Chalmed to meet you

Armadillo Den team brings West Texas to Austin at refurbished gas station

Chalmers fits right in with Armadillo Den and Dainty Dillo as a laidback music-loving bar.

Photo courtesy of Chalmers

UPDATE: The opening date of Chalmers has been changed to July 4. The article has been updated to reflect the change.

There are now even more armadillos digging around this cozy Austin den. Armadillo Den came first in South Austin in 2020, followed by a quaintly named East Austin concept, Dainty Dillo — both outdoorsy hangs known for events and live music. Now a third concept with a similar focus on music is joining the fray starting July 4.

The Armadillo Den team is taking on this project, its second in a year, with Michael Covey, who owns Juniper and Murray's Tavern. This is the second concept they've done together, following Dainty Dillo.

The most exciting part — aesthetically, at least — is the location. Chalmers will be located in a refurbished gas station, now embodying "West Texas vibes," according to a press release. It may be refurbished, but it's not completely transformed; the design by South Austin group Canales and Co was inspired by "retro gas stations and roadhouses" in the desert of the Lone Star State.

That leaves the restaurant, bar, and music venue with 3,000 square feet of space to work with inside, plus a 2,000-square-foot front deck and backyard. That's nothing to scoff at, considering how tiny gas stations can be in the capital city. Some Austinites may already be used to seeing the building at 1700 E. Cesar Chavez St., where the main road crosses with Chalmers Avenue. (Think just past Oseyo and across from Las Cazuelas Méxican Restaurant.)

The rustic interior will feature a broad range of materials, all on theme: saltillo tile (Mexican terra cotta), limewash (chalky paint), corrugated metal, knotty pine wood, and stucco. A bar and TVs will complete the transformation from gas station to neighborhood hang, but the old gas pump has remained in all its glory. Continuing the low-maintenance look outside are concrete breeze blocks and painted metal furniture, meant to evoke a roadside motel.

It doesn't get much more Southwestern than this menu, which tours beyond Tex-Mex. Diners can look forward to double quarter-pounder burgers, crispy onion rings, cracked wings (fried dusted with Hatch chili powder, salt, and lime), fry bread tacos (with ground beef, carnitas, steak, or mushrooms), bacon-wrapped shrimp poppers, and more. Pecan brownies top it all off, and guests can head outside to pick up something colder at Sweet Nothings, a snow cone and soft serve trailer.

Regulars at Armadillo Den and Dainty Dillo will be happy to see the same draft cocktails, plus some other specialty mixes and local drafts. The release teases a frozen Mexican martini, with reposado tequila, Cointreau, okra brine, and lime; a Desert Zombie with tequila, mezcal, and "an island spice zombie mix"; and a Nitro Carajillo with Licor 43, espresso, nitro cold brew, and optional tequila.

Opening in two phases, this restaurant will get a slow roll-out. It begins on June 4 with a limited food menu; the full menu catches up later. The backyard, where the live music will be played, will be closed at first. It's due to open "a few weeks later," although there is no official date yet.

“We’re thrilled to be opening up our second restaurant in East Austin this year,” said partner Brett Berry in the release. “Our inspiration for Chalmers was drawn from our experiences road tripping through West Texas, and stopping at roadside gas stations during fill ups. We wanted to bring a little West Texas and Hill Country to Central Texas, and we showcase that through the aesthetics and designs of Chalmers.”

Chalmers will be open Mondays through Wednesdays from 4 pm to midnight, Thursdays through Sundays from noon to midnight, and Saturdays from noon to 1 am. More information is available at chalmersaustin.com.

openings burgers live music cocktails west texas east austin

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

awards bests media lists