January's Best Bites: From the Tried + True to Brand New

If you've been following my Instagram account (hint, hint!) you may have seen some of the places I have eaten this month. Here's a recap of a few of the stellar things I have had; maybe I'll make this a monthly feature!

This is a special order lamb and prune tajine is from my favorite trailer, The Flying Carpet.  The lamb was incredibly tender and just melted in your mouth. Check their website for items that can be ordered 24 hours in advance; they also have an indoor eating space that will transport you to Morocco!

Here's the Hot Chocolate Gianduja Cake from Red Ash, a chocolate lover's dream! The crunchy bits added a nice textural contrast, along with the ice cream. We also loved the hot bread with garlic, but the burrata and gorgonzola gnocchi left me underwhelmed. But I would certainly go back for this and a nice glass of Italian red wine.

Award-winning Confituras, long a staple at area farmer's markets with their seasonal jams and canned goods, has finally opened their forever-home on Goodrich, off South Lamar.  Get fresh hot biscuits with butter or a rotating jam selection, along with coffee or tea. As a community kitchen, they will soon be offering classes and an expanded menu, stay tuned!

I was invited to the media preview at Fareground (at 111 Congress Avenue) the first urban food hall in Austin, and their opening is a reason for rejoicing. Six purveyors (Easy Tiger, Antonelli's Cheese, Henbit, Contigo, Ni-Kome, and Dai Due) plus a bar all operate seven days a week. Pictured is the wild boar taco al pastor from Dai Due Taqueria  that had amazing flavors and a housemade blue corn tortilla.

Also at Fareground, these chocolate chunk cookies from Henbit (offshoot of Emmer + Rye) were warm and delicious.

Recently opened in Lamar Union, TLC Austin seeks to bring Texas comfort food with a coastal influence to the masses. This vegetarian sandwich called The Enlightenment was just that! Stuffed with watermelon radish, cheddar, carrots, cukes, avocado and pesto, it was held together by a sturdy grainy bread. And only $8. Raw oysters and boils also available.

What have YOU eaten recently that you loved? What do I need to check out? Share in the comments! Happy eating!

Capital Grille

* I was invited by Capital Grille to experience their current promotion. All opinions are my own.

Now through November 20th, Capital Grille is offering #WagyuandWine, where you can get a Wagyu burger with a glass of either Duckhorn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon or Goldeneye Pinot Noir for $25.

Photo courtesy of Capital Grille's Facebook page.

Do it!

My friend and I started with the calamari with hot cherry peppers, which was also delicious.

You have your choice of three Wagyu burgers, and I had a huge tender, perfectly cooked medium-rare burger with fried egg, havarti cheese and crispy onions and the Pinot. Oh, and the fries were perfect too.

And save room for the chocolate cake with port wine infused cherries!

Capital Grille is located at 117 W. 4th Street (a block west of Congress), in the old Spaghetti Warehouse space for those who have been in Austin a long time!

Downtown Dining: Prelog's European Kitchen

Prelog's opened quietly in March, taking over the old Garrido's in the 360 Building at 3rd and Nueces downtown. Family operated, with Chef Florian Prelog at the helm, this modern European kitchen seems well on its way to making an impact on the Austin food scene. Full disclosure, Prelog's invited me for a meal, but I was not monetarily compensated for my opinions, which are my own, nor did they ask for a blog post.

Modern artwork and accents adorn the walls, including a mural above the windows depicting the family's move from Austria to Austin, with the quote "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." Chef Florian's wife Romana pointed out the transition of snowflakes on the Austrian side of the mural to the stars on the Austin side. It's all in the details! They also have a great patio space, including an covered area that could be used for private parties.

The starter was toasted bread, olives, olive oil and a herb butter, along with a palate-cleanser of carrot and orange juice with ginger foam. It had strong ginger flavor which I loved! We asked our waitress for a wine that would pair well with the upcoming dishes the kitchen was sending out, and she selected an Austrian white, a Gruner Veltliner from Domane Wachau, which was crisp but not dry, and complimented everything we ate. Could be my new favorite white wine.

The first dish was the salmon confit, made from Alaskan Copper River King salmon, a wild salmon currently in season. Great textural contrast between the fish and the pickled vegetables, and the herb vinaigrette was just the right acidity to balance the dish which also had creme fraiche and horseradish.

Next was the sweet potato soup, with a thinly sliced prawn, grapefruit, cilantro oil and coconut cream. The visual of the bowl before the lightly warmed sweet potato gold was poured in was beautiful on its own. But once added, all the flavors really harmonized, but the coconut made it really special.

Prior to the main course, an amuse buche arrived: cucumber sorbet with a lightly pickled cucumber, with a bit of Hendricks Gin poured over, followed by prosecco.  While I don't normally consider myself a gin fan, this was another great palate cleanser.  We were seated directly across from the open kitchen, so it was great to observe the chefs in action. Here, Chef Florian working with tweezers to delicate place elements.

