La Condesa- Austin, TX

Broken Arrow Ranch is in the hill country outside Austin.  It is home to a unique variety of wildlife from various parts of the globe.  At the ranch, the handlers hunt the desired game with rifles then promptly bleed the animals utilizing electric charges.  This pulse of electricity allows the muscles to spasm and the animals bleed out very quickly on the site they are killed.  The quicker the blood is drained, less pooling and less retention of toxins which can add peculiar flavors to the meat.  The ranch has its own butcher who does everything by hand and a slaughter trailer which is overseen by a state health inspector.  Within minutes to a few short hours, a wild game animal is killed, butchered and the meat is ready for consumption.  Why do I discuss this?  Well, learning about Broken Arrow ranch is what inspired us to try La Condesa in downtown Austin. Chef Rick Lopez of La Condesa utilizes the meat from this ranch particularly venison and wild boar among other things.  

La Condesa is a Mexican-inspired restaurant offering a variety of tapas-style plates to share amongst the guests.  It has a full bar with a large selection of tequilas and mescals that can be upward of $100 a shot for the rare varietals.  

Two of our good friends, Nate and Morgan joined us for this dinner.  We kick-started our 8-course meal with Hamachi Ceviche.  Yellowtail tuna was fresh, light, and the calamansi broth added some citrus notes.  The Habanero truffle oil added some heat to round out a great start to our meal.  

Another highlight was the Veracruzana, a red wine-brazed octopus served with tostadas.  A tender octopus was highly seasoned with charred tomatoes, saffron aioli and picholine olives.  Strong flavors of the spices overtake the flavor of the octopus but only in a good way.  The octopus itself basically served as a base for texture.

red wine-braised octopus, charred tomatoes, picholine olives, saffron aioli, tostadas

So, we highlighted two selections which were seafood based after a long discussion about a local source for game meat.  This is where things become disappointing.  The seafood options were the best plates we had on this particular night.  The land animal items proved to be less than stellar.

The middle of our meal turned to Arabicos Taquitos, seared venison with pickled cucumber (aka pickles), chipotle harissa, fennel pollen yogurt and bacon fat tortilla.  This is where I was expecting La Condessa to start shining.  All the flavors worked very well together but the venison was considerably chewy.  It was served rare but it did not have a clean, tender bite I would have expected.

seared venison, pickled cucumber, chipotle harissa, fennel pollen yogurt, cilantro, bacon fat tortilla

I am a sucker for sweetbreads.  Anytime I see them on a menu I pounce on it.  The sweetbreads  at La Condessa were grilled, adding a unique charred flavor to the meat.  The meat itself was very well prepared, very tender like a great sweetbread.  The plate was a build-your-own taco with the accoutrement of charred cactus paddle and salsas.  The cactus paddle was definitely unique and offered a firm bite but the charred skin added extra bitter taste to an already bitter plant.  Combining all the items on the plate made for a good Mollejas taco but did not complement the sweetbread which just by themselves would’ve sufficed. The flavors just didn’t mesh as well as a dish like that should.

grilled sweetbreads, confit onion, charred cactus paddle, salsa manzana, salsa nopalitos

A couple other plates we indulged included a very good Pollo Rostizado, a chicken mole where the mole sauce was able to appropriately shine, and a pretty good achiote-braised pork shoulder.

La Condessa is definitely a good restaurant.  However, we came into the restaurant with a little too much hype and expectation; unfortunately this was not realized.  The atmosphere was fun and bright, the wait staff was helpful and knowledgable.  While things did not feel rushed, per se, they certainly felt a little disorganized and scattered. Nevertheless, the game selections of the menu, which were the primary draw, fell a tad short.

Looking for the “weirdness” in Austin, TX

Austin is among the fastest growing cities in the country and its food scene likewise sprawls with the city.  This is a hotbed for some of the country’s best BBQ and Tex-Mex cuisine.  However, the open-thinking and trendy population reflect the culinary advancements in the local kitchens.  Rather than ramble about our several stops, we offer a glimpse of some planned and improvised destinations during our long weekend in Austin.

