Dining Room at Congress, Austin. (Photo Ryann Ford)

Starting in 2002, I have eaten my weight in lamb chops, roasted beets, pork belly, and micro-cilantro every year to come up with Texas Monthly’s annual list of the most innovative, exciting, and delicious new Texas restaurants. For 2012, our feature “Where to Eat Now” runs the gamut from a glittering, high-style dining room in downtown Austin to a causal sushi-and-sake bar in Fort Worth.

The full story can be found in the March issue and online. The top ten and runners-up are below.

Pumpkin cheesecake, Barley Swine. (Photo Jody Horton)

The number one slot was captured by Congress, a secluded enclave on the first floor of the swank Austonian condo tower. Since it opened on New Year’s Eve 2010, outfitted in icy crystal lights and cushy booths, Congress has become the city’s default location for special occasions of all types.

(Tip: Congress is also an excellent  choice if you forgot to send candy and flowers on Valentine’s.) Austinites will remember executive chef David Bull when he was a rookie making a name for himself at the Driskill Hotel a few years ago. Now (after a sojourn in Dallas) he’s back in town, at the top of his game.

The year just passed is notable for bringing several dining trends into sharper focus. Chief among them is what I call the offal truth, a.k.a. nose-to-tail eating. Locally sourced ingredients are also the rule these days. Pigs are big, which is observation about both their size and their popularity on menus.

Casual and small-plate dining are more prevalent than ever (several of the top ten choices have beer gardens and community tables). But fine dining is hardly on the way out (three spots are formal with a vengeance). As for culinary style, it’s all over the map: four of

Duck Three Ways, Marquee (Photo Kevin Marple)

the top places are American melting pot, two are classic French, two are Italian, one Indian, and one Japanese.

Here is the list, in order: 1. Congress, Austin. 2. Barley Swine, Austin. 3. Marquee, Dallas. 4. Coppa, Houston. 5. Philippe, Houston. 6. The Monterey, San Antonio. 7. Contigo, Austin. 8. Lucia, Dallas. 9. Pondicheri, Houston. 10. Shinjuku Station, Fort Worth.

The five runners-up (listed alphabetically by city) are Mesa Veracruz Coastal Cuisine, Dallas; Private Social, Dallas. Revolver Taco Lounge, Fort Worth. Feast, San Antonio; Restaurant Gwendolyn, San Antonio.

The restaurants in this year’s story opened between November 1, 2010, and November 1, 2011.

Tagged: Andrew Wiseheart, Anita Jaisinghani, Barley Swine, Ben Edgerton, Brandi Key, Bryce Gilmore, Chris Shepherd, Congress, Contigo, Coppa, David Bull, David Uygur, Erica Waksmunski, Feast, Indika, Jarry Ho, Jennifer Uygur, Lucia, Marquee Grill, Mesa Veracruz Coastal Cuisine, Michael Sohocki, Olga Reyes, Philippe restaurant, Philippe Schmit, Pondicheri, Private Social, Quealy Watson, Raul Reyes, Rebecca Meeker, Restaurant Gwendolyn, Revolver Taco Lounge, Robert Cain, Shinjuku Station, Stefan Bowers, the Monterey, Tiffany Derry, Tre Wilcox, Where to Eat Now 2012

The position of pastry chef at Congress, the new and much-lauded fine dining venue in downtown Austin, didn’t stay open long. Thirty-one-year-old Erica Waksmunski has slipped into the opening left by the departure of Plinio Sandalio (who went to the Carillon, in Austin). She started on January 22.  Two days ago I sat down with Waksmunski to sample her wares (what’s the opposite of hardship pay?!) and chat about her love of making desserts and how she came to Austin for a visit and ended up with a job offer.

TM: How did you get started cooking sweet things?

EW: When I was a kid, my mom and I would begin baking at Thanksgiving to have gifts ready for everybody on our Christmas list, which included the mailman and the check-out clerk at the grocery store as well as friends and family. It was all scratch baking—breads, cookies, that sort of thing.

TM: What was the hardest?

EW: Rugelach! These are small rolled pastries filled with things like nuts and raisins. My mom is from New York—they are popular in the Northeast—and I remember spending hours and hours and hours rolling out that cream cheese dough.

TM: For you, was it always pastry, from the beginning?

EW: Actually, I cooked a lot of savory [unsweet foods] as a kid.  I remember a cooking show on TV taught by some German chef (at least, I thought he was German). I would watch it religiously, write down all the ingredients, and call my dad at work and tell him what I needed him to pick up on his way home. Then I would cook dinner.

TM: Where did you go to school and work before moving to Austin?

EW: I grew up in Virginia Beach and I went to Johnson & Wales University, which is a culinary school in Charlotte, North Carolina. After that I got an internship at Everest in Chicago—I was really lucky. I called the kitchen every single day until Chef Perry told me yes, and later I got hired there. After a couple of years, I went to Flyte World Dining & Wine, in Nashville, which was kind of crazy. I was so young in my career and it was a demanding job, but I told myself, it’s sink-or-swim time.

TM: How did you get to Texas?

EW: I had been working at Chez TJ, which is in Mountain View, in the San Francisco Bay area, and was visiting friends in Austin at Thanksgiving. I happened to be at a party talking to another chef, who mentioned that David Bull was looking for a pastry chef at Congress. I thought, Well, why not? I sent my resume on Monday night and on Tuesday morning, I got a call from chef Bull!

TM: That’s fast.

EW: It was crazy! We emailed back and forth, and then he said they were going to fly me out for an interview. I packed up some special or unusual things I knew I would need, in baggies, and got on the plane. I went straight to the restaurant and they threw me right in! I worked Friday service. Then I slept four hours, got up at 8 a.m., and made a couple of desserts for them to taste. Right after the tasting, he offered me the job.

TM: Do you fit the cliché of the pastry chef who’s a control freak?

EW: Once upon a time I would let the anxiety and stress get to me. But I took a step back, and at this point I feel like I have a way more laid-back approach to my food and management style. I’m not curing cancer; I’m just making people dinner, or dessert! (Laughs.)

TM: What is the best thing about your job—licking the spoon, plating the final result, or something else?

EW: All of the above! Come on, I make candy and sweets for a living. It’s great, it’s fun, it tastes good, and it makes people happy. I love it from start to finish.

TM: What do you think about bacon as a dessert ingredient?

EW: Oh, gosh, I am rolling my eyes here. That is a trend I find obnoxious. Yes, it’s funny. Yes, bacon tastes great with maple syrup. But, please, let’s leave bacon for breakfast.

TM: Which of your creations do you love right now?

EW: That yogurt and lime sorbet dessert. I like to end a multi-course meal on a light, palate-cleansing note. Your tongue has been bombarded, and you need to lighten it back up. That combination is fruit-forward and acidic and has punchy flavors. I’m pretty proud of it.  [Dear readers, she’s referring to her amazing Greek yogurt mousse with lime–Thai basil sorbet; they are accompanied by small cubes of compressed Asian pear in yuzu syrup, super-thin mango slices, dabs of mango purée, and feuillitine crunchies tossed with white chocolate and black lava salt. Your life will not be complete until you have it.]

TM: Last question: Dark or milk chocolate?

EW: Dark.

(Photo of Erica by Scott Walker; Photo of Dessert by David Bull)

Tagged: Congress restaurant, David Bull, Erica Waksmunski, Plinio Sandalio