The Loren Hosts the Milk Bar, Bar Peached Brings the Fall Harvest, Perry’s Goes Mexican with Verdad, 12 Days of Free Lunch Is on Its Way, 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 penultimate week of November.

Turkeyday plans for this year? OMG, it’s now or never! See what’s left of our Thanksgiving Dining listings and grab what you can …

The Loren at Lady Bird Lake (1211 W. Riverside) is about to kick off their wintertime Cafe Collaboration series – starting with NYC’s famous Milk Bar, the brainchild of James Beard Award-winning pastry chef Christina Tosi. In addition to Milk Bar’s beloved cookies and 6-inch cakes, Cafe at the Loren will be the only place outside of New York that will have Milk Bar’s seasonal cakes. And when can you get these delights for yourself? The Cafe will have the goods for sale on Fri., Dec. 1, 7am …

Austin’s Chef Bar and Mockingbird are partnering for an evening of Fall Harvest-themed beverages and local, regenerative farming-focused noms at Bar Peached (1315 W. Sixth) on Monday, Nov. 27, 6-11pm. The walk-in-only event features seasonally available provisions from the Texas Hill Country. They tell us, too, that this is “the first, more relaxed counter-service installment of what will become a seated omakase dinner series over the next few months,” under the direction of chef Charles Schlienger (a former Sway chef, nota bene). Monday’s succulent feast includes sourdough fritters (with fermented rye, country ham, sheep’s milk ricotta, and local honey!), coal-fired beef shoulder, caramelized pear and pecan crumble, and several special cocktails …

We told you how Michael Fojtasek’s new Prime Rib Fridays at Maie Day (1603 S. Congress) reminded us of Perry’s Steakhouse’s famous (and long-running) Pork Chop Fridays at their upscale bastions of contemporary cuisine, right? Well, now the Perry’s family of restaurants is preparing to debut VERDAD True Modern Mexican (do you need us to tell you what type of food that is, Holmes?), their latest venture into the dining scene. This new place will be opening in December, at 2701 Perseverance, ready to bring everything great – from masa to mezcal, they say – to the modern table …

Let’s see – what else, what else? Star Bar (600 W. Sixth) has opened a new brick-and-mortar outrlet of Via 313 Pizza, with a menu including favorites like the Funkadelic Chicken, the Cadillac, and the Bobo Brazil … Taylor Tobin asks local barbecue pitmasters about the best way to smoke a Thanksgiving turkey … Haris Qureshi reports about Murray’s Tavern taking over the former Gourmands location … and, if you’re looking for an especially Christmassy atmosphere in which to meet friends and tipple the most potent and tasty libations, we suggest that the Eleanor’s Miracle on Fifth Street extravaganza is the place to be …

WUXTRY! Free Lunch ATX, a local organization dedicated to providing meal support to Austin’s Camp Esperanza homeless community, is hosting 12 Days of Free Lunch, a citywide fundraising initiative, from Dec. 1-12, hoping to raise $12,000 by partnering with more than a dozen local culinary hotspots – including Bufalina (Sun., Dec. 3), Allday Pizza (Tue., Dec. 5), LeRoy and Lewis Barbecue (Wed., Dec. 6), Tweedy’s (Thu., Dec. 7), Sugar Mama’s (Fri., Dec. 8), Justine’s (Mon., Dec. 11), and more – to help combat food insecurity in Austin. You want to do some good for the city you live in and dine deliciously? Find the details right here …

Now eat as well as you can, tip like it’s going out of style, and just, like, try not to argue with your Uncle Bob.