Elementary, My Dear Hopscotch; Speering the Texas Farmers Market; Summering Van Zandt; Loro’s Honey Score-o; and, oh, a Whole Lot More-o

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 first week of August.

Elementary (2026 S. Lamar) – the new restaurant from chef Colter Peck, Chris Arial, and Allan Bautista – is now open for dinner seven days a week, dishing up “global cuisine while emphasizing Central Texas farmers and seasonality.” Suggestion: Check it out soon, and give their hamachi crudo, pappardelle, al astor tortellini, and True Bird chicken a gustatory test drive. Bonus: Hopscotch, the venue’s natural wine bar, awaits you as well …

The Texas Farmers’ Market will be celebrating National Farmers Market Week on August 12-13, with live music, kids’ activities, a cooking demo from Comedor chef Philip Speer at the Mueller market, giveaways, and more. Donations will help support the nonprofit markets and free programming like “Sample the Market,” “Community Compost,” and more. The live music, demos, and other treats happen at Lakeline in Cedar Park (11200 Lakeline Mall Dr.) on Sat., Aug. 12, 9am-1pm, and at Mueller (2006 Philomena) on Sun., Aug. 13, 10am-2pm …

The Summer Chef Series at Hotel Van Zandt (605 Davis) features one-night-only menu collaborations, and the next one (on Wed., Aug. 16) features Brooklyn-born chef Sammy DeMarco. Chef Sammy D will collaborate with the Van Zandt’s chef Sergio Ledesma and Geraldine’s chef Garrett Werley for an eight-course menu highlighting such dishes as a “snacks sampler” (a wing lollipop, fried oyster, and Philly cheesesteak dumpling); a “corn dog” made with lobster, lemon and herb aioli, chive, and caviar; smoked wagyu brisket with red onion relish, pain au lait, and a barbecue glace; and – oh, check the website, the dessert will also knock you sideways with yum …

El Naranjo (2717 S. Lamar), helmed by 2022 James Beard Award-winning chef Iliana de la Vega and her partner Ernesto Torrealba, will welcome Crabster’s chef Christian Bravo to Austin for an intimate Yucatecan dinner on Thu., Aug. 31, presenting a five-course dinner that showcases the food and drink of the Yucatan Peninsula. (Note: This is sure to be a sold-out event, so we wanted to give you a chance to grab tickets while you still can!) …

Kevin and Rosie Truong of Fil n' Viet have collaborated with local favorite Japanese grocer, Asahi, to create two special onigiri flavors – with one Filipino (eggplant omelette with banana ketchup) and one Vietnamese (lap xuong with pork floss). These will be available at both Asahi locations (6105 Burnet; 3005 S. Lamar) Aug. 4-6 …

Loro (2115 S. Lamar), that powerhouse of Asian barbecue from Tyson Cole and Aaron Franklin, has launched a limited-time-only Hot Honey Fried Chicken dish, available on Tuesdays and Wednesdays – from now through the end of September. Look: Thai marinated chicken, fried until crispy, drizzled with Thai chili hot honey, and served with a yuzu kosho potato salad. (Mmhmmm, yeah, you do see us drooling.) Note: It’s available for dine-in, to-go, or delivery …

Let’s see – what else, what else? Bill’s Oyster (205 W. Third), the new seafood restaurant Downtown, is celebrating National Oyster Day on Sat., Aug. 5, with $1 off their regular raw oyster selections (11:30am-5pm) and a dressed-oyster special (Royale Style Oysters with uni, caviar, and Béarnaise sauce) … and that’s the same day of Banger’s beer-happy 11th anniversary shindig … and, speaking of beer, Austin’s own 1417 French Bistro (1417 S. First) has teamed up with Chicago’s Moody Tongue Culinary Brewery, the only two-Michelin-Star brewery in the world, to host a four-course dinner by chef Noah Thibault. That’ll be on Tue., Aug. 15, and you can get tickets right here … and our Food editor Melanie Haupt reviews the new Mediterranean restaurant from the Emmer & Rye group and waxes down rhapsodic about Round Rock’s Unicorniverse … and it’s still hot as hell right now, so don’t miss Evan Rodriguez’s “Essential Frozen Cocktails” round-up … and Mandola's will have their special pride cookies for sale once again from August 6-13, with all proceeds donated to OutYouth …

WUXTRY! Did we say “Mandola’s”? The excellent Trattoria Lisina out in Driftwood, an upscale outpost of Italy in the Texas Hill Country, will be featuring Il Borro wines from the Tuscan Valley at a four-course dinner prepared by chef Damian Mandola on Tue., Aug. 8 …

Now eat as well as you can, tip like it’s going out of style, and be good to others and yourself whenever possible.