A recent trip to Austin could only be about one thing for a seasoned food writer like myself.
There are swimming holes, you guessed it.
Around the end of April, I took a plane to the capital of Texas for three days of hiking, sunbathing, and complete submersion in a number of freshwater springs that, in contrast to the rivers and lakes close to my Portland home, wouldn’t cause hypothermia, drowning, or cold water shock.
However, we must all eat.
This is a brief dining report from Austin, where I found time between swims to check out a few exciting new restaurants in the other city that likes to keep things interesting. Austin is getting ready for Hot Luck, the food and music festival featuring Franklin Barbecue chef Aaron Franklin, Mohawk venue owner James Moody, and Feast Portland co-founder Mike Thelin.
The first trip was Meanwhile, a new brewery in South Austin with a cart pod, soccer field, play area, and performance stage from two former Portland brewers. There, they met with Austin American-Statesman critic Matthew Odam. (As you might expect, the Secret Beach IPA was clear and brilliant.)
Odam informed me the current status of Austin’s post-pandemic restaurant industry (recovering, but still risk-averse) and gave me some recommendations while we followed his little daughter around the brewery’s 3.7-acre property.
He said, “Let’s see.” Since you’re traveling from Portland, you should definitely concentrate on Mexican, barbecue, and possibly Southern cuisine.
He makes a valid point if you include Tex-Mex, but I could have argued that Oregon has better Mexican food than people outside the state realize. In the end, I went to three restaurants that satisfied each of those cuisines. And in a lovely way.
Did I choose the ideal time to come? Oh, no. Even though Hot Luck was still a few weeks away, a crypto conference in town caused accommodation rates to skyrocket above my bitcoin-strapped budget and resulted in buyouts at two restaurants I was interested in, Emmer & Rye and Suerte. I discovered the room I had thought would be a good value for $170 didn’t have a basin or a bathroom when I checked into my hotel in East Austin.
However, that only motivated me to look for more recent locations that weren’t yet on the Bored Ape Yacht Club’s radar. Additionally, eating at more restaurants meant burning more calories on the trip to the swimming hole the next day.
When you’re next in Austin, check out these three more recent eateries and a few swimming places.
THREE NEW AUSTIN RESTAURANTS
The crew behind Suerte’s Mexican seafood restaurant, Este, in Austin, served a seafood tostada.Thanks to Este
Este
In the shadow of Contramar, Gabriela C. Mara’s near-perfect restaurant in Mexico City’s lush Roma Norte neighborhood, where waiters in black bow ties serve two of the most copied dishes in the world: raw tuna tostadas and whole butterflied fisha la tallas covered in contrasting red-green salsas, are the majority of contemporary Mexican seafood menus.
Although Este, a new restaurant from the team behind Austin’s renowned Suerte, is not a direct imitation, it does follow in its footsteps with dishes like their own tuna tostada and butterflied snapper marinated in annatto-red chile.
Why not? The combination of fresh masa, high-quality fish, vibrant salsas, and tropical cocktails is a certain winner, and it doesn’t take a genius to see this. And just northeast of downtown, Este, a quaint eatery with a calm side patio, excels in every way.
The following tuna tostada with avocado and sesame-peanut salsa macha was a little redundant for a solo diner, but the Este ceviche was more generous than anticipated, with large chunks of citrus-cured sea bream and avocado smothered with a spicy shredded carrot salsa that was meant to be scooped up with tostadas taken from a chic box. With spoonfuls of flavorful trout roe and warm fresh tortillas on the side, I adored nearly every aspect of the trout a la pulla, a delicate pink filet concealed beneath a lovely pulla chile cream as silky and orange as tikka masala sauce. The trout was my only complaint. (That fish would have been more appropriate here, maybe influenced by the Troisgros brossalmon with sorrel sauce.)
Enjoy a cold traffic gridlock at the pass while sipping margaritas, palomas, and lipstick-red mezcal-campari cocktails from the bar. However, the dining room and patio, with their vivid blue-and-yellow tiles, Oaxacan fabrics, and pale wood, are equally lovely spots to spend a warm evening.
Details: 512-522-4047; esteatx.com; 2113 Manor Road, Austin
Are you in line to eat barbecue? I couldn’t be it.Russell, Michael | The Oregonian
Interstellar Barbecue
Here’s a little-known secret about restaurant critics: Barbecue isn’t usually our first pick, especially when we’re traveling. It’s not that we don’t enjoy the subtleties of meat that has been slow-smoked. We simply believe that our time and calories could be better spent elsewhere because of the beautifully prepared fatty brisket and ribs and the possibility of both long lineups and indigestion.
However, this is Austin, which is home to some of the most well-known contemporary barbecue restaurants in America. Interstellar is not only the first restaurant Odam recommended when I first got to town, but it also ranks second in Texas Monthly’s 2021 guide to the state’s 50 best barbecue joints, a bible for meat lovers that is published every four years.
In contrast to Franklin, La Barbecue, or other Austin landmarks where patrons (some seated in deck chairs) wait in line to place their orders, Interstellar is located in a strip mall some thirty minutes northeast of the city, which helps to keep some of the crowds at bay. There were only approximately 25 people in line when I visited on Thursday.
About half an hour later, I arrived at the counter and saw that John Bates, the proprietor, was working at the meat-carving station. I was lucky, too. Before switching to barbecue, Bates trained in fine-dining kitchens in Austin. He assured me he would sell me as little of each meat as his scale would allow. This allowed me to sample as much of the menu as I wanted while sitting beneath the sprawling oak trees next to the offset smokers parked out front. I was able to fill my tray with one rib, one slice of slow-smoked brisket, another of beer-soaked turkey, and one jalape o popper sausage.
