Comedor: Modern Mexican Food in Downtown Austin

Comedor's fantastic bone marrow 

It turns out that Super Bowl Sunday is an outstanding time to go out and eat at some of Austin's finest establishments. I had friends in from out of town over the weekend, and we did a TON of stuff around town! (See my Instagram post if you missed my Stories as they were happening.) I made a online reservation for Comedor about 3 pm on Sunday for 5:30 that same night, and they had tons of openings. If you're not familiar, Comedor is a modern Mexican restaurant in downtown Austin at 501 Colorado that opened in April 2019. The local food critics have been raving about it, and it was high time for me to check it out. Plus my out of towners were more than willing participants!

The entrance.... kind of like a speakeasy.

A light-filled, modern (but not cold), clean interior.

The restaurant was built on the site of a parking lot, and is built around this central courtyard that also helps bring light into the space. The wood and steel give it a very masculine look, but all the light really balances it out.

The bar

Ancho-guajillo vodka with mango juice and lime. Sublime.

Avocado tostadas with cauliflower and salsa verde.

The quesadilla with local mushrooms and huitlacoche.  Comedor has a masa program, and the menu states the region and name of the farmer from where the corn came. This was a thick tortilla that just tasted like amazing, fresh corn.

Masa spaetzle with esquites (larger corn kernels) and ash from corn husks. Normal spaetzle is made from wheat flour, but this used all corn, and was one of my favorite dishes. Loved the tender chewiness of the spaeztle, without any grittiness.

Sotol-grilled carrots with pea puree; these were good but less memorable to me.

Comedor has become known for their bone marrow dish (see top photo), and it was easy to see why. It was incredible. Our waiter said they first roast the bones, and then broil or torch them with a bit of brown sugar on top to give it a slight caramelization. They're served on top of wilted greens with a basket of fresh tortillas. The suggestion was to build the tortilla with greens, marrow, and a squeeze of lime; they were creamy, tender, juicy....but not the most photogenic.

No bones about it, we really didn't like the bone marrow at all! 😉

We had a great waiter, Michael, who was attentive and very informative. Don't know if it was because it was a slow night or if he just liked us, but they comped us a dessert and we felt compelled to try another one too! This is the tres leches, with Tejate ice cream, corn milk and merengue. 

The simple appearance is misleading! Chocolate semifreddo, avocado mousse and lime sherbet. A bite with all the elements was strangely fabulous! Pastry chef Philip Speer is behind these creations.

Our waiter had told us that the glass brick wall at the front of the restaurant and around the bar were a fairly rare creation. From the exterior, they look black, but from the inside, you can see how crystal clear they are. This photo was taken as we were leaving (after sunset) from the interior corner where the front wall meets the bar wall, looking out.

If the picked-clean marrow bones are any indication, we licked our plates clean. Comedor was a fantastic experience, and highlights new takes on modern Mexican cuisine. We all loved it. It's also a good spot for those with food allergies, as virtually the entire menu was gluten free, and much of it was dairy free as well. Salud to the staff and food of Comedor! Wishing you years of success, as I look forward to returning!

Old Thousand Dim Sum

These photos of dim sum brunch at Old Thousand came out well, so thought I'd share! Oh, and the food was every bit as good as it looks!

Potstickers

Trout Rangoon

Brisket and Chinese Sausage Fried Rice

General Tso's Chicken 

Chicken + (Bubble) Waffles

Churro with Pandan Cream

El Naranjo Now in South Austin

Originally published 1/24/2020, updated 2/16/2020 (scroll down)

El Naranjo began as a food trailer during the opening era of what's now the hip and trendy Rainey Street, and soon opened a brick and mortar restaurant there. And searching my past blog posts, I first visited in June 2010! This past fall, they moved into the old El Chipiron spot on South Lamar at Manchaca, where there's plenty of parking! I recently visited for dinner with some friends.

We all loved this Queso Oaxaca Fundido with chorizo. Crispy around the edges, and gooey in the middle, with flavorful chorizo that wasn't super greasy. Served with housemade blue corn tortillas and  a verde salsa.

Their complimentary bread service, including butter with orange zest, chile oil (or salsa macha), and escabeche (pickled veggies).

Cochinita Pibil, the classic Mexican pork dish, traditionally cooked in banana leaves until it falls apart, with refried black beans and pickled onions.

Pesacado al Cilantro, or redfish with cilantro and ginger butter. This was fresh and light with bursts of flavor.

I am always a sucker for mole, and this mole negro with duck breast was plated beautifully. However for my tastes, I felt the sauce was on the thin side, and while they use 30 ingredients in it, I was unable to detect the nuances that I love in a mole like sweetness from raisins or prunes.

A delicious chocolate torte for dessert!

El Naranjo has kept some of the decor of the previous restaurant like the web of ropes. 

The bar

Bowls on the way to the restrooms

From the street

All in all it was an enjoyable meal, and we had a great server, Amanda. Unfortunately they were out of the Negro Modelo beer I initially ordered, so I chose a glass of Tempranillo. I would definitely go back, but I think I would try things other than what is normally my go-to mole dish at an interior Mexican restaurant. Neither of my dinner companions wanted to try the huitlachoche (corn fungus!), but I have had it before and liked it, so I'll have to back to try El Naranjo's.

