First Look: Velouria Cocktails + Coffee in South Austin

Liquid libations are always a good thing, and when an establishment combines the worlds of coffee and cocktails, that's generally an excellent thing. Meet Velouria, a new lounge/bar/coffee shop/ whathaveyou on South Congress and Alpine Road. {Yes, directly across Alpine from Expose in the Davis SoCo building...hopefully this is different clientele!}

Velouria opens early for coffee and pastries (from Crema Bakery) and stays open late for cocktails and on some evenings, a live DJ.

Beautiful dark teal interior with gold accents and luscious green velvet chairs.  In this photo, bar is on the far side with lounge and table seating in the near.

All coffee drinks are made with local Austin Roasting Company beans, including this frozen espresso martini with vanilla vodka and coffee liquor. Straight from the slushee machine on tap, and extremely delicious, even though having caffeine at 5 pm might not have been the best choice. 😅 I'll do the frozen Mai Tai next time!

Charcuterie board with meats and cheeses from Antontelli's Cheese Shop; love their collaborations with all these local businesses!  Three cheeses, two meats, sweet and savory spreads, a few olives, and a few marcona almonds. My one complaint (apart from there only being like 4 almonds) is the almonds tasted like they had come from the fridge so there was no snap or crispiness to them. I mentioned this to owner Sara who commented on my Instastories picture of our cocktails, and she said she appreciated the feedback, so hopefully the almond quality will improve! And while she may be the owner (along with husband Tim), she was a wonderful barista/cocktail waitress. They also own the Brixton and Drinks Lounge in East Austin, so not their first rodeo....or cuppa coffee.

We also had the chicken salad on croissant, which was fine, but not overly exciting. I hope they'll consider expanding their cocktail hour food offerings.

If you're looking for a place to kick back in South Austin with a variety of beverage offerings, check out Velouria.  Also their website has handy and very helpful parking info! There is outdoor patio seating, which would be lovely in the mornings, but those green velvet chairs inside are just calling my name...

First Look: Joann's Fine Foods

How fine was Joann's Fine Foods, the new Mexican/California foods entry from local hospitality group McGuire Moorman? Pretty fine! I am honestly a bit surprised to say I liked the food as much as I did.

This retro diner has moved into the South Congress spot that was previously Snack Bar (and El Sol y La Luna for those of us who have been living in Austin for more than a hot minute), adjoining the Austin Motel. So given their pretty central location in the midst of trendiness and tourism, and their pedigree (the team behind June's All Day, Josephine House, Clarks...) the menu prices are on the high side. Like $32 for chicken fried steak....it better be a huge portion!

Having studied the menu before visiting, I was a touch apprehensive given the pricing but knowing they can command those prices due to their physical location. But folks, Happy Hour is the time to go! {Weekdays, 4 - 6 pm, 25% off all food as well as drink specials.} My friend and I had liquid libations and an early dinner.

Lolita Sunrise, which matches the colors of the bar. 😉

Hash brown nachos were kind of a revelation, especially for my friend who is ALL about potatoes in all varieties of dishes. Nice textural combo of the toasty hash browns, firm beans, silky queso, sour cream(y), and fresh pico.

Grilled corn + zucchini squash with a green goddess dressing, cotija cheese, and jalapenos. And the acid
from the lime was perfect. Looking at the menu, it also mentions dill, which I see a tiny bit sprinkled on top.
If I were a dill lover I would have been disappointed, but I did not miss it at all.

Beef picadillo enchiladas, which aren't really photogenic, but fortunately they were delicious. The rolled tortillas were crisp and the picadillo had some nice zing to it! Add queso and yum! 

We don't really pass up the opportunity for dessert and this coconut tres leches hit the spot.
 Not too rich, though I wish the coconut on top had been toasted. 

The beautiful bar counter, complete with old-school plastic letter sign board. 

The booth area, as seen from the restroom alcove.

And from the booths, looking towards the bar. There's also a large outdoor seating area to the back left in the photo.

All in all, a very successful outing, and I was even shocked to find (albeit annoying) back-in parking right out front. Open since October, Joann's serves food from 8 am - midnight daily, and will undoubtedly be a destination for many during SXSW and beyond. 1224 South Congress, across from the Continental Club.

Quick Look: Soto South Lamar

Continuing on my unintended Lamar Union restaurant tour, we have Soto, which has expanded from their Cedar Park location.  My neighbors and I recently went for happy hour which we quite enjoyed, but given the very few tables that were filled (early evening on a Tuesday), I do hope Soto will survive. A bottle of Weingut Brundlmayer Gruner Vetliner was perfect with all of our dishes. 

