hill country retrofuturism

Unique spirit made in the Hill Country inspires eclectic new tasting room

Senza Maeso Tasting Room and Bar interior

It doesn't get much more eclectic than the Senza Maeso Tasting Room and Bar. Even the spirit served is unusual.

Photo courtesy of Likeness Studio

Once Austinites get used to sotol, we get a little cocky. Riding the high of learning about a new, obscure spirit, we forget it's still a big world out there. Senza Maeso Spirits is bringing sippers back down to earth — specifically to San Marcos — with a new tasting room for their propriety spirit.

Senza Maeso ("without master" in a Spanish-Italian hybrid) is made from the South American cape gooseberry, a relative of the tomatillo with a similar paper lantern-like husk. Whereas a tomatillo is large and tart, a gooseberry is only about the size of a cherry (some may recognize it as a gooseberry or a husk cherry) and is sweet and nearly pineapple flavored.

The gooseberry product is then aged with herbs like damiana and epazote, bottled at a high proof, and served on its own or in a cocktail. "The taste is bright, balanced, and complex," explains the website, "yielding notes of apricot and citrus, with an herbaceous, bitter finish."

Senza Maeso The new tasting room opens February 29.Photo courtesy of Likeness Studio

“It was a lightbulb moment when I tried the cape gooseberry (also known as a goldenberry) at the grocery store all those years ago," said co-founder and COO of Senza Maeso Ryan Gitman in a release. Gitman brought the service industry knowledge to the creation, while his twin, Jay, handled more of the business side. "I had been bartending for some time and this was during the (re)birth of the modern cocktail movement when I decided to try and make my very own liquor out of this fruit."

If that description piques a local's interest, they can stop by the Senza Maeso Tasting Room and Bar at 1090 FM 32 — about an hour and 20 minutes from downtown Austin, and halfway between here and San Antonio. It is scheduled to open on Thursday, February 29.

The space will serve straight sips and cocktails inside a 500-square-foot bar and lounge, and outside on a 1,200-square-foot covered patio. This very country outpost is near Wimberley, perhaps the most famous Hill Country town for nature retreats, so it makes sense that the emphasis is on the outdoor space, which is on half an acre of land. (Although the town is gathering some very classy, retro establishments here and there.)

Senza Maeso Tasting Room and Bar Ryan Gitman and Jay Gitman are teaming up on the venture.Photo courtesy of Likeness Studio

More exotic for the area is the interior design by the New York City-based 71 Collective. A press release calls the design an "amalgamation of science fiction, Space Age meets Mad Men." This James Bondian space (that also looks a little like the Pushing Daisies pie shop) combines an Art Deco ethos with a rich green-and-gold color scheme and knickknacks like kinetic sculptures and vintage science tools.

Perhaps to stave off sensory overload — but much more likely just because it's cool and fun — secret doors are promised, as well as Carl Sagan's Cosmos series on a loop in the bathroom. That's where you'll have your oddly pleasant third-drink existential crisis. Fans of Marfa who love its artsy, contemporary edginess in the desert will surely find similar wonder in this anachronistic pocket of Hill Country.

Aside from the beautiful, quirky design, the tasting room will offer "high concept and easily approachable" cocktails with house-made and infused vodka alongside other beverages like wine and non-alcoholic options. Food trucks and weekly entertainment are also coming in the future.

Senza Maeso Tasting Room and Bar The art deco-cool tasting room looks like it belongs in Marfa.Photo courtesy of Likeness Studio

“Our years of experience, spent working, observing, and learning in related fields, have paved the way for Senza Maeso's creation,” said co-founder and CEO Jay Gitman in the release. “We've dedicated ourselves to perfecting a product that stands out, and we can't wait to share it with the Central Texas communities as we open our tasting room doors this February.”

Although the flagship product, Senza Maeso Hybrid Spirit, isn't brand-new, it was only created in 2021 and launched for retail sale in January 2023. The Gitmans had help from consultant Mark Shilling of Revolution Spirits, and the product can now be found in Central Texas at local stores and bars including Central Machine Works, Swan Dive, and Radio Coffee & Beer, Specs, Austin Shakers, and Total Wine.

