Bits and Bites -- your Austin food news!

-- Both locations of Central Market kick off Brewniversity, a two-week event all about beer! Sept 11 - 24. Check their respective web pages for special classes, demos and tastings at each store. In conjunction with Brewniversity, the Brooklyn-based Floyd Beer Cheese will also be making their debut in the CM Dairy case; it's a cheese dip made with beer of course,  in three varieties.

-- Scrumptious Chef RL Reeves is hosting a Diana Kennedy inspired Oaxacan pop-up dinner with Jack Allen's Kitchen chef Diana Sanchez, Saturday, September 14th at 7 pm at Tamale House East.

-- Uncle Julio's will be running guac and drink specials on Monday, September 16, or National Guacamole Day!

-- Bourbon, Bluegrass + BBQ will be September 24th at Mercury Hall, sponsored by the Austin Chapter of the US Bartenders Guild and the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians (HAAM). Thirty American whiskies, all you can eat BBQ, music from Sour Bridges and the Possum Posse, and a friendly cocktail competition, all for $35/person.

-- The Austin Food Blogger Alliance (of which I am a member) is holding it's first ever Photography Camp, Saturday, September 28th. It's a day-long workshop with different classes geared to make you a better photographer. AFBA members $45 /non-members $75, lunch and snacks included; register now before it's too late! While this is geared towards food photography, sessions will include photo editing, the manual settings on your camera, camera phones, and the best gear for your camera.

-- Local theater collective the Rude Mechanicals is hosting a fundraiser, Pearl Dive at The Plant, Saturday, September 29th, 4 - 7:30 pm, at The Plant in Kyle. A great lineup of area chefs (Kenichi, Cafe Josie, Salt + Time, East Side Showroom, Paggi House) are preparing a seafood feast, tickets are $100.

-- Travaasa Austin will be hosting the Mike Beck Concert + Dinner, October 18th, $75/person (or $15 for just the concert), benefiting the Joyful Horse veterans program, which brings former combat soldiers together with horses that are being rehabilitated for adoption. Five courses (wild game), with beer pairings. Mike Beck is an acoustic solo guitarist who plays around the nation; his recent album "Tribute" features a collection of horse songs and a few that were recorded in honor of US veterans.

-- Houndstooth Coffee is introducing their new line of packaged coffee, Tweed, now available at Houndstooth and Texas French Bread in Austin.

-- Benji's Cantina is now open for Sunday brunch, 10 am - 2 pm. 

-- The Austin Food + Wine Alliance is offering culinary grants again this year; the application period has just started (September 9 - October 11). From their press release: "$25,000 in grants will be given this year to support chefs, farmers, wine-, beer- and spirit-makers, artisan producers and food-focused nonprofits." Got a project in mind? Apply now!

-- The Woodland on South Congress has apparently closed, and will reopen later this fall as a new establishment, Little Barrel and the Brown. (My last trip there in February had mediocre food and not-so-great service, so I am not entirely surprised.)

Barlata

In case you've been away from Austin this summer, Barlata is finally here.  After close to two years of rumors that Daniel Olivella (a Spanish chef, by way of San Francisco) would open a tapas restaurant in town, the doors opened the beginning of July. Immediately, there were rave reviews. I've waited a bit to let things settle down, but I have been excited to try Barlata.

Located at 1500 South Lamar, Barlata occupies a street-level position at the Post South Lamar apartment complex; parking is available in the garage behind the building. I'll call the interior and decor a modern industrial look, but without the coldness that often comes with that style. Service was extremely good throughout our visit. Water glasses were regularly attended to, finished plates whisked away, and our server was knowledgeable about the menu. And happily, when we arrived on a weekday at 6 pm, they were not that busy; by 7 pm they were at least half full, and by the time we left around 7:45, it was 80-90% filled, but there was no line waiting for tables. And on to the food!

We started with the cheese plate, which is probably the only dish that I would not order again, only because the value is not there. (But in their defense, most cheese plates are not a good value.) It's great to have the variety of 6 cheeses, but they are such thin slices. At $12, I'd rather have three cheeses, and thus more quantity of each. This is certainly a sampler plate. And at a table of four, we each got half a piece of toasted bread. The fig cake and quince paste are good traditional pairings with the cheeses. Fortunately, the food and value got better as we went along.

