Buh-Bye, Brunch Bird & Plow Burger; Howdy, Masa y Más; Greetings, New Pastry Chef at the Carillon; Oooh, Nice Use of Celery, Bloody Mary Festival; Looking Beyond that Mag Mud Mania; and, Yeah, Even More –

Welcome to a whole new year, and 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, citizen, it’s your “Food News Buffet,” back for a whole ’nother annum of palate-pleasing possibilities, gustatory gumption, and maybe even a few non-alliterative things as well.

Hallelujah! Crack open the lid of 2023 and there’s chef Roberto Campos and new taqueria Masa y Más, bringing the vibrant taste of Central Mexico to South Lamar. The place opens on Fri., Jan. 6, and we’ve got the details for you right here …

OTOH, vegan powerhouses Plow Burger and Brunch Bird have called it quits …

Oh, hey – did you celebrate January First with black-eyed peas this year? Amsterdam-based cartoonist Rachelle Meyer certainly did …

One of our personal resolutions for 2023 is to revisit the fine time we had at the Carillon last year, feasting on the exquisite menu conjured by chef de cuisine Kyle Barham and enjoying the hospitality in that posh palace of dining in the AT&T Hotel & Conference Center (1900 University).

And, dessert lovers that we are, we’re stoked to note that Daniel Benavidez (formerly of Austin’s Omni Hotel) is now the Carillon’s executive pastry chef – and already supercharging the venue’s sweet courses with Orange Grand Marnier Crème Brûlée, Warm Apple Cranberry Crisp (with praline ice cream), and Shiner Bock Chocolate Mousse Cake. Go ahead, think about how delicious that last one’s gotta taste – especially if it follows chef Barham’s palate-perfect lamb shank …

So many people about lost their freakin’ minds, we recall, when California’s beloved chain In-N-Out Burger debuted on Airport Boulevard a few years ago, we figured we’d best do a Kermit Arm Flail about Connecticut-based Wayback Burgers celebrating their Austin grand opening (at 12901 N. I-35) on Sat., Jan. 14 – with buy one, get one free classic burger deals and six chances to win various prizes, including free burgers for a year and Wayback gift cards …

We’re also looking forward to the new Bambino pizza parlor coming this summer from Fiore Tedesco and Adam Orman, the Israeli concept Ezov from the Emmer & Rye team, continued Tex-Mex excellence at Eldorado (3300 W. Anderson), the return of Texas French Bread, and whatever cheftastic exuberance 2023 brings to the monthly Taquero Takeovers at Suerte (1800 E. Sixth) …

Also in the realm of happy anticipation is the annual Bloody Mary Festival, returning to Fair Market (1100 E. Fifth) on Sat., Feb. 11, with an overflowing goblet of participants ready to craft up the perfect Bloodies for the public’s delighted consumption and frank judgment. That public is you, yes – tickets are now available – and the mixologists hail from the Cavalier, Better Half, Yellow Jacket Social Club, 1417 French Bistro, Kinda Tropical, Tweedy’s, the folks behind Momo’s Michelada Mix, and many more exemplary culinary outposts/watering holes around our boozy town. Bonus: This year’s fabulous festival will benefit the Girls Empowerment Network …

But, hold on, just a couple days before that – on Thu., Feb. 9 – at the same Fair Market venue? It’s the Wine & Food Foundation’s annual Big Reds & Bubbles party, where you can taste your way through bites from some of the city's best chefs alongside samples from some of the world’s finest winemakers …

Let’s see – what else, what else? Wine wrangler Wes Marshall has spotlighted a few higher-end sparkling wines for your delight … Supper Friends is already heralding the Mardi Gras season with an excellent Celebration Dinner … L’Oca d’Oro’s monthly Pasta Pasianos dinner returns, graced by the likes of Aaron & Stacy Franklin … we’re feeling a mighty jones to visit East Cesar Chavez this weekend, because grayDUCK Gallery’s got a new exhibition opening and we keep thinking about how Oseyo and Bento Picnic and Intero are right nearby …

Memory can be a bitch. We mean, people – always so quick to categorize things, amirite? – people sometimes forget that, when a restaurant really kicks ass with breakfasts and lunches, the place often has dinners of equal culinary might. We recently mentioned Sawyer & Co in this regard, and now we’re shouting out the Magnolia Cafe (1920 S. Congress), where new nighttime specials have included butternut squash ravioli with browned butter, sage, peas, carrots, and yellow onions; and Ben’s Sunset Salmon Salad of grilled salmon atop a bed of mixed greens with fresh strawberries, orange slices, roasted beets, crumbled blue cheese – all spiked with a housemade lemon vinaigrette. Mmmm, yeah – IYKYK, amigo – the place never was just about the pancakes and that Mag Mud …

Now eat as well as you can, tip like it’s going out of style, and (as RM Beedit so recently karaoke’d) rememberrrrrrrrrr what the dormouse said.