Dai Due

Dai Due has evolved over the years from a farmer's market booth with high quality handmade products such as sausages, leaf lard, and condiments. Then they started adding hot prepared foods at the market, and soon after, classes like snout to tail butchering. Now they have graduated to a brick and mortar establishment on a bustling Manor Road that is both market and restaurant, and they continue to lead the way in serving local and seasonal foods.

But even a place so highly regarded had its slower times. Seated at the bar one night at the end of February, my friend and I were at Dai Due to "celebrate" Ladies Night, which is every Tuesday. According to our affable bartender, after just a month or two of service, the head butcher (a WOMAN!) and other staff realized that Tuesday nights were definitely slower than others. And, they would have random cuts of steak available that weren't as popular as say a rib eye. So Ladies Night was born, where Tuesdays are $10 steak nights for a 6 ounce portion; on the night we were there, we had a choice between tri-tip and I think eye of round. Regardless of the cuts available, I am sure it will be delicious. And Tuesdays are no longer slow nights there, so ladies, make your reservations!

We started our meal with wine (Duchman's Montepulciano from Driftwood for me) and the house-made pecan sourdough bread with a whipped lard sweetened with a touch of cane syrup. Nice chewy crust, and soft but yeasty insides with a lovely spread of mild pork fat.

Next was a venison ceviche with purple potato chips, tangerine, and carrot. I enjoyed this, but could take it or leave it, only because raw isn't my most favorite. My friend really loves ceviches and tartars and she was very pleased! The purple was a really nice pop of color.

We both opted for the tri-tip steak, cooked to a perfect medium rare and served with a green garlic butter, and we split a side of the kale gratin which came in its own separate gratin dish. The steak was pink and juicy and tender and flavorful. And a complete bargain at $10, and really, I could barely finish it. It was pure meat, no bones. I also loved the kale, which had just a touch of nutmeg or allspice in it. Now the plating of just the steak and the butter was fairly unimaginative just sort of plopped on a beige plate, but I guess at $10 for an exquisite steak, you're paying for taste not looks. And by the way, green garlic is completely underutilized! You never (okay, rarely) see that on a menu; it's got such a nice mild garlic flavor that just reminds you that spring is coming.

I didn't get any good pictures of the interior, but I really enjoyed the modern galley-like space, with black leather booths and wooden accents. The skylights kept the space from feeling too heavy or drab. The market space is closest to the street-side door. There are a few different cases with freshly butchered meats, lard and schmaltz, and ground meats and sausages ready to take home. The main host stand is at the rear of the restaurant, or, the side closest to the main parking lot area and the back entrance.  Might be a touch confusing if you came in the street door expecting to be seated from there.

All in all, great friendly service and very fine food. Ladies Night or not, the steak and kale gratin beckon. Oh, and side note, the lovely east side location of Sugar Mama's Bakeshop is right next door; they're open late and they serve wine!

Bits and Bites -- Austin Food News: the Easter Edition

Be nice to your Easter bunnies!

 Places doing Easter brunch, Sunday, April 5th:
-- Finn + Porter, 11 am - 3 pm, $48/adults, $20/kids
-- Olive + June, 11 am - 2 pm, $42/person
-- The Carillon, select seating times, $65/adults, $19.95/kids ages 6-12
-- Goodall's, 10 am - 3 pm, $65/adults, $27/kids
-- Daily Grill, 11 am - 3 pm 
-- Hyatt Regency, 11 am - 3 pm, $65/adults, $30/kids 
-- Sagra, $28.95/adults, $12/kids

-- Passover dinner at Lenoir, April 5th, $40/person

Other events:
-- Starting Wednesday, April 1st (and every Wed in April), Thundercloud Subs is rolling back it's prices to 1975 in honor of their 40th anniversary. $1.10 for a small ham sub!
-- Thai pop-up dinner at Weather Up, April 2nd, $75/person
-- Johnson's Backyard presents their Spring Hoedown, April 4th, various activities 
-- Bangers Sausage House and Beer Garden Brunch for the Bold with Real Ale Brewing, April 4th, 11 am 
-- Salty Sow taking reservations for their James Beard House preview dinners, April 7 and 22, $75/person
-- The Austin Food and Wine Alliance's annual LIVE FIRE! at the Salt Lick Pavilion, April 9th $85 in advance ($100 at the door)
-- Texas French Bread celebrates spring and their new patio with a Garden Party, April 12th
-- Michele Chiarlo wine tasting at The Backspace, April 14th, $40/person
-- Waller Creek Conservancy presents their 3rd Waller Creek Pop-up Picnic at Palm Park, April 18th, various prices
-- The annual Umlauf Sculpture Garden Party, April 23rd, $150/person
-- The Austin Outlaw Party, April 24th at Container Bar
-- The Austin Food and Wine Festival returns to Auditorium Shores, April 25th-26th with over 100 culinary exhibitors, chef-led classes and much more.
-- Cheese and Texas Cider Keeper pairing at Epicerie, April 26th, $40/person
-- Central Market's annual culinary tours of the world begins April 29th for two weeks with Passport Greece. Opa!
-- Starting May 4th at 6 am through May 5th at 6 am, Kerbey Lane Cafe will donate 100 percent of net profits at all Austin-area locations to the United Way
-- Mexic-Arte presents Taste of Mexico: A Culinary Arts Event at Brazos Hall on May 5th (Cinco de Mayo), $75/person
-- Sustainable Food Center presents Farm to Plate at Barr Mansion, May 14th 

