Upscale Eating

• Bistrot Mirabelle: A romantic neighborhood bistro in Mesa Hills serving southern French-inspired dishes for lunch, dinner, and Sunday  brunch. I visited recently for an event and absolutely loved their mussels, along with a chocolate chocolate cookie, and am looking forward to going back with Adam for a date! Located at 8127 Mesa Drive in between Spicewood Springs and Steck, west of MoPac. Make reservations on their website.

• Elizabeth Street Cafe: A cozy spot for French-Vietnamese cuisine, I’ve visited this little gem twice — both for dinner and brunch. Dinner was tasty, but a little uneven, and brunch was delicious. Those looking for a $6 bowl of pho have come to the wrong place — this is high-end, ingredient-driven dining, y’all. Their specialties include noodles, bahn mi, and boulangerie — so those on a low-carb diet beware. I’d go for the crispy vermicelli cakes for breakfast and the house specialty banh mi for lunch or dinner. South First and Elizabeth Street, in the old Bouldin Creek Coffee location. Open breakfast (8 – 11 a.m.), lunch and dinner (11 a.m. – 10:30 p.m.), 7 days a week.
• Lenoir: In late January, this neighborhood bistro offering a price fixe menu of three courses for $30 started by talented and adorable husband-and-wife team Todd Duplechan (TRIO at the Four Seasons) and Jessica Maher (Dai Due, Dishalicious) and  opened in the space formerly occupied by Somnio’s Cafe. Located at 1807 South First between Annie and Mary; Open Tues – Sat, 5-10:30 p.m. Call 512.215.9778 for reservations.

Casual Eating

• Kome: I always think of Kome as Uchiko light — a less expensive, less avant garde version. Soon after we heard that the owners of Sushi-A-Go-Go were opening a full restaurant, we stopped in for a lovely meal. Since then, we haven’t been able to get in without a wait. I’m hearing good things about their lunchtime ramen menu and hope to try it soon. Another thing I love about this place is that it’s biking distance from my house. 49th and Airport Blvd; Open Mon – Sat for lunch and dinner. Call 512.712.5700 for reservations for parties of five or more.

• Lick: Delicious, creamy ice cream made with fresh, local, and organic ingredients made with love. I’ve tried many of the flavors and have yet to find one that I didn’t like — even the roasted beets or caramelized carrots and tarragon are delicious. One of my favorites is the goat cheese, thyme and honey. A perfect place to kick back and relax on a milking stool. Located on S. Lamar just north of Oltorf near Barley Swine; Open Mon – Sun 12:30 p.m. – 10 p.m. (11:30 on Fri & Sat).
• Saigon Street Food Truck: The Yelpers are excited about this Vietnamese pho and banh mi truck on Airport Blvd and I like that it’s close to my house. For all the complainers saying Elizabeth Street is too expensive for a bowl of pho, this place might be for you. Located at 53rd and Airport Blvd; Open Tues – Sat 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.
• Stiles Switch BBQ & Brew: I’d guess even Aaron Franklin is glad to hear another BBQ place has opened up in Austin that’s getting some buzz and taking s0me of the pressure off of him and his pits. And while Stiles Switch may not be the second coming, I have heard some good reviews of the brisket and look forward to enjoying some Q and brew sometime in the near future. Located in the Violet Crown Shopping Center, one of the oldest mini-malls in central Austin, the Stiles Switch space is in the location used as the pool hall in Dazed and Confused. Located on N. Lamar between Koenig and Airport; Open Mon – Sat 11 a.m. – 9 p.m.
• Dock & Roll Diner: Formerly parked in Westlake, this diner will reopen in early February at S. 1st between Elizabeth and Monroe in the same parking lot as Gourdough’s and Izzoz Tacos, next to Elizabeth Street Cafe. I am drooling, drooling at the description of their lobster roll by those who have tried it, and can’t wait to check ‘em out when they get settled at 1503 S. 1st; Open Mon – Sat 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.
• Gourmands: Addie’s review in the Statesman put me over the edge — she had me at “from-scratch potato chips.” According to Addie, this is a soup, sandwich and beer joint that pays attention to details like making their own potato chips, pickled vegetables, and house-sliced deli meats and cheeses. The bar includes 18 draft beers — 9 from local brewers. Located on Webberville Road, just north of E. 7th Street; Open daily 11 a.m. – 2 a..m.
• Hillside Farmacy: According to the Austinist, this Eastside specialty grocery and restaurant from East Side Show Room’s Sonya Cote will offer Stumptown coffee, Belgian beers, cocktails, oysters, cheese, charcuterie and more during breakfast, lunch and dinner. Located on E. 11th near Rosewood Ave and the Texas State Cemetery, in the old Gene’s New Orleans Style Po Boys location.

