

Photo by Layla Mayes

HETHER YOU’VE LIVED IN AUSTIN AS LONG AS I have (over two decades) or you’re an Austin newbie, one thing’s a given — we all consider ourselves experts when it comes to Austin’s ever-changing food scene. And this month’s Food issue is definitely giving us “Somethin’ to Taco ’Bout.” In this feature, we’re looking beyond Austin’s borders and examining regional taco flavors from Mexico and all over Texas, without leaving home. By eating tacos from local faves like Con Todo, Cuantos Tacos, El Perrito ATX, Discada, El Naranjo, Texsueño, Sabor Tapatio, Vaquero Taquero, Ensenada, Carnitas El Güero and Valentina’s Tex Mex BBQ, you can travel from Mexico City to El Paso, and pretty much everywhere in between, by simply enjoying a taco.

Next up, we’re giving a nod to the inner chef in all of us. Whether you’re clumsy in the kitchen or a cooking connoisseur, you’re going to need excellent cookware, ingredients and accessories to put your best food forward. In “Kiss the Chef” we spotlight 12 kitchen essentials every home- chef needs to thrive. From oils, spice rubs, salsa, bee juice honey and wine to aprons, Dutch ovens and knives, treat yourself or a fellow chef-in-the-making to these must-haves.

Nestled in the ever-evolving East side, Birdie’s, a natural wine bar and restaurant offering seasonal American cuisine, was born with a single coin flip between now husband-and-wife duo, Tracy and Arjav. They met while opening Danny Meyer’s Untitled at the Whitney in New York City in 2015. One night, the pair chatted about moving to the Lone Star State and opening a neighborhood-style eatery that wasn’t an annual destination dinner.

“Arjav suggested we get married, and we hadn’t even gone on one date yet,” Tracy laughs. “I had a huge crush on her!” Arjav admits. The rest, they say, is history.

In “Birds of a Feather” we take a look at the evolution of Birdie’s fine-casual cuisine. In the “New York Times” 2021 list of the 50 American restaurants they were “most excited about right now,” the article describes “Tracy Malechek-Ezekiel’s bright, graceful food … to be on the leading edge of what makes eating great in this booming town.” A toast to true love.

Rounding out the May issue, we dive deep into two listening rooms, Dante’s HiFi and Equipment Room, where “Groove is in the Heart.” They allow Austinites to unwind through the vintage pairing of classic vinyl and thoughtful cocktails.

Dante’s HiFi owner Sven Vogtland took a pre-pandemic trip to Tokyo, which led to one of his most exciting ventures yet. Jazz kissa bars, cafes dedicated to the enjoyment of jazz on high-quality stereos, first opened in Japan in the late 1920s, and Vogtland thought this concept would pique the interest of his clientele in Austin. The impressive setup includes vintage speakers and a tube power amplifier.

“The sound at kissa bars is very particular,” he says. “High-fidelity sound mixed by hand is everything in creating a great listening experience.” DJ Rich Medina, a partner in Dante’s HiFi, is in charge of curating the music for the listening lounge, and is glad to be bringing back an analog approach.

Dante’s also boasts a creative cocktail menu. “A lot of our drinks are named after albums or songs we love,” Vogtland says.

Illuminated by a stained glass-inspired fixture and single “E,” Equipment Room, once a basement storage room, has opened at Hotel Magdalena on Music Lane. James Moody, owner of Mohawk, Bunkhouse Executive Chairman Amar Lalvani, and Breakaway Records’ Josh LaRue and Gabe Vaughn have partnered up to offer a truly special HiFi sanctuary.

“Moody and I have been talking about this idea for what feels like almost a decade,” Lalvani says on their shared interest in Japanese kissa. Equipment Room starts with the music, and more specifically its record collection. “Years ago, when I went to the Jazz Blues Soul Bar in the Shibuya district in Tokyo, I was blown away with how serious his collection was and how it was handled and played,” Moody recalls.

In this basement-style lounge, classic artists like Willie Nelson, Townes Van Zandt and Stevie Ray Vaughn are sure to be played. The space has been transformed with custom speakers, 70s-era furnishings, and one-of-a-kind band posters like the 1975 Pointer Sisters show at Armadillo World Headquarters and BB King and Bobby Blue Band at Antone’s. Signature cocktails include Obscured by Clouds with Suntory Toki whiskey, lavender honey and blue spirulina for Pink Floyd’s 1972 album, and All Tomorrow’s Parties, a French banana liqueur, rum, Batavia arrack and Cynar drink, named for the Velvet Underground track.

Cheers and Bon Appétit!

Carrie Crowe Executive Editor

AUSTIN CURATED

EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Carrie Crowe

ART DIRECTION

October Custom Publishing

DIRECTOR DIGITAL STRATEGY

Georgie Miller

DIGITAL MEDIA MANAGER

Holly Cowart

SENIOR DIGITAL EDITOR

Avery Matschek

DIGITAL MARKETING COORDINATOR

Jenna Belle Fuhrmann

DIGITAL EDITORIAL INTERN

Meadow Chase

SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER

David Clough

COLUMNISTS

Kristin Armstrong

Karen O. Spezia

WRITERS

Darcie Duttweiler

Liz Harroun

Lauren Jones

Mary Lancaster

Avery Matschek

Britni Rachal

Carolynn Solorio

COPY EDITOR

Ashley Brown

EDITORIAL INTERN

Carolynn Solorio

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Weston Carls

Holly Cowart

Brian Fitzsimmons

Jonathan Garza

Layla Mays

CONTRIBUTING ARTIST

Wes Rowell

PRESIDENT

Chad Miller

PUBLISHER

Krissy LittleStar Hearn

ACCOUNT DIRECTOR

Ashley Beall

ACCOUNTING MANAGER

Melanie Rognerud

TRIBEZA MEDIA, LLC

Jim Kastleman - Chairman

Chad Miller

Holly Moore

TRIBEZA AMBASSADOR

George Elliman

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Social HOUR

TROVADOR CUSTOMS SXSW ANNIVERSARY PARTY

Hat maker Trovador Customs commemorated its first year with a bash on March 15. Owner Ryan McGrath welcomed a panel of makers including Kate Robberson and Emilie Basez of Joaihú Chocolate, Barrett Dudley of Howler Brothers and jewelry maker Jordan Matthew Young. The group discussed the power of Austin’s creative community, before McGrath demoed his fiery hat making process.

TWENTY-TWO ELEVEN AT WESTLAKE PASS

On March 30, Tribeza, CASA Companies and Ledgestone Development Group unveiled Twenty-Two Eleven at Westlake Pass, a collection of six bespoke residences in the Westlake Hills Area. Guests enjoyed a panel from the design team moderated by Douglas Elliman agent Lander Peerman. Panelists included executives from CASA Companies, Ledgestone Development Group, Mirador Group and Gabriel Home Builders.

ART OF KINDNESS GALA

300 guests attended the Art of Kindness Gala on March 31 at SKYBOX on 6th for dinner and festivities. There was a gathering on April 2 at Easy Tiger East with music, dancing, sports and activites. The Kindness Campaign raised funds to provide accessible emotional health tools and kind curriculum for kids and adults in homes and classrooms.

TROVADOR 1. Amanda Rockman & Nick Taylor 2. Tierra Neubaum, Ryan McGrath, Kate Robberson, Emilie Basez, Jordan Matthew Young & Barrett Dudley 3. Cristina Facundo, Joanna Rockwood & Elena Garcia Slaton 4. Ryan McGrath 5. Nik Parr & The Selfless Lovers TWENTY-TWO ELEVEN 6. Jeannine Nuzzi, Cass Brewer, Lander Peerman, Todd Blitzer, Katelyn Peterson & Jerry Hooker 7. Colton Reid & Jessica Philpot 8. Guests 9. Jeff Burke & Matt Richard 10. Megan Gallagher & Daniel Orr KINDNESS

GALA 11. Andra Liemandt & Heidi Marquez 12. Berber Family. 13. Stephanie & Todd O’Neill 14. Martinex Family 15. Kristie Gonzales, Chelsea Toler & Jaclyn Brennan 16. Jerry Roberts & Sharon Vigil

Social HOUR

SPRING MINI MARKET

On April 2, Spring Mini Market was held at Distribution Hall showcasing over 55 women and mother-owned business vendors from around the country. Attendees enjoyed family-friendly activities from woom bikes, Austin DIY Studio and Literati. Guests also indulged in some self-care at the Hiatus Spa + Retreat wellness lounge.

CMT MUSIC AWARDS

Country stars arrived at Moody Center on April 2 for the 2023 CMT Music Awards. Along the teal carpet, celebrities were welcomed by excited fans, The Longhorn Band and Bevo himself. Highlights include newcomer Jelly Roll winning Male Video of the Year, Shania Twain being honored with the Equal Play Award and performances from Keith Urban, Alanis Morissette, Kelsea Ballerini and more.

CLUBBY SELTZERS TEE OFF PARTY

Clubby Seltzers hosted a party at Skinny’s Off Track Bar on April 7, where guests played putting games, snacked on pimento cheese sandwiches and sipped from specialty Clubby Seltzers buckets while watching the Masters Tournament. Founders Thomas Moratto, Lane Gibbs and Matt Whitaker attended to celebrate the brand’s second anniversary and first launch into the Texas market.

SPRING MINI MARKET 1. Sarah Miller 2. Ashley Thomas 3. Jenna Sacco 4. Sara Hussey 5. Cristina Bocanegra & Karen Trombetta CMT AWARDS 6. Bevo & Dustin Lynch 7. Jess Carson, Mark Wystrach & Jon Pardi 8. Torrence Thomas & Thurman Thomas 9. Carly Pearce 10. Kennedy Davenport, Jan Sport, Manila Luzon & Olivia Lux CLUBBY PARTY 11. Thomas Moratto & Matt Whitaker

12. Brian Cebrynski & Evan Floersch 13. Esther Deena & Rachel Deena

14. Sunnie Schwartz, Caitlyn Baughn & Olivia Diamond 15. Matt Whitaker, Lane Gibbs & Thomas Moratto

Savoring Time

By Kristin Armstrong Illustration by Wes Rowell Portrait

by Laura Doss

LAST SUMMER WE VACATIONED IN ITALY, RENTING A VILLA FOR family and some friends on the Amalfi coast. It was perched on the cliffs above Sorrento, with a negative edge pool that blended into sky and sea like a piece of art. The rooms surrounded a lush courtyard with statues and gardens, intimate seating areas tucked into spaces for late night cocktails and conversation, and best of all, an outdoor kitchen with a stove, oven, wood burning pizza oven and a long candlelit table on the covered patio with room for everyone we love.

We went out to eat a few times, but my favorite evenings were the ones we spent at home. We took cooking classes en masse and learned how to make gnocchi, pizzas and eggplant parmesan. There is something so satisfying about having multiple generations learning and working together — wine, conversation and laughter flowing — and sitting down to enjoy a feast of our own creation.

I wanted to freeze time, savor every moment like a decadent bite of pistachio gelato, letting it melt into me.

We forget to savor over here in our culture. We eat meals and live life with a get-it-done mentality most of the time. There is definitely something that gets lost in translation, in our manic hurry and frantic busyness. The preparation of good food, and the relationships to share it with, takes attention and time. Love is always the secret ingredient, and our culture could definitely use an infusion of amore

Nourishment is not just about food, although it is an important element. When we are not nourishing ourselves holistically, we can use food and drink to numb and distract, and as a placebo for comfort — much to our collective decline. We need to nourish our minds with good books, art, music and deep conversation. We need to nourish our emotions with connection, belonging, laughter and intimacy. We need to nourish our souls with practices that resonate — meditation, prayer, contemplation, gratitude, mindfulness and time in nature. We nourish our bodies with food and water, of course, but also with movement, rest, affection, sexuality and deeply breathing fresh air.

I journaled about this on the flight home from Italy. I wanted to remember the tastes, the beautiful cadence of the language, the colors and the gentle, river-like flow of time. I wanted to take the no hurry/no worry vacation feeling home with me and incorporate it into regular living. It’s funny how we think we have to go away to relax, enjoy and savor. I mean really, wherever we go, there we are.

Have you ever had a vacation where you were so stressed out with work or kids or life that you just “had to get away?” Or maybe you can relate to couples who live such hectic parallel lives that they are totally disconnected and need to go away to find each other again? These vacations usually take several days to decompress at the front end, and lose a couple days on the back end in tense preparation to return to regular life. That may, if we are afforded the luxury of a longer stay, allow for a couple days of rest, connection or enjoyment in the middle. If it’s just a weekend getaway, we are lucky to get a few peaceful hours of actual presence.

How much better, and more sustainable, to create a vacation presence in ordinary times? Even if we can’t technically make time, we do have the potential and the power to expand it. We can put our phones away. We can invite people over for dinner and linger at the table. We can arrange flowers in a vase and light some candles for a regular weekly dinner. We can get off social media and put more attention into cultivating our own lives than being voyeurs to another’s. We can take a walk together after dinner instead of watching Netflix. We can string some lights and clean up the yard and create a seating space worthy of connection.

We can bring more flavor into the ingredients of our regular life.

Life can be a banquet, or a drive thru. Choose.

the

Kiss Chef

12 KITCHEN ESSENTIALS EVERY AUSTIN HOME CHEF NEEDS

By Darcie Duttweiler

Bardo’s Bee Juice Honey

Bzz bzz. Owned by Sandra Bullock, Walton’s Fancy and Staple provides much more than just delicious sandwiches and baked goods. In addition to flower arrangements, you can also pick up some fun pantry staples. Sourced from California beehives located in citrus and avocado groves, Walton’s Fancy and Staple bottles this bee juice on site. Drizzle it in your tea, salad dressings or on peanut butter toast.

($15) waltonsfancyandstaple.com

Tatsu-Ya BBQ Ramen Bowl

Slurp your way to satisfaction with this festive ramen bowl from mini chain Tatsu-Ya, which includes artwork from Tokyo skateboarding graffiti artist ESOW.

($45) tatsu-ya.com

Fall Creek Vineyards 2021

Lescalo Rosé

Lower alcohol wines are so hot right now — especially when it’s also hot outside. This Fall Creek Vineyards’ 2021 Lescalo Rose is only 9.8% ABV, which also means lower calories. The lower alcohol content was created naturally by harvesting grapes from the vine earlier than usual. Lescalo Rose offers sweet peach, cherry and tangy citrus on the palette with a floral aftertaste. Perfect for sipping while whipping up your summer feast!

($20) fcv.com

Calibrate Wellness Infused Coconut Oil

Enjoy gourmet (and legal) cannabis products with this infused coconut oil — perfect for putting in your coffee or cooking and baking with. Calibrate Wellness, co-founded by Chef Nic Yanes (of Juniper, Uncle Nicky’s and Verbena) and Janice Omadeke, a former tech CEO of The Mentor Method, crafts delicious, gluten-free Delta-8 products with straightforward nutrition facts and dosing that allows consumers to feel good about what they put in their bodies.

($34.99) shopcalibrate.myshopify.com

Hardcore Carnivore Black Beef Seasoning

The best cuts of beef deserve the best seasonings, and local live fire cook, author, meat specialist and Meat Science grad student Jess Pryles knows a thing or two about meats. Her company Hardcore Carnivore sells six different types of seasoning flavors, but Pryles’ best-selling rub is perhaps the most gothic. The Black seasoning, with classic spices of garlic and coarse black pepper, contains food-grade activated charcoal made from coconut husks to create a beautiful contrast with medium-rare meats and helps build a bark that lets the meat do the talking.

($12.99) hardcorecarnivore.com

GelPro Designer Comfort Mat in Aged Wine

Give your feet and back a break while cooking with GelPro’s stylish mats. Manufactured out of Waco, this is comfort that looks as good as it feels. Fresh for spring is this limited design made in collaboration with chef and lifestyle influencer

Jennifer Maune.

($129.99) gelpro.com

Farmhouse Delivery Rancher Box

Choose between a six- and 12-pound box of selected meats from local ser vice Farmhouse Delivery. Each box contains a combination of pork, chick en, beef, seafood and/or wild game, and every piece of meat is sourced from small farms and ranches in Texas and farmed using the highest animal welfare rating standards with no added hormones or antibiotics ever. You’ll definitely taste the difference.

