Last week Austinites witnessed the closing of two beloved spaces — Paggi House and Garrido's — but this week we find refuge in three new restaurant announcements. Read more to discover all that you missed in this week's food news.
Jelly beer makes its way to Sway
Sway is now offering a boozy new beverage called Jelly Beer, the restaurant tells CultureMap. "It's a really unique Thai experience of basically drinking a frozen beer, and we're introducing it for the summer," Sway owner Jesse Herman says. "We imported a special machine from Thailand that chills the beer below freezing, without it actually freezing, and once the bottle is open it freezes before you eyes, but in a really unique, drinkable and hard-to-explain-until-you-see-it way."
We may have to try this frozen carb to see what all the fuss is about. For more information on the technique behind making jelly beer, check out this feature.
Jacoby's to open in East Austin in July
Jacoby’s, a sprawling restaurant and general store on East Cesar Chavez, is tentatively scheduled to open in mid-July. The agriculturally ambitious project, which features a restaurant and locally sourced farm-raised meats and fresh vegetables, was first announced last year. The owner of the project, Adam Jacoby, told Republic of Austin last summer that he was inspired to enter into his own agricultural endeavors from his parents' business, Jacoby Feed & Seed, in Melvin, Texas.
To celebrate the exciting project, the space will host a "dinner party of all dinner parties," the company's press agent tells CultureMap. Stay tuned for more details as we receive them.
Radio Coffee & Beer will house Veracruz
South Austin will soon have a new beverage destination. Musician Jack Wilson and his father Greg Wilson will debut an exciting new project called Radio Coffee & Beer in South Austin near Ben White Boulevard. The space will offer artisan coffee, craft beer and local purveyor products. In terms of food, the neighborhood company will feature an outpost of local Tex-Mex food truck Veracruz All Natural.
Fixe to open in the fall
A "progressive Southern food" concept called Fixe is on its way from Executive Chef James Robert, according to the company's media contact. While the space doesn't open until the fall, the restaurant is already getting geared up to take the Austin culinary scene by storm. Chef de Cuisine Zach Hunter will be participating in the First We Feast event in Chicago alongside other Texas chefs. The only question we're left with is, what exactly is progressive Southern food? "The cuisine is Chef Robert's take on southern food, something that's in his blood being from Louisiana," Hunter hints to CultureMap.
Jorge Hernandez on the future of American food
One of the other Texas chefs participating in First We Feast is Qui Chef de Cuisine Jorge Hernandez. Alongside Hunter and other chefs from across the nation, Hernandez will be hard at work at the Chicago gathering, cooking for a collaborative dining event called "The Future of American Food." According to Hernandez, he will be preparing a soft shell crab with kare kare and sun-cured crickets.
"This event is important in that these chefs are the names that aren’t on television or at big-name food festivals. They are the work horses that make great restaurants successful. Usually, we are the ones holding down the fort while our mentors our out working events. It is refreshing to see that all of our mentors were so eager to get us all together to do this event and that people want to see what we will come up with," Hernandez told CultureMap. "Paul [Qui] and I decided to cook kare kare because it is a signature dish at Qui. It is a classic Filipino preparation, but we always take liberties. This time we are using soft shell crabs. Even though kare kare is usually made with oxtail, we thought the texture and sweetness of the crab would play well with our interpretation of kare kare."
Salt & Time talks swine with Franklin Barbecue
You may have noticed a sign outside Salt & Time this week warning patrons that they may find themselves on camera in the near future. That's because Aaron Franklin stopped by the East Austin butcher shop/restaurant to film a segment of his PBS series, BBQ With Franklin. "He visited with Bryan [Butler] about heritage breed pork and whole hog cooking," co-owner Ben Runkle tells CultureMap.
Mad Symposium digs The Salt Lick
Head on over to the Mad Symposium's resident blog, The MADFeed, to find a wickedly thorough guide on smoking meats. And, naturally, a Texas establishment had to find its way on to the culinary tutorial. The Salt Lick was mentioned by the internationally famous organization for its notorious hot smoker. Want to know the difference between hot smoking vs. cold smoking? Visit the link above.
Radio Coffee & Beer opens soon in South Austin.
Have you ever seen tres leches look so pretty? (Pictured: matcha tres leches atPhoto by Amber Heckler
Sometimes you can just see that a taco is perfect. (Pictured: birria tacos with cheese at Palo Seco 512)Photo by Brianna Caleri