This artist's palette was a wonderful treat on my palate! It was the first time they have served this dish; from the bottom of the plate working up: veal, pork tenderloin, and a brisket (this IS Texas!) that was brined for three days and sous vided (is that proper terminology?) for four days. Accompanying the dish were mini polenta cakes, a cucumber ribbon which had been marinated in creme fraiche, and a piece of grilled cuke (at 12 o'clock) that presented like eggplant, a very unique (but pleasing) flavor and texture. Tying all the elements together was a demi-glace reduction and an olive and pumpernickel "dirt" which was fantastic.

For dessert, there was Prelog's take on a Fig Newton, with an out of this world brie cheese ice cream, candied pistachios, port reduction, and crispy prosciutto.

And the Schwarzwald: chocolate mousse with kirsch foam, and a dark cherry sorbet that you can't see in this photo (or maybe because we ate all of it!). Wonderful consistency on the mousse, and the sorbet literally was the cherry on top of a fabulous all around meal!

One of the main things that struck me watching the kitchen operate was how harmonious it all appeared.  Along with Chef Florian, there were three other chefs in the kitchen that night, and he told me at the end of our meal that he worked with two of them in Austria. But there didn't appear to be any pretense or micromanaging from Chef. He would call the wait staff over to explain components in a dish or the other chefs would plate dishes up and send them out. More laid back than you might expect in a fine dining establishment, but this is Austin. And just how it should be.

I thank Prelog's for the wonderful meal, hope they get every bit of success that they deserve. Whether a business lunch, a drink at the bar, or an terrific modern European meal, Prelog's has the talent for a great run in downtown Austin.


Prelog's
3rd & Nueces in the 360 Tower
512/350-2895

Lunch/Brunch: Tuesday - Sunday, 11:30 am - 2:30 pm
Dinner: Tuesday - Saturday, 6 - 10 pm
Bar: Tuesday - Saturday, 11:30 am - 1 am
Happy Hour: Tuesday - Friday, 4:30 - 6:30 pm, 10 - 11 pm
Website
Facebook

Olamaie

My friends and I were very excited to try Olamaie. This southern charmer opened last fall after a long buzz of its planning. Located just north of downtown in the old Sagra spot (and the ever older Mars spot for those of you who have been in these parts for a while), the quaintly updated house has a nice side patio and big windows on a relatively quiet street (specifically, 1610 San Antonio Street).  The entrance is through the patio to the left so it takes you to the back of the house; what was once the front door is now handicap access. 

We were immediately and warmly greeted by the host. Throughout the interior, we noticed nice floral arrangements and a modernity to the interior, such as mirrored ceilings in the room we were seated in. 

As we began looking at the menu, a young male came over to our table and filled our water glasses, and mumbled something about drinks. When he walked off, one of my friends immediately said “I hope that’s not our waiter.”  Turns out it was. So a few minutes later he returned to take our drink order. But there was no real greeting or welcome or warmth.  And given the pricing structure, we expected a higher level of service.

We opted for a few appetizers, but felt that the main courses were highly priced (more on this in a moment). Unfortunately my pictures are all a bit blurry -- sorry! I may have been distracted by the cold vent we were sitting under.

Salt roasted beets, grapefruit, edible flowers. Nice mix of types of beets and how they were cut: some slivered, some in chunks.

Pickled vegetables

Pimento cheese with benne crackers.  I was really hoping for a good benne (sesame) seed wafer with the pimento, but to me these seemed more like basic wheat crackers with benne seeds on top. Benne wafers are made by the Gullah people along the South Carolina coast; they were descendants from East African slaves and continue to have their own dialect. I bought wafers when I was in Charleston years ago, where some of the Gullah still live. But I digress…. Good pimento cheese on a standard cracker, I didn’t really see what was particularly Southern about the cracker.

Country gravy, sausage and grits, with soft egg and peanuts. This is the one dish I really felt was amazing and would order again in a heartbeat. The peanuts sound weird, but added such a nice textural element and taste to the grits, which were coarser but creamy, and surely took more than five minutes to prepare. And there's a soft boiled egg under all those peanuts! You could probably make this a main course if so inclined, but a definite star.

And the biscuits. Which are now so well-known at Olamaie, you have to ask for them because they are not on the menu. And they were fabulous biscuits. But three biscuits for $10? I must say, I make a pretty darn good biscuit myself and could make a whole lot for $10.

There were four entrees on the menu this evening: vegetarian, fish, chicken, and steak, ranging from $26-34. We saw the roasted cauliflower and chicken going to the table next to ours not long after we sat down, and the portion size just seemed very small for the price.

Neither my dining companions nor I feel like we’re being picky. At a fine dining establishment, I expect outstanding service. It should be proper and refined and informed, as that is the epitome of Southern manners. Yelp reviews also point to an inconsistency in the levels of service at Olamaie. My guess is it clearly depends on who your server is, but there should be some (high) standards set by the chef/owners for all of the staff.  Our young gentleman’s attitude and skill set would be fine at a more casual spot. But he was far too unpolished to make our experience at Olamaie a real southern charmer.