($69.99-$129.99) farmhousedelivery.com

plenty of custom knives for clients (albeit with a six-month waiting list), he also offers one-of-a-kind blades on his online shop. His 8-inch chef knives come in 440c stainless steel with dyed handles of various woods. They are as sharp and efficient as they are eye-catching. Even better: All Weige Knives are guaranteed for life for normal wear and tear and come with free sharpening for life.

($450) weigeknives.com

Salt Masters Isla Blanca Sea Salt

All savvy chefs know how to elevate their dishes with a finishing salt. Get a taste of Texas with this all-natural sea salt, which is hand-harvested off Padre Island from Gulf Coast seawater and dried by hand in small batches. The microplastic and iodine-free salt can only be found locally at East Austin butcher shop and restaurant Dai Due.

($13) daidue.com

Made In Hudson Green Collection Enameled Cast Iron Set

Stock your kitchen in one step with the heirloom-quality Enameled Cast Iron Set from Made In. The local cookware company sources its professional-grade cast iron from Northeast France, where craftsmen have been pouring the material since the early 1920s. This spring, the family-owned business partnered with Chef Brooke Williamson, winner of Bravo’s “Top Chef” Season 14 and owner of California restaurant Playa Provisions, to launch an extended collection of cookware in a custom-designed shade of green. Hudson Green is inspired by Williamson’s love of gardening and named after her son Hudson.

($549) madeincookware.com

El Naranjo Salsa Macha

This isn’t a jar of your normal TexMex salsa. Salsa macha is an oily, nutty, garlicky concoction that’s delicious in a plethora of different ways — as a finishing oil, as a condiment, in marinades or even as a dip. James Beard Award-winning Chef Iliana de la Vega packages her own version made from a complex seven-chile blend.

($20) elnaranjorestaurant.com

Savilino Kolstad Craftsman Apron

Keep your outfit clean — while looking fresh! — with this fancy canvas and denim apron from Savilino, a company that’s been outfitting Austin-area restaurants’ staff for more than 10 years.  ($125) savilino.com

Bird’s of a Feather

The evolution of Birdie’s, an East Austin natural wine bar and restaurant offering seasonal American cuisine

By Darcie Duttweiler

Photos by Brian Fitzsimmons

t’s now a well-known occurrence. Like clockwork, right before 4:30 p.m. a long line of people will start to form, snaking around a white brick building on the corner of East 12th and Harvey Streets. While corralling with other hungry patrons waiting for Birdie’s to open, it might tickle you to know that the fate of the super popular wine bar and French-Italian restaurant helmed by Chef Tracy Malechek-Ezekiel and husband Arjav was decided on a coin flip in their Brooklyn apartment.

You see, Tracy was from Tomball, which is near Houston, and was itching to get back to Texas, while Arjav wanted to open a restaurant in his hometown in Portland.

Prior to their Lone Star move, the now husband-and-wife duo met while opening Danny Meyer’s Untitled at the Whitney in New York City in 2015. Tracy was the sous chef and Arjav was the dining room manager. One night Tracy invited Arjav out for some negronis in their neighborhood and the hospitality pair chatted about maybe one day opening up their own restaurant together.

“Arjav suggested we get married, and we hadn’t even gone on one date yet,” Tracy laughs. “I had a huge crush on her!” Arjav admits. The rest, they say, is history. Well, anyone who’s been in the hospitality industry will tell you that opening up a new restaurant is never quite so easy. Owning and operating a restaurant is not only grueling — it’s expensive. Originally Argav and Tracy wanted to open a fine-dining Italian restaurant with a wood-burning oven, but the more they explored the Austin dining scene, the more they realized they wanted to open a neighborhood-style eatery that wasn’t an annual destination dinner.

“We wanted a place we could eat and drink at on a weeknight. It was as simple as that,” Tracy explains.

While Tracy wanted to create seasonal weather-driven fare inspired by France and Italy that would pair with natural wine by using the finest ingredients — Arjav jokes that the olive oil bill alone causes him discomfort — the team wanted to create something new to Austin that would keep diners coming back again and again and be sustainable for the owners as well as its staff.

So after doing some soul searching and research while saving up and working locally — Tracy as a pastry chef at Jeffrey’s and Arjav as a server at Olamaie — the duo took a trip to Los Angeles and were inspired by places like Sqirl and Destroyer, two restaurants serving elevated cuisine in a casual setting. Arjav wondered if it could be replicated for dinner and started toying with the idea of using a counter-service model instead of traditional table service as a way to cut back on costs to keep their money focused on the high-quality ingredients Tracy wanted to use.

The result was Birdie’s, which the duo deems “fine-casual” cuisine. Yes, you wait in line — typically with a glass of vino in hand — order your food and wine at the counter, and then find a seat inside at contemporary wooden tables designed by KKDW Studios or, more likely if the weather is cooperating, outside under their covered patio surrounded by crepe myrtles.

“We wanted the inside to feel like New York and the outside to feel like Austin,” says Arjav.

Your food will arrive as it’s prepared, and you can order more with roaming servers who fill up your glasses. The menu changes almost daily and definitely with the seasons heavier dishes in the winter and lighter dishes in the summer but there are a few that have stuck

around, like the steak tartare, soft-serve ice cream topped with the aforementioned expensive olive oil and the gooey chocolate chip cookie. The wine list curated by Arjav also typically changes with the season. Moral of the story? You’ll have to go back again and again and try new things but definitely order the tartare as it’s one of the best in town.

After debuting in July 2021, Birdie’s made a splash both locally and nationally. In the “New York Times” 2021 list of the 50 American restaurants they were “most excited about right now,” the article describes “Tracy Malechek-Ezekiel’s bright, graceful food … to be on the leading edge of what makes eating great in this booming town.” The article made the lines even longer.

As much as Birdie’s is focused on the guest experience, the restaurant is deeply focused on its staff and developing their careers. The pandemic only heightened this notion for the duo. Healthcare, mental health, living wages, paid days off and even parental leave became non-negotiable perks when it came time to hiring staff.

“We think it’s really important for people to be in a good mind, good health and good spirit, to make a restaurant a place that’s an enjoyable experience for our guests,” Arjav says.

In addition to the already ever-evolving menu, Tracy and her kitchen team also enjoy creating regular pop-ups, where they turn Birdie’s into a traditional Italian trattoria called Aiello’s, named after her grandfather, a French bistro popup in December, and coming this summer a Korean pop-up helmed by sous chef Heejae Galluccio.

“We discover a lot about ourselves as owners and restaurateurs,” Tracy says. “And the management team learns a lot about themselves, the service team, and the cooks learn a lot about their own abilities to change, be inspired to do different things and be themselves in a really important way.”

birdiesaustin.com

(L to R) Bill Koenig (Daren Kagasoff), Carol Mohring (Nick Hargrove), Marty Goode (Joe Jonas), Jesse Brown (Jonathan Majors), Bo Lavery (Spencer Neville), Tom Hudner (Glen Powell) and Dick Cevoli (Thomas Sadoski) in Columbia Pictures’ DEVOTION.

We wanted a place we could eat and drink at on a weeknight.

Turning Up The Heat

YELLOWBIRD SAUCE IS AN EXPLOSION OF FLAVOR

By Liz Harroun

Photos by Layla Mays

GEORGE MILTON AND ERIN LINK MET AT A PIANO BAR IN HOUSTON in 2011. George was playing music while working on his own album. Erin, on the other hand, was an in-house designer at a recycling company that, at the time, was a wholly owned subsidiary of Waste Management. Their creative minds complemented and inspired one another, and in 2012 they decided to build a venture together in Austin, a place that fosters entrepreneurship.

“The naivete of our twenty-something logic was adorable and, in the end, would be what ultimately helped launch this whole adventure,” Erin recalls.

Yellowbird started during this shared, dauntless season of life when the couple became fascinated by an unusual relationship: spicy peppers and birds. Specifically, George and Erin learned about a species of small yellow birds in Thailand that eat bird peppers, a variety of peppers that flavor their skin to protect from predators.

“Yellowbird is more a story of curiosity than anything else,” she says. “Curiosity for a plant that humans should, in all respects, avoid but we don’t.” They too felt alive, like the yellow birds, when they flavored their food with pepper-based sauces, and thus the namesake brand was born.

“If birds are responsible for propagating this seemingly in-

edible plant for their own continued nourishment then can I also feel just as alive when I eat it?” says Erin.

They wanted to make something flavorful yet healthy, funky yet elevated (kind of like them). Their curiosity led them to use spicy peppers—including jalapeños, habaneros and serranos—as their medium to create sauces in a variety of textures and heat levels. Each sauce is made with the purpose of elevating diverse dishes and to be enjoyed with food throughout regions and cultures.

Their current line-up of sauces holds true to that mission and boasts a huge variety of flavor profiles. The base for the sauces are fruits and vegetables, some sweetened with agave or cane sugar, others with organic dates. What you’ll never find in Yellowbird sauces are high-fructose corn syrup, GMOs or harmful additives. They are also gluten-free and vegan, so you can spice up your food and feel good that you’re not only adding flavor but goodness.

Yellowbird recently celebrated a big milestone, their 10-year anniversary, and they attribute much of their success over the past decade to the local establishments and people who believed in them from the start. The now-shuttered Gourmands Neighborhood Pub was the first restaurant to carry their sauces, while customers from Wheatsville Co-op and Whip In were also original Yellowbird adopters.

“Those first moments of getting the thing we made truly validated will stay with us the rest of our lives,” says George.

And then things really started heating up. In 2014, a buyer from Whole Foods Market offered them a chance, and then in 2017 Brian Koppelman put Yellowbird in his TV series, “Billions,” simply because he loves the Habanero flavor. The brand continued to grow throughout the years — but that also came with some hard times and persistence.

“I found that my years hustling as a musician had actually perfectly trained me for the unpaid, non-stop hustle of starting a business,” says George. “I had so much to learn about managing a business and being a leader, but being a musician absolutely got me ready for those early, lean years.” It was four years into the business when George and Erin were able to start paying themselves.

“The truth is that building a food brand is hard work,” says Erin. “The greatest highlight of all has been the opportunity to build an excellent team and an excellent place to work. When it comes to building something bigger than yourself, you can’t do it alone. Finding the right people has been the greatest and most rewarding challenge.” Erin’s education and experience in art and design were critical to her being able to build the company, especially the visual branding and packaging. “Each of us put our whole self into this project with the intent to give the world something better than what already existed—a better total experience,” she says. “Each of these elements aligned the way they were intended, due in no short part to our experience and taste.”

The brand is now used in restaurants and sold in retailers nationwide, including Whole Foods, Walmart, Kroger and Costco. Yellowbird just launched

a fresh new look for the Yellowbird mascot and hot sauce packaging, which is hard to miss on shelves, and don’t worry, the recipes are still the ones you know and love (with more coming!).

“We’re also always tooling around in the kitchen working on crazy new sauces, and we look forward to sharing only the very best ones with our fans,” says Erin.

These artists came together to create a brand that’s full of flavor and authenticity. When you want to spice up your food with some goodness, Yellowbird is the only way to go.  yellowbirdfoods.com

From Their Table to Yours

BRING THE FLAVOR HOME WITH PRODUCTS MADE BY LOCAL EATERIES

By Avery Matschek

AUSTIN HAS EMERGED AS A TOPnotch culinary destination thanks to the city’s bevy of talented chefs, and several of these culinary professionals have come up with products for diners to enjoy in the comfort of their own homes. Get inspired by the following ingredients, each one dreamt up by innovative chefs and restaurants, to whip up a show-stopping, home-cooked meal for friends and family.

FIL N’ VIET CRUNCHY CHILI OIL

Spice things up with Fil N’ Viet’s flavor-forward crunchy chili oil. Made with dried bird’s eye chili peppers and enhanced with seven aromatics, the oil is a perfect addition to dumplings, fried chicken, pizza, eggs and so much more. The tasty topping captures some of the magic of Fil N’ Viet, a husband-and-wife owned East Austin food trailer serving up a creative blend of Filipino and Vietnamese cuisines. filnviet.square.site

YOBO KISH

Created by Chef Kristin Kish, “Top Chef” winner and restaurateur behind The LINE’s Arlo Grey, Yobo Kish is a recently launched line of modern aperitifs that can be enjoyed on their own or mixed into imaginative cocktails. Kish made the all-natural, gluten-free drink in partnership with Yobo Soju to pay tribute to her Korean roots and balance out any meal with complex and unique flavor profiles. yobosoju.com

HUCKLEBERRY FISH BREADING

Huckleberry is a food truck serving up fresh seafood and ingredients sustainably sourced from local farms, ranches and coastal waters. Chef Davis Turner created his packaged breading using high-quality cornmeal, herbs and spices, and while it’s meant for use on fish, Turner also recommends trying it with vegetables. The breading is available for $8 at the Huckleberry truck — it’s time for a fish fry! huckleberrytx.com

OTOKO REVENGE OF THE THIRD SON SAKE

Otoko, the 12-seat Japanese omakase experience, launched their private sake label, Revenge of the Third Son, in 2022. Inspired by Otoko Head Chef Yoshi Okai, the sake is brewed at Higashiyama Brewery in Kyoto. Available by the glass at both Otoko and Watertrade, the intimate cocktail bar connected to Otoko, and with bottles ready for purchase, this sake will complement any meal in the restaurants or at home. otokoaustin.com

ABBY JANE BAKESHOP & BARTON SPRINGS MILL FLOURS

When you make a visit to Abby Jane Bakeshop in Dripping Springs, expect to find expertly made baked goods, along with a variety of heritage flours from Barton Springs Mill. The bakery is actually located inside the mill, making it a one-stop shop for getting inspiration for the amazing treats you can make at home using the stone-milled flours, which are also available for purchase online. abbyjanebakes.com

TRULUCK’S SEASONINGS

Diners have been visiting Truluck’s for fresh seafood and amazing service for years, and now, they can take the restaurant’s flavors home with their line of essential seasonings. Offerings include Truluck’s Blackened Seasoning, Superior Steak Seasoning and Garlic & Herb Seasoning, with each hand-crafted variation elevating any home-cooked meal to new heights. trulucks.com

PICNIK CANNED COCKTAILS

Picnik is upping the canned cocktail game with their hand-crafted to-go alcoholic bevs, which feature clean ingredients, adaptogens and superfoods. Boozy options include the Pitaya Margarita, a signature cocktail dressed up with bright dragonfruit and raw honey, and the Picnik Mule, a ginger-forward take on the classic drink, featuring turmeric to add health benefits. picnikrestaurants.com

KERBEY LANE CAFE PANCAKE MIX

Complete your weekend mornings with Kerbey Lane Cafe’s Pancake Mix, available in Buttermilk, Lemon Poppy Seed, Gluten Free Gingerbread and Gluten Free Apple Cinnamon. Simply add egg, oil and water and you’ll have light and fluffy pancakes or waffles in no time. This is a true family favorite, just like the iconic family-owned café behind the mix! Kerbey Lane pancake mixes are sold at retailers like Walmart, Central Market and H-E-B, but are not sold at Kerbey Lane Cafe locations. kerbeylanecafe.com

If you’ve ever eaten out in Austin, there is a good chance you’ve met something Savilino has made. Serving over 75 of the best restaurants, hotels, and businesses in Austin alone, the team at Savilino designs and manufactures custom aprons, uniforms, leather goods, and more for the hospitality industry. And while Austin has proven to be rich with opportunity for this growing local business, their clientele actually spans from coast to coast and beyond. Through their unique approach to form and practicality, Savilino creates items that enhance the guest experience while simultaneously elevating the staff and brands that use them.

“We imagine this immersive table-sized world that both guests and staff inhabit together for a couple hours as they interact with one another. We like to add all the little details that make that experience special, from the uniforms and aprons the chefs and servers wear, to the menus and check presenters the diners hold in their hands. These things should be beautiful, well made, and functional” explains Chris Savittiere, owner and designer at Savilino. The team at Savilino is also known for helping businesses with other items, including upholstery, décor, and random creative requests. “Most of all, we are a business built around establishing a deeper relationship with our clients beyond just being a vendor for quality goods. Our goal is to determine what you do, what you need, and how we

can help make that happen in the best possible way.”