Miso soup (the large spoon didn't really fit into the narrow bowl)

The brought an amouse bouche of edamame mouse, which I wasn't in
love with at first but then I finished the whole thing off! 

Fish + chips, one of their signature dishes, said our waitress. And I can see why! Super thin potato chips with salmon sashimi, lemon aioli and truffle salt. Very addicting.

Chicken karaage without a lick of grease. And loved the plating.

Somewhere under there is hamachi! Beautifully presented plate with scallions, fried jalapenos, ponzu and edible flowers.

Wagyu carpaccio....mmmmm.  These four items were on the happy hour menu and ranged $7 - 14.

Soto South Maki with torched toro; this one was $18

Real California Maki with snow crab for $13

In the later part of our meal, we did order a couple of cocktails, but found the cocktail menu to be overly fussy. It was heavy on sake and whiskey/bourbon drinks, which is not unexpected for a Japanese restaurant, but there were a lot of complicated ingredients even to my friend who is a wine/spirits rep. (I didn't take a picture of the cocktail menu, nor do I see it online, so you'll have to take my word for it.😉) 

I will most certainly go back to Soto! I posted the fish and chips picture on Instagram, and a friend said the tuna tacos on the happy hour menu are fabulous, and there are other things I spy that I am interested in trying. While I still think it's a bit odd that Soto opened just a block from Uchi, it's a much different vibe. And unlike my experience at Mandala (see my previous blog post) directly across the driveway from Soto, our service and food was on point from the moment we walked in. Fingers crossed that Soto can make it in South Austin!

Billie Jean's Burger Pub

** Editor's note: CLOSED in 2016**

A couple weeks ago, I met a friend for happy hour at the relatively new Billie Jean's Burger Pub. They opened at the end of May, and were barely a blip on my radar until I saw another friend post their huge wedge salad on Facebook. Can I let you in on a secret? I think they are a hidden gem, literally hidden behind the road construction at 6501 South Congress just north of the light at William Cannon.

Walking in at 5 pm, there was little business at Billie Jean's, but it gave me a moment to take in the space, which is light-filled thanks to huge windows. There's a bank of booth seating to the right, four-top tables in the middle, and a nice-sized bar on the left.  I plopped down at the bar where the only other patrons in the whole place were also seated. The friendly female bartender brought me menus, and my friend arrived shortly thereafter. Happy hour runs Monday through Friday, and I had their hard lemonade, which was fairly hard (no complaints!).

We split a basket of Rosie's Fries, which quite basically, were amazing. Hand cut fries with caramelized onions, goat cheese, bacon, and sriracha. I've been singing their praises and dying for these ever since. The name I would guess is a nod to their Rosie the Riveter-inspired logo, and the two women who started Billie Jean's as a food trailer. Nicely done, ladies!

Another friend came and joined us, and he wanted onion rings, so we ordered those. They were good, but not as much to my liking as the fries. Funny, I had two people say to me, as I was showing them the food pics on my phone, "I don't like tempura style onion rings." And they're right, that's exactly what these were, and I definitely missed all the little crunchy bits on onion rings that fall off everywhere. These weren't bad at all, just a style preference.

So now being fairly well-stuffed on fries and rings, none of us were particularly hungry, but I didn't feel that we should pass up the opportunity to try their burgers. We had seen some HUGE burgers come out of the kitchen, and the place was starting to fill up. They do have a slider option on the menu, where you get three sliders with your choice of two meaty toppings; we picked corned beef and bacon. It was a tasty burger though a bit dry (but that's often the case with sliders), and the side of harissa was particularly yummy. Their burgers are always made fresh from Angus beef, and never frozen. I would like to go back and try one of their regular burgers, and I am hearing a lot of buzz about their Moroccan. And that wedge salad still tempts me! Heck, even the tofu black bean burger sounds good!

People are able to find Billie Jean's through the ongoing road construction, as there was a good crowd when we left. Great addition to that part of town, and really look forward to going back!

Porter Ale House and Gastropub

I've been wanting to check out Porter Ale House since its opening in January. They are located on the ground-level of a new apartment building on South First Street, about a quarter mile north of Ben White/Hwy 290, and on site parking is available. The people who I know who have been to Porter have all reported very good things, and can now say, I concur with their findings!

Friends and I met for happy hour (Sunday - Thursday, 5 - 7 pm) on a recent Tuesday, and they offer drink specials and a few small plates at reduced prices. I started with a Tito's Mule in the requisite copper mug, that was refreshing, but not real strong.

