Restaurants & Chefs
Fine Mexican fare in Austin, Texas
By JOHN MARIANI
Far too often my Eastern (and Southern and Northern) friends express the naïve belief that all anybody in a Texas city like Austin wants to eat is 'cue and all they want to drink is beer — an easy enough pastime to indulge in a town with Austin's huge college population.
Tracey Maurer
Executive chef Miguel Ravago of Austin's Fonda San Miguel
So I have to dispel that myth by informing them that, in fact, Austin has some of the West's best restaurants at every level, from French to sushi — and some of the best Mexican food in the state.
The historic and very beautiful Fonda San Miguel, here since 1975, showcases the more refined classical Mexican cuisine without pretension. Here you'll find unusual dishes like tequila-cilantro smoked salmon tostadas with chive-laced cream cheese; the Yucatán specialty cochinita pibil, which features pork slow-roasted with achiote; and broiled fish in a Veracruz sauce with tomatoes, capers, and Spanish olives.
Lower on the hog is El Chile Cafe y Cantina, which does interior Mexican and is especially good for its antojitos (appetizers) like mildly spicy tilapia ceviche with lime juice, tomato, onion, and cilantro; grilled quesadillas with chorizo and Chihuahua cheese; and a terrific tortilla soup in a rich chicken-and-ancho-pepper broth topped with avocado, queso fresco, and crispy tortilla strips and laced with cream.
For breakfast or brunch, head straight for one of the two Curra's Grill locations, a favorite of visiting musicians in need of some hearty early morning fare.
The Garcia Prado family bases its cooking on the food of their hometown, Nueva Rosita Coahuila, like huevos con machado, lightly scrambled eggs with shredded dry beef and borracho ("drunken") sauce; or a big plate of migas, scrambled eggs with shredded corn tortillas, chorizo (optional), and a hot pico de gallo salsa.
Kelly-Mooney Photography/Corbis
Barbecued chicken, sausage, ribs, and brisket from Iron Works BBQ
Oh, and if you really gotta have barbecue, Austin's got plenty. My own favorite, as much for its deliberately funky look derived from the 1935 flood that ripped through the old wooden house as for its classic BBQ-joint food, is Iron Works BBQ.
• CURRA'S GRILL — 14 E. Oltorf St., 512-444-0012; 8600 Highway 290, W., (512) 288-0437, www.currasgrill.com
• EL CHILE CAFE Y CANTINA — 1809 Manor Road, 512-457-9900; 3435 Greystone, (512) 284-7863, www.elchilecafe.com
• FONDA SAN MIGUEL — 2330 W. North Loop, 512-459-4121, www.fondasanmiguel.com
• IRON WORKS BBQ — 100 Red River St., 512-478-4855, www.ironworksbbq.com
Issue: June 2009