There are very few limitations in the Savilino approach to supplying clients with finished goods. When it comes to aprons and uniforms, their formula combines designing from scratch, customizing their own in-house collections, or simply sourcing readymade garments and altering them as needed, to meet the client’s vision. Similarly, their leather goods are a mix of bespoke and stock items customizable in countless ways. Zoom out, and you’ll see Savilino as a one-stop-shop for businesses wanting to successfully dial-in that “table-sized world”.

For those who want to own a piece of Savilino craftsmanship, they have expanded their offerings to home chefs and diners alike. With the recent release of their new website and online store, you can currently find collections of design-forward, industry-grade aprons. Over the course of 2023, their product lines will broaden to include table settings and other dining and kitchen gear in true Savilino style.

Check out their entire program at www.savilino.com

Trust Your Gut

By Liz Harroun Photos courtesy of Culina Yogurt

IFIRST MET ERIN ASAAD AT A LOCAL FARMER’S MARKET IN 2017. At the time, I was not eating gluten, dairy or sugar due to gut issues, so when she gave me a sample of the coconut yogurt she was selling, it was bliss. I hadn’t had yogurt in months or a brand like this ever. When I learned the impetus for creating Culina was her own similar gut issues, I was intrigued.  While I didn’t see Erin in person again until meeting for this interview recently, I continued to follow the brand. Soon I saw Culina for sale at Whole Foods, and then Sprouts. I saw the recipes, pack-

aging and brand aesthetic evolve to what it is today. And I continued to buy it along the way, because it truly is just that good. It’s thick, tangy and flavorful — with clean ingredients and creative flavors like sour cherry almond and mango orange blossom.

Erin grew up and went to college in Georgia but moved to New York City as soon as she graduated. However, she soon realized the Big Apple wasn’t for her and quickly came to Austin, where her boyfriend (now husband) Blake was living.

“I really love Austin,” she says. “The city is so focused on health and wellness, and it’s just an easy place to be in when you’re in your 20s and trying to figure out life, whereas New York is a grind.”

When she moved here, she quickly found a job as a server at a now-shuttered restaurant called Bacon, which served up bacon-themed classics in its downtown location.

“It was the one job where I felt like I could wake up and go to work at 6 a.m. and be happy,” Erin recalls. “I loved being around food.” She started to refine her own culinary and recipe-making skills at that job. In her free time, she’d experiment in the kitchen and even created a bacon cookie recipe that became a popular menu item. However, she eventually transitioned to a full-time position in the oil and gas industry. But a couple years into that career, she found herself having some serious gut health issues and knew it was time to address them, which included cutting out gluten, sugar and dairy from her diet.

CULINA YOGURT IS A COCONUT-BASED YOGURT THAT’S SO GOOD YOUR FRIENDS WILL STEAL IT OUT OF YOUR FRIDGE

Before Erin started her elimination diet, her best friend’s mom, who is Persian, taught her how to make traditional yogurt, which is used abundantly in Persian cooking. Erin decided to try the same technique but with coconut cream instead of milk. To her surprise, it came out thick and fluffy. And while she has continued to tinker and scale the recipe, this original experiment remains the basis for Culina today.

When Erin realized that nothing out there existed like what she was making, she felt compelled to bring it to the world. The only non-dairy yogurts on the market at that time were soy-based, with poor flavor and texture.

Erin was managing her full-time role in the oil and gas industry while selling her yogurt at farmers markets around town on the weekends. She’d drive to the commercial kitchen up north every day after work to start a new batch, where it would ferment overnight, and go back the next day to mix it up and make the fruit flavorings. She would then hand pour the yogurts into containers that would be sold at the farmers markets that weekend. Blake would help her at the farmers market and make delivers, so they were in it together from the start.

“I’m just very into eating healthy, and I feel like the farmers market is definitely the source of where you’re gonna find the most up-andcoming and probably most authentic sources of food in your community,” says Erin, who still frequents multiple farmers markets each weekend to stock up on food for the week.

One day, a woman named Kelly Landrieum, who worked at Whole Foods, came up to her stand. Kelly was a big fan of the product and went on to give Erin feedback on how to take it to the next level, including changing the packaging and making the texture more consistent. While it took a lot of work and iterations, after about two

years Culina did get Whole Foods distribution in 2019, soon followed by Sprouts. Around this time, Erin was also able to quit her full-time job to work on the brand.

They had to transition from hand-packing to working with their first contract packager because a bigger facility was needed with the ramp in volume. And scaling the recipe was more complicated than she had anticipated. At this time, the terracotta cups she’d been using for packaging started absorbing the yogurt. They had initially chosen these cups because an early mentor of Erin’s had said the packaging had to be interesting in order to make the brand successful. Looking back, Erin probably would not have chosen such an expensive and niche packaging when her product was unique enough in itself.  However, at the time, she was only concerned with the money and momentum they were losing from the issue. Products on shelves had no yogurt in them since the clay was absorbing it all. It was a chaotic time, and Culina was at risk of

losing the new distribution. But ultimately, they were able to move to different containers within a month and kept most of their momentum.

The brand didn’t have money for marketing or promotions, so they instead focused on getting to know store employees and educating them on the yogurt — and in turn they’d recommend it to customers. Once people tried it, they often came back for more, so the initial grass roots, wordof-mouth marketing worked well for them, and Whole Foods continued to put the yogurt into more stores until it was sold nationwide.

All of the yogurts are made without additives or gums, which can cause digestive issues for some people. The flavors are crafted with fruit and maple syrup along with pure essential oils that come together as elevated versions of more traditional yogurt flavors (think strawberry rose and blueberry lavender). The most popular, however, is the bourbon vanilla, which uses the most expensive and flavorful vanilla, which they source from Madagascar.

“People forgot what vanilla is supposed to taste like because most of the vanilla used is really low-quality or fake vanilla flavor,” she says. “And so when people try ours, they’re like, ‘Oh my god, this is what vanilla should taste like.’”

The team now has around seven people, one of which is Blake, who runs sales. “You cannot let anything fester, and there’s this constant bonding that’s happening,” Erin says of running a business with your spouse. “It’s made us a lot closer, and we love being together all day long.”

Through it all, Erin has followed her intuition and put in hard work. While there have been plenty of ups and downs, she feels grateful to be running a company that’s filling a unique consumer need with consciously made, dairy-free yogurts.

culinayogurt.com

Table for Two

AUSTIN-BASED

By Carolynn Solorio

Photos courtesy of inKind

IT’S A SCENE ALL TOO FAMILIAR. YOU HAVE A CRAVING FOR SOME local eats, but no idea where to start. Wouldn’t it be great if a phone notification told you where to go for dinner instead? With inKind, that’s the ease consumers can expect, as local vendors are highlighted through deals, perks and more through the app’s subscription pass.

As the city grows, so does its residents’ appetite for fresh, exciting places to eat. This competitive atmosphere makes for great food posts on Instagram, but creates an unforgiving market for restaurant investors and owners. That’s where inKind steps in, with its unique model that’s mutually beneficial for Austin’s local businesses and the foodies that regularly enjoy them. Carly Polay of the company’s corporate team explains that inKind is committed to investing in and generating business for local vendors, and making sure that their success sticks.

If you’re like me, you think the fewer apps overwhelming your home screen the better. But inKind doesn’t clutter your phone with distracting alerts or an annoying buzz; it gives you discounts on great places to eat in town and across the country. Users can choose either the inKind House Account Program or the inKind Pass — and both options offer bonuses to spend at any restaurant that is partnered with the app.

“Simply put, consumers save money when they dine with the inKind app,” Polay says, “and when Austinites choose to use inKind, it benefits both consumers and the restaurants.”

The benefits aren’t just financial, either. Behind the app’s success are a team of entrepreneurial minds that seem to have finally cracked the code to making both guests and restaurant owners happy, and the key is the unique relationship between establishment and consumer that the inKind system cultivates. Eating with inKind is easy — you can discover new places, view menus, book reservations, split checks and purchase gift cards all from the app. In a busy city that’s always moving, it’s nice to know that there’s finally a place that lets Austinities support local businesses with ease. In fact, it’s the generation of loyal customers for local restaurants that is at the center of inKind’s mission.

When asked about how Austin restaurants can rely on consistent support from inKind users, Polay highlights that “as more consumers and restaurants join inKind, these network effects strengthen both ends of the local restaurant ecosystem.” The more people join the app, the more people purchase food vouchers to redeem at local eateries, and the more likely all your favorite local businesses stay open. “It’s a win-win model for both operators and consumers,” says Polay.

Because the company has roots in the city, inKind partners reflect the desires of the locals who visit them.

“For inKind to be able to sell credit to a restaurant,” Polay says, “consumers must want to go there.” So the standards are high and the selections are curated, ensuring that “no matter where you dine with inKind, you’ll always find a great restaurant experience.”

Their continued investment in local businesses is what sets inKind apart from other experience coupon services, and what makes it such a great fit for Austin spaces. Not only should it be your new go-to app for a good meal, but the vouchers inKind offers can also be redeemed across town — your favorite coffee shop, cafe or bar are probably partners, too! Notable spots that can be found through the app include Paperboy, TenTen, Valentina’s and so much more. The company even owns and operates two dining spaces of their own, Ember Kitchen and Subterra Agave Bar, based on the same principles of continuity and customer satisfaction.

As high-rises pop up where old spots used to be, and favorite restaurants are bulldozed for parking lots, it’s getting harder for Austinites to support local businesses. We’re always interested in something new, but we want to help make it last. With inKind, that mission is a tangible, sustainable reality and lets locals extend support in ways that make restaurant owners and operators feel secure. So if you’re a local like me, who’s trying to cling to things that last in a city that’s always changing, you’ll download inKind and book a table today.

inkind.com

APP INKIND IS THE ULTIMATE FOODIE’S DREAM, ALLOWING USERS TO DISCOVER NEARBY RESTAURANTS, MAKE RESERVATIONS AND RECEIVE DINING PERKS ALL IN ONE PLACE.

SOMETHIN’ TO TACO ’BOUT

Enjoy regional tacos from all over Mexico and Texas without leaving Austin

By Darcie Duttweiler

Illustrations by Bryan Spear

Rio Grande Valley: Con Todo 

Must Order Taco: Bistec estilo Matamoros

Joseph Gomez brings the Rio Grande Valley to Austin at his bright pink food truck Con Todo parked at Celis Brewery. Tacos come “con todo,” or with everything, including cilantro, onions and salsa. Order the bistec estilo Matamoros (beef topped with onion, cilantro, guacamole and queso fresco), which although named for Brownsville’s across-the-border neighbor, has roots in the Lone Star State where it’s typically served with avocado instead.  contodotacos.com

Mexico City: Cuantos Tacos 

Must Order Taco: Suadero

The Mexico City-style tacos at Cuantos are diminutive in size but not in flavor. Thankfully their dainty stature makes it easy to consume a whole plateful and not feel overly stuffed. Nestled into the Arbor Food Park, this food truck is dishing up traditional tacos of suadero, lengua, longaniza, buche, champiñones and so much more on top of Nixtamal corn tortillas. Grab at least three tacos — don’t skip the suadero, a thinly cut beef.  cuantostacosaustin.com

El Paso: El Perrito ATX

Must Order Taco: ELP

Ivan Enriquez is serving El Paso’s iconic rolled tacos — also known as taquitos ahogados, which come drowned in a tomato-chile sauce and covered with a generous helping of cheddar cheese and a smattering of salsa verde — out of his food truck in South Austin.  elperritoatx.com

Northern Mexico: Discada 

Must Order Taco: Discada

If you are going to do one thing, do it well. Discada takes this notion to heart by offering a solitary type of taco hailing from Northern Mexico. Decide on orders of three, five or eight of the pork-and-beef tacos cooked on a discada — traditionally a round plow blade used as griddle, also known as a cowboy wok.  discadatx.com

Oaxaca: El Naranjo 

Must Order Taco: Cochinita Pibil

James Beard Award-winning Chef Iliana de la Vega draws on inspiration from her former internationally acclaimed restaurant in Oaxaca while also drawing upon the rich traditions throughout Mexico. Nowhere is this better apparent than her heirloom corn tortillas, which are the perfect vessels for decadent moles and comforting cochinita pibil.  elnaranjorestaurant.com

Guadalajara: Sabor Tapatio

Must Order Taco: Barbacoa Taco

“Tapatio” means “someone or something from Guadalajara,” which is the state capital of Jalisco in Mexico. So, needless to say, you’re getting a taste of Guadalajara with this South Congress trailer’s dishes, especially their barbacoa tacos. The lightly fried corn tortillas are filled with barbacoa and served with cilantro, onion and guacamole sauce, and served with a dipping consommé.  sabortapatio-restaurant.business.site

South Texas: Vaquero Taquero

Must Order Taco: Al Pastor

This taqueria may serve some of the best breakfast tacos in town, but it’s equally as well known for its succulent al pastor pork made on the trompo (vertical roasting spit). Daniel and Miguel Cobbs, two brothers who grew up in the Rio Grande Valley and Monterrey, Mexico, are serving their South Texas flavors at two locations: downtown and near the UT Austin campus.  vaquerotaquero.com

West Texas: Texsueño 

Must Order Taco: Crispy Beef Taco

Recently relocated from East Sixth Street to Fierce Whiskers Distillery, this food truck is the brainchild of West Texas native Brandon Martin, who freshly fries nixtamalized corn tortillas and lovingly stuffs them with ground beef, chopped lettuce, cheese and onions. It’s nostalgia in a perfect bite.  texsueno.com

Baja: Ensenada

Must Order Taco: Fish Taco

Landlocked Austin may not be known for its fish tacos, but that hopefully will be changing soon if mother-daughter Baja California natives Liz Everett and Stephanie Everett Martin have anything to do with it. Order crispy fried fish or shrimp tacos, both which come covered in pico de gallo and cabbage. Don’t skip the salsa macha condiment!  instagram.com/ensenadatx

Michoacán: Carnitas El Güero

Must Order Taco: Carnitas

Pro tip: If it’s in the name, you should probably order it. The traditional carnitas michoacanas from Gustavo Reyes are so popular that “El Güero” now has five Austin-area locations (plus one each in San Antonio and Mexico City). Pork carnitas (made from multiple cuts) are slowly cooked in lard in a cazo, a gigantic pot in the middle of the kitchen, similar to French-style confit cooking. Even better: The Lamar Blvd hotspot allows you to get your carnita taco fix until 2 a.m.  carnitaselguero.com

Central Texas: Valentina’s Tex Mex BBQ 

Must Order Taco: Real Deal Holyfield

The Central Texas spirit of barbecue co-mingles with Mexican-American flavors at this South Austin joint from Miguel Vidal. While the menu is split up into “Tex” and “Mex,” as well as offers smoked meats by the pound, the absolute star of the show is the breakfast taco Real Deal Holyfield, which is only offered until 11 a.m. This beauty is served on a flour tortilla with a fried egg, refried beans, bacon and your choice of beef fajita, pulled pork, or, our favorite smoked brisket.  valentinastexmexbbq.com

VoChill Out

IN A CITY FULL OF INNOVATION, A SEEMingly typical trip to Grove Wine Bar in Westlake resulted in an idea that that’s now enhancing wine tasting experiences for people around the world. Lisa and Randall Pawlik are the founders of VoChill, a product that’s now an Oprah’s Favorite Things and a “Shark Tank” hit.

While sitting on the patio at the Grove, due to Austin’s sometimes scorching temperatures, the couple noticed their wine flights were getting warm before they had the chance to enjoy them.

“You’re supposed to taste through the wine flight and experience and enjoy it,” says Lisa. “I wished there was something my glass could just rest in to stay chilled. Randall and I ended up talking about it the rest of the night.”

The Pawliks, with Lisa as a native Austinite and Randall as an Austinite of 30 years, went home and started researching, learning that there was nothing like what they were conceptualizing on the market. The only products involved things for consumers to put in wine like ice cubes or a tumbler.

“There’s a reason why there’s a wine glass,” says Lisa. “I don’t care if you are spending ten dollars on a bottle or a hundred dollars on a bottle, it’s more enjoyable to drink out of a glass.”

