Foodie News

This week in food: Openings, chef shuffles, menu specials and more

While you were wrapped up in all the madness that is the World Cup, the food world kept turning. A great deal of exciting (did you hear about the new Italian food truck park?) and creepy (J. Black's founder was involved in a sex trafficking sting) events saturated the headlines this week. Below are some of delicious highlights.

Swine and bovine come together
This week and next, Hoover Alexander’s Chicken 'n Biscuit has transformed into the Chicken 'n Brisket. According to Alexander, the poultry venture will feature fried chicken, smoked wings and will also be serving brisket by the pound. Who says you can’t have chicken and beef in one sitting?

Terry Black's Barbecue finally opens
In case you’re the only person who hasn’t heard, the much anticipated Terry Black’s Barbecue opened Monday on Barton Springs Road. The new barbecue house is led by twin brothers and pitmasters Mark and Michael Black, great-grandsons of Black's Barbecue founder Edgar Black. The brothers will soon be in close company, as Black's Barbecue will open an Austin outpost (shipping in barbecue from Lockhart each day).

Josephine House sous chef returns to Henri's
Keegan Archer, former sous chef of Josephine House, has returned to work for Henri's Cheese, according to a contact at the shop. And she's diving right into her new role. The upscale cheese and wine shop is embracing a new dinner menu starting July 1. To celebrate such an occasion, Henri's is hosting a dinner party on July 2 and July 3. Stay tuned for more delicious details.

Peche'ssecret drink unveiled
Peche is introducing a secret menu item for patrons to sip and savor. The downtown bar is now offering large tableside punch bowls — Peche's unique interpretation of bottle service. The punch rotates on a regular basis, but the bar currently featuring a Beachcomber punch. The $220 boozy concoction serves an estimated 15 people, roughly two drinks per person. Grab some friends and go!

Jester King Brewery adds new members
Jester King Brewery released a slew of new brews over the past month. The farmhouse brewery is featuring four new beverages — Provenance, Biere de Miel, Nocturn Chrysalis and Atrial Rubicite — in its tap room over the coming weeks. And in case you want to check out the new malty drinks anytime soon, the brewery tells CultureMap it’ll feature extended hours over the Independence Day weekend. Cheers!

Brick-and-mortar updates
The Peached Tortilla is getting closer and closer to opening. According to a Facebook post, the mobile food institution began construction on its brick-and-mortar location on Burnet Road this week.

Reeling in the attention
Alongside acclaimed restaurants Uchi and The Odd Duck, Stiles Switch BBQ & Brew will be featured on an upcoming episode of the Cooking Channel’s Chuck’s Eat the Street. To celebrate the national attention, Stiles Switch will host a live viewing party on Thursday, July 10 at 9 pm. According to a description of the episode, Stiles Switch’s pitmaster Lance Kirkpatrick will walk the Cooking Channel host through preparing the restaurant’s signature beef ribs, while Uchi explains its mastery of unconventional sushi and Odd Duck embraces succulent pork belly.

Austin bakery commands international acclaim
Easy Tiger has received recognition from across the pond. The UK’s Condé Nast Traveler featured the carby destination in its roundup of bread bakeries from around the world. If you've been meaning to plan a visit to the space, this Sunday is the perfect opportunity. Easy Tiger will host its Easy Sunday on June 29, from 2 pm - 6 pm. The event will feature $1 beers from Real Ale Brewing Company, a YETI Coolers giveaway and live screenprinting from Fine Southern Gentlemen Clothing.

The next Indie Chef is ...
Foreign & Domestic has announced the next participant in its monthly dinner series, Indie Chefs Table. On July 14, the restaurant welcomes Matthew Gaudet, chef/owner of West Bridge in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and one of Food & Wine’s 2013 Best New Chefs. West Bridge has been named of the 50 Best New Restaurants by Bon Appetit and Eater Boston’s Restaurant of the Year. Gaudet will lead attendees through a short Q&A session, followed by a six-course meal. To purchase tickets to the dinner, head on over to the Foreign & Domestic website.

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Nice Play

Sixth Street icehouse branches out with posh, old-school sports club

Photo by Richard Casteel, courtesy of WTF Sporting Club

This classy interior belongs to a sports bar, nontheless.

There’s no shortage of spots to grab a drink in East Austin. But despite the area’s wide range of bar offerings — from cocktail lounges to dives — it comes up surprisingly short on sports bars. Enter Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (WTF) Sporting Club, which is taking over the giant East 7th space vacated earlier this year by Easy Tiger.

In true sports bar fashion, it’s slated to open September 6, just in time for the UT-Michigan game the next day. But the probable new hotspot isn’t sticking to the contemporary sports bar script; it’ll tie in some chichi lounge elements, making this an updated take on the sporting, country, and hunting clubs of yore.

Following a string of labor disputes, Easy Tiger quietly closed its East Austin location in April 2024, citing “challenging weather conditions and increased costs.” Since then, a real estate sign outside the huge empty lot at 1501 E. 7th St. has teased a new “built-out restaurant [and] patio coming soon.” The space spans almost an entire city block.

WTF Sporting Club is the second location from the team behind WTF Icehouse on West Sixth. Though some features of the icehouse will carry over to the sports club — like WTF’s logo of a flirty fox holding a rose and a liquor bottle — this new indoor-outdoor space will be “a little more fancy and fun,” says co-owner Habib Bakshi.

WTF Sporting Club interior Many people wouldn't associate this beautiful cocktail bar with sports.Photo by Richard Casteel, courtesy of WTF Sporting Club

The fancier feel will be mostly indoors. Think of the requisite sports bar TVs, but surrounded by warm lighting and ornate rugs, plus chandeliers and greenery draped from the ceiling. The adjoining patio lets loose with a more traditional sports bar vibe: a turf lawn, giant screen, entertainment deck, and container bar.

Despite the opposing levels of formality, Bakshi says the team wants WTF’s sprawling new space to feel cohesive. That’s in contrast to what some might remember from the old Easy Tiger, where patrons faced a longish trek between the casual umbrellaed patio and industrial-feeling indoor café. So, WTF’s sporty patio still boasts a few upscale features, including semi-private cabanas,which are also chandelier-bedazzled and reservation-only at night.

WTF offers crowd-pleasing cocktails like prickly pear margaritas and espresso martinis, while the food menu combines classic sports bar fare like wings and burgers with fusion items, like Bao Bun Flights.

WTF Sporting Club dishes This mix of tradition and fusion fits the space perfecty.Photo by Richard Casteel, courtesy of WTF Sporting Club

Photo by Richard Casteel, courtesy of WTF Sporting Club

This classy interior belongs to a sports bar, nontheless.

One fancy feature that won’t transfer to the new location: WTF Icehouse’s one-time dress code. Just “don’t come naked,” Bakshi jokes.

Though WTF plans to highlight major sports events, the venue has entertainment options beyond sports-viewing, including live bands, deejays, an arcade, and live podcast tapings. And with so much space, the WTF team hopes to eventually make it a place not just to watch, but also to play sports like volleyball or pickleball.

“We really want it to be the mini Disneyland of the East Side,” Bakshi says.

Bakshi joined the team in 2023. A serial entrepreneur and digital marketing CEO, he was brought on by WTF Icehouse co-owners Shabawn Espili and Kahran Espili to help WTF scale up — expanding first to new Austin locations and then to other cities.

Located at 1501 E. 7th St., WTF Sporting Club’s hours will be Mondays through Fridays from 4 pm to 2 am and Saturdays and Sundays from 11 am to 2 am. Happy hour is 4 to 6 pm Mondays through Fridays.

openings cocktails sports