Peoples Feel Good BBQ, Diner Bar Collabs with Mashama Bailey, Daiboku’s Debut, TenTen’s Plant-Based Sushi, the Roosevelt Room’s Indulgences, Hyatt Centric’s Finery, Something Something Bacalar, 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.

Yes, citizen, it’s your “Food News Buffet” for the third week of May, and thanks to that RM Beedit for the hot tip.

Peoples Rx will present the first-ever Peoples Feel Good BBQ at their north location (4018 N. Lamar) on Sun., May 21, noon-3pm. It’s a free community barbecue, cooking up the best local organic chicken from Greener Pastures, serving up faves like brisket and pork shoulder, with kale caesar salad on the side, Siete chips, gluten-free croissants and dinner rolls from Dream Bakery, and more. Our suggestion: Get there early!

James Beard Award-winning chef Mashama Bailey of Diner Bar (500 San Jacinto) will collaborate with chefs from Austin and Oakland (CA) for two nights of food and drinks, working with Epicerie’s Sarah McIntosh for dishes including chicken liver tarts, escargot, and pot-au-feu (Mon., May 22, 7-9pm) and Crystal Wahpepah of Wahpepah’s Kitchen for ham tuiles, crab and coconut, and braised lamb shoulder (Wed., May 24, 7-9pm) …

Campus alert! A new ramen joint – Daiboku, a sister restaurant of the Crescent’s excellent Sazan Ramen – has opened at 609 W. 29th, featuring an omakase-style menu at the 10-seat ramen bar, and a menu of signature shoyu and miso-style ramen and Japanese-inspired dishes with walk-up counter service, and a full bar stocked with premium Japanese whiskies, sake, beer, and wine …

So, we recently had a chance to check out the new rum flights at Tiki Tatsu-ya (1300 S. Lamar), and – are they impressive? Tell you what: Here’s a short review of the experience right here …

Should tell you, too, that the Roosevelt Room (307 W. Fifth) has launched its spring-and-summer Featured Indulgences: A drinks menu created by the Room’s bartenders, allowing them to pull inspiration from cocktail classics throughout history while using seasonal ingredients and taking a distinctly modern approach. Classic, yet present? How very Roosevelt, indeed …

And – beyond the booze and into the veggies, now – TenTen, that modern and elegant Japanese restaurant on Sixth (501 W. Sixth, to be precise), has just debuted new plant-based sushi options, featuring a cucumber maki (with cucumber, avocado, and tofu cream), a beet maki (with beet, serrano, aji amarillo and asparagus), and eggplant-and-asparagus nigiri. And while we’re gabbing about this latest TenTen goodness, let’s not forget their ongoing Friday lunch specials (with popular appetizers, donburis, kushiyaki, robata dishes, poke bowls, handrolls, and more) that are available 11am-2pm every, yes, every Friday …

Let’s see – what else, what else? Well, hallelujah: Sue Davis’ much-missed vegan powerhouse Counter Culture has returned – at least in food truck form … and of course Aaron Franklin’s Hot Luck Fest is coming up soon … and there’s a collab between Antonelli’s and the Driskill Hotel on the 25th that no cheese-lover would want to miss … and Evan Rodriguez has a review of both the restaurant Luminaire and the bar Las Bis that are supercharging Downtown’s Hyatt Centric hotel with extra culinary might … meanwhile, much farther south on Congress, Gelato Paradiso (1400 S. Congress) is whipping up their plethora of cold & creamy concoctions for all to enjoy, but we’re especially gung ho about the dulce de leche variation currently turning our mouth into a sort of paradise of its own … and you know that Lenoir, Jessica Maher and Todd Duplechan’s bastion of modern and locally sourced fare, is donating 5% of each third Thursday’s sales to local charities, right? Like, on May 18, it’s the Gazelle Foundation; June 15, CASA; July 20, The Trail Conservancy; August 17, HAAM; September 21, Latinitas; November 16, SAFE; and December 21, Foundation Communities … and on Sat., May 27, 11am-5pm, Dottiewood Studios is hosting Have You Eaten?, an interactive community event that celebrates diverse Asian cultures through food and drink – featuring a pop-up cafe, a hand-pulled noodle cooking class, and more …

WUXTRY! There’s gonna be a neighborhood restaurant inspired by the Yucatán Peninsula opening on Rainey Street this summer, a venue called Bacalar – named after the Pueblo Magico Bacalar (also known as the Lake of Seven Colors) in Quintana Roo – that’ll boast two stories of space (designed by Urbanspace’s Merrill Alley) featuring two bars, two patios, a lounge, and a private dining room …

Now eat as well as you can, tip like it’s going out of style, and mind the heat of the moment.