As many of you know, Cissi’s Market is located just north of Guero’s on South Congress. In it’s previous life, it was a gourmet grocery store and was pretty sparse and felt out-of-place amid the jumble of stores on the street.

After a complete renovation, the front half of Cissi’s has been reinvented as a wine bar and food lovers paradise. I was lucky enough to be invited to check out Cissi’s by some dear friends and enjoyed an unforgettable food and wine tasting of some of the menu’s greatest hits.

Cissi’s uses the best ingredients available — local when possible, and the culinary team is full of passion and excitement about the new venture. Each dish we tried was delicious, unique, and interesting. For example, the Rillete was a pork confit spread served with herb salad, beet-pickled Quail Eggs, house-made Red Wine Mustard & warm Baguette.

Other items we tried included:

Gaufrettes – Hand-cut Waffle Potato Chips with Gruyere Surchoix, Fleur de Sel & chiffonade of Parsley $4

Duck Confit Salad – Crispy Hudson Valley Duck leg with local Watercress, Cucumber, & Apple with a Balsamic Marjoram Vinaigrette $15

Gravlax Plate – Thinly-sliced house-cured Atlantic Salmon, Lemon Crème Fraiche & Tomato confit $14

Mom’s Beet Salad – Roasted beets, arugula & goat cheese with walnuts and dill-sherry vinaigrette $9

When I go back, I’d really like to try the Grilled Medjool Dates – Wrapped in house-cured Bacon, stuffed with Pecorino Toscano & Marcona Almonds $9.

Cissi’s also serves coffee and pastries in the morning and lunches. I’ve heard rumors that they serve some of the best coffee in town. For lunch, folks can stop in for a sandwich ($7.50-$11.50).

I’d like to go back one day to enjoy more wine and nibbles. Cissi’s serves a kids menu and I believe that the “young at heart” are welcome to enjoy The Elvis – a peanut butter, banana, and honey sandwich or a simple Grilled Cheese sandwich (both $4).

On New Year’s Eve, Cissi’s is having a swanky Soiree to benefit I Live Here, I Give Here and that would be as good a time as any to check out the menu.

The Soire will feature a prix-fixe three course New Year’s dinner designed by Head Chef Deegan McClung and Pastry Chef Faith Chan for $45. Guests also have the option of enjoying wine pairings selected by sommelier Nat Davis for a total of $75 for food and drink.

To make reservations for New Year’s, contact kwallace@cissismarket.com.

Just when we thought we had reached the apex of phenomenal dining, we were delighted once more when the dessert platter arrived. The desserts were presented in a way that I’ve only seen at five star restaurants in cities like New York. We exclaimed over each bite and oohed and aahed as we tasted the innovative and mouth-watering creations.

Pastry chef Faith Chen delighted us with what I believe is the most delicious and artistic dessert selection in Austin:

Warm White Chocolate Rose Cake – Passion fruit Ganache Center, Bruleed Bananas, Rosemary Sorbet

Belgian Ale Doughnuts – warm beer toffee sauce, peanut-fleur de sel toffee

Lavender Madeleines with Green Tea Mousse

Espresso & Chocolate Profiteroles

Kohana Mocha Shot, Dark Chocolate-Espresso Streusal, Burnt Strawberries

Clementine and Pear Crumble

My mouth waters at the memory. I hope you will keep Cissi’s in mind for an upcoming date, night out with the ladies, afternoon snack, morning coffee and paper, shopping break, or dessert and champagne.

They also cater for small or large functions and I plan to lobby my office manager to check out the box lunch options for working lunch meetings. At $10-$15 — they would be perfect for entertaining clients. Stop by Cissi’s before or after seeing a show at the Long Center, plan your next book club meeting there, the possibilities are endless.

Cissi’s is run by a food and wine staff that truly care about what they are serving and are passionate about introducing new flavors into the Austin food scene. I, for one, am rooting for them!