Dining Picks

Where to Eat in March: Nobles, olives, new chefs and all that Jack

Trio at Four Seasons
Oyesters at Jack Allen's Kitchen
Barbacoa stackers at Jack Allen's Kitchen
Bacon wrapped quail Jack Allen's Kitchen.
Hamburger and fries at Noble Pig.

Whether or not you put faith in what Punxsutawney Phil saw on Groundhog's Day, the warm sunny air and bright green bud breaks on the trees mean only one thing: Spring has sprung. And this month, there are a few new additions to the Austin dining scene that have sprung up as well. Along with a few fabulous restaurants that are well worth the extra few clicks on your odometers. So, save your spring cleaning for another day and set your sights on where to eat this March.

Jack Allen’s Kitchen
As an Austin native, I still remember how captivated the city was when Z Tejas opened in the late 80s with its eclectic Austin style and bold, flavorful food. Menu items like the Navajo taco with crispy-fried spinach and the grilled pork tenderloin medallions with crunchy sweet potato hash will forever be etched in my memory. (Which is a good thing considering they’re no longer on the menu.) So when news in 2009 of Z’s original executive chef, Jack Gilmore, was leaving the long-time Austin favorite, which has since grown into a 12-location restaurant chain, I was thrilled to see what the well-loved chef would create on his own. In its few short years in a somewhat difficult-to-reach Southwest location, the multi-hour weekend wait at this vibrant locale proves that Gilmore has not only exceeded my expectations, but a whole host of Jack Allen’s Kitchen fans as well.

Gilmore’s recipe for success is simple: use quality food (locally-sourced, when possible), combine bold flavors that cleanly come through in each dish and create a fun, lively environment that friends and family won’t soon want to leave. He and business partner Tom Kamm have done exactly that and without breaking stride.

I hit Jack’s at least once a month with a standard rotation of favorite dishes including the ruby red trout with sun-dried tomato and walnut pesto over rice and wilted spinach; the “Country Club Fancy Chicken Salad” with dried figs, fresh pears, bleu cheese and chili-spiced walnuts; and the slap-your-grandma-good chicken fried chicken smothered in green-chile cream gravy for when I’m really feeling like falling on the Southern comfort food sword. Of course, I rarely leave without a take-home jar of pimiento cheese or fresh-made salsa to snack on the next day.

Would I be such a regular attender if I didn’t live in relative proximity to this place? I can’t say for sure, but I will say that it is places like Jack Allen’s Kitchen that keep Austin’s burgeoning dining scene as grounded and inviting as it is.

Noble Pig
Yet another not-so-central restaurant in this month’s line up. (And that’s putting it mildly.) Noble Pig may be on what many Austinites consider the other side of the moon in terms of location, but I promise a trek out to 620 and Anderson Mill Road will have your taste buds reveling in sandwich blissfulness created by chefs John Bates and Brandon Martinez. Yes, this is basically a sandwich shop. But in terms of flavor, artfulness and finger-lickin’-goodness this tiny little strip-center locale is so much more than just a few slices of ham between you’re regular old Wonder bread.

(Note: You can pretty much assume that every item listed here is house made. Bates and Martinez wouldn't have it any other way.) Start with thick slices of fresh, toasted white bread with your choice of decadent duck pastrami with Russian dressing and rye pickles; or spicy Thai chicken salad with jalapeño slaw; or spicy ham, pulled pork, bacon and melted provolone cheese, a.k.a, The Noble Pig sandwich, and you’ll know what I’m talking about. And if those tasty options don't suit your fancy, you can find many more on the hand-written chalkboard along the back wall. You’ll no doubt find a new meaning to life with the Italian sausage, roasted tomato and herbed-aioli sandwich.

Olive & June
This multi-level corner spot in Tarrytown is new and certainly noteworthy. Whether you’re grabbing a cocktail at the upstairs bar, sharing a few small plates with friends on the treehouse-like outdoor patio or settling into one of the elegant-yet-cozy booths for a romantic dinner with your honey, Olive & June is a welcome addition to the Austin dining scene. Especially if you have felt this town a little starved for a fresh new face on good, authentic Italian food. Chef/owner Shawn Cirkiel (of Parkside and Backspace fame; and a 2012 Tastemaker nominee) has achieved a monumental feat in transforming the former El Arbol Latin American concept into a refreshingly chic restaurant in just a few short months.

Among my faves from the picolo piatti (small plates) menu are the thin sheets of zucchini involtini wrapped around a decadent mushroom filling and topped with bread crumbs, a light tomato sauce, and golden raisins. (The crispy saffron-infused suppli — fried rissoto balls — are a close second.) The grilled swordfish entree with crushed pistachio, capers, mint and lemon is divine as are citrus-marinated beets as a side.

And while desserts from Stephen Cak are heavenly — right down to the dreamy tart little amarena cherries on the lemon crostata — I think the warm, creamy burrata cheese with a slight sprinkle of sea salt and fresh basil on a crisp crostini may be the simple dish that I go back for again and again... and again.