Openings:
-- Italic, the latest from the Elm Restaurant Group, at 123 W. 6th (I went to a sneak peak last week and it was amazing!)
-- Fire and Ice Pizza Bar in Round Rock at 2601 S. IH-35 in the Boardwalk Shopping Center
-- MOD Pizza at 1801 E. 51st St. in Mueller and 701 S. Cap of Texas Hwy in Westlake 
-- Jenna's Asian Kitchen in Cedar Park at 12300 RR 620 
-- Gelateria Gemelli, 1009 E. 6th Street
-- Food trailer Toaster at Stay Gold, 1910 E. Cesar Chavez

Misc:
-- Mama Fu's now offers delivery
-- Batch, a specialty curator of locally-produced, artisanal goods delivered to your door, launches its Tour of Texas, spotlighting six different cities each month. Each month during the Tour of Texas, subscribers will receive a box of premium goods—food, drink, and other hand-crafted items—from a different city. $200 for the 6 month/city subscription or $40 for individual city baskets. 
-- Hyde Park Bar + Grill is now serving kalettes, a non-GMO cross between kale and Brussels sprouts, and is the only Austin restaurant to have them.

Schlotzsky's -- Viva I'talia

In case you think I just go to fine dining events, think again! I was invited to a preview of the new Schlotzsky's menu items at their flagship store at 218 South Lamar.  This homegrown Austin chain welcomed local food and mom bloggers with open arms, and presented us with a huge amount of tasty new foods. And the new items are available in almost all locations, not just here in Austin!

The "funny name, serious sandwich" folks are now embracing their inner Italian food lover, with new pasta and even more specialty sandwiches. Here's a look at their Viva L'Italia menu.

The oven-baked pastas include Bayou Chicken, Chicken Pesto Carbonara (my favorite!), Tomato-Basil (vegetarian), and Sausage with Peppers and Goat Cheese (my very close next favorite!). They sprinkle cheese and breadcrumbs made from their signature sourdough buns on top and run them through the oven so they get nice and crispy on top, just like homemade, and if you're dining in at Schlotzsky's they're served in actual dishware, not disposable. These were impressive; you do not feel like you're dining at a "fast food" establishment.

The new sandwiches are all done on a tender ciabatta bun (as opposed to their signature muffalata-esque sourdough). My favorite was the Caprese, a vegetarian option (yes, me the pork-lover loved the vegetarian!). Stuffed with tomatoes, lettuce, mozzarella, and basil pesto this sandwich was absolutely packed with flavor. The other two (and still quite good) are the Sicilian with lots of meats, and the Tuscan, with turkey.

The Caprese

L to R: the Sicilian, the Tuscan and the Caprese

There's also a chicken alfredo pizza and Italian chopped salad if you're looking for something healthier. Plus, Schlotzsky's also does catering, and these new pasta dishes are certainly perfect for a crowd. A big grazie to the Schlotzsky's team for an outstanding evening, and for providing gift cards that I sponsored a giveaway on Instagram.  So if you need some fast casual food for lunch or dinner or have an event, head on over to Schlotzsky's for their new menu. #hoorayitaly

I was invited by Schlotzsky's to try their new menu items; I was not paid for my opinions or any social media posts. 

Catering options!

New (sorta) Asian Spots in South Austin -- Ramen Tatsu-ya and LuLu B's

** Editor's note: LuLu B's closed in 2016

As a fan of all kinds of Asian food, it's often hard to live in South Austin as most of the quality Asian places are up north. Fortunately, things are changing, and we now have Ramen Tatsu-ya's new location on South Lamar, and Vietnamese trailer LuLu B's has expanded, going brick and mortar on South Congress.

Ramen Tatsu-ya's southward march has been highly anticipated and well-documented in social media. Located at 1234 S. Lamar, they are just south of the Alamo Drafthouse complex. The remodeled exterior of their spot is certainly more pleasing to the eye than the strip center that houses the original, and they've done visually stimulating things to the interior without breaking the bank with their extensive use of plywood. I really love the huge dragon mural along the back wall, and overall, there is much more seating than at the other locale.

And as for the food. Still excellent. RT is known for their hearty pork broth-based ramen, or tonkotsu. The broth takes on a cloudiness from the bones simmering for hours on end to make the broth. A bowl of this stuff will fill you up. Fortunately, for lunch, they offer the chicken broth, which is definitely lighter but still hearty and delicious. This is what they call "ol' skool" which comes with chasu (pork belly), ajitama (soft boiled egg), nori (seaweed), bamboo shoots and green onions; extra toppings can be added if desired. The ramen noodles are tender, but have some springiness to them, definitely toothsome.