Eats & Drinks

• drink.well. has a website, a Facebook page, and a Twitter handle, but this North Loop “American Pub” is still in the process of being built out. Once open, possibly next month, they will offer craft beers, wines, and spirits from across the U.S. and will feature pub food. I’m excited about their drink menu, which they are creating with the help of the Tipsy Texan, David Alan. Looks like the makings of a nice little neighborhood bar, and will take some pressure off the popular Tigress down the street. East 53rd between Avenue F and G.

• Easy Tiger, in the former Habana on E. 6th Street, just west of I-35, is one of the few places on 6th Street that I would hang out at on purpose (along with Pete’s Dueling Piano bar, Parkside, and the Driskill). Enter at street level, and Easy Tiger offers coffee, fresh-baked baguettes, croissants and giant German-style pretzels by pedigreed baker, David Norman. Head downstairs and you are in a beer hall filled with tables and chairs, or a patio with a lit-up view of Waller Creek. Easy Tiger offers a full bar and 30 beers on draft, along with housemade meats and other bar food by 24 Diner chef Drew Curren. Open Mon – Sun from 7 a.m. – 2 a.m.
• Hopfields: A bar in walking distance from the UT campus that I’d actually want to go to? Amazing. With a solid beer list, cocktail menu, wine list, and bistro menu, there’s not a lot about Hopfields to complain about. Most of the seating is at communal tables or at the bar, and it feels like the kind of place where  you could go often enough that everyone there would know your name.31st and Guadalupe; Open Tues – Fri 11 a.m. – 12 a.m., Sat until 1 a.m
• Workhorse Bar: Located in the same mini-mall as The Tigress, Workhorse is under construction, but their FB page promises a bar and restaurant with over fifty taps available for draft beer. They plan to promote local breweries and distilleries, and the rest, is a mystery. Sounds like a perfect place to sit my man and his buddies in front of a game while I catch up with my ladies next door. Northloop Blvd just east of Avenue F. My one concern for this area is where will everyone park?!

Neighborhoods

• Airport Boulevard between 35 and Lamar keeps getting awesome(r)! Austinites have long-loved Mrs. Johnson’s Donuts, Quality Seafood, the Lammes candy shop, La Canaria, Casey’s New Orleans Snowballs (open seasonally), and Tamale House (hat tip to Fed Man Walking for helping jog my memory); recent openings on and around Airport over the past year or so include Black Star Coop and Stiles Switch BBQ on Lamar, Kome, Saigon Street Food Truck,  La Chaparrita (in Highland Mall), House Pizzeria, East Side Pies, and opening soon — Your Mom’s Burger Bar.
• North Loop, which is right around the corner from Airport — in fact — East Side Pies could be considered part of this hood, is growing like crazy. With the two new bars I mentioned above opening up in the next month or so, I think North Loop will really cement its identity and continue to grow. Currently, this neighborhood is home to The Tigress and Foreign & Domestic, two of our most-loved food and drink destinations in town.
• S. 1st – Within a couple block radius, S. 1st is home to Elizabeth Street Cafe, the new Bouldin Creek Cafe, Sugar Mama’s Bakeshop (which is expanding), La Mexicana Bakery, Polvos, El Primo, Once Over Coffee Bar, Izzoz, Gourdoughs, and soon, Dock & Roll,  J Mueller BBQ, La Patisserie, and a Thai restaurant from the La Condesa folks that is being built as we speak.

And those are the places I’m most excited to explore in the next few months. What about you?

MORE DELICIOUS FUN COMING SOON (Updated 1/31 at 1:33 p.m.):

• 400 Rabbits Cocktail Lounge (tequila bar/Mexican food) from the Alamo Drafthouse’s Beverage Director Bill Norris and chef John Bullington is set to open at the end of March. It is located at MoPac and Slaughter.
• Freedmen’s: A laid-back lounge in a historic building with retro cocktails and BBQ — opening soon and located at 2402 San Gabriel St.

Photo courtesy of Sagra Austin

For this edition of Tasty Tuesdays, feel free to share your favorite bars, bartenders, and individual cocktails. Some of mine, in no particular order, include:

Bars

• The Tigress
• Contigo
• East Side Show Room
• Sagra
• La Condesa
• Bar Congress
• Fino
• Peche

Cocktail Historian

• David Alan, aka The Tipsy Texan

Cocktails

• Anything with ginger beer (Moscow Mule, Dark and Stormy)
• Drinks with fresh herbs
• Hot Toddies with whiskey
• Pimm’s Cup
• French 75

What about you?