Next were the Mussels in Sofrito. Delicious, and well worth their $9 price tag. Beautifully presented, the sofrito (generally a sauce made from onions, garlic, and tomatoes) and the green peas gave a nice pop of color and presentation.

While my Lamb Brochette picture did not turn out exceptionally well, this $9 plate was delicious, though I am partial to lamb. The meat was grilled to a nice medium rare, was savory and juicy. I think I was too excited about the lamb to remember much about the sauce with it.

In Spain, a tortilla is an egg dish, not a type of bread that comes in flour or corn. This is the Tortilla Espinaca, with spinach and Manchego cheese. The tomato sauce/relish had a really nice kick to it, and certainly made the dish more interesting. The pan con tomate (bread rubbed with tomato) was a bit soggy from the condensation.

Barlata offers 10 different paellas, including a vegetarian option and two made with fideua (fideo, or vermicelli pasta). We picked the Arros Cacadora, made with rosemary instead of saffron, and chicken, rabbit, pancetta, and mushrooms. As you may be able to tell from the sheen, the dish was on the oily side; I also don't recall finding any pancetta in it, and the rice was not crispy on the bottom. But despite these, it was still incredibly tasty. The mushrooms really added a nice depth and that umami quality to it. This was the "small" size, which was in an 8 or 9 inch paella pan ($15), and with the other items we ordered, was perfect for four people.

And a meal would not be complete without dessert. There was the Mel i Mato, a traditional Catalan dish, of goat cheese mousse (or I'd say cheesecake) on top of a walnut crust with a oloros (sherry) ice cream and caramel drizzle. It was really delicious. And then there was the Crema Catalana. This is probably one of the single best desserts I have had at a restaurant, so simple and clean. It's the Spanish take on creme brulee; Barlata's is lightly infused with lemon, and while it's rich, it's not overly decadent. The "crema" was so velvety smooth and contrasted nicely with the caramelized sugar crust on top. Worth every single penny and then some.

I would go back just for the Crema Catalana, but fortunately there are other things on the menu that I am interested in trying. Barlata has happy hour Sunday through Thursday, from 5 - 6:30 pm in the bar area only. From their social media posts, it appears each day has a different drink and food offering. It's a great addition to the growing Austin food scene, and I am extremely happy to have Barlata in my backyard.  

¡Salud!

Bits and Bites

Jeez, how'd it get to be Labor Day already?!

Here's what's going on:

Events
-- Buy one entree, get one free at both Roaring Fork and Salty Sow, on September 2nd.

-- Jack Allen's Kitchen (original location) is holding a local Texas spirits dinner (as in alcohol, not ghosts) on September 3rd, $75/person; email banquets@jackallenskitchen.com for reservations.

-- Olivia continues their Summer Dinner Series with a Pacific Northwest meal on September 5th, $115/person; for reservations, eat@olivia-austin.com.

 -- Dining for Life, which supports AIDS Services of Austin, will be September 16-17; participating restaurants will donate a portion of their proceeds to ASA. 

-- Olive + June is hosting a wine and pasta dinner with Italian winemakers from Tenute Silvio Nardi and Tenuta Sette Ponti, September 16th, $100/person.

-- Austoberfest will be in full-German swing on September 28th from 1 - 6 pm at Saengerrunde Hall, with all you can eat German food from the area's best meat purveyors, including Louis Mueller and Black's barbeques. $35 in advance/$45 at the door.

-- Edible Austin is planning an Edible Escape to Marble Falls for an evening highlighting regional chefs, food artisans, and winemakers from areas North and Northwest of Austin. September 29th, $35-45/person.

-- The 24th La Dolce Vita Food and Wine Festival is October 24th from 6 - 9 pm at Laguna Gloria.  From their press release: "Guests will be privy to 'the sweet life' as they experience and taste the creations of over 50 of the best and brightest culinary teams and wineries." Tickets are $150 for general admission/$200 for VIP, and they benefit the newly re-branded venture, The Contemportary Austin.