Truffle popcorn and fries were next. The popcorn has a very nice amount of finely shredded cheese; the ketchup with the fries was a bit sweet and sort of so-so. The country pate plate comes with pickled red onions, gherkins (cornichons), and some toasted breads; good pate, but I think I do like smooth pate a bit better.

There was also the grilled flat bread with olives and hummus; I just tried a piece of the bread, and it was fantastic! It's got just a bit of yeast in it, so it's soft on the inside, but lightly charred on the outside. A whole boat of that would have been dangerous. Same with the pretzel bread that was with the beer cheese fondue; don't know if they're making their own breads or if they're getting them from someplace like Easy Tiger, but they are good. And they asked if we wanted more bread and apples (I'd guess Granny Smith) a few minutes after we received the cheesy goodness. I did notice that all of the items we got from the happy hour menu (popcorn, fries, flat bread + olives) were served in paper boats, and the other dishes on wooden planks or trays.

The best dish all around was the oxtail croquettes. They look like well-fried over-sized tater tots, and the shredded beef was super tasty and falling apart. I only ate one of those, but could have easily eaten them all.

Dessert....well, there were four of us and four desserts on the menu, so we said, "Sure, why not?!" And we were not disappointed. Now I am not the biggest pumpkin-flavored-anything lover, but this pumpkin cheesecake was pretty tasty (and my companions definitely enjoyed it). The oatmeal crunch topping on the apple pear crisp was some of the best crunchy topping ever (I mean CRUNCHY!), and it was graced with an oatmeal stout whipped cream. Not pictured were the donuts (really more like uber-crispy beignets) with salted caramel sauce and some cranberry jam on the side, which were pretty tasty in their own right; and we discovered the cranberry jam was also a nice foil with the cheesecake and apple crisp.

Now the ultimate ending to our happy hour nibbles was the peanut butter and chocolate s'mores dessert, served in a low-profile canning jar. So it's a peanut butter moussey concoction in the jar, topped with chocolate ganache, and marshmallow fluff that's been torched; and that's peanut butter powder on the front of the plate and graham cracker crumbs in the back. I think my exact words after taking my first bite of it were "Oh my flipping god!". Yes, it's that good!

The interior is smaller than I thought it would be, as it's pretty much a long, galley-style set up. We were seated in the back booth; not sure if you can get the perspective from this shot. There are three large 10-top tables on the left, a couple booths on the right, and then the bank of booths along the back wall where we were seated. A few more high tables (I think?) by the bar, and some patio seating outside, but I'd guess that total seating capacity is about 100 people total. If I make this picture really large, you may be able to make out the very urban light fixtures on the left; I loved them. Modern, clean lines (as was the whole place), they're different from anything you'd see in a "normal" bar, and I really appreciate that.

There are several things on the menu that I'd still like to try, like the beet salad and pierogies; also the French toast and pork belly on the brunch menu. Overall I think the pricing is decent, though $17 for fish and chips does seem high, but I hear they're great. We each paid $26 plus tip, and each had two cocktails and a decent amount to eat. A fun first visit with girlfriends, and I am glad to have Porter in my zip code.

Copper

Austin Cake Ball has recently converted their shop at the Domain (by Macy's and Zara) into Copper, a full-service restaurant and dessert lounge, open for lunch and dinner with a great cocktail listing to boot! I was recently invited to stop by and try their new menu, so I took my North Austin friend, Epicuriosities along with me. 

I had not been in the place when it was operating as Austin Cake Ball so I am not entirely sure what the decor was like, but I loved the feel of Cooper. Even on an overcast day, the huge front windows bathed the shop in natural light, and also highlighted the impressive glass counters with loads of cake balls to choose from. White, light blue, and of course, copper give it a modern and sophisticated color scheme.

As you head towards the back of the space, there's a divider wall which was entirely done in pennies, as was the floor of the restroom and the entire back splash of the bar, giving the decor a nice sparkle when the light hit the shiny pennies.

We began our lunch with the aforementioned cocktails, Epicuriosities having the Candy Girl (cotton candy vodka and bubbly) and myself the Cosmo-naut (acai liqueur, vodka, cointreau, blood orange and cranberry juices), along with the fried goat cheese balls, which were presented beautifully with an orchid. Perfectly fried, and with a teeny bit of local honey to contrast the creamy goatiness, they were lovely, especially with the drinks. From their website: "Our kitchen combines farm-to-table produce, house-made breads and artisan meats with an emphasis on simple, clean flavors with seasonal ingredients." Always a bonus to be at a restaurant that espouses this philosophy!

