Hyde Park Bar & Grill Is All Forked Up, NADC Burger Smashes Those Idle Hands, Industry Is Off the 86 Board, Marufuku Ramen Noodles Its Way to Mueller, and (How D’ya Like It?) More, More, More
All the news that’s fit to get your taste buds quivering
By Wayne Alan Brenner, 2:35PM, Wed. Oct. 12, 2022
Here's some of what's happening in Austin's culinary scene, as wrangled from numerous PR releases, words on the digital street, and even the occasional (verified) IRL eavesdroppings.
Yes, it’s your “Food News Buffet” for the third week of October, smack in the middle of our Drinks Issue.
More art, FTW! There’s a new iteration of Hyde Park Bar & Grill’s famed “fork in the road” sculpture that’s been a beloved Hyde Park landmark for nigh on 40 years. Manny Vela of Aztec Custom Designs has constructed the new 18-foot metal utensil that now graces the storefront of the other, southerly, moved-there-in-2006 Hyde Park Bar & Grill at 4521 West Gate. And the original fork at 4206 Duval St.? Is currently sporting a giant slice of 40th-anniversary cake (as crafted by artist Dale Whistler), drawing the attention of even people who don’t already know how damned good the dining and drinking is in that longtime bastion of comfort food…
Led by the irrepressible Phillip Frankland Lee, the team behind those award-winning Sushi by Scratch Restaurants and Pasta|Bar has unleashed a new concept, NADC Burger, serving up just one style of burgers – ⅓-pound patties of premium Texas wagyu beef (from Iron Table Wagyu out in Gatesville), with American cheese, secret sauce, onions, and pickles – and fries cooked in wagyu fat – from the back of that Caribbean-inspired Idle Hands watering hole at 85 Rainey. Note: They’re available every day from 6pm until sold out…
Some guy, right? Some guy named Tony C wants to send a Texan to New York City for dinner and a Broadway show, all expenses paid – and it could be you. This is how: Buy a pizza from any Tony C’s Coal Fired Pizza or Tony C’s Pizza & Beer Garden here in Texas through midnight on October 31. Each pizza order will include a Golden Ticket; scan the ticket’s unique QR code, give ’em your contact info, and you’ll be entered for a chance to win…
We told you last week that Industry – Cody Taylor and Harlan Scott’s hospitality-centric San Marcos eatery – featuring a casual, counter service atmosphere with an expansive bar and Sunday brunch – will open a new venue in Austin at 1211 E. Fifth, but we couldn’t tell you precisely when. Now we can: Welcome them to the neighborhood on Sat., Oct. 22…
But, OK, so where’s that fine new hotel that’s supposed to’ve opened along the river, pretty much directly across from Zach Theatre? Where’s that elegant modern inn they call the Loren, hey? Pending, is the answer: The whole scene-enriching thing (at 1211 W. Riverside) with its Nido restaurant and more should be opening soon. Yes, yes, it should. But – you know what the permitting process is like in this town, right? And the pandemic-addled supply chain? Cross your fingers, citizen, and we’ll keep you posted…
It’s still October, yes, which also means it’s still Texas Wine Month. That means a whole bunch of things to a whole bunch of people, but right now we’re gonna mention just two things: William Chris Vineyards out in Hye will be hosting two Texas Wine Month dinners (Fri., Oct. 14 & 21), with excellent pairings to accompany each multicourse meal, and you can get tickets ($150) for those feasts here and here… and, for wines by the bottle from beyond our Lone Star State, keep in mind that the Twin Sourced Wine Sale continues through Oct. 22 at all Twin Liquors locations and (of course) online, too…
You know what’s really good foodwise in Mueller? Well, yeah, a lot of things: The Texas Farmers’ Market (where the Austin Fermentation Festival is currently underway) and L'Oca d’Oro, Lick Honest Ice Creams, Casero, Rebel Cheese, the most architecturally stunning Kerbey Lane Cafe, and – listen, you know what’s really good foodwise and is brand-spankin’-new in Mueller? Marufuku Ramen at 1900 Aldrich. Which opened just this week and is serving up noodle bowls and drinks that are so tasty you’d suspect Tatsu Aikawa was behind the San Francisco-based chain. (Note: He’s not.) But, ah, it’s not only the great noms and the good service, see – it’s also that Marufuku includes, among its beverage offerings, spirits from Austin’s own Texas Saké Co.…
This time of year also marks the return of Truluck’s Florida Stone Crab Season – starting on Sat., Oct. 15 –wherein the acclaimed seafood restaurant works with fisheries and dedicated crabbing professionals in South Florida to bring you the freshest crustacean-based vittles the ocean can provide. Mmhmmm, those crabs are awful clawful, mighty tasty, and served chilled and pre-cracked with a specialty mustard…
Enough with the crabs, already, what about lobsters? Well, ghost of David Foster Wallace, when we consider the lobster in this city, we think of Garbo’s Fresh Maine Lobster (12709 N. MoPac), and what we’re thinking lately is how Garbo’s has hooked up with Island Creek Oyster Farm not only for weekly Wednesday oyster specials to enhance the treasures of their regular menu, but also to create their very own brand of caviar…
A what? A steak-stoked happy hour? Yes, because the magisterial meatmongers of Salt & Time (1912 E. Seventh) are running a special during their daily 3-6pm happy hours, where you can get a 6-ounce hanger steak, beef-fat fries, and a side salad for just $20. What’s really amazing, though? Those happy hours are also on the weekends. And congrats to the whole Salt & Time team, btw, for their Beef Enchilada Sausage winning Devro World’s Best Beef Sausage at the World Butchers’ Challenge last month…
You – and thousands upon thousands of other humans – like Tacodeli, right? You crave their signature tacos, the boozy concoctions they serve, and even their tortillas – are we on the right track here? Then you’ll be pleased to know that those tasty Tacodeli flour tortillas are now available outside of Tacodeli for the first time ever – packaged up all pretty in Whole Foods Market stores across Central Texas. No, for real, in both cooked and uncooked versions, to make your own fix-’em-up-at-home taco nights even better…
Let’s see – what else, what else? Surely you haven’t missed Eric Puga’s rankings of Austin’s Best Breweries of 2022… or Kriss Conklin’s wrap-up of ACL Eats options… and that the snazzy Hotel Granduca’s got a Cinema Under the Stars series starting this Friday… and, ¡oralé! The Sazon Latin Food Festival is this Saturday… and Garrison at the Fairmont Hotel is presenting an incredible epicurean experience for the upcoming Formula One weekend…
WUXTRY! The Museum of Ice Cream – that, um, funcentric place in the Domain (11506 Century Oaks) – has just transmogrified itself into the Museum of I-Scream, the better to foreshadow and celebrate Halloween with newly themed storylines, treats, drinks, and wickedly enjoyable activities. Yes, costumes are encouraged – especially if they’re pink…
Now eat as well as you can, tip like it’s going out of style, and don’t be afraid of no g-g-g-ghosts.
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March 22, 2024