Take note, they only do the chicken broth at lunch and the pork broth at dinner; a vegetarian ramen is offered during Sunday dinner. They don't to do "to go" orders as they don't want the integrity of their product to suffer while waiting for you to consume it, but containers are available if you can't finish everything on site.

LuLu B's has always been my go-to banh mi in South Austin, and I think for a long time, they were the only banh mi in South Austin. Their trailer under the huge oak at South Lamar and Oltorf has always been popular for lunches, churning out spring rolls and bun (vermicelli) bowls along with the banh mi. But their hours were always limited, and I can't count the number of times I would have stopped there to pick up dinner on my way home from work had they been open past 4 pm. It's all changed now, as they moved into an old Mexican restaurant at 3632 South Congress. From their Facebook page, their hours appear to be 11 am - 3 pm, and 5:30 - 9 pm.

The decor in the new spot is fairly sparse, and when I was there the menu board was hard to read (purple on black isn't a high contrast to see the writing) but the food still delicious. I met a friend there for lunch and we split the Chinese sausage summer rolls, which were the recommendation of the person taking orders. Don't think I'd had sausage in a roll before, but I'd totally eat it again! And their Chinese BBQ pork banh mi is so dang good -- lightly sweet with great char-grilled flavor. Usually I'll eat half and save the rest for later, but on this day, I ate the entire thing.

Now that they are open for dinner, I can't wait to go check out some of their specials they've been posting about. Oh, and they're cash only right now. So don't go to north Austin, stay right here, down south for some awesome Asian food!

Recent Eats -- Launderette, JW Marriott, Counter 3.FIVE.VII, The Carillon

Here's a recap of some openings and events I've attended in the past month. Warning: good fabulous food ahead!

A friend invited me to a "friends and family" soft opening of Launderette, located at Holly and Robert Martinez Streets. The new restaurant (located in an old laundromat) is the latest project from Chef Rene Ortiz and Pastry Chef Laura Sawicki, both formerly of La Condesa and Sway. For the soft opening, the food was on point, and our waitress was outstanding. They asked for a social media lock down, so I wasn't able to get very many pictures, but the star of our meal was the Texas grouper with gremolata, fennel and brown butter sauce. Also, the dessert of hazelnut cake with coffee mousse was amazing. I look forward to heading back to East Austin!

The new JW Marriott hotel at 2nd and Congress is Austin's largest hotel at over 1,000 rooms, and to feed all those guests (and then some!) they opened three eateries, where local media and bloggers were treated to a preview. For fine dining, Osteria Pronto is a beautiful, elegant space with a focus on Northern Italian foods. We sampled a wonderfully creamy burrata with prosciutto chip, shrimp ravioli, and calamari with baby artichokes in the mix.

Next was Corner Restaurant, with its tastefully done Texas memorabilia and tequila bottle chandelier, who offers upscale bar food, with local beers on tap. We tried their delicious cornbread, pork tacos, and the amazing barley and butternut squash salad with a miso sesame dressing that I am determined to recreate at home. No greasy bar food here! And our last stop was out on the sidewalk for window service at Burger Bar, serving burgers, fries, and soft serve.

Counter 3.FIVE.VII, is a new dining space where every seat is at the chef's table, or in this instance, the chef's counter. A 26-seat counter has been built around a kitchen to create an intimate dining experience, where the diners can choose a three, five, or seven course prix-fixe meal, with or without wine pairings. I was invited to one of their final soft openings, and it's a beautiful space, nestled at street level between Swift's Attic and the Elephant Room at 315 Congress Avenue. The front room is a bar serving charcuterie, and it peers into the dining room, which was elegant with its clean lines and attention to detail.

Details included the embossed aprons that all the chefs wear, the handmade wooden silverware holders, and the leather-bound menus. Plus you get to see almost every detail of what's happening in the kitchen.

And the food. Everything is seasonal. Dishes are served to you by the chefs themselves, and there are expertly selected wine pairings at every turn. They're using more than just basic whiteware to serve the dishes, and the affect of artfully crafted dishes on artfully crafted dishes is exquisite. And delicious. (Pardon the shadow over the menu; I originally intended for it to be a reference for me to the dishes, but it's just easier to include it so you can see for yourself.)

The Carillon at the AT +T Conference Center on the UT campus is one of Austin's semi-hidden gems. With a new chef's team in place, they have revised their menu offerings and recently hosted a media event to showcase their dishes. The crisp pork belly was accented with tart green apple, and is certainly amongst the best bellies I've had. The oxtail was presented beautifully (I loved the textured rim of the bowl) and was incredibly tender, and everyone at the table was in love with the little chocolate ganache desserts. So smooth and silky! Other delicious new dishes include a Indian-inspired braised lamb, cassoulet, heads-on shrimp, blood orange curd, and foie gras ice cream pops!

{I was an invited guest at all of these events, money did not exchange hands, nor was I paid for my promotion or posting of these establishments on social media.}