Trio at the Four Seasons Hotel
Last month I suggested Lenoir, the new restaurant from the talented chef duo Todd Duplechan and Jessica Maher, as a hot new place to try. This month I’m offering up Trio, Duplechan’s former home as chef de cuisine. Not only for the consistently diverse, innovative and surprisingly affordable wine list from sommelier Mark Sayre (another 2012 Tastemaker nominee), or for the steady leadership from executive chef Elmar Prambs, but for Grant MacDonald, the new chef de cuisine who recently landed in Duplechan’s former role. Hailing from the great food city of Vancouver, MacDonald has quickly acclimated to the milder Texas climate (at least in terms of winter, we’ll see how he feels about the summer), and has whipped up a new dinner menu that is making a fresh new statement.

Among the top items to taste: Luscious seared scallops served with crisp pork belly and a house-made sauerkraut—the kind that would make a German oma proud; tender rack of lamb with rosemary and homemade mustard; or the daily selection of oysters served with a sweet guava mignonette that demands an accompanying glass of sparkling rose to wash them down.

Give MacDonald until after the frenetic days of SXSW to attack the lunch and breakfast menus, but for now, you can definitely find a well crafted dinner menu that reveals a skillful Canadian doing his absolute best to present a new take on Texas flavors.

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Belles of the Ballroom

9 Austin bar and venue experts take over popular Old Austin space near UT

29th Street Ballroom/Facebook

Changes are coming at the 29th Street Ballroom, but the goal is to preserve what already makes it special.

The evolution continues at the 29th Street Ballroom, the music venue formerly attached to Spider House Café. It's no secret, Resound Presents CEO and co-founder Graham Williams says, that he and a large team of other industry pros are taking over the space; but now they're ready to talk about what comes next for the venue and adjoining bar.

Although Spider House Café closed in 2020, the Ballroom stayed open, and has continued serving University of Texas students and anyone else who wants to see a show outside of the ordinary: punk shows, burlesque revues, fundraisers, and more. It'll stay open through most of the renovations, scheduled through January of 2025, and is expected to hold a grand opening in March.

Now Resound — one of Austin's top live music organizers, which was itself born from the ashes of another Austin institution — is lending two of its co-founders to managing the space going forward: Williams and Ian Orth. They're joining seven other team members from venues around town, many of them overlapping: Amy Mullins, Brian Tweedy, Jason McNeely, John Yaklin, and Shannon LeBoeuf of Hotel Vegas, Chess Club, Kinda Tropical, Tweedy’s, and Yellow Jacket Social Club, in varying capacities; and Brian Buscemi and Mike Sanchez of the Little Darlin’.

Williams emphasizes that although things will be changing at the Ballroom, the goal isn't to change anything people already love.

"Over the next few months as we kind of ease into the spring, we're using this downtime to revitalize things, decorate, revamp some of the stuff in the venue and the bar, and just kind of get things moving in the right direction," Williams says, "taking what's already popular about the venue and just adding to it, really."

Bar updates
The biggest shift will be turning the bar from an accessory to live shows into its own entity that's open even when there's nothing else going on. Amy Mullins, best known as a co-owner of Yellow Jacket Social Club, is overseeing that transition. She's never operated a venue that is primarily focused on music, and has been enjoying learning more about how to do it; she even worked the door recently when a staff member called out sick.

Mullins echoes Williams in assuring that the change is more about logistics than tone. It'll still feel like Old Austin, but she does express a hope to run more than the "typical venue bar," handing out simple drinks as quickly as possible. She's working on a new menu that includes wine, beer, craft cocktails, and non-alcoholic options like tea, kombucha, or mocktails. Regardless of what's on the schedule on any given night, Mullins says the menu will stay the same.

"There's no drink too complicated for us to make, however busy we are," she says.

Food options
Another goal for the team will be making sure the space works when there's not someone onstage to crowd around. They'll expand the front and side patios and create a food truck food court that features the same trucks that are there now, plus one newcomer. All in all, that includes Yalla Burger & Wings, Gyro Center, Li’l Nonna’s Vegan Pizzeria, Guppy’s Indian Fried Chicken, Waylon J’s BBQ, and Ay Chihuahua Tacos.

The expanded patio will connect to Tweedy's Bar next door, which also has its own food trucks. The idea is to create a space to hang out after shows that feels fit for the purpose. It's possible to stick around after events now, but the layout does create a vague feeling of loitering.

Artist and fan-friendly tweaks
On the entertainment side, Williams says some of the renovations include putting in a new sound system, redoing the green room, updating the facade, and repainting signs. Since the winter is a slower time for live music, they'll be taking advantage of the extra time to work on things before packing the calendar with more events than before. Resound will handle most of the bookings in live music, comedy, and DJ sets, welcoming both national and local talent.

Whatever the details end up being, this team has proved to Austinites that they know how to run venues worth visiting. And since they're all friends and business partners on multiple levels, it sounds like having this many cooks in the kitchen just isn't an issue.

"Some of us have been roommates and known each other since we were young," says Williams. "It's a good mix of people who are all very like minded, so a lot is being brought to the table per decision. So yeah, it's it's really exciting. Sometimes that's not the case. .... But with this project, it's a lot of really great, creative people that are good at what they do [and] they trust each other."

bars live music concerts comedy