To create something that didn’t compromise wine, yet kept it at a desirable temperature, Randall, who had taken a design course at MIT years ago, got to work and started using freezer packets similar to ketchup packet as a prototype, along with computer models. “Randall is the industrial designer of the product. We are pretty proud of that,” says Lisa. “We have other mechanical engineers, but he was able to design the entire product.”

By Britni Rachal

A product that’s now only three years old, the Pawliks launched VoChill in June 2020, during a time when most people were staying at home.

Photo courtesy of VoChill

ENTREPRENEURIAL HUSBAND-WIFE DUO RANDALL AND LISA PAWLIK INTRODUCE A NEW WAY FOR LOCAL WINE LOVERS TO KEEP COOL

“We were maybe adding a little bit of enjoyment to people’s wine consumption at home,” says Lisa. “This forced us to focus all our efforts online and go directly to the consumer.”

Today VoChill is also available for wholesale purchase, at independent retailers, on eCommerce sites, at wineries and in restaurants. In some cases, wineries are using VoChill as a “try before you buy” experience. Meierstone Vineyards and Texas Hills proudly boast the product in Stonewall and Johnson City.

“My wine is one hundred percent grapes, and all merchandise we sell in the tasting room are from Texas vendors, so VoChill is a perfect fit for our brand,” says Meierstone Vineyards owner, Krystal Patel. “Most people have seen bottle chillers but once the wine goes in your glass, it gets hot. I love sharing the story of VoChill with my customers. They get really excited about it, especially once they hold it and see how easily it comes apart and doesn’t take a lot of space in their freezer.”

Two types of chillers in seven different colors each exist currently — one chiller for a stemmed wine glass and one stemless chiller. The stemmed wine glass chiller launched first, followed by the creation of the stemless chiller a year and a half later. For best results, it’s recommended to place each chiller in the freezer for at least three hours before using. Then for the stemmed chiller, simply attach the cradle to the stand to place your glass inside. It’s held together with strong magnets that also allow for ease to take apart and reassemble. All VoChill products are proudly made in the USA.

“We have a product that’s never been made before, so we wanted to be sure that as we went through the design and development and creation and production, we were able to work out any potential problems very quickly and make sure there was not going to be a time or language barrier,” says Lisa.

“It continued to be a good thing because of the lockdowns happening overseas,” says Randall. “And all the logistical and shipping problems happening ever since. It’s been a benefit to having everything in the USA.”

Another thing some people may not realize about the product is that it’s good for all types of wine, including red. While red is typically consumed at a warmer, less chilled temperature, the Pawliks recommend using the products on all wine.

“When we first started introducing the product to sommeliers, that was their first reaction — how incredible it is for reds,” says Lisa. “So many people drink their reds at room temperature, but red wines should also be served slightly chilled. Even down to 50-55 degrees for a Pinot Noir or a lighter bodied red.”

A side-by-side test is recommended by the company. Wine enthusiasts can pour a temperature red and then pour another glass with a VoChill and see the difference. Potentially a small difference

in one degree can have a major impact on the tasting experience. “Another unique feature about our product is that you can control the temperature,” says Randall. “You can manage the temperature to your liking. You can leave the glass in the product longer to let it chill down more or you can simply take it out of the VoChill to let it warm up some so you can control it.”

This is different from other products on the market, which would require consumers to take something out of the glass or put something in it to modify temperatures.

“The product is best used anywhere you are sipping on a glass — by the stovetop preparing dinner, on the patio or watching Netflix. Cleaning the house. Chasing your children. You can use it like a coaster and come back to it an hour later and your wine will still be perfectly chilled. For me, with my children, it’s my little reliable moment of bliss when I come back to the wine and it’s still chilled an hour later,” says Lisa.

An entrepreneurial spirit within Austin is something the Pawliks credit with also helping their rapid success.

“It’s a great place to launch a business. For entrepreneurs I just don’t think there’s a better city to be in,” says Lisa. “People are open to ideas, and they will listen, and they don’t think you are crazy. Everyone is willing to help, and that’s one thing we are grateful for even from the very early days.”

“A lot of other places and cities other people may say, ‘Ehh, maybe that won’t work,’” says Randall. “Instead, here, it’s, ‘You want to do that … let me introduce you to this person.’”

The couple plans to pay everything forward and is already working to mentor other business owners and help them connect with other people who could be of help.

“We received a lot of help along the way, and a lot of times people don’t realize how much a seemingly meaningless conversation to them can do for someone else,” says Lisa. “We will always pay it forward, and we are excited for our kids to grow up in Austin. We have a five-year-old and a seven-yearold, and for them to be part of the city here and to know and feel like the sky is the limit, that’s pretty unique.”

Passion is another factor for the couple — who loved wine long before VoChill’s creation. Both Lisa and Randall used to plan vacations around wine, often traveling to the best European spots for wine and becoming part of wine clubs.

“People often ask us what our favorite wine is,” says Lisa. “We don’t have one — it’s all about the ones we haven’t tried.”

For the Pawliks, VoChill is about a strong interest in wine — and a desire for something better, a way to keep wine chilled, straight from the glassware that it’s meant to be served and tasted in.

vochill.com

SOUL FOOD FOR ALL

Chef Amanda Turner’s journey to Olamaie, which celebrates inclusivity and diversity through cuisine

By Liz Harroun

Photos by Weston Carls

he life of a chef might look glamorous or romantic, but anyone who has worked in the service industry knows it’s mostly hard work and long nights. Amanda Turner began her culinary career when her plans to go to art school fell through due to financial constraints. She had been working as a lead server and trainer at an Olive Garden for three years in Tyler, Texas, but knew it was time to move on, even if it wasn’t to study art.

“When I asked to move to culinary, I was shut down by my then culinary manager who said I wasn’t qualified because I was a woman and didn’t speak Spanish,” says Turner. “That really irked me, so I began researching culinary schools and that’s how I wound up at Le Cordon Bleu Austin in 2009.”

In January 2010, Amanda started staging, working for free in the kitchen, at Uchi on a weekly basis to learn the ropes. She was getting great experience there, picking up more and more shifts, while also cooking at the University of Texas’ Jester Hall as well as the original East Side King at The Liberty.

“I was still in culinary school and balancing three jobs,” she says. “It was a lot! Let’s just say, I didn’t sleep much during this era, but I was young and super excited about cooking so I kept pushing.”

One day when she came in for her stage at Uchi, the woman who usually ran the station wasn’t there, which Amanda later found out had been planned as a test for her. Amanda ran the station by herself for the first time.

“It was maybe one of the most terrifying things I’ve ever done but I knew I had been training for this,” she recalls. “So I leaned in and just put my head down all night and worked. At the end of the night the sous chef had the entire kitchen applaud me and I was so happy!”

Soon after, she excitedly accepted a job on the opening team of Uchiko. Opening Uchiko while still attending culinary school was extremely difficult, especially because she ended up on the sauté station, one typically reserved for the most experienced cooks. While she enjoyed her time there, she realized it wasn’t the best fit, returning to East Side King in a full-time role.

“Those were the pirate cooking days,” she says. “The shifts were long and hard, and we were busy! South by Southwest at East Side King still remains some of the hardest services of my

life yet I made so many great friends working in the trailer and I learned a lot about myself.”

Meanwhile, Phillip Speer, the culinary director of Uchi Restaurant group at that time, was coming into East Side King trying to recruit Amanda to come back to work for them. Needing more stimulation, she eventually said yes, returning to the flagship Uchi location to work under chef Speer in pastry, something she’d been wanting to learn. She then went on to run the production team for a couple of years, eventually becoming a lead line cook.  During this exciting time, Amanda helped with the opening of Uchi Houston, as well as research and development for both St. Phillip and Loro, and put many dishes on the menu. She also won a company-wide cooking competition and was on Chef Tyson Cole’s team that won the very first Rock Your Taco at the Austin Food & Wine Festival.

She was getting a bit restless and knew it was time to move again, this time to Odd Duck, where she ended up running the baking program for two years. Now with a decent amount of management experience, she was ready to become a sous chef. Since Odd Duck didn’t have any openings, she accepted a sous chef position at a new Italian restaurant opening on the east side, Juniper. There she worked with mostly Uchi alumni and eventually was promoted as chef de cuisine. During that time, she also won a Ment’or Grant for continuing culinary education, which allowed her to work in Japan for four months in 2018.

“I learned a lot about Japanese culture and technique, but also a ton about true hospitality,” says Turner. “For that experience I have nothing but gratitude.”

Shortly after she returned to the U.S. and Juniper, Amanda won the 2019 CultureMap Tastemaker Award for Rising Star Chef. She then moved on to work as the chef de cuisine at Jester King Brewery, where she reinstated their hearth sourdough program.

During the pandemic, working in the restaurant industry became a whole new game. Amanda had accepted a new job at Tatsu-Ya restaurant group right before COVID started shutting places down. And while she got to work on some interesting projects there amid the pandemic, she wanted to return to farm-to-table restaurants. Michael Fojtasek, owner of MaieB Hospitality and a friend of Amanda’s, was working on re-opening Olamaie, a restaurant serving up thoughtful Southern cuisine. When his long-time chef decided to relocate during the pandemic, he reached out to Amanda to see if she would be interested in taking on the role.

“It was really a timing thing for me as I was starting to think about what my next steps would be,” she says. “I thought it would be a good fit, and it has been. I have a lot of freedom at Olamaie, and Chef Michael is very supportive of me and my vision.”

Amanda also loves the team at Olamaie, including the hard-working cooks. Leading such a renowned restaurant has been both challenging and fulfilling. “There is a high lev-

WE ARE TRYING OUR VERY BEST TO CONTINUE TO MAKE OLAMAIE ONE OF THE BEST RESTAURANTS IN AUSTIN

el of expectation that comes alongside managing such a place,” she adds. “We are trying our very best to continue to make Olamaie one of the best restaurants in Austin, if not Texas and beyond.”

Olamaie serves up farm-fresh Southern food rooted in tradition but infused with contemporary culinary concepts. Think beef tartare with pickled beets, spring herbs and flowers. Or “Gumbo Z’Herbes” with smoked black pearl mushrooms, greens and calico rice.

Amanda was named a James Beard semifinalist for Emerging Chef, as well as the Rising Star Chef of the Year for Austin’s Tastemaker Awards in 2022. She is proud to represent Austin as well as her heritage as a biracial, black-identifying woman. She recognizes the importance of people like her having leadership and visibility, which is why she takes on opportunities that allow her to speak about inequities in the industry. Olamaie’s kitchen team is almost 50 percent women and femme

and also prioritizes overall inclusivity and racial diversity.

“The more people are able to see someone like me succeeding, I think it helps to go a long way to inspire others that are in similar situations,” she says. “We have a long way to go in terms of making kitchens equitable for everyone, and I want to keep working towards helping that in whatever way I can.”

olamaieaustin.com

Made With Love

THESE LOCAL VENDORS MAKE ETHICAL, DELICIOUS CHOCOLATE THAT IS SURE TO RELIEVE YOUR CONFECTIONERY CRAVING

By Liz Harroun

THE CONSUMPTION OF CHOCOLATE CAN BE TRACED to the Olmec people of southern Mexico when they began eating the fruit off cacao trees more than 3,000 years ago. Soon after, the Mayans and Aztecs also began revering and using cacao.

Cacao arrived in Spain in the 1500s and quickly became a sought-after indulgence enjoyed by royalty. The chocolate craze quickly spread overseas throughout Europe, resulting in a global chocolate phenomenon. Meanwhile, Europeans created their

own versions of chocolate drinks, typically reserved for the upper class. Later in the 19th century, companies like Nestle and Lindt started bringing varieties of chocolate bars to the mass market.

Nowadays, most chocolate is highly processed and mass-produced, and much of it still comes at a cost with cocoa farmers relying on unethically sourced labor to make ends meet. Fortunately, if you do want to enjoy chocolate, there are many local Austin brands that are doing right by the environment and communities who make chocolate production possible.

THIRD EYE

thirdeyecacao.com

Third Eye Cacao was started by Neil Dumra and Ash Sumida. Both have backgrounds in integrative and metaphysical healing arts, as well as business and product development. Their mutual passions for cacao and community, however, is what led them to opening Third Eye Meditation Lounge & Elixir Bar. Their physical location off South Lamar is a meditation lounge and elixir bar that offers house-made treats that incorporate their cacao and ceremonial cacao drinks.

The cacao is sourced exclusively from biodynamic and permaculture farms, and then cold crumbled into a powder without removing the fat. They are able to retain all of the properties of cacao through the use of a homogenizer, invent-

Photo by Layla Mayes

ed by Neil himself. It uses sound and vibration to make the cacao liposomal, which means it’s much easier for the body to absorb all of its nutrients and benefits.

“I hope to show that you can find yourself, your heart, and your community with the power of cacao and connection,” says Neil.

You can also find Third Eye’s cacao on their website and other like-minded Austin hubs including Kuya, Lizard Yoga and Flow Yoga on Westgate Lane.

JOAIHÚ joaihu.com

Joaihú is named after a word meaning “to love and be loved,” taken from an extinct language spoken by the Tupi aboriginal people of Brazil. Austin-based CEO and co-founder Kate Robberson fell in love with the Bahia coastal forests of Brazil while traveling in her 20s and then, by fate, was reconnected to this region with her current leadership position at Joaihú.

“I never thought, ‘Oh, I’m gonna grow up and run a chocolate company,’” she says. “But it was really more of everything falling under the umbrella of how I’ve decided to live my life, which is living in harmony with the earth and putting the quality of life and nourishment of both people and our planet first.”

The cacao fruit they use is not grown on a traditional farm but rather on a rainforest preserve amid dense biodiversity. By buying Joaihú chocolate, available at Central Market and on their website, not only are you getting to experience the magic of this beautiful region in Brazil, you are also supporting its restoration as well as the surrounding communities.

MADHU

madhuchocolate.com

Harshit Gupta and Elliott Curelop began making chocolate in their Austin kitchen after returning from a trip to India, inspired by all of the wonderful Indian desserts, so full of flavor

powered by flowers and spices.

“I remember asking why these flavors aren’t mainstream in the U.S.,” recalls Elliott. “We thought maybe if it was something like a flavored chocolate they could be more open to new tastes.”

Madhu began in 2018 when the duo began selling their homemade bars at the Mueller Farmers Market. With unforeseen demand and support from the local community, they have experienced amazing growth over the past five years.

In 2022, their Idukki Black Pepper bar won the Good Food Award, which recognizes food crafters who are making exceptional products that also meet their high environmental and social responsibility standards. Madhu chocolate is currently sold in 150 stores throughout the country. In the Austin area, you can find Madhu at Whole Foods Market, Central Market, Salt & Time, Fresh Plus, Thom’s Market, Tiny Grocer and more.

SRSLY

srslychocolate.com

SRSLY makes bean-to-bar chocolate in South Austin in the same facility as Third Coast Coffee Roasting Company. Joe Lozano, owner of both Third Coast and SRSLY, has been in the coffee industry for decades so he already knew how to roast coffee and source fair trade, organic beans.

“A lot of the cooperatives we buy coffee from are also trying to sell cacao,” he says “It’s a really hard market because there aren’t that many people that are willing to pay a price for a fairtrade product. Fair Trade is how they sustain themselves. So for me, it’s a win-win.”

He gets to buy ethical, quality coffee and chocolate while the farmers get a premium for following better practices. You have to roast cacao beans at lower temperatures than coffee beans because they will melt at higher temperatures. And then, after the shells are removed, the nibs are churned for about a week until they

become a smooth paste. The result is an exquisite chocolate that can be found in retailers throughout Austin, including Central Market and Whole Foods, as well as online.

INTERO

interorestaurant.com/specialty-chocolate

Krystal Craig, co-owner and chocolatier at Austin’s Intero, is a true artist. When I met her at Intero one morning, prepping amid a busy week for South by Southwest, she seemed so comfortable and authentic as she boxed up chocolates and chatted with other restaurant employees getting ready for the big day ahead.

Krystal, who grew up in Austin, had parents who first sparked her interest in chocolate. Her mom took her to visit Ghirardelli’s Chocolate Factory when they’d visit San Francisco and her dad baked with her every Sunday. However, it was during a trip to Italy when she was 19 that she discovered the artistry and depth that chocolate could contain.

