Wow, ever since I wrote about the cake balls on sticks at
Holy Cacao (1207 S. First, 851-CAKE,
www.theholycacao.com) a couple of weeks back, it's been raining cake balls at the office – it appears the petite confections have a wider local distribution than I had realized.
Ann Lux, proprietor of
Lux Bakery & Cafe (3601 W. William Cannon #175, 891-9850,
www.luxbakeryandcafe.com), brought by the red velvet and chocolate crème de menthe versions from her Southwest Austin retail shop. Then the dynamic duo of
Stacey and
Ben Bridges of
Cake by Bridges (826-4824,
www.cakebybridges.com) dropped off a shopping bag packed with their cake-ball assortments: seasonal cake flavors (Italian cream, pumpkin, peanut butter, chocolate mixed with rich chocolate ganache) and liqueur-infused cake flavors (Kahlúa, amaretto, Irish cream, coconut rum), plus a special container of their newest offering, lemon pound cake with Meyer lemon curd covered in white confectioners' coating. (Surely the way to my heart!) The Bridges' truffle-style balls are visually appealing and not overly sweet, and the confectioners' coating is more user-friendly than tempered chocolate. Their gift and bridal assortments are available in a variety of confectioners' coating colors with exquisite beading, monograms, or tiny contrasting flowers – perfect for party or wedding favors...
Driskill Hotel (604 Brazos, 391-7162,
www.driskillhotel.com) Executive Chef
Jonathan Gelman has implemented new spring menus at both the
Driskill Grill and the
1886 Cafe & Bakery, focusing on more local flavors and more affordable prices. I've got my eye on a new $39, three-course farm-to-table dinner... Austin chef
George Thomas has taken over the kitchen at
Imperia (310 Colorado, 472-6770,
www.imperia-austin.com) and added several new innovative and budget-friendly items to the dim sum and small-plate sections of the already popular menu... Never let it be said that chef/restaurateur
Kent Rathbun doesn't have a sense of humor about dining out in this economy. Drop by
Jasper's (11506 Century Oaks in the Domain, 834-4111,
www.jaspers-restaurant.com) for various drink or food bargains on Geithner Gathering Sundays, Margin Mondays, TARP Tuesdays, Bailout Wednesdays, and Earmark Thursdays... Dining options in Austin's far-flung suburbs are definitely improving. The attractive new suburban outlet of
Roaring Fork (10850 Stonelake Blvd., 342-2700,
www.roaringfork.com) opened earlier this week overlooking scenic
Quarry Lake in Northwest Austin, while a second outlet of the popular lake-area
Fion Wine Pub debuted recently in Bee Cave (11715 FM 2244 #100, 512/263-7988,
www.fionwinepub.com).