On this trip we dined at several Austin restaurant favorites as well as checked out a few new hot spots. Our overall impression was that chefs have moved out of survival mode and have begun to take more risks and dream bigger.

Foreign & Domestic

In 2010, Foreign & Domestic’s chef-owner, Ned Elliott, was one of the first in the city to latch onto the nose-to-tail movement, where the aim is to incorporate as much of an animal as possible in food preparation. Seven years later, the bistro was purchased by Sarah Heard and Nathan Lemley, local chefs who trained together at Parkside, another Austin classic. Initially, there were concerns that under new leadership, the restaurant would lose its charm, but Heard and Lemley have done a superb job at maintaining the original high standards and elevating the fare to new heights. The venison tartare topped with an egg yolk and taro root chips was melt-in-your-mouth delicious, as was the roasted Berkshire pork chop accompanied by an apple-cabbage slaw and miso-infused Bloody Butcher heirloom grits. Elliott’s signature Gruyère-black-pepper popovers have stuck around, thankfully. When the massive puffs came our way, we gasped – no picture can ever do them justice. They were airy and the perfect balance of crunchy and chewy. This one-room spot in the quirky North Loop neighborhood is cozy and friendly, and as you drive by, it is impossible to miss the large mural of a golden-winged pig painted on the building’s façade.

Foreign & Domestic
306 East 53rd Street. Tel. (512) 459-1010