“I still had plenty of personal palate development to go, but I left with the feeling my taste buds had woken up to better discern the difference between candy chocolate and couverture chocolate.”

Soon after, she began working exclusively with chocolate in a whole new way. At that time, she was managing a small cafe whose owner shared a love for craft chocolate. They both realized Austin didn’t have options for quality artisan chocolate products and made it a goal to offer some in the cafe. It took Krystal a while to develop the skills and confidence around filling this need but she kept at it and now, nearly 20 years later, has mastered the craft of working with chocolate, making truffles, barks, and more.

“My focus has always been to create chocolate products in small batches with simple ingredient combinations derived from organic, sustainable sources,” says Krystal. Austin is lucky to have her as our local chocolatier, so stop by Intero to taste her delectable art.

Groove is in the Heart

Two listening rooms, Dante’s HiFi and Equipment Room, allow Austinites to unwind through the vintage pairing of classic vinyl and thoughtful cocktails

By Lauren Jones

Dante’s HiFi photos by Weston Carls

Equipment Room photos by Nick Simonite and Jessica Attie

Equipment Room

Illuminated by a stained glass-inspired fixture and single “E,” Equipment Room, once a basement storage room, has opened at Hotel Magdalena on Music Lane. James Moody, owner of Mohawk, Bunkhouse Executive Chairman Amar Lalvani, and Josh LaRue and Gabe Vaughn of Breakaway Records have partnered up to offer a truly special HiFi sanctuary.

“Moody and I have been talking about this idea for what feels like almost a decade,” Lalvani says on their shared interest in Japanese kissa. Equipment Room starts with the music, and more specifically its record collection. “Years ago, when I went to JBS [Jazz Blues Soul Bar in the Shibuya district] in Tokyo, I was blown away with how serious his collection was and how it was handled and played,” Moody recalls.

While some focus on the DJ aspect of record playing, Moody was drawn in by JBS’ “quiet, confident, focused art curator managing a very deliberate and special collection.” It’s a place to hang out, listen to and appreciate records as they were intended to be heard, and Moody and his partners aim to achieve just that with Equipment Room with a more expansive music selection showcasing the story of how Austin and Texas came to be.

Classic artists like Willie Nelson, Townes Van Zandt and Stevie Ray Vaughn are sure to be played, but programming also considers who influenced them, who their parents listened to, and how that connects the dots to the larger American jazz, blues and soul scenes.

Once used to store extra tile, furniture and restaurant supplies, the basement lounge has been transformed with custom speakers, 70s-era furnishings, and one-of-a-kind band posters like the 1975 Pointer Sisters show at Armadillo World headquarters and BB King and Bobby Blue Band at Antone’s, purchased from music enthusiast and third-generation Austinite, Nick Picciandra.

Klipsch, an Indianapolis-based speaker company, provides an acoustic experience tailored to the space that matches the retro aesthetic. They brought in custom speakers built in their Arkansas factory, plus spun copper cerametallic subwoofers, spectrum analyzers, which measure frequency and noise distortion, and individual tube amps, a type of electronic amplifier, which fill the space with crisp, reverberating sound from any seat in the house.

Cocktails and music go hand-in-hand, and Equipment Room’s menu helps bring the space to life with A-side classic cocktails and B-side cocktails from mixologist Robert Björn Taylor. There’s Obscured by Clouds with Suntory Toki whiskey, lavender honey and blue spirulina for Pink Floyd’s 1972 album, and All Tomorrow’s Parties, a French banana liqueur, rum, Batavia arrack and Cynar drink, named for the Velvet Underground track. While the drinks have already resonated with guests, elevated bar snacks such as caramel puffed cheese corn, a Texas take on Pirate’s Booty, and veggie onigiri are also available.

equipmentroom.com

Dante's HiFi

For hospitality entrepreneur Sven Vogtland, a pre-pandemic trip to Tokyo led to one of his most exciting ventures yet. Jazz kissa bars, cafes dedicated to the enjoyment of jazz on high-quality stereos, first opened in Japan in the late 1920s before spreading in popularity, and Vogtland, who operates a number of restaurants in the Miami area, thought this concept was something his clientele would love. Dante’s HiFi debuted in Wynwood in September 2021 to great success, and has since come to Austin, now open for a year-long stint at Soho House.

“Miami and Austin are very different markets, but we’ve always had our eyes on coming here,” Vogtland says. While Dante’s Austin was initially members-only, it opened to the public in March. “The community has embraced us, and I hope more people come out and explore new music,” he adds.

The impressive setup from Miami audio store, Soundlux, includes vintage speakers and a tube power amplifier. Votgland, an avid vinyl collector himself, knows it’s the sound quality that sets spots like Dante’s apart.

“The sound at kissa bars is very particular,” he says. “High-fidelity sound mixed by hand is everything in creating a great listening experience.” DJ Rich Medina, a partner in Dante’s HiFi, is in charge of curat-

ing the music for the listening lounge, and is glad to be bringing back an analog approach.

“If you love records, it’s a place for you to come and get busy, whether you are a rookie or veteran,” he says. In addition to the numerous speakers, there’s a custom DJ booth which frames 6,000 records from Medina’s own collection.

While early evenings at Dante’s are calm and intimate, Vogtland and partners have made it their goal to bring in renowned DJs and other acts to entertain guests as nights play on. Theme nights, genre nights or band-specific events have already been customer-favorites in Miami, and they hope to plan more like this for the Texas crowd. It’s also all about figuring out what that night’s crowd will respond to.

“It’s an age-old adage,” Medina says on reading the room. “What the room needs at 10:30 p.m. is different than what it needs at midnight; what it needs at 2 a.m. is different than what it needs at midnight.”

Dante’s also boasts a creative cocktail menu. “A lot of our drinks are named after albums or songs we love,” Vogtland says. “Our mixology team in Miami and at Soho House have created a menu that complements our music style.”

There’s the Sweetest Taboo, a bourbon drink named after a Sade song; Skinny Love, a margarita-inspired cocktail with mezcal, lychee and lime; as well as nitro espresso martinis and local Austin beers. Head to Dante’s HiFi for handcrafted drinks, tailor-made sound, and people watching. danteshifi.com

WITH THE ROLLING HILLS, GREEN HILL COUNTRY BEAUTY, AND RELAXED, WELCOMING ATMOSPHERE THAT WE ALL LOVE, AUSTIN IS ALSO INCREASINGLY BECOMING KNOWN FOR NEWER, EXCEPTIONAL FOOD OPTIONS.

FAST FOODIES

Iconic Flavorful Homegrown Bites

BY BRITNI RACHAL

Battle of the Burgers

From strictly local options with decades of history to newer chains that launched here and are now branching out nationwide, Central Texas is no stranger to the importance of an all-American burger.

Perhaps one of the most iconic and rapidly growing chains is P. Terry’s Burger Stand. 100% local to Austin and surrounding areas, this health-conscious chain, owned by Kathy and Patrick Terry, got its start on July 5, 2005, on the corner of South Lamar and Barton Springs. Now, with 29 locations today, P. Terry’s is considered a staple within the city and has plans to start opening locations in Houston and San Antonio as early as 2024. The concept — “a classic burger featuring a simple, high-quality, yet affordable menu backed with quick, friendly service in a pleasing environment” — helps drive customer loyalty.

“As Patrick was homing in on the menu, branding and building design, Kathy was reading ‘Fast Food Nation’ that basically blew the lid off how unhealthy typical fast food was. They decided the menu should be all natural — no preservatives, antibiotics or hormones,” says P. Terry’s CEO, Todd Coerver. “We don’t have freezers, microwaves or heat lamps. Everything is fresh, all-natural and cooked to order. That was ultimately their promise to their friends and family, to feed them food that they can feel good about.”

Hopdoddy Burger Bar, another homegrown iconic chain, is also spreading its reach and is now available in more than a dozen other cities, including seven other states. Established on South Congress in 2010 and named for ‘hops,’ a flower ingredient of beer and ‘doddy,’ a nickname for Black Angus Cattle, everything at Hopdoddy is uniquely made from scratch, with some of the freshest and tastiest house-made buns and sauces.

Another never frozen, all-natural, hearty burger chain with the goal of “doing the right thing” started as an Austin food truck in 2008. Hat Creek is known as a place for “good food, good folks, and good fun.” All locations have convenient outdoor seating with places for little ones to run around and play. The flagship eatery, in Westlake hills, opened in 2011, and today Hat Creek has 25 additional locations, including spots in Dallas-Fort Worth, Waco and near Houston. These burgers stand out for generous amounts of hearty beef, particularly in the “Big Hat” offerings, along with health-conscious Paleo Burger Bowls, a single patty with avocado and diced sweet potatoes, served on a bed of baby spinach.

Locally grown chains are great, but Austin is also home to longer-standing staples with deep ties to the city’s history and culture. Top Notch, Sandy’s and Dan’s Hamburgers have been around for decades.

Advertised as a “taste of old Austin,” Sandy’s is known for old fashioned burg-

ers, along with delicious cones, shakes, malts, sundaes and floats. Proudly serving since 1943 at its sole location on Barton Springs, the restaurant is named for the founder’s daughter.

Decades after Sandy’s, Top Notch joined the local burger scene in 1971 with a location on Burnet Road. One of the only local places for a charcoal grilled burger, Top Notch is known for its appearance in the movie, “Dazed and Confused.” Fried chicken and dipped onion rings still dominate today’s menu, along with nods to the era of car hop restaurants. After years of only one location, Top Notch now has a location in Hutto, which just opened in March 2023.

Dan’s Hamburgers, also established in the 1970s, is still family owned and operated with three locations in Austin and one in Buda. Celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, the burger chain features an extensive breakfast menu, including omelets, eggs made any style and of course — a local favorite — breakfast tacos. For lunch and dinner, the motto is “keep it simple” with a menu of burgers, grilled cheese and chicken basket options — along with a signature Hickory Sauce.

Hat Creek

Hopdoddy Burger Bar

From Food Truck to Hot Spot

Pizza eateries are not usually hard to find, but some stand out more than others. Starting in 2011, as a food truck on East 6th and Waller, Via313 now has several brick-and-mortar locations across Texas and Utah. Via means “by the way of,” and 313 is Detroit’s area code which matches owners Brandon and Zane Hunt’s mission to bring a taste of their hometown to Austin (and now other locations, too).

Hearty and fresh doughs go through a slow rising process and are placed in steel pans that resemble automobile parts pans commonly used by mechanics in Detroit. The special pans, commonly used to cook Detroit style pizzas, ensure a crisp bake on all sides of the thick crust. Two types of pizza layered on the pizza and the sides of the pizza allow for a memorable crunch.

To add a further Detroit touch, all Via313 locations have the words, “Everything is Going to be Alright.” If you think this is a Matthew McConaughey “alright, alright, alright” reference, think again! These words are inspired by an art installation at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit.

A tip from an Austinite of 12.5 years: if you want to eat at Via313 during peak dining times, make sure to order an hour or so in advance. This spot for quick food is usually in such high demand, it may take some time to reach your table or door.

Korean Barbeque inspired Chi’Lantro is another food truck turned major success story. This former Shark Tank contestant has eight brick-and-mortar locations across Austin and unique, customizable menu items like Kimchi Fries and six original sauce options. A popular option is to build your own bowl and choose from a variety of fresh bases, proteins, hot premium and veggie toppings.

To start the mobile food truck in 2010, the CEO and founder, Jae Kim, once maxed out his credit cards and $30,000 in savings to pursue his dream of running a Korean Mexican fusion food truck.

El Taquito didn’t completely originate in Austin, but it is still one of the first of its kind in the city. With beginnings in the 1980s as a street taco cart in a Northern Mexico town, El Taquito claims to have “broken the mold” as the first to introduce the combination of “queso fresco and a slice of avocado” in its tacos when it opened on Riverside Drive in 1995. Now, with an additional location in Pflugerville, El Taquito serves dozens of taco varieties, along with enchilada plates, salads, soups and more.

Rising from a single food trailer in 2017 – to five standing restaurants less than four years later, Tumble22’s original location is on Burnet Road. Inspired by Nashville hot chicken and guided by Texas chef Harold Marmulstein’s secret blend of spices and careful cooking in hot oil, the restaurant proudly does not use any MSG products. Ranging from “wimpy” to “stupid hot,” the eatery offers six levels of spice in its sauces. Another option is a different take on a delicious cobb chicken salad, complete with deviled egg on top.

Tumble22

Via313

Bread and Bakery Items

Known for its bake shop and beer garden atmosphere, Easy Tiger is starting to grow its reach through bread sales. Once a single location that opened in the Waller Creek district in 2011, the eatery is now selling its bread at H-E-B and Whole Foods, including different regions across Texas. A total of three Easy Tiger restaurant locations are currently available in Austin, with fresh food options ranging from seasonal sandwiches, salads, pastries, charcuterie boards and more.

Dessert

Is a meal really complete without at least the option for dessert? Making Austin super proud, Tiff’s Treats continues to branch out, now available in six other states. These cookies delivered warmly are unlike any other and sure to brighten almost any day.

Leon and Tiffany Chen started Tiff’s Treats when they were students at University of Texas in 1999. Back then, Tiff stood Leon up for a date, but then brought over fresh, hot from the oven cookies to apologize. Leon convinced Tiff to turn her cookies into a business and the two began taking orders via a cell phone, while baking cookies at Leon’s apartment. The couple opened their first storefront on The Drag across from University of Texas in 2000, and today, with 86 stores in existence and more than eleven cookie products, plus three brownie options and chocolate chip cookie truffles. The rest is history.

Easy Tiger

Tiff’s Treats

Plant Passion

WHOLESOME GENERATION INSTRUCTS AUSTIN’S FUTURE GENERATIONS WITH A CURRICULUM FOCUSED ON COMMUNITY, PASSION AND FOOD

By Mary Lancaster

Photos courtesy of Wholesome Generation

WHEN LENE SAINT-ORENS MOVED TO AUSTIN IN 2001

and took a job in HR with the University of Texas, she had no idea that a few years later she would be opening an educational academy with a living, community integrated food, cooking and regenerative farm curriculum. But in this transition she has found her purpose and is passionate about sharing it with our youth and their families.

“We want to change our students from the inside out — in healthy ways,” she says as she walks through the Wholesome Generation’s five-and-a-half-acre campus pointing out all of their outdoor classroom spaces, including an open air garden space, 100-square-foot greenhouse, a creek bed and an apiary. Originally Tonkawa land, this refuge in the heart of North Austin is quickly becoming surrounded by large developments of houses being built immediately on the other side of their property line. “Here, we want to keep the land sacred and apply appropriate uses for it like the Tonkawa people did. We inspire the conservation of native plants, provide a habitat for pollinators, foster opportunities to learn about local food and regenerative farming methods, and enhance human health and well-being.”

Before Lene made the decision to open Wholesome Generation, her daughter was attending a public elementary school in Austin and was not flourishing.

“She was constantly sick, and her emotional health was suffering too,” she recalls. This prompted Saint-Orens to research what could be done to help not only her daughter, but other children who were suffering the same ailments as well. Growing up in Germany with her mother and grandmother, Lene also struggled with the traditional schooling system. Her grandmother taught her gardening and enrolled her in equine therapy where she finally began to thrive, influencing her choice to create a similar structure at Wholesome Generation.

Based on the Reggio Emilia philosophy (founded in Northern Italy af-

ter WWII), WG’s model expands beyond the traditional nine month school calendar. It is a year round program that includes summer camps, “Food For Life” culinary + market program and extended community programs focused on sustainability, land preservation, mental health and learning holistic life skills and practices. Lessons emphasize hands-on activities in garden, kitchen and outdoor settings, but also include activities that deepen academic inquiry in related fields, such as science, mathematics, social studies and language arts. By cultivating their gardens, and with it their educational programs, they have become a hub for food security and nature education. What is taught about food and healthy eating in lessons is reflected and reinforced in the daily life of the school with the outdoor culinary lab and food bus, as well as gardens, becoming their classrooms. Gardening begins at 18 months old and all of the students are encouraged to help one another during the process. They learn about biodiversity and how it affects growing

produce seasonally, incorporating all of the different kinds of life that can be found on campus from the native plants to the chickens to the bees. In addition to their open air garden, they’ve added a large greenhouse to offer more options for the students’ beds.

