Well done

Popular downtown steakhouse fires up new location in North Austin

Perry's Steakhouse is celebrating its 10-year Austin anniversary with a new location.

Perry's Steakhouse & Grille/ Facebook

After 10 years of being a go-to destination for business happy hours and romantic dinners, a downtown staple is doubling its Austin footprint. According to a release, Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille will be opening a second Austin location at 11801 Domain Blvd. in early 2019.

“As an Austin resident, it’s been such an honor to serve this incredible city with our downtown restaurant for the past 10 years,” said Perry’s owner Chris Perry in the release. “From our butcher shop beginnings some 40 years ago, we look forward to bringing great food with quality meat and impeccable service in a relaxing environment to Domain Northside’s growing neighborhood.”

The new outpost from the Houston-based chain will feature the same menu as the downtown restaurant with beefy steaks and chops; fresh seafood; family-style sides; and starters like shrimp cocktail, ahi tuna tartare, crab cakes, and oysters on the half shell. Fans of tableside theatrics will be glad to know that upscale restaurant will be bringing its famous flamed desserts to the new spot.

Like the West Seventh Street counterpart, the new Perry’s will be a sizable restaurant, offering seating for 350 guests and four private dining rooms. The designers of the space heavily used glass in the main dining room, giving each table a peek into the action in the eatery’s kitchen.

The Domain Northside location will also feature a lounge, Bar 79. Named after the year the first Houston restaurant opened, the bar will offer a curated menu of pub grub, craft beer, and cocktails — including popular martini flights. An island bar will anchor the space that's decorated with a wine wall featuring the eatery’s sizable bottle selection. A side patio open to the bar is able to accommodate more than 50 guests.

The new location will be the 15th steakhouse under the Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille brand, with locations across Texas, as well as in Chicago; Denver; and Birmingham, Alabama. The two original butcher shops, where the business started, are also still operating as Perry and Sons Market & Grille.

openings

More pumpkin, less milk

Austin-based vegan milk ready for fall with new pumpkin spice flavor

Photo courtesy of Malk

Pumpkin is one of the first ingredients in this flavored almond milk.

Vegans may avoid dairy, but they deserve a pumpkin spice latte in the fall. Malk Organics, an Austin-based almond milk company, is taking care of that with a new pumpkin spice variety.

This seasonal flavor is hitting shelves now, and will be available "throughout the fall season while supplies last," according to a news release. It joins three standard flavors — unsweetened, vanilla, and chocolate — for a total of four almond milks across the board. The company also makes oat and cashew milk, or "malk," and some creamers.

The second ingredient after filtered water is organic pumpkin, so that flavor should come out strong in whatever drink it's spicing up. It also contains almond butter and sugar, plus extracts of vanilla, cinnamon bark, nutmeg, ginger, and clove — all organic, too.

"With the popularity of the pumpkin spice flavor profile, we wanted to offer consumers a healthier way to enjoy their favorite fall beverages." said Malk CEO Jason Bronstad in the release. "We have meticulously crafted a pumpkin spice SKU featuring the cleanest ingredients without compromising on delicious flavor."

When Bronstad talks about health, he's referring to claims made in the release that distance the completely organic product from "gums, oils, and fillers." The brand prides itself on these things, plus few enough ingredients to count on one hand — not quite the case for this more intricately spiced product, but surely an exception can be made for that pumpkin pie flavor.

This isn't Malk's only seasonal effort; it's also bringing back its holiday nog made with almonds, maple syrup, nutmeg extract, and Himalayan pink salt. So far there aren't really any exotic flavors on the permanent menu, but a caramel creamer enhances the otherwise vanilla and unflavored line.

For those who feel called by the dairy-free pumpkin spice but don't know what to make with it, Malk has plenty of recipes on its site that might be nice to spice up. The Pumpkin Protein Pancakes are an obvious candidate for an extra bit of pumpkin oomph, as is the Pumpkin Pie Smoothie. Actually, there are lots of pumpkin recipes already on the website using other varieties of Malk; but perhaps the Caramel Pecan Cheesecake Bars could use some additional adventure.

Pumpkin Spice Malk ($6.99 for 28 ounces) can be found at Whole Foods, Sprouts, Erewhon, Gelsons, HEB, Fresh Market, and other local retailers. Find nearby options at malkorganics.com.