Editor’s note: We get it. It can be difficult to keep up with the fast pace of Austin’s restaurant and bar scene. We have you covered with our regular roundup of essential food news.

Openings

Attention, dessert fans: This is big news for Lakeway. Or maybe we should say tiny news. Austin’s foremost purveyors of handheld pies, the appropriately named Tiny Pies, recently announced a pop-up shop in Lakeway, set to debut this month. The store, located at 2125 Lohman’s Crossing, will remain open throughout 2021, including during the holiday season, with the goal of turning the pop-up into a permanent location. With three existing stores in the Austin area (Burnet Road, South Lamar, Westlake), Lakeway would mark the fourth Tiny Pies outpost since the business was founded in 2011 by Amanda Wadsworth and her mother, Kit Seay. What’s more, the new location will also provide convenient meal essentials via “take-n-bake” pies that are perfect for stocking the freezer for last-minute guests. Once it opens, the Lakeway shop hours will be 8 am - 8 pm daily. Follow Tiny Pies on Instagram for updates.

Winner, winner chicken dinner! Now open at the Furniture Mall of Texas: a permanent dine-in location of the previously takeout-only concept Chicken Salad Shoppe. The operation is helmed by chefs Ivan and Molly Mills, owners of Vanilla Orchid Catering, which has been operating for 11 years. (Molly Mills was also previously a chef at famed Hudson’s on the Bend.) The Chicken Salad Shoppe menu features some super yummy, inventive takes on chicken salad, including The Texan (fried chicken salad), the James Banh (spicy Thai peanut banh mi chicken salad), and a spicy chipotle chicken salad. The shoppe also offers house-made soups, sides, and its signature Texas-sized half-pound Monster Cookies, available in flavors like Nutella-stuffed double chocolate chip, mint chocolate chip, and strawberry cheesecake. The Chicken Salad Shoppe is located inside the Furniture Mall of Texas at 12901 N. IH-35, and is open Monday through Saturday from 10 am-7 pm and Sunday from 11 am-6 pm.

Other news and notes

One of Austin’s favorite spots for breakfast tacos is now venturing into the world of dinner and cocktails. New at Tacodeli locations across Texas beginning Monday, August 23: a menu of craveable evening meal offerings, including plates like Pastor Yucatan, Mole de Pollo, and Escalopas Especial. What’s more, Tacodeli’s dinner service includes a new handmade cocktail menu with frozen margaritas, cocktails, beer, and more. All cocktails (including concoctions like the frozen SenoRita, La Dama Paloma, and a frozen horchata swirl) are made with fresh juices and include 16-ounce to-go options. The new dinner and cocktail menus were developed by Tacodeli co-founder Roberto Espinosa, who also oversees the overall culinary program for the business. Tacodeli’s new hours of operation are 7 am-9 pm Monday through Friday and 8 am-10 pm Saturday and Sunday. Dinner service begins at 4 pm daily.

Here’s some exciting news for downtown Austinites and visitors alike. Austin Marriott Downtown’s signature restaurant, Corinne, has extended its hours, along with adding a new full-service breakfast setup. Guests can start their day with a chef-curated menu featuring items like light and fluffy pancakes topped with blackberries, a satisfying chicken-sausage brioche sandwich made with jalapeño relish, and all the house-made biscuits they can eat. And it’s not just the early risers who have something to look forward to. Austin Marriot Downtown’s two-story bar and lounge, The Lobbyist, is now open seven days a week, allowing guests more flexibility in enjoying this stylish happy hour spot’s many unique takes on classic cocktails. Corinne is currently open Monday through Friday for breakfast from 7-10:30 am, for lunch from 11 am-4 pm, and for dinner between 4-11 pm. It’s also serving up brunch on Saturday and Sunday from 7 am-4 pm. The Lobbyist’s hours are Sunday through Thursday, 4 pm–midnight and Friday and Saturday, 2 pm-1 am.

In what is being touted as a “match made in Austin,” to local brand favorites — Made In, the chef-quality cookware company, and Tecovas, the western goods and cowboy boots outfitter — have teamed up to debut The Grill Collection, designed to be the ultimate summer grilling set for Texans. The set includes a carbon steel grill frying pan; a 9-inch carving knife with a yew wood handle; a knife roll featuring duck canvas, Tecovas harness leather, and brass hardware; a leather pan handle made with Tecovas harness leather; carbon steel colorway of The Knox Boot by Tecovas in bovine leather. The collection is available online, and though the grilling items aren’t inexpensive, this is one instance in which you truly get what you pay for.