Have you been to the new South Lamar location? What have you eaten?

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UPDATE

After my initial post above, Chef Iliana de la Vega reached out to me and invited me back to El Naranjo to try their mole again. I went with a friend this past week, who was also excited to try the huitlacoche! Disclaimer: this meal was complimentary, no money exchanged hands, nor was I asked to revise my original blog post. All opinions are my own.

Amanda was our server again, and after explaining who I was and the circumstances as to why I was there, she brought me tastes of both the original mole negro that I hadn't been in love with and their mole amarillo. While you can't tell from the photo, I could immediately tell that this mole negro was thicker than what I had been served before. The previous one I believe, had just been thinned out a bit too much which also diluted out the suble flavors. This one was wonderful in taste and texture! I liked the amarillo (yellow mole) too but not as much as the negro. 😃 

Tasting the mole negro and amarillo

We also had the huitlacoche empanandas, which I loved. Again, it's a corn fungus that was first used by the Aztecs, and is considered prized with some of the indigenous cultures. I particularly loved the crisp masa dough with the earthy flavors inside, and served with a great roasted salsa. 

Huitlacoche empanadas

We then shared the queso fundido, with mushrooms, and this night's selection were trumpet, shitake, and lion's mane, which surprised me. Lion's mane supplements are great for brain and memory power, but seen less frequently in food preparations. The queso was served with fresh tortillas and a green salsa, that my friend loved as it instantly reminded her of what her father's family from the San Luis Potosi region makes. 

Queso fundido with mushrooms

She had the cochinita pibil, and I had the carne asada, which was a perfect medium rare. And served with dreamy goat cheese mashed potatoes. I drizzled a little of the chile oil (salsa macha) on the steak just to give it a little extra kick.

Cochinita pibil

Carne asada with goat cheese mashed potatoes

And for dessert, the tres leches with a drizzle of a bit of raspberry reduction on top, which was the perfect end to the meal.

Tres leches cake

Many thanks to Chef Iliana for having me back to El Naranjo. Their mole negro is quite wonderful, as was all of our food! 

Top Photos of 2019

Well, January's not quite over but I am slightly behind the times! Here's my Top Nine photos from Instagram in 2019! Are you following me on IG?! I post more over there than I do on the blog.

Going clockwise from the top:

1. My one non-food picture, my main man #CharlieWhiskers
2. Chicken tinga tacos at ATX Cocina
3. New product from Upriver Cacao, cold brewed cacao, being demoed at Central Market Westgate
4. Hong Kong Noodles with char siu pork at Me Cong Bistro
5. Carbonara at the Artipasta trailer
6. Chicken liver mousse from Winebelly
7. Setting up for a Kamayan dinner at Be More Pacific
8. H-Mart's food court, including the Korean fried chicken and onion rings at Donkey Mo's and udon + tonkotsu from Roba Katsu
9. My homemade miso soup

Happy eating, y'all and here's to another year of delicious eats (and fuzzy cats!).

First Look: The Shore Raw Bar + Grill

Hello! I am back! I know it's been a hot minute since I have blogged. I hope you are keeping up with my eats (yes, still eating!) over on my Instagram page (and don't forget the Stories).

Snapper crudo 

Last week I met some friends for happy hour at Shore Raw Bar + Grill, which is on Hwy 71, just a little past the original Jack Allen's. That area of southwest Austin is booming (okay, really ALL of Austin is booming, who am I kidding?) and Shore has been open about 8 months. I didn't get any great shots, but there's a huge covered (I think) patio area, that on this drizzly day had heaters blazing. Would be a lovely spot when the weather is decent. I liked the interior too, high ceilings, large-scale art work (even fun stuff in the restroom), and a great mosaic floor when walking in.  Though I am not sure I'd want patrons to see a skull when first arriving. 😉 Very large bar, and multiple televisions but the sound was off (thank you!).

Beautiful design, but how it relates to a seafood spot, I am not sure.

Here's a look at what we had.

Calamari. Good but could of been fried a teeny bit longer, breading didn't stay on real well. 

Blue crab fingers (also below) were quite delicious in their lemon butter sauce. They're small, total length of one of my fingers. You pull the pincher part and then suck the meat off and out from the remaining claw. Little messy but fun.

Three types of raw oysters. My friends enjoyed these as well as oyster shooters, but raw oysters just aren't my thing.  They said the sauces (horseradish, mignonette and cocktail) were very good. 

Decent ceviche with really great thick tortilla chips. Not sure what type of fish was used. 

Our waiter wasn't the most knowledgeable about what the prices for happy hour items were, but he made up for it with this crudo recommendation. THIS WAS AMAZING! I would order it again in a heartbeat.  Fresh snapper with orange segments in a leche de tigre sauce (Peruvian origins: liquid from the marinated fish, lime juice, touch of oil, and probably some secret ingredient.... I'd almost say I detected a hint of coconut milk, but I wouldn't swear my life on it). So fresh and lovely. Fish may change depending on what's fresh, as it should.

Skillet cherry cobbler with a fantastic buttery crumble topping. The three of us could barely finish this. 

All in all, The Shore is a welcome addition to the Oak Hill/Bee Caves/Galleria area. Happy hour Monday - Saturday, 3 - 6 pm. 8665 W. Hwy 71, at Covered Bridge Drive.