Triangle food market and 5 new menus freshen up Austin food news

Austin is being doused on and off with rain, but upcoming festivals and menu updates bring those summery feelings back. On this week's food news list, we have a quirky taco shop opening in Georgetown, food and drink deals downtown during a local music festival, and new steak frites emerging as a trend on new menus.

Openings and closings

The adventurous Dallas-based Velvet Taco is opening its first location in Georgetown at 1316 West University Ave., Suite #103, on Wednesday, July 29. The chain is known for unexpected fusions like spicy tikka chicken tacos, a bacon smash burger taco, or a Nashville hot tofu taco. It also serves bowls, sides, margaritas, and more. The Georgetown location will be the exclusive home of the Georgetown Honey Chipotle Chicken, with sales benefiting the Georgetown Project, a youth empowerment organization.

Other news and notes

Today, July 16, through Saturday, July 18, the Red River Cultural District is hosting its free summer festival Hot Summer Nights, which combines tons of local live music with food and drink deals. This year, two new food and beverage businesses have joined the lineup: Ditty Dog and SipHaus. The whole purpose of the festival is to drum up business for the local venues, restaurants, and artists, so consider adding a donation. More information on food and drink deals here.

The Arboretum Food and Artisan Market, held in the Juliet Kitchen parking lot, is branching out to start a new weekly Triangle Food and Artisan Market, an Instagram post announces. Shoppers can find it at the Triangle Central Lawn where West Guadalupe Street and North Lamar Boulevard converge, forming "The Triangle." The team is still collecting local vendor applications; they expect to fill 40 slots. The market will launch Sunday, September 6th, and continue year-round with live music each week. In the summer, hours will be 10 am to 2 pm.

Some new menus and other offerings are adding flavor to an otherwise slow time for the restaurant scene.

• It's Italian Cucina, an Italian restaurant on South Lamar Boulevard, has started a new weekly Sunday jazz brunch with performers Ashley Bianca and Luke Theissen. This development comes with a new brunch menu, but the regular menu will be available.
• Local brewpubs Pinthouse Brewing and Pinthouse Pizza have new summer menus that highlight Texas ingredients, plus a seasonal beer lineup with seven releases across July and August. The one that catches my eye, out July 31, is the Rāga, a rice lager with "notes of water crackers, lime zest, lemongrass and pepper swirl..."
• Swim Club, the poolside restaurant at the Renaissance Austin Downtown Hotel, has "refreshed" its all-day menu and added a weekend brunch service. This is all part of a larger hotel rebrand that positions it as a social destination for travelers and locals. New menu items include shrimp cocktail and tuna taco bites, a watermelon feta salad, steak frites, and house-made pizzas. Starting Wednesday, August 5, and running throughout the month, Swim Club will also launch a weekly dog-centric Yappy Hour for specials, complimentary dog treats, and a dog-friendly menu.
• Coastal Mexican restaurant Este is going very Southern by adding buttermilk pie to its roving dessert cart. Chef Fermín Núñez brightens up his version with grapefruit and lychee-compressed mandarins. A press release recommends pairing it with the Chateau d’Arche sauvignon blanc from Semillon. Este's nextdoor sister restaurant Bar Toti also has a new menu including a poisson du jour (fish of the day), chicken piccata, and steak frites.

James Beard Award-winning culinary historian and barbecue judge Adrian Miller will appear at the LBJ Library for a conversation with Texas Monthly barbecue editor Daniel Vaughn. The occasion is to induct the late Walter Jetton, President Lyndon B. Johnson's favorite pitmaster, into the American Royal Barbecue Hall of Fame. The event is free to attend, but RSVPs are encouraged. The Store at LBJ will sell some of Miller's books, which he'll be signing in person.

This one's happening next weekend, so here's a bit of time to plan the drive to Houston: Texas Monthly's Taco Fest South will be held July 25 at Discovery Green. Attendees will get to try tacos from 15 joints featured on TM's Top 50 Tacos in Texas list. Two restaurants are going to represent Austin: Nixta Taqueria and Sana Sana Taqueria.