Made In Makes Farewell, Tiny Grocer Champions the Dry, the Loren Brings Midnite Bagel, Uchiba Goes (Briefly) Nashville, 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.

Serving suggestion: Welcome the new year with Kemuri Tatsu-Ya's Brisket Boat (Photo by Michelle Rivera)

Yes, it’s your “Food News Buffet” for the first week of January 2024.

What’s shuttering in the first month of this new year? Made In Cookware, the premium cookware brand based here in Austin, will be closing their South Congress store (1604 S. Congress) on January 22. The company, founded by Chip Malt and Jake Kalick in 2017, opened their first retail store in that space in November of ’22, later opening their second store at The Domain in June 2023. Note: The Domain location (at 11410 Century Oaks Terrace ) is still, as of this writing, going strong …

Anyone else out there resolved to be a little more … dry? This is a good year for going alcohol-free, citizen, but also doing so without having to forfeit the style and flavors of classic imbibing. Steph Steele, owner of Tiny Grocer in Hyde Park and on Congress, is an expert in discovering N/A beverages, besides hosting dinner parties where she makes some mighty tasty mocktails. Some of Steele’s favorite sober options include Little Saints (N/A mezcal) St. Agrestis Phony Negroni, the locally based Surely line of nonalcoholic wines, that Slow Luck tipple that’s also an Austin native, and more. Yes, these are available at both Tiny Grocer locations, and the store’s in-house French restaurant, Bureau de Poste (4300 Speedway, which used to be the Hyde Park Post Office), carries several of the options on their drink menu. Reckon you could do both your liver and your taste buds a favor by giving the growing trend of unbooziness a try, hey?

We told you when the elevated yum purveyed by Christina Tosi of NYC’s Milk Bar was featured at the Loren at Lady Bird Lake – back in December, remember? Well, now the Loren’s got their first Chef Collaboration of 2024 up and running: San Francisco’s renowned Midnite Bagel is offering their unique variety of bagels, breads, and sandwiches (and, of course, the relevant schmears) at the hotel’s ground-floor Cafe (1211 W. Riverside) through the end of January, making it a nigh-on irresistible nomming detour for all you joggers, striders, and dogwalkers along the hike & bike trail …

Let’s see – what else, what else? Kemuri Tatsu-Ya is celebrating their seventh anniversary by bringing back the original-menu Brisket Boat (and the crowd goes willlld!) … Apt. 115 gets all Gallic with the good shit in their cheesetastic Bonne Merde pop-up … Chris Cubas and Maris Clegg and the Red Beans and Ricely Yours team continue their good work here in the river city … and, okay, just so none of us lose track of what anchors the news in this weekly column …

WUXTRY! Uchibā (601 W. Second) gives 2024 a hearty “irasshaimase!” with the latest in their forces-joining action: The Uncommon Ramen series that features innovative culinary talent from around the country welcomes Nashville chefs Chad Newton and Gracie Nguyen to collaborate with Uchibā’s Vaidas Imsha for one day only – Mon., Jan. 8 – and bring to the table a “Cheesy Korean Ramen” made with smoked pork, sun noodles, house tonkatsu broth, egg-gochujang sauce, kimchi mozzarella, and negi. And, yes, stay tuned: There are more such collabs a-brewing in that elegant izakaya at the base of Downtown’s Google Tower ….

Now eat as well as you can, tip like it’s going out of style, and do your best to shine in this new year.