Qui Notes

Can anyone keep up with Paul Qui? Austin chef opens 3 restaurants in record time

On an overcast Saturday in Miami Beach, Paul Qui and his team are furiously preparing hundreds of portions of pork dinuguan at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival. As the crowds gather for dinner and music by the ocean, Qui pulls red-hot grill grates off the open fire and drops them on the beach to cool. As his team works quickly and confidently, he remarks with a head shake, “I wish my calendar had said there was a 45-minute preview. I thought this started at 7!”

Despite the truncated prep time, the Pao Miami team greets the first guests with a sample of Qui’s signature pork blood stew with a refreshing complement of fermented papaya, served as part of Meatopia, a Michael Symon-curated event celebrating the memory of noted food writer Josh Ozersky.

Qui could be forgiven for feeling over scheduled: He’d spent two of the previous three nights co-hosting dinners with Argentine grilling master Francis Mallmann — both have restaurants in South Beach’s new Faena Hotel. And a few days before, he’d been all over the room talking to guests and getting feedback at the opening of the first brick-and-mortar East Side King Thai-Kun location in Austin’s Domain.

Perhaps the opening of greatest interest to Austinites, the Thai-Kun Domain menu expands on the wildly successful food truck developed by Qui, Thai Changthong, and Moto Utsunomiya. The extra kitchen space allows for family-style dinners like deep-fried whole seabass with green mango salad and Thai fried crab rice with mushrooms, green onions, and egg.

When asked for a favorite, Qui laughs. “Man, I’d eat that whole menu, and I do — probably two or three times a week! The whole grilled chicken is one favorite. It always sells out, so go early [to get it]. All of the chicken dishes are pretty money, actually, and so is the whole fish. I recommend the papaya salad, too, if you can handle the spice.”

If opening Pao in December and Thai-Kun in February weren’t enough, Qui’s third opening of the season, Otoko, just launched in the South Congress Hotel. While Pao carries elements of Qui’s namesake restaurant and Thai-Kun builds on the trailer’s success, Otoko is an entirely new animal. The space only holds 12 diners and is focused on Kyoto’s kaiseki style of Japanese food, which emphasizes fresh, high-quality seasonal ingredients in precise portions.

The prix-fixe menu must be purchased in advance via the restaurant’s website; the only choice the diner makes is that of their beverage. When asked whether sake or wine is preferable, Qui reframes the question. “I’m pretty old-school when it comes to sushi. I personally like green tea.”

He describes the restaurant’s ethos as simply “about the journey,” noting the all omakase format. A small cocktail bar called Watertrade is connected to the restaurant and will soon open to the public via reservation only. Otoko's reservations for March and April are already sold out, and May bookings begin on April 1.

As Otoko launches, the first reviews of Pao have come in, and it’s not a surprise to report they are quite good. The Miami Herald has already weighed in, calling Pao “jet-set expensive and fascinating, with rarely seen flavor combinations [and] top-shelf ingredients” and “the food every bit as creative as one could expect.”

While much of the pre-launch press focused on the space’s visual centerpiece, a Damien Hirst unicorn sculpture, patrons also seem to be taken with Qui’s cooking style. “Miami has warmed to us pretty well. We’re pretty busy, but thankfully my chef de cuisine here is from Austin, and I’ve cooked with him since 2008 at Uchi.”

Popular favorites like the kinilaw ceviche have made the jump from Austin’s qui menu, but Qui continues to experiment. “I think if anything we’ve added a little more of my Filipino influences into the Miami menu.”

With Qui’s ever-expanding restaurant portfolio and national profile, the term “a little more influence” may soon prove to be an understatement.

The interior of Miami's Pao by Paul Qui is centered by a Damien Hirst unicorn sculpture.

Photo by Getty Images for SOBEWFF

The interior of Miami's Pao by Paul Qui is centered by a Damien Hirst unicorn sculpture.

Best Bites

The best bites and restaurant recs from Austin Food and Wine Festival

Photo by Roger Ho

Another year at the Austin Food & Wine Festival is in the books.

As far as major festivals go, it doesn’t get much more chill than the Austin Food & Wine Festival. For the most part, this one has short lines, a loose schedule, and crowds that aren’t too dense. People are fed and the wine is flowing.

Even better, guests can enjoy the fruits of the fest long after they’ve left the grounds on Auditorium Shores. The main events from November 2-3 got folks acquainted with chefs and restaurants around town, introduced them to new favorite beverage brands, and taught them useful cooking hacks. (Just about every chef has opinions and tricks on how to use salt.)

There’s nothing like tasting for yourself, but here are a few of our favorite things we saw or tasted. Everything on this list is something you can follow up on in Austin, whether it’s checking out a local restaurant, ordering a cookbook, or getting inspired to attempt something new in the kitchen.