The produce grown on the WG campus serves many purposes, including supplying their on-site food truck. This provides another opportunity for life experience where the children are taught how to prepare plant-based lunches and snacks for the student population every day. There are no machines in the food truck and every plate is prepared by hand. Each meal is raw and gluten free, providing an excellent alternative to over-processed foods that can lead to brain fog and disruptions in the classroom. Collaborating with a community of local vendors and farmers, with a dedication to sustainable agriculture, assures their kitchen a weekly supply of fresh and delicious ingredients, and extra meals and boxes of fresh vegetables can also be sent home with each student to help support their families at the end of each day.

On the last Friday of every month, you can find the entire campus buzzing with excitement as they host a farmer’s market day where they not only invite local farms and vendors to sell their goods but where grades two through five each have their own stand in order to sell what they’ve been cultivating. Each class is responsible for maintaining their area of the garden, planting, curating and harvesting the crops, creating a booth for the market, and selling their produce. Through this multifaceted experience the are children learning math, time management, organizational skills, marketing, social interaction and multiple other lessons in a real life setting that they can continue to take forward with them.

With the implementation of a diversity focused ‘edible’ curriculum, Wholesome Generation offers culturally inclusive meals and methods where students are empowered to help guide the process. But Wholesome Generation’s lessons don’t stop in the classroom. The program reaches out beyond the school gates into the wider public and neighborhoods, extending healthy meals and learning experiences to families with donation-based workshops and other interactive events such as Earth Day celebrations, volunteer days and plant markets.

Their newest project, the FOOD FOR LIFE bus, will extend services and produce to Austin’s most vulnerable and low-income neigh-

borhoods. This mobile culinary classroom focuses on regenerative education and getting fresh, sustainable, produce into home kitchens, regardless of their ability to pay.

“We want to use food traditions to teach, nurture and empower all students,” Saint-Orens says of this unique model for connecting with the community. With this plan they will be able to educate some of the most underserved areas of the city while raising awareness and boost interest in the food for life concept.

WG is working hard to change food culture, contributing to community-wide whole systems change, and impacting education, sustainability, inequalities, communities and health. By stepping outside the box of modern food systems and into the box of the food systems of our ancestors, SaintOrnes’ ultimate vision has come to life in this living classroom.

“The goal is not to judge, but to educate. We want to give them a purpose and move from a culture of ‘consume’ to a culture of ‘create.’” wholesomegeneration.org

Hi, I’m Sevy

Elizabeth Street Café

A CHARMING NEIGHBORHOOD FRENCH-VIETNAMESE CAFÉ AND BAKERY IN SOUTH AUSTIN

By Karen O. Spezia

IT’D BEEN A WHILE SINCE I’D BEEN TO ELIZABETH STREET CAFÉ.

A decade, at least. Not that I’d been avoiding it, but I’d been chasing so many other shiny new restaurants these past 10 years. So when one of my colleagues suggested I return, I jumped at the chance.

It was February 2012 since I’d last set foot in ESC. Back then, the new French-Vietnamese restaurant was just a few months old and was the talk of the town. Two young upstart chef-restaurateurs named Larry McGuire and Tom Moorman had just opened Lambert’s BBQ and Perla’s Seafood, and ESC was their newest creation (they now have 2a0+ restaurants in their MML Hospitality empire, including an ESC in New Orleans). Austin foodies had never seen anything like it. Was the cuisine Asian or French? Was the quirky décor tasteful or tacky? Was it okay to put brisket in phỎ and not just a taco? People weren’t quite sure what to make of it, but they knew they liked it. Very much.

ESC was one of the first new restaurants to set up shop on this neglected stretch of South First Street back then. A few other fledgling eateries popped up, too, like El Chile Cafe y Cantina (now gone), Sway (now gone), J. Mueller BBQ (now gone), and Izzoz Tacos (now gone). You get my point. Not many restaurants survived in this now-trendy area over the years, but ESC is still standing. And that says a lot.

Photos by Holly Cowart

When I returned to ESC after my long absence, it looked very much the same: the converted Bouldin Creek bungalow was still as enchanting and whimsical as I remembered. Inspired by the vibrant French colonial cafes of Hanoi, it’s an explosion of color with its bubble gum pink front door, turquoise shutters, teal banquettes and cobalt blue bar. French bistro chairs, vintage cafe lighting and checkerboard floors coexist with Vietnamese artwork and floral teahouse wallpaper. Walls of windows flood the cozy dining room with natural light and live greenery brings the outdoors in. It’s an eclectic space that was Instagram-worthy back when Instagram barely existed.

French-Vietnamese food isn’t some trendy culinary fusion; it’s cuisine with deep historical roots stemming from France’s century-long rule of Vietnam. Want a butter croissant and a steaming bowl of phỎ? No problem. How about

some Singapore noodles followed by a chocolate éclair? Why not? They’ve been doing it for years over there.

ESC offers all the traditional dishes but with an updated, elevated twist. There are classics like spring rolls, phỎ noodle soup, bún noodle bowls and báhn mî sandwiches. But there are also some surprises, especially with appetizers like escargot broiled in Thai basil curry butter and served with a warm house-baked baguette for dunking. And the outstanding carpaccio, made with shaved Texas Akaushi beef and sprinkled with seared shishito peppers, marinated mushrooms and lemon soy. And tender steamed rice rolls stuffed with gulf shrimp, drizzled with coconut vinegar ponzu sauce and scattered with chopped fresh herbs and crunchy puffed rice. There’s also a simple but sublime wonton soup, seasoned with just a hint of delicate Vietnamese spice.

For entrees, the savory bánh xèo crepe is a standout. Shrimp and twice-cooked pork are tucked inside a humongous thin and crispy crepe, served with bean sprouts, herbs, lettuces and nuoc cham dipping sauce. For dessert, the in-house bakery turns out exquisite French sweets like ethereal tropical-flavored macarons, plus cakes, éclairs and chocolate mousse. And some of my favorite items on the menu are the magnificent cocktails like the Da Nang margarita punched up with sambal and a sriracha salt rim and the Automne Night, a gorgeous concoction of blanco tequila, Pernod, blood orange, lime and ginger.

Back in my 2012 review, I wrote that weekend brunch was my favorite meal at ESC — and it still is. The fresh croissants, baguettes and jams are as good as I remembered. There’s also creative breakfast spins on daytime entrees, like báhn mî sandwiches filled with scrambled eggs and ginger pork sausage or fried eggs, pork belly, avocado and mint. PhỎ noodle soup, Singapore noodles and sticky rice are all offered with a breakfasty poached egg on top. And a cup of Vietnamese chicory coffee is the perfect way to wash down any of these delicious morning treats.

After a decade, I was happy to find that not much had changed at ESC. Yet Austin’s dining scene has, now hosting a slew of new Vietnamese options, many with more authentic Vietnamese fare. But you’d be hard-pressed to find it served in a more stylish, festive atmosphere. It’s a formula that works: good food and a good time. And perhaps that’s the secret to ESC’s longevity? I hope I don’t have to wait another 10 years to return.

elizabethstreetcafe.com

1417 FRENCH BISTRO

1417 South 1st Street (512)-551-2430

1417frenchbistro.com

Neighborly chic greets you and offers a French bistro comfort menu from steak frites to moody blue cheese beignets. A full bar serves up signature cocktails from a refreshing cucumber gimlet to a blood orange French Margarita with black volcanic salt. Don’t miss their gorgeous patio for al fresco dining at its best!

24 DINER

600 N. Lamar Blvd. | (512) 472 5400

Chef Andrew Curren’s casual eatery promises delicious plates 24/7 and a menu featuring nostalgic diner favorites. Order up the classics, including roasted chicken, burgers, all-day breakfast and decadent milkshakes.

34TH STREET CAFE

1005 W. 34th St. | (512) 371 3400

This neighborhood spot in North Campus serves up soups, salads, pizzas and pastas — but don’t miss the chicken piccata. The low-key setting makes it great for weeknight dinners and weekend indulgences.

ARLO GREY

111 E Cesar Chavez St. | (512) 478 2991

Arlo Grey is the debut restaurant from “Top Chef”

10 winner and “Fast Foodies’’ star Kristen Kish. Found inside the LINE Hotel, the picturesque lakeside spot has received praise for its intentional design and elegant, French-and-Italian-inflected take on Texas ingredients.

ASTI TRATTORIA

408 E. 43rd St. | (512) 451 1218

This chic little Hyde Park trattoria offers essential Italian dishes along with a variety of wines to pair them with. Finish off your meal with the honeyand-goat-cheese panna cotta.

BARLEY SWINE

6555 Burnet Rd., Ste. 400 | (512) 394 8150

James Beard Award–nominated chef Bryce Gilmore encourages sharing with small plates made from locally sourced ingredients, served at communal tables. Try the parsley croissants with bone marrow or Gilmore’s unique take on fried chicken.

BLUE DAHLIA BISTRO

3663 Bee Cave Rd. | (512) 306 1668

A cozy French bistro serving up breakfast, lunch, and dinner in a casual setting. Pop in for the happy hour to share a bottle of your favorite wine and a charcuterie board.

BUFALINA & BUFALINA DUE

6555 Burnet Rd. | (512) 215 8662

This intimate restaurant serves up mouth-watering pizzas, consistently baked with crispy edges and soft centers. The famous Neapolitan technique is executed by the Stefano Ferrara wood-burning ovens, which runs at more than 900 degrees. Lactose-intolerants beware, there is no shortage of cheese on this menu!

CAFÉ NO SÉ

1603 S. Congress Ave. | (512) 942 2061

South Congress Hotel’s Café No Sé balances rustic décor and a range of seasonal foods to make it the best place for weekend brunching. The restaurant’s spin on the classic avocado toast is a must-try.

CARVE AMERICAN GRILLE

7415 Southwest Pkwy. | (512) 792 4450

Whether it’s a date night dinner, a casual Friday lunch, or weekend family brunch, visit this amazingly modern-rustic dining room complete with a vibrant bar and patio with hill country views. Everything about CARVE is inspired by fresh and eclectic ingredients, with every dish reinventing the American grille experience.

CHAPULÍN CANTINA

1610 South Congress Ave. | (512)) 441-7672

chapulincantina.com

Chapulín Cantina is an Oaxacan inspired restaurant from long-time restaurateurs Chefs Ryan Samson and Daniel Brooks (Vespaio, Enoteca, Licha’s). This lively neighborhood restaurant and bar offers fresh seafood, tylayudas, from scratch moles, house made nixtamal tortillas, aguas frescas, and an expansive selection of mezcal and other agave distilled spirits. Open for lunch and dinner every day at 11am (closed Mondays). Don’t miss the $8 Happy Hour menu Tuesday-Friday 3-6pm. Order takeout online.

CICLO

98 San Jacinto Blvd. | (512) 685 8300

Ciclo is a modern Texas kitchen featuring locally inspired flavors and ingredients with a Latin influence, brought to life by world-renowned restaurateur, Richard Sandoval. Ciclo’s name reflects its focus on menu offerings that change seasonally from ceviches, crudos and grilled and smoked meats to inventive cocktails.

CLARK’S OYSTER BAR

1200 W. 6th St. | (512) 297 2413

Small and always buzzing, Clark’s extensive caviar and oyster menu, sharp aesthetics and excellent service make it a refreshing indulgence on West Sixth Street. Chef Larry McGuire brings East Coast-inspired vibes to this seafood restaurant.

COMEDOR

501 Colorado St. | (512) 499 0977

Hiding in plain sight on one of downtown’s busiest street corners, Comedor is a restaurant full of surprises. Lauded chef Philip Speer delivers a menu that is equally clever and unexpected, with contemporary cuisine riffs on Mexican culinary traditions.

EASY TIGER

3508 S. Lamar Blvd. | (512) 964 8229

6406 N I-35 Frontage Rd., Ste. 1100 | (512) 494 4151

1501 E. 7th St. | (512) 839 8523

Easy Tiger lures in both drink and food enthusiasts with a delicious bakeshop upstairs and a casual beer garden downstairs. Sip on some local brew and grab a hot, fresh pretzel. Complete your snack with beer, cheese and an array of dipping sauces.

ÉPICERIE

2307 Hancock Dr. | (512) 371 6840

A café and grocery with both Louisiana and French sensibilities by Thomas Keller–trained chef Sarah McIntosh. Lovers of brunch are encouraged to stop in here for a bite on Sundays.

ELDORADO CAFE

3300 W. Anderson Ln. | (512) 420 2222 eldoradocafeatx.com

Eldorado Cafe exemplifies old school Austin, resonating the beat of the early 90’s, sending out hot plates of the most decadently delicious and sometimes healthy eating you will find in Austin. Mexican style comfort food with a deep honor towards the historical eateries that have made Austin great. Come see us.

FONDA SAN MIGUEL

2330 W. N Loop Blvd. | (512) 459 4121

At Fonda San Miguel, authentic interior Mexican food is lovingly served inside a colorful hacienda-style restaurant. The art-adorned walls and indoor, plant-filled courtyard provide a pleasant escape in North Austin.

FOREIGN & DOMESTIC

306 E. 53rd St. | (512) 459 1010

Small neighborhood restaurant in the North Loop area serving unique dishes. Chefs-owners Sarah Heard and Nathan Lemley serve thoughtful, locally sourced food with an international twist at reasonable prices. Go early on Tuesdays for $1 oysters.

GOODALL’S KITCHEN AND BAR

1900 Rio Grande St. | (512) 495 1800

Housed in the beautiful Hotel Ella, Goodall’s provides modern spins on American classics. Dig into a fried-mortadella egg sandwich and pair it a with cranberry-thyme cocktail.

GRÀCIA

4800 Burnet Road Suite 450 (512)649-4844

graciamediterranean.com

Gràcia, Catalan for “grace” is a Mediterranean inspired restaurant and wine bar in the midtown Austin neighborhood of Rosedale. The menu is seafood forward and draws on flavors throughout the Mediterranean including Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Morocco, and more. The wine list features selections from family-run estates around the Mediterranean, and the curated cocktail list incorporates boutique spirits - perfect for pairing with Gràcia’s sharable plates. Open every day at 5pm. Happy Hour Monday-Friday 5-6pm.

GUSTO ITALIAN KITCHEN + WINE BAR

4800 Burnet Rd. | (512) 458 1100

gustoitaliankitchen.com

Nestled in the Rosedale neighborhood of northcentral Austin, Gusto captures the warm, comforting, every-day flavors of Italian cuisine. Dishes range from housemade antipasti to handformed pizzas, salads, panini, fresh pasta, entrees featuring Texas farm-raised meats and scratch desserts. Craft cocktails, beer on tap and boutique wines. Open for lunch, happy hour and dinner.

GRIZZELDA’S

105 Tillery St. | (512) 366 5908

This charming East Austin spot lies somewhere between traditional Tex-Mex and regional Mexican recipes, each fused with a range of flavors and styles. The attention to detail in each dish shines and the tortillas are made in-house daily.

HANK’S

5811 Berkman Dr. | (512) 609 8077

Delicious food and drinks, an easygoing waitstaff and a kid-friendly patio all work together to make Hank’s a favorite neighborhood joint. With happy hour every day from 3-6:30, the hardest task will be choosing between their frosé and frozen paloma.

HILLSIDE FARMACY

1209 E. 11th St. | (512) 628 0168

Hillside Farmacy is located in a beautifully restored 1950s-style pharmacy with a lovely porch on the East Side. Oysters, cheese plates and nightly dinner specials are whipped up by chef Sonya Cote.

HONEY MOON SPIRIT LOUNGE

624 W. 34th St. | (737) 209 0319

Vintage-chic hot spot with ample outdoor seating turning out imaginative cocktails and global mains.

HOPFIELDS

3110 Guadalupe St. | (512) 537 0467

A gastropub with French inclinations, offering a beautiful patio and unique cocktails. The beer, wine and cocktail options are plentiful and the perfect pairing for the restaurant’s famed steak frites and moules frites.

