June was filled with trying flavors at new restaurants, including El Alma, LaV, The Hollow, VOX Table, Adelbert’s Brewery, and Ramen Fukuya.
Tacos at El Alma
I’ve been very impressed by El Alma‘s dishes at several food events in the last year and it’s been on my list to try. I finally made it there and tried the fish and veggie tacos, guacamole and Sangria Blanca.
June Brunch Club
Our monthly brunch club enjoyed a wonderful and tasty meeting in June. The dishes included my savory galette, MJ’s savory pull-apart bread, Linda’s healthy salad, Ashley’s peanut butter lasagna, and honorary guest Peter’s frittata.
Brioche Doughnuts, Macarons and Duck Confit Hash at LaV
After my taste of LaV at the LiveFire! event, I’ve been meaning to finally dine at LaV. My friend Sarah and I went for brunch and we were very impressed. The restaurant is very gorgeous inside with its high ceilings and color coordination. I’m itching to have a dinner in their private wine room. Their brunch special $15 bottle of rose – perfect. We started with pistachio, French toast and snickers macarons and the brioche doughnuts – all delicious! I also enjoyed the Duck Confit Hash.
5-course dinner at The Hollow in Georgetown, TX
I enjoyed a complimentary media dinner at The Hollow in Georgetown, Texas. The drive from north Austin was the same as going to downtown Austin (about 20 minutes). Chef Jacob is a culinary genius. The easiest way to illustrate it is he described his dishes like a scientist would describe his experiment: very knowledgeable, technical, passionate, and innovative. His French-American cuisine may be strange to some but overall, I thought he made ingredients approachable and his dishes unique. Here’s the menu we enjoyed:
Scallop escabeche, foraged and pressed verjus, melon, sorrel, long bean, almond, olive oil, cucumber, grapefruit, mint, basil, thai chili, preserved lemon
Duck mousse crème caramel, pickled cucumber, peaches, mustard, pistou, toasts
Quail, foie gras, house cured and smoked bacon, ancienne, apricots, sauternes, ras al hanout, saffron, wood, cilantro
Pressed duck, corn risotto, tomato beurre fondue, duck livers cured in dried porcini and cinnamon, mint
Slow cooked rack of lamb, smoked eggplant, charred eggplant salad
Chocolate, blackberry, nuts, cream
While all good, the duck mousse and pressed duck were my favorite dishes.
Naked Nun Beer with Pineapple Mango Gelato at Adelbert’s Brewery
I mentioned this photo/experience being featured in the paper in Tuesday’s Captivations post. After seeing beer floats mentioned by the brewery on Twitter, I commanded my beer companion Aaron that we had plans that night. Adelbert’s Brewery is the perfect weekend hang spot. You get 6 pours for $13, which allows you to try plenty of their fine beers. I recommend the Naked Nun, The Traveler and Philosophizer. They bring in food vendors so no need to hunt down snacks.
Tonkotsu Ramen at Ramen Fukuya
New to the Drag on MLK Jr. Blvd and Guadalupe is Ramen Fukuya. They invited me to a complimentary tasting pre-opening. While I prefer the other ramen places on my top Austin restaurants list, Ramen Fukuya is a solid choice when you’re in the area and has the potential to go far in Austin. I thought the bowl of ramen I had needed a few tweaks but I did enjoy it! #AlwaysInstagramtheRamen
Amazing Dinner at VOX Table
Readers. I kid you not. Go visit VOX Table as soon as possible. To celebrate my good friend Ashley’s birthday, four of us enjoyed about nine dishes. Of the plethora of new restaurants I’ve tried lately, this one is at the top of my list. The service was top-notch because of our friendly and informative waiter and the food runners. The carefully crafted dishes are innovative but approachable. We enjoyed: chickpea fritters, smoked Hamachi pipette, wood fired oysters, braised akaushi oxtail, woodfire grilled Texas quail, roasted Tasmanian sea trout, red crab, Sazerac sundae and crème fraiche cheesecake. My favorite was the oxtail. My friend Jane who writes A Taste of Koko visited and ended up getting almost all the other dishes I didn’t try, except for the oxtail and red crab. Take a look at her VOX Table photos here.
What amazing things have you eaten lately?
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