Related:

• August 2009 “Best Cocktail in Austin” – Tasty Tuesdays

Activities kick off with the Urban Farm Bicycle Tour this Saturday ($30 for adults – children under 16 are free).

Other events include:

• Springdale Farm’s Pig Roast and Harvest Dinner at 4 p.m. Saturday ($30)
• A Coffee and Chocolate Festival at 11 a.m. Sunday at Texas Coffee Traders ($25)
• Speakers Wendell Berry and Wes Jackson’s sold out talks on Sunday at the Paramount (sold out but tickets are available on Craigslist)
• Alamo Drafthouse showing of Moonstruck with dinner at 7 p.m. Monday ($70)
• Better Bites of Austin Holiday Fair at the Domain on Wednesday from 4-9 p.m. (free)
• Drink Local Night and Official Drink of Austin contest at the AT&T Center on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.  ($35)
• Local Brew Fest on Saturday, Dec. 10 at Black Star Co-Op from 1 to 5 p.m. ($20)

For tickets to individual events or for VIP tickets to all of the events above, click here. Note: you save $30 with the VIP ticket if you are sure you will attend all of the events. If not, it may be better to purchase tickets individually.

New this year is an auction of a private culinary experience with a local celebrity chef for eight guests. The bidding starts at $1900 for each chef  and you can check out the participating chefs here.

Related:

• Edible Austin Eat Drink Local Week
• Austin Urban Farm Bicycle Tour (2008 post)
• Urban Roots on KGSR

And while some other old favorites have closed, or just gone downhill, there are new trailers constantly coming onto the scene to replace them. Last week, I got to try one of them — The Seedling Truck by the people who run Royal Fig Catering.

If the goat cheese polenta with poached farm egg and mustard green pesto, or the grilled hanger steak with butternut squash sauce, arugula, and fried sweet potato are any indication, this new truck will soon be a huge hit. According to their Facebook page, they will be posting a schedule and locations by Thanksgiving.

Hanger Steak

And my new favorite trailer park is Jessie Street Eats, on Jessie Street behind Thom’s Market near Barton Springs Road and Lamar. You pretty much can’t go wrong there with Cha Thai, La Tasca, the Kitchen Window, and Tako.

The Kitchen Window at Jessie Street

There is also a new trailer park on the East Side of Austin at 12th and Waller that I’ve driven by, but haven’t checked out yet. Luckily, Ginny’s Austin has a great post showcasing all the trailers on site. Hoover’s Soular Food Trailer & Garden features two locally grown veggie trailers opened by Hoover (of local soul food fame). It also shares space with Osmo’s Kitchen, Eat Trailer, El Naranjo (I didn’t include a link because right now, their Yelp page and website have the incorrect address), and The Local Yolk.

If you love to know the latest on Austin’s food truck scene, be sure to check out Austin Food Carts, Eater Austin, Fed Man Walking, Food Trailers Austin, Tiffany Harelik’s Culture Map articles,  Relish Austin, Scrumptious Chef,  Texas Monthly’s Eat My Words, and Thrillist Austin.

But since it’s Tasty Tuesday, and newest isn’t always best, what are some of your favorite food trucks and trailers in Austin?

Related: More Tasty Touring articles about food trucks

Let me first answer the question that’s undoubtedly on your mind, “what the heck are crimps?” According to the menu, crimps are bite-sized, fits-in-the-palm-of-your-hand crimped balls of pie, with a flaky, golden crust on the outside and a delicious savory or sweet filling on the inside.

Assorted Crimps - Photo courtesy of The Pie Society

Basically, crimps are the perfect size to sample many different flavors in one sitting. I love them because you can put in your order of up to four dozen crimps in the morning, and they’ll be delivered by 3 p.m. the same day. Such a fun gift to send a friend, loved one, or coworker — and a nice change from the usual Tiff’s Treats. Not that there is anything wrong with Tiff’s. I love ‘em. But crimps are a new, fun way to let someone know you’re thinking of them.

Lindsay and Emily - Photo courtesy of The Pie Society

Aren’t Lindsay and Emily cute? They are just so happy making pies and promoting their new business. And I wouldn’t suggest you try them if I didn’t think their pies were f-ing delicious. And pretty. Check out this apple pie they made for Independence Day:

American as Apple Pie - Photo courtesy of The Pie Society

I ordered a cherry pie for a book club meeting at my house one day and it was almost too pretty to eat. But when I ate it, the crust was the perfect consistency, the filling was tart with just the right amount of sweetness, and I basically couldn’t stop cutting slivers of pie until it was all gone.

Cherry Pie with Rooster

With Thanksgiving around the corner and pie season in full swing, what is your favorite pie in Austin?