Mug life

3 Austin-area locations of popular Portland coffee chain are brewing

Black Rock Coffee Bar is coming to Austin.

Photo courtesy of BRCB

It may be a sluggish year for restaurant openings, but the 2019 coffee shop wars are just perking up. From Starbucks competitors like PJ’s Coffee to cult brands like Intelligentsia, every caffeine pusher from here to Timbuktu seems to be racing to enter the Austin market — including Black Rock Coffee Bar.

In a release, the Portland, Oregon-based chain announced three Austin-area storefronts, the first Texas locations for the brand. Kicking things off will be an outpost at William Cannon Drive and Southwest Parkway in November, followed by drive-thru outposts in Pflugerville and Round Rock in 2020.

Founded in 2008, Black Rock offers all the usual coffee drinks like Americanos, lattes, and mochas. Like many chains, it has also caught on to the tea trend.

Unlike many coffee concepts, it is seemingly unafraid of the caffeine jitters. The Jackhammer, a vanilla mocha, has an extra two shots, while the plainly named Fuel tempts panic attacks with a whopping six shots. Black Rock even offers smoothies turbocharged with Rockstar energy drinks.

Though the design details for the Austin-area locations have not been divulged, the stores seem to uniformly feature an industrial aesthetic with touches like exposed brick, garage doors, and Chesterfield sofas — basically retail versions of the New Girl loft.

It remains to be seen whether Black Rock can grab a piece of marketshare, but it has chosen its locations wisely. Though the east side and downtown are nearing a coffee saturation point, Southwest Austin and the suburbs are still underserved.

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Noodle News

Vegan ramen joint from Los Angeles visits Austin for 2-night pop-up

Ramen Hood/Instagram

Los Angeles' Ramen Hood will be in Austin for a two-night pop-up.

This Thursday and Friday, the Loren Hotel Austin is teaming up with Los Angeles vegan ramen restaurant Ramen Hood for a two-night pop-up dinner on November 7 and 8.

The dinner on both nights will include a multi-course prix fixe menu featuring some of the restaurant's best-selling dishes. Guests will see broccoli with soy, chili glaze, and scallions; Ahi "Tuna" crisps made from spicy beets, crispy rice shells, yuzu avocado puree and sesame seeds; Avocado Toast with crispy rice cakes, yuzu avocado puree, herb salad, togarashi, and chili threads; and ramen with sunflower seed broth, bean sprouts, scallions, bok choy, and king oyster mushrooms.

Dinner is priced at $45 per person, plus an additional $45 for sake and cocktail pairings.

Dinner will include this simple but savory broccoli dish, along with several other courses. Photo courtesy of Ramen Hood

Ramen Hood was founded in 2015 by chef Rahul Khopkar and Ilan Hall, as a vegan and plant-based ramen option in L.A. This will be the first time Ramen Hood is teaming up with The Loren, but it's not the first pop-up the hotel is offering. This is part of an ongoing chef series, where The Loren Hotel partners with chefs from all around the country to showcase their specialty dishes to Austin eaters.

A portion of the proceeds from The Loren Chef Series benefits The Loren Roots Imperative, a nonprofit that has big goals in terms of carbon footprint. Currently the Roots Imperative aims to acquire and regenerate over 50,000 biodiverse acres of land and plant 10 million hardwood trees to offset its own carbon emissions.

Ramen Hood's pop-up vegan restaurant will be at The Loren's Nido Lounge from 6-9 pm on Thursday November, 7, and Friday, November 8.

The Nido Lounge at the Loren Hotel Austin. Photo from thelorenhotels.com

The Loren Hotel is located just south of the Colorado River at 1211 W Riverside Dr. Aside from the Nido Lounge, the hotel a Milk + Honey spa, an extensive fitness center, cafe, rooftop terrace, infinity pool, and plenty of other luxurious amenities in its 108 guest rooms and suites overlooking Lady Bird Lake.

More information and tickets are available at thelorenhotels.com.

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