-- Fado Irish Pub is now showing the English Premiere League soccer matches; schedule can be found here, and they've got a full brunch menu.

-- Umami Mia Pizzeria, KUTX (98.9 FM) and LiveVibe are partnering to host live music at Umami Mia, beginning September 1st. See their website for the list of upcoming musicians. 

-- Daily Grill in the Domain is now offering a new happy hour drink and food menu; daily happy hour from 3:30 - 7 pm.

Openings
-- A-OK Chinese, a new partnership of former Mars and Alamo Drafhouse Executive Chef John Bullington and front of the house manager Jerry Reid, will open at 1509 South Lamar around the holidays.

-- Dai Due has announced plans for a kitchen and butcher shop at 2310 Manor Road; former Sway Chef Rene Ortiz will consult on the kitchen layout. 

-- No Va, from Chef Brad Sorenson, at 87 Rainey Street, serving modern American foods, including late night pizza and tacos to support the area scene.

Uncle Julio's

While I prefer local, independent restaurants, I do not totally eschew chain establishments. And in the case of the recently opened Uncle Julio's, I am happy to see they are Dallas-based, and with the Austin addition, have 17 locations in six states. I had been invited to the media preview back in mid-July, but couldn't make it at the time, so Uncle Julio's was gracious to invite me back for a meal. A friend and I met downtown for lunch on Monday, and had a really good experience. Disclosure: I was invited to try their foods in exchange for a blog post on my meal; I was not monetarily compensated.

The decor is all-around gorgeous -- tall archways, big wooden doors, Mexican tile and pottery, big light fixtures, and pops of color everywhere. My smart phone photos of the interior don't do it justice.

Every single person who worked at the restaurant that we encountered was welcoming, gracious, and proud of their products (several managers from front and back of the house stopped by our table to greet us). Our server was Laura, who was terrific from the get go. She took the time to explain how the menu was laid out, pointing out certain dishes, and directing us particularly to the mixed grill portion of the menu, saying these were the items they were known for and they prepared them particularly well. She also talked about the alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, and we started with mango passion fruit lemonade (non-alcoholic) and a guava rita, which is apparently under 130 calories! Loved both of these! I could actually taste passion fruit in the drink.Towards the end of our meal, she brought The Swirl, a frozen margarita/sangria combo, which they are known for; Laura said it was made with brandy and everclear, and it tasted like pure alcohol! This would be a great drink if you're staying in one of the nearby hotels or in town for a convention, but not if you have to drive anytime soon. We each took one sip and that was plenty.

Laura got us started with a couple of appetizers, the pineapple bacon guacamole and the honey-jalapeno glazed bacon-wrapped shrimps. While the bacon on the shrimps was a bit flabby and needed crisping, the glaze had a really nice late heat kick to it, that got both of us sweating just a bit! The guac needed a little more acid and salt, but was certainly decent. And the house salsa, a dark roasted tomato concoction was excellent. Good flavors to it, a little touch of heat, and it was served just barely warm. Laura said that the salsa and guacamoles are made fresh continuously throughout the day.

For our main courses, we took Laura's advice and both stuck to the Mixed Grill menu. My friend had the Jalisco plate with butterflied shrimp and chicken fajitas. She said the shrimp were tasty, but not quite as exciting as the ones we had in the appetizer. I tried the chicken, which was nice and moist, and took the grill flavors well, but the texture seemed a little bit different; probably not a hormone + anti-biotic free, free-range chicken. And also a little unusual in texture but absolutely delicious was the foamy garlic butter. This would be good on SO MANY things!

I had the Juarez plate, with pork ribs and beef fajitas; and while not pictured, both plates came with beans, rice, cheese, sour cream, and freshly made flour tortillas. And both plates came out sizzling hot, with steam still rising. It was nice to see a little bit of pink still on the beef; they too had good flavor, and I think fared better than the chicken as fajita meat. The ribs were REALLY good; as I went to cut the ribs apart, the meat practically fell off the bone. They're a dry-style, as in, not slathered with sauce while cooking, and they really didn't even need the sauce that was on the plate. My small bowl of beans was more tomatoes and onions than actual beans, so I can't really give a fair critique there; the rice was rather bland, unfortunately. Needless to say, there was plenty of food without these two elements, and we both had leftovers to take home.

