Chi’Lantro Expands, Taco Flats Expands, G’Raj Mahal Preps a Return, Delucca Opens, Épicerie Spotlights Kallas-Lee, Central Market Celebrates Hatch, and More, More, 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.

Taco Flats is expanding its flavors everywhere

Yes, it’s your “Food News Buffet” for the final week of July, deep in the left ventricle of the heart of Texas.

Yes! Antonelli’s Free Cheese Week continues! Just two more days left, citizen…

Chi’Lantro BBQ – Jae Kim’s tasty fusion of Korean and Mexican cuisines, delighting hungry mouths with custom rice bowls, salads, ssäms, those signature kimchi fries, chicken wings, aguas frescas and more – opened its newest location (9911 Brodie Ln #650) on Wed., July 27. “For a brief moment, as we were celebrating our 10th anniversary in 2020, our future became uncertain due to the coronavirus,” says founder and CEO Kim. “Fast forward to today, I’m truly thankful to our customers in Austin for their continued support and love. They’re providing us with an opportunity to open our ninth location – and to open our 10th restaurant by the end of 2022.”

In a similar triumph, the team behind Taco Flats, the Eastside’s La Holly mezcal bar, and Smithville bar and smoked-meatmongers Carne Lenta, announced the recent purchase of the Riata Bar and Grill and, subsequently, the opening of their latest location: Taco Flats Riata (12221 Riata Trace Pkwy ). “This Northwest section of the city has dense neighborhoods, tech, fintech, and general offices, making the area a perfect fit for our neighborhood bar concept,” says Taco Flats founder and owner Simon Madera. Suggestion: Get ready for even more delicious tacos, beer, wine, spicy margaritas, and general yum when this newest joint opens on Fri., Aug. 5. Also, in September? The crew will be opening another Taco Flats out in Lakeway…

And G’Raj Mahal, the popular Indian eatery and Rainey Street original, is relocating to Austin’s Eastside. Chef and founder Sidney Roberts has partnered with Present Tense Hospitality (that’s those Salt & Time people) to bring the once and future G’Raj to the vibrant Manor Road neighborhood after having ended its 14-year Rainey run last summer. The menu will feature favorites from the original location and new dishes that combine South Asian and Texas flavors – Brisket Tikka Masala, Smoked Tandoor-style Chicken and Frankies (aka Bombay Burritos) – along with a refreshing array of beer, wine, and creative nonalcoholic drinks. This won’t be until “late 2022,” though, and there are those City of Austin *fnord* permits to deal with, right? So whet your appetite, sahib, but don’t hold your breath…

Delicious pizzas offered like carted dim sum? Delucca Gaucho Pizza & Wine will be glad to demonstrate.

Meanwhile, maybe you’re wanting the sort of upscale pizzas served up by Delucca Gaucho Pizza & Wine (4200 W. Braker)? Opened earlier this week, the posh joint “takes a unique approach to pizza through a traditional Brazilian rodízio, where servers circulate the room with slices of handcrafted pizza for guests to try in a continuous dining experience.” So – kind of like, ah, Italian dim sum? In any case, the fare includes 20 handcrafted savory and dessert pizzas, such as the Mexican Elote with crema and cilantro, Indian Chicken Tikka Masala, or the Turkish Lamb with sumac onions. And the place can accommodate around 200 guests in the dining room and patio, so there’s probably room for you and your crew, too…

But what about Show Me Pizza at 2809 S. First? You know – the place where you can watch your pizza being made and cooked on live video (via Twitch.com) while you wait. You’d think that such a televisual gambit was merely a gimmick to compensate for pizzas that weren’t so great, right? Well, think again. Because the guys behind this Show Me Pizza joint, they – ah, no spoilers, we’ll be telling you more about them and their Neapolitan pies in an upcoming issue…

Margarita's Matchassant? OMG ÉPICERIE STAHHHP WE CAN'T EVEN

And what of épicerie, that boutique bakery, grocery, and dining establishment in the Rosedale neighborhood? Seems co-owner and chef Sarah McIntosh isn’t content to keep supplying Austinites with just the usual panoply of noms par excellence. Oh, no, she’s got to go and team up with pastry savant Margarita Kallas-Lee (of Sushi by Scratch Restaurants and Pasta Bar fame), and they’re now ready to debut a downright miracle of bready confection: Margarita’s Matchassant is a Valrhona-white-chocolate-and-matcha-dipped croissant topped with a homemade sesame shortbread and stuffed with lime leaf créme filling. Go ahead, read that one more time and try not to start drooling all Pavlovian. Then note that this… this delicious thing (see image at right) will be available at épicerie (2307 Hancock) from Aug. 3 to 17 (Wed.-Sun., until sold out) and $1 of its $8 price goes to Austin Mutual Aid…

Hotcha! Central Market celebrates its 27th annual Hatch Chile Festival over the next few weeks (Aug. 3-23), offering a peppery plethora of in-store events, cooking classes, products, recipes, and more – all in honor of the world-famous green chile pepper fresh from Hatch, New Mexico. Bonus: On Fri., Aug. 5, 5-8pm, there’ll be a free Hatch tasting party at all Central Market stores…

Let’s see – what else, what else? Austin’s own Snap Kitchen – those purveyors of healthy and delicious ready-to-eat noms – has launched Snap Pass, a new free membership with more ways to enjoy the chef-prepared meals… and Suerte’s Taquero Takeover for August features Tatsu-ya’s chef Dylan Salisbury… and Bakers Against Abortion Bans is having a bake sale… and Desert Door’s second annual Hullaballo for Wild Spirit Wild Places is happening on Wed., Aug. 3… and the very next night brings us Hotel ZaZa’s Cocktail Showdown…

WUXTRY! Tacodeli is bringing back their beloved Specials of the Month this August with the launch of their new, limited-time Short Rib Birria Taco and Chile Relleno Taco – starting Tue., Aug. 2…

WUXTRY! Tickets are now on sale for October’s Tasting Texas Wine + Food Festival in San Antonio, where you can indulge your gastronomic proclivities with walk-around tastings, intimate dinners, outdoor lunches, hands-on workshops, educational panels, and more – from top culinary leaders from across the U.S. and Mexico…

Now eat as well as you can, tip like it’s going out of style, and support your local scene.