Senza Maeso Tasting Room and Bar Senza Maeso Hybrid Spirit is sold at several local liquor stores.Photo courtesy of Likeness Studio

Senza Maeso Tasting Room and Bar will open on Thursday, February 29. Beginning operating hours are Thursdays and Fridays from 1-9 pm, Saturdays from noon to 9 pm, and Sundays from noon to 8 pm, with plans to expand from there. More information about the spirit and where to purchase it is available at senzamaeso.com.

Whoops

Michelin goofs on a few restaurants honored in first Texas guide

Kau Ba/Facebook

Houston's Kau Ba has been removed from the Michelin Guide.

Texans' reactions to the first Michelin Guide in the state have ranged from glowing to unimpressed, but a few notable mix-ups are more concrete than differences in taste. The November 11 ceremony honored more than 100 restaurants across the state, but at least two were in error. In Dallas the guide confused two restaurants with each other, and in Houston one of them had closed.

Starting in Dallas: The Guide's release announcing the list of restaurants who'd won awards included The Charles, an award-winning Italian restaurant in Dallas' Design District, as one of 57 restaurants that earned a "Recommended" rating.

The Charles is a surely deserving restaurant that opened in 2018, the first concept from acclaimed food & beverage group Duro Hospitality, which has since gone on to open other restaurants such as El Carlos Elegante, Sister, and Cafe Duro.

But the Guide got the wrong Charles: The real recipient was Mister Charles, a sibling Duro Hospitality restaurant that opened at 3219 Knox St. in early 2024.

The Charles specializes in Italian and Texas-inspired dishes.

Mister Charles features French and Italian-influenced dishes.

It wasn't just an incorrect name; it listed the accompanying (incorrect) address.

A spokesperson for Michelin Guide verified that Mister Charles was the winner and said that the listing of The Charles was a mistake.

“This was an internal error caused by our geolocation process. The problem will be corrected in the most expeditious manner,” the spokesperson said. The Guide website has since updated the list and replaced The Charles with Mister Charles.

Having a difference of opinion about a critic's choices is one thing — but having an error of this magnitude is something else entirely.

And blaming "geolocation" as the source of the error is a curious excuse. Geolocation refers to the ability to track the whereabouts of an electronic device using GPS, cell phone towers, WiFi access points or a combination of these.

The Houston mix-up was also disappointing, but only involved one restaurant: In a press release issued Thursday, November 14, the Guide announced that it had removed Montrose Vietnamese restaurant Kau Ba from the list of Bib Gourmand recipients.

The reason: "Upon further investigation, our team has discovered the restaurant has been permanently closed since our Inspection team's visits occurred," the statement reads.

As has been widely noted in local media, Kau Ba closed earlier this month. The restaurant’s Instagram account now belongs to Alora, which is described as “a fresh Peruvian-Vietnamese fusion concept inspired by travels to Saigon.” It is expected to open soon.

Open since 2018, Kau Ba served an innovative take on Vietnamese fare created by Nikki Tran. The restaurant built on the notoriety Tran had achieved after being featured in two Netflix series: Somebody Feed Phil and Ugly Delicious. It earned considerable acclaim, including a spot in the Houston Chronicle’s top 100 restaurants as recently as 2023 and a nomination for Best Neighborhood Restaurant in the 2021 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards.

The restaurant went through a number of iterations during its tenure. For three-and-a-half years, Tran partnered with Aya Sushi owners Minette Corpuz and Bruce Kish to oversee operations, but they parted ways in February 2023.

In an email sent to Houston Public Media, Tran expressed regret over Michelin's decision.

“But we understand and respect Michelin’s decision to remove Kau Ba from its selection,” Tran said to HPM. “Exercising an abundance of caution from a legal position, I am not able currently to share further details of our situation but I do hope to follow up soon with more information.”

“Until then, on behalf of the entire Kau Ba team, we want to thank the entire culinary community for the recognition and support,” Tran added. “Kau Ba is proud of the dishes we created and look forward to sharing very soon what’s next.”

Thankfully in Austin, things seem to be going okay. The capital city swept the competition with seven stars (one more than Houston now that the change has been made), and two green stars for sustainability — in fact, the only green stars in the state.

Austin also had four of the first-ever barbecue restaurants to be awarded stars. Houston also had one.

Austin's winning restaurants were Barley Swine, Craft Omakase, Hestia, Olamaie, InterStellar BBQ, John Bates, La Barbecue, Alison Clem, and LeRoy and Lewis Barbecue.

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