news you can eat
A Spanish spot's cumpleaños and a new Asian BBQ truck roll into Austin food news
El Raval is celebrating its first year in business — and a very successful one, at that.
Spring is upon us, but Austin's food scene is uncharacteristically serene. Enjoy that while it lasts — summer will bring chaos once again. With plenty of time on our plates, let's enjoy opportunities to visit the Hill Country, finally try that new place that opened last year, or indulge in some cooling drinks.
Openings and closings
A new food truck merging Asian cuisine and Texas barbecue, Sí Baby-Q, is now open at Zoé Tong. It joins several other similar ventures (Loro, Kemuri Tatsu-ya, the Peached Tortilla, the recently opened Lao'd Bar) in establishing this regional-yet-far-flung cuisine. This truck is even serving lamb gyros and teasing cauliflower shawarma, so it seems like anything goes as long as it tastes good. (TBF, shawarma is technically Asian.) Visit the truck at 1530 Barton Springs Rd., Thursdays through Sundays from 11 am to 8 pm.
Juiceland, the popular Austin juice and smoothie spot has opened yet another area location, this time in Round Rock. This is good news for fans who live up north; The new location at 2141 N. IH 35 is the only one in Round Rock and the farthest east of anything above Austin proper. It offers both a drive-through and a lobby, and the same treats Austinites love with lots of natural ingredients and functional mix-ins. Store hours are Mondays through Saturdays from 7 am to 9 pm, and Sundays from 8 am to 9 pm.
We get it — Texans don't usually want more California around here. But Halter Ranch, a winery from California, seems to have made the expansion to the Hill Country right. The team has partnered with Texas growers to produce fully regional wines, making use of their Cali growing techniques without shoving their own products into the Texas wine market. The new tasting room in Fredericksburg (8561 US-290) is hosting a grand opening weekend with food and live music from May 10-12. Tasting room hours are Wednesdays through Sundays from 11 am to 5 pm.
ICYMI: Austinites panicking as Mother's Day approaches (May 12) can still make last-minute plans. We've compiled 10 recommendations from gift markets, to donuts, to a wine-and-perfume pairing, and more. On the other hand, folks who love to plan ahead might want to consider a weekend in the Hill Country town of Stonewall, which is celebrating peach season with its 63rd annual Peach Jamboree and Rodeo. Save room for a peach eating contest.
Other news and notes
If you want to see honest reviews, head to Yelp. These reviewers are serious about their opinions, and they've given three Austin-area barbecue spots enough praise to break them into the top 100 in the country. The special spots are Miller's Smokehouse (in Belton, between Austin and Waco) at No. 14, Brown’s Bar-B-Que (the incognito trailer on South Lamar) at No. 49, and Micklethwait Craft Meats (in East Austin, across from the Texas State Cemetery) at No. 55. These picks may surprise some folks who are more used to the very famous joints, but the customer ratings are always right...right?
El Raval has been busy in its first year, almost singlehandedly holding down Spanish cuisine in Austin's public consciousness. It's celebrating that hard work at its First Birthday Bash on May 13. Visitors can delight in "an array of tapas" including patatas bravas, croquetas de pollo y Jamón Iberico, and albondigas Wagyu meatballs. As usual at El Raval parties, there will be a DJ and plenty of wine. Reserve (optional, but recommended) via OpenTable.