JEFFREY’S

1204 W. Lynn St. | (512) 477 5584

Named one of Bon Appétit’s “10 Best New Restaurants in America,” this historic Clarksville favorite has maintained the execution, top-notch service, and luxurious but welcoming atmosphere that makes it an Austin staple.

JOANN’S FINE FOODS

1224 S. Congress Ave. | (512) 358 6054

A South Congress neighborhood spot, a new take on the American diner, and a vacation for locals and tourists alike. Open early and late at the Austin Motel, Joann’s is a welcome respite for early birds and night owls, outlaws and in-laws, all ways always.

JOSEPHINE HOUSE

1601 Waterston Ave. | (512) 477 5584

Rustic Continental fare with an emphasis on fresh, local and organic ingredients. Like its sister restaurant, Jeffrey’s, Josephine House is another one of Bon Appétit’s “10 Best New Restaurants in America.” Find a shady spot on the patio and indulge in fresh baked pastries and a coffee.

JUNE’S ALL DAY

1722 S. Congress Ave. | (512) 416 1722

This wine-focused restaurant is complemented by serious cocktails and a menu of approachable bistro favorites. Inspired by Paris cafes, Spanish tapas bodegas and urban wine bars, June’s encourages sipping, noshing and lingering.

JUNIPER

2400 E Cesar Chavez St. #304 | (512) 220 9421

Uchi Alumni Chef Nicholas Yanes fuses central Texas influences and local farm produce with Italian fare. Start with puffy potatoes and the Chef’s Brand New Cadillac Negroni.

JUSTINE’S BRASSERIE

4710 E. 5th St. | (512) 385 2900

Justine’s is a quaint French brasserie deep in East Austin. Don’t let the short drive deter you — the experience of eating traditional French plates among exquisite works of art and decorative string lights makes for one idyllic evening with a significant other.

KEMURI TATSU-YA

2713 E. 2nd St. | (512) 803 2224

Kemuri Tatsu-Ya is a Japanese-Texan mash-up that injects seriously good food with a sense of humor. The East Austin joint features Asian-inspired smoked meats and seafood, along with yakitori, ramen, and izakaya classics meant for sharing. Drinks are also an integral part of the meal, so come thirsty.

LA BARBECUE

22401 E Cesar Chavez St. | (512) 605 9696

Though it may not be as famous as that other Austin barbecue joint, La Barbecue is arguably just as delicious. This trailer, which is owned by the legendary Mueller family, serves up classic barbecue with free beer and live music.

LAUREL

320 S. Capital of Texas Hwy. | (512) 306-6500

Hotel Viata’s new modern Italian restaurant showcases the best of Texas Hill Country and Italian coastal cuisine. Guests are greeted with a relaxed yet sophisticated atmosphere, and can enjoy diverse menu options partnered with a refined cocktail menu inspired by the world’s finest spirits.

LAS PALOMAS

3201 Bee Cave Rd. #122 | (512) 327 9889

One of the hidden jewels in Westlake, this unique restaurant and bar offers authentic interior Mexican cuisine in a sophisticated yet relaxed setting. Enjoy family recipes made with fresh ingredients. Don’t miss the margaritas.

LE VACHER

136 Drifting Wind Run, Suite 101, Dripping Springs, TX (512) 337 6977

Head chef Jacob Euler imparts a sense of culinary heritage with a creative twist, focusing on cuisine inspired by French technique and artfully prepared local ingredients. The scenic Dripping Springs landscape, a familial tie-that-binds, creates the perfect backdrop for an evening of fantastic food and revelry.

LENOIR

1807 S. 1st St. | (512) 215 9778

A gorgeous spot to enjoy a luxurious French-inspired prix fixe meal. Almost every ingredient served at Lenoir comes locally sourced from Central Texas, making the unique, seasonal specialties even more enjoyable. Sit in the wine garden for happy hour and enjoy bottles from the top wine-producing regions in the world.

LIN ASIAN BAR + DIM SUM

1203 W. 6th St. | (512) 474 5107

Located in a vintage West Sixth Street bungalow, Chef Ling and her team create sophisticated Chinese dishes that draw enthusiastic crowds day and night. Make sure to stop by during weekend brunch to taste the full mouthwatering dim sum menu.

LICHA’S CANTINA

1306 E. 6th St. | (512) 480 5960

Located in the heart of East 6th, Licha’s is a quick trip to the interior of Mexico. With masa made fresh in house and a large range of tequilas and mezcal, Licha’s Cantina is a celebration of authentic Mexican cuisine. The music, food and ambiance will get you ready for a night out on the town.

LORO

2115 S. Lamar Blvd. | (512) 916 4858

Created by James Beard Award winners Tyson Cole and Aaron Franklin, this Asian smokehouse is a welcome addition to South Lamar. The expansive indoor-outdoor space, designed by Michael Hsu Office of Architecture, is welcoming and open, and unsurprisingly the food does not disappoint. Don’t miss out on the sweet corn fritters, smoked beef brisket, thai green curry or those potent boozy slushies.

MATTIE’S

811 W. Live Oak St. | (512) 444 1888

Mattie’s is a glorious urban paradise offering upscale American classics. While the cocktails are top-notch and the cuisine is nothing short of outstanding, Mattie’s ambiance and atmosphere are unmatched.

MARYE’S GOURMET PIZZA PUB

3663 Bee Cave Rd. #4G (512) 327-5222 maryesgourmetpizza.com

Marye’s Gourmet Pizza, a West Lake Hills favorite for over 25 years, serves gourmet pizza, fresh salads, classic sandwiches and more all made from scratch in our kitchen using the best ingredients we can source. We offer a large selection of gf and vegan options. Enjoy crave-worthy food, craft beer and boutique wines in our casual and inviting dining room.

NIXTA TAQUERIA

2512 E. 12th St.

The brainchild of James Beard-nominated chef Edgar Rico and Sara Mardanbigi, this East Austin gem has garnered national acclaim and in 2020 was named one of the best new restaurants by Food & Wine magazine. Nixta’s artfully-crafted tacos are unlike any other and made with wildly creative ingredients — but the Mexican heritage corn tortillas are truly the star.

ODD DUCK

1201 S Lamar Blvd. | (512) 433 6521

Famed food trailer turned brick-and-mortar, Odd Duck is the first venture from acclaimed chef Bryce Gilmore. Expect seasonal fare and drinks with a strong Texas influence sourced locally whenever possible.

PARKSIDE

301 E. 6th St. | (512) 474 9898

Patrons flock to this downtown hideaway for its wide selection of oysters and other modern-American specialties. The 6th Street locale is filled with industrial details and plenty of natural light, so it’s no wonder that reservations are often necessary to get a table in the inviting space.

THE PEACHED TORTILLA

5520 Burnet Rd. #100 | (512) 330 4439

This cheerful spot is sure to clear your weekly blues with friendly staff, fun food and a playful atmosphere. Affordably priced, you’ll find culinary influences from around the world with a healthy dose of Asian and Southern options.

PICNIK

4801 Burnet Rd. | (737) 226 0644

1700 S. Lamar Blvd. | (512) 293-6118

A perfect place to find wholesome food for any type of dietary restriction in a bright and airy setting. This place truly lives out the “good and good for you” concept with paleo-friendly options and thoughtfully sourced ingredients.

POOL BURGER

2315 Lake Austin Blvd. | (512) 334 9747

Tiki meets Texas in this neighborhood burger bar. Located behind Deep Eddy Cabaret, crunchy crinkle-cut fries and juicy burgers are served from the window of a 1968 Airstream Land Yacht.

QI AUSTIN

835 W 6th St. #114 | (512) 474 2777

Created by visionary chef Ling Qi Wu, also the owner of the esteemed Lin Asian Bar, Qi Austin dazzles with its top-notch Chinese cuisine and vibrant artwork. Located in Shoal Creek Walk, Qi Austin is a restaurant that pleases the eye as well as the stomach.

christy@levy-properties.com

Developer/Realtor Levy Properties

ashely@levy-properties.com

Contemporary build located on an exclusive/private street off of Wimberly Lane. No detail is overlooked in this pristine home designed by a popular local Architect in 2015. Built with Lueders Stone, metal and glass, providing unobstructed hill country views for miles. The third garage bay was converted into an office/studio/playroom space. The interior living space flows seamlessly to the back yard with 40’ heated zero edge pool, built-in floating Coyote grill and Lueders fire pit. Main house 4,831 SF/Separate office 403 SF (per FP Graphics). Conveys with a mandatory Barton Creek CC Social Membership.

Luxury living in the heart of Tarrytown. This custom built home from Clint Small Homes and Agate Development is situated on a large .38 acer lot. This 5,527 sf home has 5 bedrooms, 5 full baths and 2 half baths along with a built-in bar for entertaining and a flex space that can be used as an office, work out room or anything else you desire. The chef’s kitchen opens onto the veranda, overlooking the pool and expansive lawn. With high-end finishes throughout, this gorgeous home is located within minutes of downtown Austin and the Domain.

CHRISTY LEVY Broker Levy Properties

BARTON CREEK: 8938 Wimberly Cove / Austin,TX 78735

TARRYTOWN: 2620 Maria Anna Dr. / Austin, TX 78703

ASHLEY AMINI

RED ASH ITALIA

303 Colorado St. #200 | (512) 379 2906

Red Ash Italia strikes the perfect balance between high-quality food and enticing ambiance. This Italian steakhouse is led by an all-star team, including executive chef John Carver. Sit back, relax and enjoy an exceptional evening.

ROSEWOOD GULF COAST CHOP HOUSE

1209 Rosewood Ave. | (512) 838 6205

Housed in a historic East Side cottage, this spot is quickly becoming a staple. Chef Jesse DeLeon pays outstanding homage to his South Texas roots with seasonal offerings from Gulf Coast fishermen and Hill Country farmers and ranchers.

SAMMIE’S ITALIAN

807 W. 6th St. | (512) 474 2054

A member of the MML Hospitality family, Sammie’s will not only transport you to another place — but also to another era. The ritzy joint features a throwback menu of Italian-American favorites, completely transforming the former Hut’s Hamburgers space. Start with a well-made cocktail as you nibble on the complimentary bread basket filled with homemade focaccia and bread sticks.

SUERTE

1800 E. 6th St. | (512) 953 0092

Helmed by executive chef Fermín Núñez, Suerte was inspired by extensive travels through Central Mexico. Artisanal masa is the highlight, made from local heirloom corn and used in distinctive dishes rarely found on Austin menus. Order the delectable Suadero Tacos, perfect for sharing with friends.

THAI FRESH

909 W. Mary St. | (512) 494 6436

A restaurant, cooking school and market all in one place. When you’re done dining on traditional Thai favorites, stop by the adjoining coffee bar for freshly brewed joe, homemade ice cream and an array of baked goods.

THE WAYBACK

9601 Bee Cave Road Austin Texas 78733 | (512) 520 9590 waybackaustin.com

The Wayback mingles with nature, inviting travelers to do the same. The cafè serves the freshest ingredients on a seasonal menu that balances southern staples with newfound favorites, and the patio and outdoor lawns are perfect for dining alfresco.

THE WELL

440 W. 2nd St. | (737) 742 1129

The Well blends top-tier nutrition, local and sustainable farming, and authentic flavors for a breakthrough culinary experience that redefines healthy food in Downtown Austin.

TINY BOXWOODS

1503 W. 35th St. | (512) 220 0698

This Houston-based brand now serves its simple and delicious food in Austin’s Bryker Woods neighborhood. Favorites include house-ground burgers, salmon Provencal salad and their chocolate chip cookies.

TILLIE’S

3509 Creek Rd. Dripping Springs, TX | (512) 894 2633

Through its breathtaking architecture and innovative menu, Tillie’s lives the American Nouveau concept. The restaurant’s building, a repurposed town hall from the Ninh Binh region of Vietnam, is the physical embodiment of a dining experience that takes inspiration from history and cultures. Tillie’s culinary journey is inspired by traditional American cuisine, but with an international flair.

TRUE FOOD KITCHEN

222 West Ave. | (512) 777 2430

11410 Century Oaks Terrace, Suite 100 | (512) 9920685

Inspired by Dr. Andrew Weil’s anti-inflammatory diet, True Food Kitchen combines decadent favorites with health-conscious eating. The restaurant, located in downtown’s Seaholm district, offers a full range of vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options.

UCHIKO

4200 N. Lamar Blvd. Ste. 140 | (512) 916 4808

The sensational sister creation of Uchi and former home of Top Chef Paul Qui and renowned chefs Page Presley and Nicholas Yanes, Uchiko is an Austin icon that everyone should visit at least once. Try the bacon tataki.

VIXEN’S WEDDING

1813 E. 6th St. Ste. A | (737) 242 7555

Vixen’s Wedding is a charming space creating something truly unique. Helmed by culinary super-couple Todd Duplechan and Jessica Maher, the restaurant specializes in Goan cuisine, a cultural mash-up of bright and complex flavors.

WU

CHOW

500 W. 5th St., #168 | (512) 476 2469

From the curators of Swift’s Attic, Wu Chow is expanding Austin’s cuisine offerings with traditional Chinese dishes sourced from local purveyors and farmers. Don’t miss the weekend dim sum menu.

“SEEING BEES”

DIVE INTO THE UNSEEN ROLE OF NATURE’S SMALL BUT MIGHTY HEROES AT WATERLOO PARK

By Holly Cowart Photos by Dan Winters

APRIL SHOWERS BRING MAY FLOWERS, ALONG WITH LOTS and lots of bees. But before you rush to shoo away the black and yellow striped insects, Waterloo Park is inviting you to stop and consider the vast impact one tiny creature can make.

Free to view through May 31, “SEEING BEES” is an engaging art installation that doubles as an educational experience, inviting viewers to dive into the essential and often unseen impact bees have on our biodiversity and global food industry. Afterall, honey bees are responsible for pollinating 80 percent of flowering plants, including one third of the food consumed in the U.S.

The passion-driven project is presented by the friendly folks at Wild Spirit Wild Places. Established in 2021 by Desert Door Texas Sotol, the nonprofit provides conservation efforts that enhance our local ecosystem and protect Texas’ rapidly shrinking wild lands. They also partnered with

Round Rock Honey and Waterloo Greenway on the exhibit, which features the arresting work of illustrious photographer Dan Winters. Known to keep bees since he was young, his large format photographs are manipulated using a field emissions scanning electron microscope at the University of Texas, bringing miniature details to the forefront in rarely observed moments in nature.

“This exhibit provides an amazing look at the intricacies of our bees and provides insight on how they are uniquely equipped to support the health of our environment,” says Dr. Karen Looby, CEO of WSWP. “With the help of the community, we look forward to ensuring that our pollinators across Texas are supported for generations to come.”

Gain a renewed appreciation for nature and look out for additional activities coinciding with the installation’s run, on display daily from 5am to 10pm. For more information, visit wildspiritwildplaces.org.

