Laguna glorious

Hancock's favorite neighborhood restaurant debuts picture-perfect new location

Epicerie is bringing an artful menu to its new Laguna Gloria location.

The Contemporary Austin's Laguna Gloria is debuting its highly anticipated revamped space this week along with the second location of Austin fave Epicerie.

On May 6, the French-Cajun cafe helmed by chef Sarah McIntosh, announced via release the opening of its latest edition. The mini outpost, located near the entrance, and across from the museum gift shop, is a more casual version of the Hancock flagship, subbing a traditional dining room for the beautiful grounds of the museum.

Ordering is done at a walk-up window inside a sleek new pavilion designed by New Orleans firm Trahan Architects. Though a few tables are scattered in the pavilion in case of rain, guests are welcome to enjoy their meal on one of two shaded terraces or stage an impromptu picnic in the sculpture park.

In keeping with the format, the menu sticks to portable fare, doing away with the flagship Epicerie’s larger plates. Sandwiches like muffalettas, cured salmon bagels, and avocado toast anchor the menu, but there are plenty of other choices including quiche, salads, soups, a cheese plate, and crudités.

"In building a menu for Épicerie at The Contemporary, I've thought a lot about the sculpture park's visitors and the students of the Art School at Laguna Gloria who attend classes over and over again. I was an art major in college, so this really does come full circle for me," McIntosh said in an earlier release. "A light bite, a cup of coffee, or a bottle of wine split by two is the perfect accompaniment to a day strolling the sculpture park grounds."

There are also plenty of treats, making the spot ideal for a post-Mother’s Day outing. Sweets include sprinkle, salted chocolate chip, and chocolate pecan chunk cookies; shortbread; kolache; and bostock — an almond-flavored pastry similar to French toast.

Although the grounds open at 8 am daily, Epicerie is open from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm. Austinites can check out both during Laguna Gloria’s grand opening May 11 from 11 am to 3 pm.

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Peak Plates

7 Austin restaurants make OpenTable's top 100 for 2024

Jeffrey's Restaurant/Instagram

Jeffrey's Restaurant is a great example of the type of fancy, well-established restaurant that made the list.

Restaurant reservation website OpenTable has issued its new list of the top 100 restaurants in America for 2024, and seven Austin restaurants have made the list. That's already impressive at a glance — 7 percent of the entire national list in just one city — but compared to other Texas cities, it's huge. Austin is the only Texas city to have more than one restaurant on the list.

The "2024's Top 100 Restaurants" list is a compilation of the most sought-after and top-ranked restaurants in the U.S. based on 14 million verified reviews on OpenTable from October 1, 2023, to September 30, 2024. Restaurants are not ranked, but arranged in alphabetical order by state.

Austin's seven restaurants (including several repeats from OpenTable's 2023 list) are:

Aba: Known for its laid-back, yet fancy patio and being a popular spot for visiting celebrities
J Carver's: Known for a commitment to the classic steakhouse experience and legitimately fancy dining
Jeffrey's Restaurant: Known for fine dining, a connection to Austin before its boom, and a fantastic wine program
Red Ash Italia: Known for approachable, yet high-quality Italian food with rustic touches
Sammie's Italian: Known for its romantic take on the archetype of an East Coast Italian joint
Uchi: Known for bringing Austin into the national sushi conversation and defining the scene
Uchiko: Known for a cool atmosphere and getting creative with sushi and other small plates

Austinites will probably not be surprised by this list, which names some very well-established restaurants that are all upscale. These qualities tend to appeal to similar lists, regardless of who's curating them.

It is interesting, given that the list was democratically based on user ratings, that there were not more beloved food trailers or casual spots. However, other factors that led to high rankings included alerts set and reservations made ahead — things that don't really apply to even the most awesome taco truck.

Mediterranean food was a trend among the Austin picks. Red Ash Italia and Sammie's Italian are, as the names would imply, completely dedicated to Italian food, while Aba covers a wider swath of the Mediterranean. There were also two steakhouses: J Carver's and Jeffrey's Restaurant.

As list-perusers may have guessed, Uchi and Uchiko are in the same family of restaurants, with Uchi being the more formal and Uchiko being a bit more accessible for drop-in meals and cocktails. But are two more incognito duos of sibling restaurants on the list: J Carver's and Red Ash, and Jeffrey's Restaurant and Sammie's Italian.

That could be a coincidence. It could also be a reflection of the utility of money and experience in opening a good restaurant, or a lesson about the effects of good (and expensive) marketing. Whatever it is, it doesn't sound like hospitality groups had any direct sway on how OpenTable made its choices.

This list was different from the inaugural list of OpenTable Icons, which launched in 2024. The "Icons" list chose restaurants that are getting a lot of buzz, which ended up being more subjective. It also seemed to let in — as a side effect of the process, rather than a hard eligibility rule — more new and Mexican restaurants. Two restaurants are on both lists: Red Ash and Jeffrey's.

Restaurants outside of Austin that made the Top 100 list, organized alphabetically, are:

Hudson House — Dallas
Steak 48 — Houston
Signature — San Antonio

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