When studying the menu, I wanted to be sure we didn't order both the crab cake AND pork belly sliders or the pork belly sliders and the pork belly flatbread, but I should have paid more attention to not getting so many items with white bread! {Perhaps some multigrain menu options would be warranted.} From the left, we went with the crab cake sliders, the pork belly and goat cheese flatbread at the top, and the classic grilled cheese and tomato soup. The crab cake had nice flavor, though it was on a denser bun than what I would call a brioche bun. The flatbread (okay, pizza) and a real nice pop of color from the arugula, though being a pork lover, I of course, would have loved to have had more pork belly present! The grilled cheese fingers were a fun, grown-up twist on the kid favorite, with smoked cheddar, havarti, muenster, and fontina cheeses in the sandwich, and the soup being tomato and roasted red pepper bisque.

We asked our server to pick a couple cake balls for us, and she brought us, from the left: red velvet, tiramisu, salted caramel, and German chocolate -- great choices! The German chocolate was my favorite, as it combines coconut with chocolatey goodness! They use Callebaut chocolate, a Belgian line that is a favorite among pastry chefs for good reason. Copper also offers other desserts like a heavenly sounding peanut butter pie or the hot mess brownie; with their liquor selection or even a cappuccino, it would be the perfect spot for dessert or a break from a day of shopping. And that, is what I am sure the owners of Austin Cake Ball were banking on with their transition to Copper.

There was only one person working the front of the house; Ryan said she had only been there about ten days, but she was the consummate professional -- friendly, present yet unobtrusive. Copper is open daily for lunch and dinner, with happy hour everyday from 4 - 7 pm, including all day on Sundays, all night Tuesdays and reverse happy hour on Saturdays after 9 pm. I think the hot mess brownie and a glass of port have my name on them when I return!

El Alma Cafe

El Alma Cafe is the latest reincarnation of the corner spot at Dawson (South 5th) and Barton Springs Road. I've stopped counting how many different restaurants have opened in this spot, and I thought we finally had a winner with El Chile. Then, in summer 2011, it seemed somewhat abruptly El Chile announced they were turning the kitchen and hence menu over to Chef Alma Alcocer-Thomas, a veteran of places such as Jeffrey's and Fonda San Miguel. So El Chile morphed into El Alma. I was invited to an opening tasting, and I had drinks and apps last summer, but not a full meal.

It was a warmer February night so we took advantage of their great rooftop patio. El Alma has generous happy hours, from 3 - 7 pm on weeknights, and 3 - 6 pm on weekends; there are some drink specials, and the regular appetizers are half price. And while the pricing of the sangria and house margarita was good, neither were exceptional drinks; the sangria really didn't have any kick to it, and the margarita had too much -- all sweet and sour mix. (My sangria from last summer was certainly better!) Our friendly waitress told us of some evening specials, which turned out to be quite delicious!

There was a creamy mushroom soup special, with cauliflower and scallops, which we all thought was pretty killer! Great deep flavor from all those umami mushrooms, and just super creamy. Not sure what else was in it (almonds?), but all three of us agreed we'd eat it again in a heartbeat. 

The shrimp chelada from the regular menu was less successful, as the shrimp were "overcooked" by the lime juice (it's ceviche-style), and were tough and very salty.

The other appetizer special was gorditas with chorizo, potato, crema Mexicana, and topped with chicarrones. The flavors were really good, as the chorizo did not overpower the other items. The gordita shells were crispier than I have had them before, but it was a nice texture contrast with the other ingredients. They kind of filled me up for the time being though, and I knew I wanted to try more of their food.

I ended up ordering the Duck Enmoladas to go -- duck enchiladas with their mole sauce. Yes, I am on the quest to find the best mole in town! El Alma's was quite good, but I am still searching! ;) Theirs is made from pasilla chiles, almonds, and the waitress said they use ground animal crackers as the thickener! It had a nice sweetness, some chocolately notes, and some heat to it! I also loved the pickled onions that were on here as well as the shrimp chelad, and at $15, a reasonable price, given that it is duck.

The upstairs patio practically doubles their seating space, and I know from past experience it can get a bit loud in the main room. The colorful artwork gives a nice visual pop to the interior stonework. It's also a good spot if you're coming to an event at the Long Center or Palmer Auditorium, as they are right across the street. Go sit upstairs while the weather is nice and enjoy the views of downtown. And pay attention to the dishes on the daily specials, or you might just miss something quite tasty! It's nice to have a semi-upscale interior Mexican spot in the neighborhood.