Here are 9 highlights and some bonuses from the Austin Food & Wine Festival:

White wine supernova
With the sheer volume of wine options at this festival — and the amount of nuance in personal preference — the best move for wines is just to try as much as you can. But here are two takeaways: First, I asked each vendor to pour me their favorite wine, and about two thirds of them chose whites. Perhaps that might inform readers’ dinner party choices. Second, my favorite ended up being the Mâcon-Villages Chardonnay by Jadot. This unoaked wine was nonetheless smooth, with refreshing grapefruit notes. Of everything I drank, it was the most interesting that still remained easily drinkable. — Brianna Caleri, Austin editor

Jadot wines featured at a tasting booth as well as in a larger guided tasting "tour."Photo by Charles Reagan

Cheese choux with bacon jam from Serenade
Serenade is a French brasserie that just recently opened in Austin, and they’ve already made a good impression — at least on this CultureMap writer. For the festival, Chef Johnny Ray Stinebaugh (previously of Contigo Catering and Geraldine’s) served up a savory cheese choux — a very light and airy type of pastry — with bacon jam. The jam was rich, garlicky, and somehow sweet; the type of deliciousness you couldn’t really eat a whole lot of, but in a small dose and paired with the light, puffy pastry, was just right. — Natalie Grigson, contributing writer

Tuna skewers by the Dirdie Birdie
It is probably safe to say most people don’t expect culinary greatness from a mini-golf venue. Regardless, the Dirdie Birdie, which is new in Austin since late 2022, presented one of the festival’s most elegant bites. The tuna crudo skewers featured one tender cube of tuna paired a slice of raw serrano pepper, a slice of strawberry, and a leaf of basil, plus a sprinkling of ground pistachio and flaky salt. These were a creative way around having to cook, and the well-balanced garden flavors were both refreshing and interesting. — BC

Tomatillo chicken and dumplings by Licha’s Cantina
Although Austin is a few days deep into a very muggy heat, this comfort food dish whispered a promise of cooler days to come. The tartness of the tomatillos was tamed in this shredded chicken stew, but more moments of brightness were added in via pickled onions. Firm masa dumplings offered a focal point and the sense of a home-cooked meal. Chef Daniel Brooks is always one of the highlights of this festival, but this was an especially good effort. — BC

“The Old School” by Cruzteca
Cruzteca, which was born from a food truck several years ago, is located in South Austin off of Brodie Lane. Their menu is filled with Tex-Mex flavors that feel hearty and wholesome, and “The Old School” was exactly that. This dish, made of ground beef, tomato, and cheddar, was meant to be served in a homemade crispy shell. By the time we got to them, they ran out of shells, but eating the Old School with a fork may have been an even better experience. It was like a classic Texas chili; mild on the spices, but warm and comforting all the same. Chef Joseph Galindo nailed it, and the name was very fitting for this nostalgic dish. — NG

Okonomiyaki waffle by Equipment Room
It is hard to go wrong with a scallion pancake, but what about a waffle? This bite by Chef Nicholas Erven at Equipment Room tasted like a dressed-up scallion pancake — thanks to bonito, scallion, mayo, and “Japanese BBQ sauce” — but was fluffier and almost more akin to a dumpling. Those all sound like strong flavors, but they held up well against each other. And both at the festival and in the waffle's home setting (a very fancy cocktail bar) strong flavors are needed to make a cocktail snack memorable. — BC

Texas Butternut Squash Pie by Tiny Pies
A tiny pie might sound like the wrong choice for a hot and humid festival day, but Tiny Pies’ butternut squash pie, served alongside sage ice cream, was both rich and refreshing. The pie itself was filled with spiced butternut squash, topped with sorghum whipped cream and popped sorghum, which had the texture and taste of tiny caramelized popcorn bites. It was delicious, and not cloyingly sweet. The ice cream was creamy and light, and the hint of sage was refreshing. I heard several festival guests raving about this delicious dessert; a real accomplishment from Chef William Ankeney. — NG

Tiny Pies Austin Food & Wine Festival Tiny Pies brought these little ice cream-and-pie duos.Photo by Dusana Risovic

Cooking for disaster with Ashleigh Shanti
Chef Ashleigh Shanti’s cooking demo was also a lesson in culture and current events. The Asheville, North Carolina chef made chow chow, an easily improvised condiment that calls for 2 pounds of any vegetable, brined. The practicality of the canned relish was fitting; Shanti’s restaurant, Good Hot Fish, is still closed in the wake of Hurricane Helene a month ago, but she’s been offering her skills to provide free meals via a pop-up called Sweet Relief Kitchen. She says chow chow was the first thing she reached for in the larder. Her brand new (and gorgeous) Appalachian cookbook, Our South, just became available October 15, and she encourages people to visit Asheville as soon as things are open again, to keep local businesses afloat. — BC

Making larb and heckling the crowd with Tim Love
Tim Love is the owner of Austin’s Lonesome Dove Bistro along with several restaurants outside of town; he’s the official chef of Austin City Limits; and he is a co-founder of Austin Food and Wine Festival. He’s also, apparently, hilarious. He immediately greeted the crowd with a McConaughey-esque accent and confidence as he walked us, step by step, through the process of making larb, a Thai dish with ground meat and fresh herbs. Love assured the crowd it's “gluten free and low carb… Not that I gives a s***.” This “20-minute dish” took Love about an hour because throughout, he pulled people up on stage to take shots and essentially heckle the crowd, who responded loudly and often with “F*** yeah, Tim!” What a legend. — NG

Tim Love Austin Food & Wine Festival Tim Love showed the audience how to make larb.Photo by Roger Ho

Honorable mentions:

Rabbit-rattlesnake sausage sliders by Lonesome Dove: Now some Austinites can say they’ve tried rattlesnake.
Pork fat and strawberry jam biscuits by Foreign and Domestic: Who knew whipped pork fat could be so creamy?
Braised short rib with butternut squash puree by Eberly: Rich — but not too rich — with a dash of tangy.
Chicken Caesar Croquette by Walton’s Fancy and Staple: A delicate puff of deep-fried chicken cheesiness.
Lamb chop by Yamas: Tender, expertly charred, and perfectly seasoned with garlic and other goodness.

For more kitchen inspiration and restaurants to visit, check out our highlights from last year's fest.

festivals food and wine wine