Today, most large American cities have at least one or two good barbecue restaurants, most of them copying the Austin style (my local restaurant, Matt’s BBQ in Portland, could compete with many of Texas Monthly’s past top 10s on its finest days). These days, many who enjoy barbecue are looking for more: a compelling tale, unique sides, or maybe a combination of flavors from Southeast Asia or Mexico with just smoked meat.
The star of Interstellar is the succulent smoked pork belly, which is as delicious as it sounds, with each bite coated in a sweet peach tea sauce. In addition, Bates goes above and above with his sides and sweets, which include creamy scalloped potatoes with a toasted Parmesan crust, a slaw mixed with shredded jalapeño, and an incredible banana pudding for dessert.
Contact information: 512-382-6248; theinterstellarbbq.com; 12233 Ranch Road 620, #105, Austin
Uptown Sports Club
It’s not a sports bar, sorry. Hot Luck co-founders Aaron Franklin and James Moody opened a new restaurant, but as far as I can tell, it doesn’t even have a TV—something I discovered the hard way when trying to find a spot to watch the NBA finals.
However, it’s among the greatest new eateries in Austin and among the best eateries with a New Orleans flair.
Built in the 1800s, the Uptown s low brick building was previously home to various businesses including a neighborhood bar from which the new restaurant took its name but has long been abandoned (in 2017,local pranksters dressed it up to look like an incoming Chili s). The recent renovation was a stunner, preserving the vintage curb appeal while transforming the interior from a dirt pile to an all-day cafe, bar and restaurant with a Texan take on Louisiana homestyle brasserie fare that could have been transported directly from the French Quarter to East Austin.
At least one item is shipped directly from New Orleans: Real-deal Leidenheimer bakery rolls, the same ones used at all the best po boy shops, get shipped to Uptown frozen, where they re reheated and stuffed with hot roast beef, fat gulf shrimp, an upscale turkey club or my pick, fried green tomatoes. I ordered mine with a Vieux Carre, one of several classic New Orleans cocktails listed on a sandwich board menu hanging behind the bar. I also took my bartender s recommendation to add crunchy bacon to my tomato sandwich, creating a custom and impossible to put down BLT.
Uptown also boasts a raw bar, with oysters, caviar, a shrimp cocktail and a crab Louie salad that I ordered but never arrived (the restaurant was only one month old, and has probably worked out some service kinks since my visit, but I had a game to watch; they took the salad off my bill). The gumbo gets a breakout box on the menu for good reason. Starting with a dark roux made with roast beef fat drippings, the kitchen adds plenty of chicken and Franklin Barbecue sausage (without the Franklin Barbecue line). It s dank, smoky and probably the best gumbo I ve eaten outside New Orleans itself.
Details:1200 E. Sixth St., Austin; 512-551-2013;uptownsports.club
Worth the hike: Sculpture Falls, a swimming hole just outside Austin.Russell, Michael | The Oregonian
THREE AUSTIN SWIMMING HOLES
Over a three-day visit to Austin, I ate three trays of barbecue, a half dozen breakfast tacos (Vaquero surprised me, Veracruz had an off day), one super-sized Tex-Mex platter and some of the best gumbo I ve ever tried (see above). Light work! But I was mainly in town for live music and the aforementioned swimming holes. If you re in town and want to dip into a fresh-water spring, start here:
Barton Springs Pool
The easiest fresh water spring to reach, this giant concrete swimming pool sits at the heart of Zilker Park within walking distance of downtown. Non-resident adults pay $8 for access to a pool filled with water bubbling up from the Edwards Aquifer that stays around 70 degrees year-round. 2201 William Barton Drive, Austin
Sculpture Falls
Don t let the person walking their dog fool you: Despite the dry creek bed they passed, Sculpture Falls found about 30 minutes walk from the Barton Creek Trailhead s freeway-adjacent parking lot is still brimming with enough water for a cool dip in one of the tub-sized depressions formed in this gorgeous limestone waterfall. Found along the Barton Creek Greenbelt Trail
McKinney Falls State Park
After a night spent in Hill Country and a pilgrimage to the historic barbecue houses of Lockhart, I made a reservation for this state park about 15 miles south of Austin. If you only have time for one, head to Upper Falls, which has water deep enough for one quick limestone cliff dive before heading back to the airport. 5808 McKinney Falls Pkwy., Austin
AN IMPECCABLE DIVE BAR
Nickel City
Out for a walk one night, I happened upon this impeccable East Austin dive bar just as a freak lightning storm was threatening. There s a late-night food truck serving sliders, wings and Coney dogs out front, while inside, the Ferris Bueller s Day Off boiler maker pairs half Campari, half Fernet shot with a back of Meanwhile s excellent pilsner. All together, it was enough to warm this aging hipster s heart.1133 E. 11th St.
WHERE TO STAY
Austin Motel
If the crypto conference hadn t driven basic local room prices up to $600, $900 and even $1200 a night, I would have booked this South Congress hotel, with its kitschy decor, plentiful neon and gorgeous curving pool on the side. Next time.1220 S. Congress Ave.
Michael Russell is the restaurant critic for The Oregonian newspaper. He won t be at Hot Luck this weekend, but he can be reached anytime [email protected]
