Gotta Lotta Restaurant News

Fall has always been the optimal time for restaurant openings in Austin and this year is no exception. Between all the debuts and trailer news, one Food-o-File column just wasn't enough to cover everything this week. Keep reading 'cause there's a contest question with a very tasty prize in here somewhere!

Chris Ten Eyck is the executive chef at the newly opened Jack Allen's Kitchen (2500 Hoppe Trail) in Round Rock and he's on the lookout for area farmers, ranchers, and gardeners to supply his kitchen. . . After months of delay and anticipation, the second outlet of the Steeping Room (4400 N. Lamar) is finally open in Mid-town and we are so excited not to have to drive all the way to the Domain for their delectable baked goods. . . . The new Pinthouse Pizza (4729 Burnet Rd) got open in time to host some Austin Beer Week events and we're eager to try it out. . . We first heard about the Russian House (307 E. Fifth) late last spring when former Georgetown Lady Hoyas Narrie Anderson and Varda Salkey began to publicize the fact they planned to bring authentic Russian food and drinks to the Austin market. They've finally got the place open, with Varda's husband, executive chef Vladimir Gribkob, presiding over a menu of Russian specialties and a bar stocked with a tempting selection of imported and infused vodkas. NaZdrovoye! . . .I'm not exactly sure what I think about pairing big, fat, doughnuts with cocktails, but be that as it may, Gourdough's Public House (2700 S. Lamar)is serving the signature donuts we all loved from their trailer at their new brick-and-mortar spot, along with salads, sandwiches, burgers, sides, craft beers, and custom cocktails. The building they've taken over has a storied past, having been home to the second Kerbey Lane Cafe outlet for 25 years and another iconic South Austin eatery before that. Here's the contest question in order to win free passes to the Austin Food & Wine Alliance Wine & Swine Party on Sunday: What was the name of the iconic South Austin restaurant that started out at 2700 S. Lamar in the early Eighties? Follow me on Twitter at ACFood and tweet me your answer there or email your answer to food@austinchronicle.com before noon on Friday, November 2nd. We had a winner Wednesday afternoon. Congratulations to Patricia Albright who knew the answer was Texicalli Grille. She'll be at Wine & Swine. Danny Roy Young would be so proud . . . It's only been a couple of months since Chronicle food section contributor Rachel Feit wrote a blog post about her experience at the South Austin Trailer Bazaar and we've just learned that the trailers in that spot were forced to move very quickly because the property is now slated for development. We can tell you that Collie's Real Serious Burgers and Honky Tonk Hot Dogs have relocated to the trailer lot at 415 Jessie Street, just off Barton Springs Road's restaurant row, where things are BYOB. In other trailer news, chef Collin Treanor, formerly of Collin B's Bistro & Wine Bar, is now operating a trailer called Rock a Dive (1901 S. Lamar. . . The folks behind Snap Kitchen are certainly on a roll. They've currently got four brick-and-mortar outlets and a cute little pod that's open from 11am to 2pm weekdays at 501 Congress. Now they've announced they'll open a sixth location in Northwest Hills at 3563 Far West in the spring of 2013. Quick, healthy food everywhere you look!