While we didn't need dessert, Laura brought us two of the house specialties, and boy, we were glad she did! The coconut flan will make a flan-lover out of you! It was so smooth and velvety, and the toasted coconut just balanced it perfectly, along with the Kahlua whipped cream; the flan wasn't overly rich, though I probably couldn't eat a whole one myself. And while less photogenic, the Cajeta -- a fried scoop of vanilla ice cream (I think she did say they use Blue Bell), smothered in cajeta, a decadent caramel sauce that also went well with the flan. Both of these were stellar.

Freshness certainly prevails at Uncle Julio's, as does a friendly, outgoing staff. It is a huge space, but they seem to be doing fairly brisk business. I can certainly see how happy hour would be a fun time there, and even returning just for dessert would be warranted. I hope the genuine friendliness and quality foods extends to all patrons, not just a local food blogger on the quest for good eats.

* One thing to note, their address is listed on their website and Facebook page as 301 Brazos Street, #150, which to me implies the entrance is ON Brazos Street. Not the case. They are situated at the northwest corner of 3rd and San Jacinto, one block east of Brazos. Would love to see a note added to their pages about WHERE to enter!

Recent Eats, Part Two

(See my last post for Part One!)

Arro
I attended the soft opening of Arro with some food blogger friends. The week before their official opening, they offered meals at half price, so we happily took advantage. Arro is the latest from Chef Drew Cullen of 24 Diner/Easy Tiger, and his pasty chef wife, Mary Catherine, and is located in the old Haddington's on West 6th Street and Nueces.

We started with the Chef's bread board, with an assortment of fresh breads, regular and anchovy butter, a nice piece of French cheese, pickled veg, and an incredibly creamy and velvety pork mousse. We followed this with mussels and frites, which had a nice broth with it.

For the main courses, there was a mix up with mine; instead of the lamb and sweetbreads dish I ordered, I was given the grilled antelope (with figs, cherries and endive), which was very tasty, but not the lamb I had been anticipating.

Croque monsieur

Steak frites

Desserts, from 12 o'clock: a chocolate creme brulee cake, chocolate pot de creme, walnut napoleon, and lemon goat cheese tart. The pot de creme was the hands down winner, given its fudge-like quality and the sheer smoothness of it.

The interior decor is gorgeous, and the staff was working very hard throughout the evening. Arro is also offering a $25 three course menu, which will be a great value, plus they serve late, Sunday through Wednesday until midnight, and until 2 am Thursday through Saturday.

Mueller HEB
A group of us foodie-types went to check out the new HEB grocery store in the Mueller development a week after their grand opening. The building itself is stunning, and is the largest eco-friendly building HEB has built. And given the summer heat, the mostly-covered patio felt very nice at one in the afternoon.

The cafe menu is a bit all over the place, from Texas BBQ to pizza to Asian bowls to salads and sandwiches. It is certainly trying to please a broad range of palates. Unfortunately, the only thing that they really did well was the brisket, and while it was good brisket, it's not Franklin or Snow's quality by a long shot. The chicken in the Asian chicken salad tasted like it was previously frozen, the egg roll was dripping in grease, the Brussels sprouts were good, but very salty, whereas the Asian rice bowl was under seasoned. And all of the sauces and dressings taste like bottled ones, not freshly made. One of the cafe chefs did come by asking people how the food was, and we gave her some feedback. Again, first week, and when you look at the fact this is a grocery store, they've done a good job. I don't think they will have any problem attracting customers, even if the food doesn't improve.

Cafe Bistro at Nordstrom (Barton Creek Mall)
I met a friend at the mall to go walking (beats the outdoor heat!), and we ended up also having lunch at Nordstrom. I had never eaten there before, and actually left fairly impressed for what it is. According to their menu, they are using local and organic whenever possible and my Warm Asian-glazed Chicken Salad was just the right size and more to the point, tasted great.