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).
This article appears in April 24 • 2009.