2nd Bar + Kitchen

A blustery, cold January night -- one of the few we've had in Austin this winter -- was the night that one of my best foodie friends and I ventured downtown. We were rather windblown when we arrived a bit past 5:30 pm at Chef David Bull's 2nd Bar + Kitchen in the Austonian building at 2nd and Congress.  Since we were there for an early dinner, we had no problem getting a table, and were seated in a corner booth spot, facing the bar.

Studying the drink menu, I was reminded of a cocktail I had there once before for a social media tasting, a couple months after they opened. Gin and Jam -- Citadelle gin on the rocks with a spoonful of housemade raspberry jam. What's on the current menu is different -- Monopolowa Gin with a cranberry jam. I had never been a gin fan before that first gin and jam cocktail, and our server assured me that this version was equally good if not better with the Austrian Monopolowa. He turned out to be quite correct, as it was very smooth with a touch of sweet and tart from the jam.

We started with Bacon + Eggs, which is some very nicely crisped pork belly, a poached egg, frisee, a touch of orange (juice? zest? not sure what form it took), and a maple gastrique. It was really quite delicious. The pork belly had great texture, and I am starting to like eggs with runny yolks! The maple added just the small bit of sweetness needed for a contrast, and the orange addition did make it reminiscent of eating bacon, eggs and orange juice for breakfast. This is considered one of their Small Plates, and at $12, certainly worth it.

We were both excited about the charcuterie plate from the Snack portion of the menu, and got a chuckle out of the description "appropriate condiments." I realize in retrospect, we should have asked what was on the day's plate, as I expected there to be some cured meats, like a sausage or cured ham, but it was all pates and rillettes, so everything was fairly similar texturally. The offerings were all good, but again, a bit more variety would have been nice. From the back left: rabbit rillette with a Dijon-style mustard and chicken pate, and in the front, pork and beef pate, and pork rillette in the cup. The appropriate condiments were a grainy mustard and cornichons and pickled vegetables. I think the two rillettes were my favorites.

We split one large plate, the pappardelle with truffled ricotta, shaved fennel, roasted mushrooms, and added the veal meatballs. The meatballs were a disappointment in both size and taste. There were five very small meatballs, about and inch in diameter, and they were a bit dried out. Looking carefully now at the picture, I think they sat under the salamander broiler for too long. You can see how some of the cheese as well as some of the pasta got a toasted, and the small size of the meatballs suffered from the extra heat. The rest of the dish was good, a mild truffle flavor, and very wide ribbons of pasta; the fennel added an extra layer of flavor which complimented everything well. It was a good dish but not outstanding.

For dessert, we had the Lemon Curd Brulee with "jalapeno caramel and cornbread ice cream." I wonder if the menu description was totally accurate, because what was presented was a cornmeal tartlet with lemon curd, bruleed on top, with salted caramel, and a red jalapeno jam. I wouldn't say the ice cream was cornbready at all. The whole thing was tasty, but not as the menu would lead you to believe.

They also have "bites" on the dessert menu, and I was debating between chocolate brownie and pudding pops. I let the waiter talk me into the pudding pops, though I think I should have gone with my gut, and picked the brownie. The graham cracker crunch was lacking in the crunch part, so there wasn't enough textural contrast.

Apart from the hostess, the other staff we saw all looked a bit scruffy. Jeans and long sleeve t-shirts seem to be the norm there for waiter dress code, but some of them looked like they rolled out of bed from an upstairs apartment in the Austonian. I think we were both surprised by the casualness. 2nd B + K shares its kitchen with Congress, the upscale establishment with prix-fixe three or seven course menus. I have heard that Congress is sheer perfection, so I wonder if the kitchen gives that side of the house their extra attention. Nothing came up totally short in our meal, but I would say there's room for some improvements.

Second + Congress

Got invited to a tasting at Second Bar + Kitchen by the Google Places last week. It was a fun time, and great to meet some new blogger friends!  Google Places is a personalized local recommendation engine, that can also help you to find local businesses based on the ones you already know. It's similar to Yelp, but from what I can tell thus far (and not being a regular Yelp user), GP has the ability to do much more. They were a wonderful host for the evening, as we enjoyed the semi-cooling breezes up on the second floor private balcony.

It began with cocktails, which is always a good start. The bar made three different cocktails that aren't on the current menu, and over the course of the evening, we tried them, and rated them; the winner will be included in the summer menu. First up was Forever My Queen, with chartreuse, reposado tequila, and orange juice. Sort of like a tequila sunrise.

There were some cheese plates, which I wish I had gotten the names of all the cheeses, because they were delicious! The dish on the right is the avocado fundido, which was layered guacamole with chorizo, and queso fresca on top.

The waitstaff began with some passed appetizer dishes; my compliments to them, because they were extremely patient and gracious about us (most of us!) taking pictures and asking what things were. This little bite was a sensational combo of flavors -- beet and watermelon with arugula, blue cheese, and Maldon sea salt.

Next we had veal meatballs arrabiata with a fennel gremolata, and grana padana cheese. Loved the little whiteware serving dishes.

Buffalo fried pickles with a gorgonzola sauce arrived next; the pickles were marinated in a house-made hot wing sauce, battered, and fried, with the sauce at the bottom of the cup. 

Another delicious bite was the beef short rib sitting on truffled grits. 

Various pizzas started arriving, these were the pulled pork shoulder with green chiles, asadero cheese, and tobacco onion rings, and the pomodoro with fresh mozzarella and basil. Nice crust, with generous amount of cornmeal sprinkled on the pan before baking. 

Then the bianca with gruyere, grana padana, and arugula. There was also French fries with black truffle aioli.

Midway through the food, the Dickel Daisy was -- Dickel whiskey, powdered sugar, lemon juice, marachino liquor. Tasty, but I am just not a huge whiskey person. 

The last drink however, the Gin and Jam, has made a gin drinker out of me! It was Citadelle Gin on the rocks, with a spoonful of homemade raspberry jam in it. Fantastic! And this was hands-down the best of the drinks! Too bad this was the last drink served, because I could have had multiples of these!

As the sun was beginning to set, there was a huge storm cloud that had formed to the south east. I got a few pictures of it, and then thought it would be best to beat it home, in case it started to storm. I really thought we might be in for tornadic activity, but fortunately it dissipated, though we could use the rain!

I would really like to go back to Second and have a full meal; I enjoyed all of the items that were served, but nothing absolutely knocked my socks off. I hope that David Bull and his team's efforts did not all go into the pricey Congress restaurant, so a return trip is needed!