Austin

(From May 2012)

The gods were smiling on us as we sighted this tiny storefront in a small strip center way north of town (our usually spot-on GPS had us continuing down the road a few more miles). We had to wait in line to order at the counter, but that gave us an opportunity to see what everyone else was having, like blueberry waffles; a fried-egg, potato, and cheddar sandwich; and a BLT with house-smoked bacon, to name a few. Everything looked scrumptious. Our friend couldn’t resist the breakfast offerings (until noon) and inhaled his spicy ham, scrambled egg, and Monterey Jack sandwich (sans the bread but with an extra egg for good measure). We, in turn, devoured the namesake Noble Pig: spicy ham, flavorful pulled pork, provolone, and bacon bulging between two righteous pieces of wheat bread made in-house. We noticed Guy Fieri’s autograph on the wall and were told that he too recently enjoyed a TNP sandwich, which will be featured on an upcoming episode of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.

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(From May 2012)

The spectacular oak tree in the middle of the deck is ready for Austin’s first six months of summer. Should you retreat to the cool interior, you’ll find a sixties-esque look that could grace the set of Mad Men. Under the direction of new owner-chef Shawn Cirkiel, of Parkside, the kitchen has embraced regional Italian cuisine. Successes on recent visits included a fabulous starter of gloriously rich, mushy polenta with wild mushrooms and a soft-cooked farm egg. Equally impressive: classic mezzaluna pasta filled with a lovely butternut squash purée and topped with brown butter, golden raisins, and sage leaves. Pork meatballs with a sassy fig mostarda came off well, but we can’t figure out why the kitchen keeps sending out those boring eggplant balls as a gratis starter, and the fried whole baby artichokes were so leathery we almost asked for a steak knife. But these early flubs will hopefully fade; good ideas abound. Bar.

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(From December 2010) This Warehouse District lounge (a dimly lit room with sea green walls, chandeliers, and a long skinny bar) makes us think of New Orleans. A local champion of the absinthe craze, Péché also offers a variety of adult beverages that would make any mixologist take notice; we fought over the Old Cuban (rum, mint, lime, champagne, and bitters). The food proved to be just as rewarding: Pan-roasted scallops arrived perfectly seared and flavorful without a hint of grittiness. Accolades went to the flatiron steak with avocado-herb butter and a ragoût of scallops, local red potatoes, and Sun Gold tomatoes. The hipsters began to wander in as the evening came to a close—for us anyway. Bar.

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(From June 2012)

It’s hard not to throw around words like “cute” and “adorable” at this place; outside, white tables adorned with jaunty pink napkins, fresh flowers, and veladoras evoke a garden party, while the inside of the creaky old house feels like a cross between a hunting cabin and a saloon, complete with upright piano. The menu is a small collection of frequently changing dishes; we were taken with tender carne a la tampiqueña elevated by an addictive garlicky sauce
and by spicy enchiladas suizas stuffed with excellent shrimp. Be sure to sample one of the many mescals, served with sprightly wedges of orange and rusty-hued sal de gusano (yep, worm salt). Bar.

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(From May 2011)

Nothing if not ambitious, chef David Bull commands both new restaurants on the ground floor of the Austonian condo complex. Congress (see above) is the formal dining room and crown jewel, while Second is the stylishly casual haunt, complete with communal tables. The food here is eclectic American and well presented, as if de-signed by an architect. But we think it’s best viewed as a pleasant adjunct to a round of drinks rather than the point of the evening. A case in point are the terrific deep-fried pickles offered with Buffalo wing sauce. We also liked the diminutive, toasty veal meatballs, offered in a tiny Staub cast iron pan. Pizza with pulled pork and green chiles sounded interesting but proved ordinary. Best dish (and it was fabulous): delicate robiola-filled agnolotti. Bar.

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(From May 2011) The dinner menu at Trace, the cleverly designed new restaurant in the W Hotel, is decidedly compact—fewer than twenty items sorted into trendy categories like “farmed,” “foraged,” “crafted,” and “hunted.” We sipped a sparkling jalapeño-and-cucumber lemonade and a black peppercorn martini while perusing the choices. Good thing we did, because cocktails were the best part of the evening (there’s a reason they call the offerings “beverage & food”). We noshed on Market Snacks: a sampler of fried olives, pickled veggies, bland pâté grand-mère, and two cheeses, Pure Luck chèvre and drunken cheddar. A fricassee of wild mushrooms sounded promising, but its polenta base was watery and flavorless; a crispy snapper filet with cauliflower purée and pistachio pesto proved equally lacklus-ter. The ideas weren’t bad at all, but the kitchen needs time to mature. Bar.

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(From June 2011) Cooled by the breezes of supersize fans, the delightful patio at Zed’s provides respite for those in the Tech Ridge area of North Austin. Rounding out the picture is a menu of tasty nibbles like sweet and savory almond-crusted goat cheese (served warm with honey and grilled toast) and a small plate of saucy baby back ribs. Beef tenderloin with roasted vegetables was perfectly prepared, but the grilled mahimahi could have used a little more punch. The mac-and-cheese was, strangely, in need of much more cheese. Bar.

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(From February 2012)

Yes, the tucked-away setting off Lamar has been inauspicious for many a restaurant. And, yes, a few of us are suffering from pork fatigue. But it’s hard not to be charmed by this cheerful yellow house, with its hodgepodge of porcine decor and enthusiastic young staff. And it’s also hard not to wonder if this place got named for the wrong animal. Sure, the ubiquitous bacon was great—sprinkled atop a mound of cheesy fries, sandwiched with juicy tomatoes between thick slices of toasted bread. But what really got our attention were the massive chunks of golden-battered fried chicken, in an appetizer (strips served with bacon gravy, of course) and in the chicken BLT, in which the B, the L, and the T got seriously upstaged. Beer.

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(From January 2012)

The more things change, the more they change. Longtime central Austin restaurant Zoot moved way out to Bee Cave Road two years ago but never really thrived. Stewart Scruggs and Mark Paul put it out of its misery, and about a month or so later, reopened as BC Tavern. Intelligent move. Within two weeks, the nice but less dressy restaurant and bar was busy most every night. What's bringing in the customers are backyard and down-home dishes like four different burgers and fried chicken on Sundays. But because the owners are chefs, not just cooks, they can't resist French bistro favorites like an excellent duck confit with al dente vegetables and moist, if dense, quenelles (which they disguise under the name Duck-n-Dumplins). Also very fine: a ribeye with new potatoes and a balsalmic-drizzled broiled tomato. In need of a thnk-over: clunky onion rings and delicate but disturbingly nugget-size sweetbreads.

See also Pat's Pick, page 133.

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(From January 2012)

You can't help but feel a tinge of Paris at the turn of the twentieth century when you're dining in this gothic basement-level restaurant, especially tucked away in a cozy booth beneath an antique chandelier. Gulf shrimp simmered in a garlicky tomato broth and served with a slice of crisply grilled ciabatta started the meal out on the right note. Easily keeping pace was a hearty chicken potpie with a puff pastry shell. Grilled tenderloin in a mushroom reduction with a pat of foie gras compound butter tasted as decadent as it sounds, but a seared scallop dish laden with butter and salt was too much of a good thing. Bar.

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