CALENDARS

MUSIC

STEVE MILLER BAND

May 7

Germania Insurance

Amphitheater

TEDESCHI TRUCKS

BAND

May 7

Moody Amphitheater

SNOW THA PRODUCT

May 7

Emo’s Austin

LEWIS CAPALDI

May 8

Moody Amphitheater

FUTURE ISLANDS

May 9

ACL Live at the Moody Theater

BILLY PORTER

May 9

Paramount Theatre

LOVEJOY

May 9

Scoot Inn

HUNTER HAYES

May 11

Scoot Inn

CAROLYN WONDERLAND & JOHN EGAN

May 11

The 04 Center

JASON ISBELL & THE 400 UNIT

May 11 – 13

ACL Live at the Moody Theater

SOUL MAN SAM VS. GYPSY MITCHELL

May 12

Antone’s Nightclub

$NOT

May 12

Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater

IHEARTCOUNTRY

FEST

May 13

Moody Center

IAN MOORE

May 13

Antone’s Nightclub

H-TOWN THROWDOWN

May 13

Round Rock Amp

MOTHER’S DAY R&B

JAM

May 14

H-E-B Center at Cedar Park

THE CURE

May 14

Moody Center

BAND-MAID

May 15

Emo’s Austin

ASHE

May 16

ACL Live at the Moody Theater

THE BACKSEAT LOVERS

May 17

Moody Amphitheater

COHEED & CAMBRIA

May 17

Stubb’s Waller Creek

Amphitheater

BUFFALO NICHOLS

May 17

Antone’s Nightclub

HA*ASH

May 18

Moody Amphitheater

VIOLENT FEMMES

May 18

Stubb’s Waller Creek

Amphitheater

RICARDO ARJONA

May 18

Moody Center

RODRIGO Y GABRIELA

May 19

ACL Live at the Moody Theater

HIPPO CAMPUS

May 19

Moody Amphitheater

ASO: EASTERN WINDS

May 19 & 20

Long Center

QUINN XCII

May 20

Moody Amphitheater

HAYLEY KIYOKO

May 20

Emo’s Austin

POP 2000

May 20

Haute Spot

VIVE CHIHUAHUA

FEST

May 20

H-E-B Center at Cedar Park

FEID

May 21

Bass Concert Hall

THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS

May 21

ACL Live at the Moody Theater

TOVE LO

May 21

Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater

LARRY’S MARKET RUN

2023

May 22

Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater

GINA CHAVEZ

May 23

Long Center

THRICE

May 23

Emo’s Austin

EMILY KING

May 23

Paramount Theatre

THE USED & PIERCE THE VEIL

May 23

H-E-B Center at Cedar Park

MORGAN WALLEN

May 24

Moody Center

DERMOT KENNEDY

May 24

Moody Amphitheater

GRAHAM WEBER’S SONGWRITER SESSIONS

May 24

The 04 Center

CHARLIE PUTH

May 25

Moody Amphitheater

ROB BAIRD W/ DAN DYER

May 26

The 04 Center

SPOON

May 27

Whitewater Amphitheater

LONE STAR JAM

May 27

Round Rock Amp

TWO FRIENDS

May 28

Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater

PAT GREEN, KEVIN FOWLER & JD CLAYTON

May 28

Whitewater Amphitheater

BRYSON TILLER

June 1

Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater

ALL TIME LOW

June 1

ACL Live at the Moody Theater

REBELUTION

June 1

Moody Amphitheater

BILLY STRINGS

June 2 & 3

Moody Center

OLIVIA JEAN

June 3

Parish

ANEES

June 4

Scoot Inn

The 04 CenterFILM

THE ARCTIC: OUR LAST GREAT WILDERNESS

Through May 31

Bullock Texas State History Museum

BANFF CENTRE

MOUNTAIN FILM FEST

May 5 & 6

Paramount Theatre

IMPACT ART’S SHOWTIME IN THE PARK

May 12

Pease Park

OUTDOOR SPECIAL SCREENING

May 13

ICOSA Collective

MONSTR-O-VISION!

May 13

AFS Cinema

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3 BRUNCH

May 14

Alamo Drafthouse - South

Lamar

THE MIRAGE IN AUSTIN

May 20

Stateside at the Paramount

TEN IN TEXAS

May 21

Paramount Theatre

WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?

(1966)

May 25

Harry Ransom Center

MOVIES IN THE PARK: FREE GUY

May 25

Gus Garcia District Park

AFS DOC DAYS FESTIVAL

May 25 – 28

AFS Cinema

SO DAMN EASY GOING (SÅ JÄVLA EASY GOING)

May 31

The Galaxy Theatres

ATX TV FESTIVAL

June 1 – 4

The Driskill Hotel

THEATER

INDECENT BY PAULA VOGEL

Through May 14 Austin Playhouse

JUNGLE BOOK: JANGAL KI KAHANI

Through May 14

Austin Scottish Rite Theater

THE MUSICAL COMEDY MURDERS OF 1940

Through May 14 City Theatre Austin

BIZET’S THE PEARL FISHERS

May 4 & 7

Long Center

THE BAKER’S WIFE

May 5 – June 11

The Alchemy Theatre

HARPER LEE’S TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

May 9 – 14

Bass Concert Hall

VENTANA BALLET: KALEIDOSCOPE

May 11 – 13

KMFA Draylen Mason Studio

CHRONICLES OF AN INDIGENOUS OFFSPRING

May 11 – June 3

Hyde Park Theatre

BALLET AUSTIN: CINDERELLA

May 12 – 14

Long Center

SHORT SHAKESPEARE

May 18 – 21

Zilker Hillside Theater

SANCTUARY CITY BY MARTYNA MAJOK

May 19 – June 3

Ground Floor Theatre

BLUEY’S BIG PLAY

LIVE

May 27 & 28

Long Center

UNDARK: A RADIOACTIVE PUPPET PLAY

May 27 – June 17

The VORTEX

COMEDY

JOE “MR. D” DOMBROWSKI

May 11 – 14

Cap City Comedy Club

O. HENRY MUSEUM PUN-OFF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

May 12

Brush Square Courtyard

KYLE DUNNIGAN

May 12 & 13

Vulcan Gas Company

DRAG BRUNCH

May 14

Cap City Comedy Club

STAVROS HALKIAS

May 18 & 19

Paramount Theatre

FRANKIE QUIÑONES

May 18 – 20

Cap City Comedy Club

AGENTS OF CHAOS COMEDY

May 19

Pershing

STEPH TOLEV

May 19

Creek & the Cave

MURDER! AN IMPROVISED WHODUNNIT

May 19

Fallout Theater

STEVE MARTIN & MARTIN SHORT

May 19 & 20

Bass Concert Hall

IMPRACTICAL JOKERS

May 20

Moody Center

RAFI BASTOS

May 25

Cap City Comedy Club

KOUNTRY WAYNE

May 26

ACL Live at the Moody Theater

DERAY DAVIS

May 26 – 28

Cap City Comedy Club

DERIC POSTON & EHSAN AHMAD

May 27

Vulcan Gas Company

MOVIE PHOTO BY HLK FOTOS.

CALENDARS

Entertainment

JEFF DYE

May 31

Cap City Comedy Club

THEO VON

June 1 – 9

Paramount Theatre

OTHER

MORNING GLORIES

Through May 16

Waterloo Park

BLUE GENIE ART BAZAAR MAY MARKET

Through May 29

Blue Genie Art Bazaar

YOGA & SOUND

Through May 29

Moody Amphitheater

UTOPIAFEST

May 5 & 6

Reveille Peak Ranch

ROT BIKER RALLY

May 5 – 7

Austin Speed Shop

AUSTIN RECORD CONVENTION

May 5 – 7

Palmer Events Center

PECAN STREET FEST

May 6 & 7

6th Street

MARY CASE: SEEKING SOLACE

May 6 – 28

Wally Workman Gallery

BIKE NIGHT

May 9 – 30

Circuit of the Americas

Arts

CELEBRASIA AUSTIN

May 13

Asian American Resource Center

TEXAS ROLLER DERBY

May 13

Palmer Events Center

THE FRONT MARKET

May 13 & 14

Distribution Hall

FAMILY PAINTING W/ REJI THOMAS

May 14

Neill-Cochran House Museum

AEW DYNAMITERAMPAGE

May 17

Moody Center

FANATEC GT WORLD CHALLENGE

May 19 – 21

Circuit of the Americas

TEXAS PLAYBOYS BASEBALL

May 20

The Long Time

HORSELINK OPEN HOUSE

May 20

HorseLink Farm

MARGARITA & FOOD TRUCK FEST

May 20

Round Rock Amp

CITY-WIDE VINTAGE SALE

May 20 & 21

Palmer Events Center

MIMOSA FEST

May 21

Wanderlust Wine Company

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SERIAL KILLERS

May 22

Paramount Theatre

THERESA CAPUTO LIVE

May 25

Paramount Theatre

HOT LUCK FEST

May 25 – 28

Multiple Locations

AAPI HERITAGE MONTH: HAVE YOU EATEN?

May 27

TBA

CHRISTINA LAUREN: THE TRUE LOVE EXPERIMENT

May 27

BookPeople CARS & COFFEE AUSTIN

May 28

Circuit of the Americas

CAPTEX TRI

May 29

Downtown Austin

JOSH GATES

May 31

Paramount Theatre

LINDY CHAMBERS

Through May 11

Women & Their Work

DREAM STATES

Through May 13

ICOSA Collective Gallery

EARTH DAY ART EXHIBIT

Through May 14

ArtUs Co

A SEED A DEER A SEED

Through May 14

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

OLD WOUNDS, DARK DREAMS

Through May 19

Christian-Green Gallery

CAMILLE LEMA: CHILDREN OF THE EARTH

Through May 20

Julia C. Butridge Gallery

MEENA MATAI: THE OTHER SIDE

Through May 20

Julia C. Butridge Gallery

DAN WINTERS: SEEING BEES

Through May 21

Waterloo Park

BEYOND CITY TO CITY: A UNESCO MEDIA ARTS EXHIBITION

Through May 23

Central Library Gallery

HAAS BROTHERS: SNAILS IN COMPARISON

Through May 27

Lora Reynolds Gallery

THE CHASE

Through May 28

grayDUCK Gallery

SPRINGING INTO COLOUR

Through June 2

Art for the People

FLATBED FLATHEADS

Through June 3

Flatbed Center for Contemporary Printmaking

ATX: THIS IS NOW

Through June 4

West Chelsea Contemporary

COOKIE ASHTON

Through June 10 Davis Gallery

HARRY UNDERWOOD: PAINTINGS

May 4 – June 3

Yard Dog Art Gallery

BLANTON NEW GROUNDS GRAND OPENING

May 13

Blanton Museum of Art

PARADISE BLOOM

May 20 – July 7

Women & Their Work

THE HARMON AND HARRIET KELLEY COLLECTION OF AFRICAN AMERICAN ART: WORKS ON PAPER

May 20 – October 1

Bullock Texas State History Museum

Art SPACES

MUSEUMS

BLANTON MUSEUM OF ART

200 E. MLK Jr. Blvd. (512) 471 5482

Hours: Tu–F 10–5, Sa 11–5, Su 1–5 blantonmuseum.org

THE BULLOCK TEXAS STATE HISTORY MUSEUM

1800 Congress Ave. ( 512) 936 8746

Hours: Tu- Su 10–5 thestoryoftexas.com

THE CONTEMPORARY AUSTIN–JONES CENTER

700 Congress Ave. ( 512) 453 5312

Hours: W 12–11, Th–Sa 12–9, Su 12–5 thecontemporaryaustin.org

THE CONTEMPORARY AUSTIN–LAGUNA GLORIA

3809 W. 35 th St. ( 512) 458 8191

Driscoll Villa hours: Tu–W 12– 4, Th–Su 10– 4

Grounds hours: M–Sa 9–5, Su 10–5 thecontemporaryaustin.org

ELISABET NEY MUSEUM

304 E. 44 th St. (512) 974 1625

Hours: W–Su 12–5 austintexas.gov/department/ elisabet-ney-museum

FRENCH LEGATION MUSEUM

802 San Marcos St. (512) 463 7948

Hours: Tu–Su 1–5 frenchlegationmuseum.org

GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER MUSEUM

1165 Angelina St.

( 512) 974 4926

Hours: M–W 10–6, Th 10–9, F 10–6, Sa 10–4 ci.austin.tx.us/carver

HARRY RANSOM

CENTER

300 W. 21st St.

( 512) 471 8944

Hours: Tu–W 10–5, Th 10–7, F 10–5, Sa–Su 12–5 hrc.utexas.edu

LBJ LIBRARY AND MUSEUM

2313 Red River St.

( 512) 721 0200

Hours: M–Su 9–5 lbjlibrary.org

MEXIC–ARTE MUSEUM

419 Congress Ave.

( 512) 480 9373

Hours: M–Th 10– 6, F–Sat 10–5, Su 12–5 mexic–artemuseum.org

O. HENRY MUSEUM

409 E. 5th St.

(512) 974 1398

Hours: W–Su 12–5

THINKERY AUSTIN

1830 Simond Ave.

(512) 469 6200

Hours: Tu–F 10–5, Sa–Su 10– 6 thinkeryaustin.org

UMLAUF SCULPTURE

GARDEN & MUSEUM

605 Azie Morton Rd. ( 512) 445 5582

Hours: Tu–F 10–4, Sa–Su 12–4 umlaufsculpture.org

GALLERIES

ADAMS GALLERIES OF AUSTIN

1310 RR 620 S. Ste C4 (512) 243 7429

Hours: M–F 10–6, Su 10-2 adamsgalleriesaustin.com

AO5 GALLERY

10000 Research Blvd., Ste. 118 ( 512) 481 1111

Hours: M–Sa 10– 6 ao5gallery.com

ART FOR THE PEOPLE

1711 S. 1st St. ( 512) 761 4708

Hours: Tu–Th 11– 6, F-S u 11–7 artforthepeoplegallery.com

ARTUS CO.

10000 Research Blvd., Ste. 141 (512) 761 6484

Hours: M–Su 12–6 artusco.com

ARTWORKS GALLERY

1214 W. 6 th St. ( 512) 472 1550

Hours: M–F 10–5, S a 10–4 artworksaustin.com

ATELIER 1205

1205 E. Cesar Chavez St. (512) 434 9046

Hours: Tu-F 11-4 atelier1205.com

AUSTIN ART GARAGE

2200 S. Lamar Blvd., Ste. J (512) 351 5934

Hours: Tu–Su 11–6 austinartgarage.com

AUSTIN ARTSPACE

7739 Northcross Dr., Ste. Q (512) 763 0646

Hours: F-Sa 11–5 austinartspace.com

AUSTIN GALLERIES

5804 Lookout Mountain Dr. ( 512) 495 9363 By appointment only austingalleries.com

BIG MEDIUM GALLERY

916 Springdale Rd., Bldg. 2 (512) 939 6665

Hours: Tu–Sa 12– 6 bigmedium.org

CAMIBA GALLERY

6448 Hwy 290 East, Ste. A102 (512) 937 5921

Hours: F-Sa 12–6 camibaart.com

CENTRAL LIBRARY GALLERY

710 W. Cesar Chavez St. (512) 974 7400

Hours: M-Th 10-9, F-Sa 10-6, Su 12-6 library.austintexas.gov/ central/gallery

CHRISTIAN-GREEN GALLERY

201 E. 21st St. (512) 471 0254

Hours: W- F 12-5, S a 11-2 galleriesatut.org

CLOUD TREE STUDIOS & GALLERY

3411 E. 5th St. (512) 797 8852

Hours: M-F 12-6, Sa-Su 12-5 cloudtreestudiosandgallery.com

CO-LAB PROJECTS

5419 Glissman Rd. ( 512) 300 8217

By event and appointment only co-labprojects.org

CONTRACOMMON

12912 Hill Country Blvd. #F-140

Hours: M–F By appointment only Sa–Su 12-6 contracommon.org

DAVIS GALLERY

837 W. 12th St. ( 512) 477 4929

Hours: M–F 10–6, Sa 10–4 davisgalleryaustin.com

DIMENSION GALLERY SCULPTURE AND 3D ART

979 Springdale Rd., Ste. 99 ( 512) 479 9941

Hours: Th-Sa 10–6 dimensiongallery.org

DOUGHERTY ARTS CENTER

1110 Barton Springs Rd. ( 512) 974 4000

Hours: M-Th 10–10, F 10–6, Sa 10–4 austintexas.gov/department/ dougherty-arts-center

FLATBED CENTER FOR CONTEMPORARY PRINTMAKING

3701 D rossett Dr. ( 512) 477 9328

Hours: W–F 10–5, S a 12–5 flatbedpress.com

FLUENT COLLABORATIVE

502 W. 33rd St. ( 512) 453 3199 By appointment only fluentcollab.org

GRAYDUCK GALLERY

2213 E. Cesar Chavez St. ( 512) 826 5334

Hours: Th–Sa 11– 6, Su 12–5 grayduckgallery.com

ICOSA COLLECTIVE

916 Springdale Rd. #102 ( 512) 920 2062

Hours: F–Sa 12–6 icosacollective.com

IVESTER CONTEMPORARY

916 Springdale Rd. Bldg 2, ste. 107 (737) 209 0379

Hours: Tu–F 10-6, Sa 10-4 ivestercontemporary.com

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BAR PHOTO BY NICK SIMONITE. VERACRRUUZ PHOTO B Y TAYLOR TOBIN. PARK PHOTO BY HLK FOTOS.