Central Market’s Meatless Butcher, Hoboken’s 14th Anniversary, Suerte’s Taquero Takeover, and More

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.

Is it beef? Is it chicken? It's hella tasty fajita proteins, fresh from Central Market's new Meatless Butcher.

Yes, it’s your Food News Buffet for the last week of April in our more-neon-enhanced-than-usual city.

Say – are the vegans winning, or what? It sure looks like they are, and, tbh, that means everyone is winning. Case in point: Central Market has launched their first Meatless Butcher – at their Austin Westgate store. The Meatless Butcher, located in the produce department, will operate like a typical meat butcher, but with all the proteins completely plant-based and prepared daily by Central Market chefs: meatless chicken wings, meatless brisket, meatless chicken and beef fajitas, meatless chicken and beef kabobs, meatless pepperoni, meatless chorizo, mea – okay, we’re not going to say “meatless” anymore. You get it, right?

It’s time for Il Brutto, that bountiful bastion of authentic Italian cuisine on East Sixth, to celebrate their four-year anniversary – and they’re doing it on the night of Thursday, April 28, with special food & beverage menus, flash tattoos, live music, DJ sets, and what they teasingly refer to as “a few more surprises along the way.” Yeah? As long as “the way” is well-supplied with their excellent pasta, we’ll be happy as clams casino…

Mayday! It’s the word – from the French “m’aidez,” meaning “help me” – used as an international distress signal since the 1920s. And on Sun., May 1, noon-2am, if your distress is due to a certain craving and you’re near the Red River Cultural District, you can help yourself to a slice of pizza for $2 from Hoboken Pie (7128 Red River), as the Jersey-style pie shop celebrates 14 years of serving up Sicilianate succulence to local afternoon and late-night crowds. During the locked-down pandemic years, the Hoboken honchos revamped their storefront, created custom pizza boxes, and welcomed Alex Dunn as new general manager. Now they’re back in fine-ass fettle and ready “to bring more slices and smiles to more people than ever before.” Bonus: Keep an eye out for the renowned “blue square” for 
a chance to win free pizza for a year from WhenWhereWhatAustin…

You know how Fermín Nuñez’s excellent Suerte does those Taquero Takeover events once a month, right? Letting a different culinary pro dictate what’s on the menu for the day? On this coming Tuesday – May 3 – the chef doing the takeover is none other than Dai Due’s forager supreme, Jesse Griffiths, who’s got the kitchen ready to serve up a unique Wild Boar Crunch Wrap, featuring a picadillo recipe from his comprehensive The Hog Book. Good idea to grab a reservation while you can…

And, let’s see, what else? There’s those Dames d’Escoffier grilling up the live-fire goodness at Franklin Barbecue on Thursday… and your man Brenner helping judge the Girl Scouts of Central Texas “Cookies & Cocktails” competition at Fair Market on Friday… and SoCo’s Tiny Grocer throwing a neighborhood party on Saturday… and all locations of Hat Creek giving free burgers to teachers on Sunday…

WUXTRY! The Wine & Food Foundation’s ongoing Imbibe series will present a Texas Two-Sip Blind Tasting on the afternoon of Tue., May 3, wherein Texas Fine Wine Director Denise Clarke leads you in tasting some of the best wines in the Lone Star State and comparing them to their international varietal counterparts…

WUXTRY! Local fast-food icon Mighty Fine Burgers has announced three new locations – Dripping Springs, Hutto, and Kyle – opening in the next year. Seems like everybody’s moving out to the farther suburbs lately. Could that possibly be because SO MANY PEOPLE CAN’T AFFORD TO LIVE IN THIS GODDAMN CITY ANYMORE? Just a thought, friend.

Now eat as well as you can, tip like it’s going out of style, and maybe, ah, take a walk on the wild side.