Just finished the first leg of my Midwest/West Coast excursion. The first part was a girls’ weekend to Austin, Texas, to catch up, hang and laugh with my childhood friends. Our last trip together to NOLA proved to be a necessary annual journey to reconnect; alas children, work, obligation and time happened. Five years later, and with one of us having moved to the Pacific Northwest, we opted for a central, equidistant locale for our long overdue rendezvous.
Stepping out of the airport into hot and humid air, I was immediately reminded it was my first time back in decades. Vague memories of visiting a family plantation house when I was a child and getting bitten by red ants in the sugarcane fields came to mind. And a trip to Houston for some music industry event in a former career.
The only two things I knew of Austin were SXSW music conference and the lively food truck scene. The latter of which being the most important to my current career. Turns out it was not the trucks where I found my food truth. For that would be discovered at two restaurants, one of which has been marked as one of the best meals I have ever had.
Let’s begin at the beginning. Friday night at Dai Due Butcher Shop & Supperclub (@DaiDue, 2406 Manor Rd., 512-524-0688, www.daidue.com). Thankfully our awesome “cruise director,” Jessica, made a reservation before we arrived in Austin.
After surviving a small transport kerfuffle with Austin’s ride-sharing, we arrived to what looked like a small strip mall. However, walking in the door I was captured by all of the house-cured meats and products, local produce and the large island butcher block with staff still hard at work. We were escorted past an open kitchen and hearth with three Parrilla grills (Argentine iron grills that raise and lower as needed) where everything would be cooked. We were in for a treat.
Although we tasted some wines to determine the right bottle for the table, there was no indecision when it came to the two boards of housemade meats, spreads and breads, crazy good chow-chow, four-month-cured olives and pickles. We certainly could have stopped there but soldiered on.
On charred wooden boards came some of my favorites, such as a tallow-fried empanada filled with chicken, poblano, corn, sweet peppers, onions and cheddar. Vegetable sides were not throwaways—I hoarded charred okra with tomato vinaigrette. The wild boar confit in boar broth was adventurous, and head-on prawns with an addictive spicy-sour sauce got sopped up with charred bread.
Our sweet ending included fig leaf ice cream that was both simple and complex, verdant and sweet. Thanks to chef Jesse Griffiths and his team for a delicious first meal in Austin!
Happy eating and thanks for reading!
Kysha Harris is a food writer, culinary producer, consultant and owner of SCHOP!, a personalized food service offering weekly and in-home entertaining packages. Questions? Comments? Requests? Feedback? Invitations! Email her at kysha@SCHOPnyc.com, follow her on Twitter and Instagram @SCHOPgirl or on Facebook www.facebook.com/SCHOPnyc. For even more recipes, tips and food musings subscribe to her blog at www.talkingSCHOP.wordpress.com. Follow AmNewsFOOD @NYAmNewsFOOD.