Lambert’s in downtown Austin is rated amongst the best BBQ stops in a BBQ-heavy city.  The look is more of an early 20th century bistro with a modern twist.  It has a full bar with mixology cocktails, craft beers and classic cocktails.  The menu is centered around its BBQ which is mostly also prepared in a modern computerized smoker.  This is a far-cry from the conventional smoke houses and smoke rooms in the BBQ stops in other parts of Texas.  Regarding the menu, the maple and coriander glazed ribs, pulled pork were good but the standout of the meats has to be the brown sugar and coffee rubbed beef brisket.  This is easily the best brisket I ever tried.  The rub produces a delicious crispy bark that is no-way overpowering.  The magic is in the meat itself with a buttery flavor perfectly tender; the knife is rendered useless with this brisket.  Aside from BBQ, the menu features other meat-related options including an appetizer crispy savory wild boar ribs.  These finger foods provide great competition for chicken wings.

Crispy wild boar ribs at Lamberts

Brown sugar & coffee rubbed brisket, maple & coriander crusted pork rib at Lamberts

The two trendy areas of downtown Austin are 6th Street and Rainey Street.  With very different looks they manage to accomplish the simple task of providing a platform for debauchery.  6th street really helps to build the “keep Austin weird” slogan.  Door-to-door bars and restaurants light up the evening with a fluorescent rainbow set amidst corporate high-rises.  This is the spot for classic heavy metal, dive bars and cheap eats.  Casino el Camino on 6th is famous for its burgers and its immense gargoyle that greets you as you pass through the door.  The menu features 6 burgers of varying toppings.  The “hot” buffalo burger is greasy, well prepared and does not disappoint with the heat.  The Pittsburgh with mushrooms, onion, and provolone is hearty and heavy, reminding us that even though it was in the high 70’s in Austin, its still winter. We were recommended to get the chili cheese fries without the chili by a local, which is what we did. The cheese is gooey and there is plenty of it. Add all this bar food goodness to a decent local beer list and the best jukebox in Austin and you have one great vibe. 

Fried chicken sausage at Banger's

Rainey Street is perhaps the most original and unique streets I’ve ever walked down.  This is a two-block stretch by the Colorado River featuring a unique blend of food trucks, restaurants and eateries.  However, these businesses are refined houses; rather than demolish these buildings, they were converted to private businesses.  Ranging from single bungalows to multi-floor villas to a night spot literally built our of shipping containers, the eclectic nature of these places all feature live music and utilize outdoor spaces.  Bangers is an outdoor beer garden, featuring almost 100 drafts and specializes in a variety of sausages.  These include duck, bacon & fig, venison, Texas antelope and their “2nd best dish,” the fried chicken.  Little did I realize this is actually chicken sausage breaded and fried.  The sausage even with the fried better is nothing special, but the mashed potatoes, gravy and accompanying biscuits were reminiscent of southern comfort food.  The duck and fig is a nice sausage with the mix of spicy and a nice sweet from the fig. Neither overpowers the other. On the night we were there Bangers also boasted a large brass band, NOLA style, as our evening entertainment. With 3 sets and some awesome songs, they provided the entertainment for most of the evening’s drinking and eating; marking this meal as the most memorable.

Banger's beer garden

On a side note, Austin has a flourishing craft beer scene.  There is no claim to one particular style of brewing but a variety of lights, darks, hops, malts is offered.  512, Community and Austin Beer Works were some of the breweries we tried.  Bottom line, Austin is definitely a beer drinkers city.

Every Saturday morning Austin has a farmers market at Republic Square Park few blocks south of the capital building.   There is a plethora of local produce, poultry, beef and pork options available.  However, this is also known for different street food options.  A couple of the highlights include a Brazilian cheese crepe with spinach, heart of palm and mild shredded cheese.  It provided a healthy savory start to the day but the crepe itself is not prepared from regular batter.  Butter is melted in a pot and the dry DOUGH? is added with a grinder that evenly disperses the flour.  The butter absorbs this as it cooks which allows for a grainy but less dense dough.   Other offerings included Mexican breakfast tacos, tamales, vegan pastries, local home-made beef jerky and Nepalese salsa.  A kombucha stand offered several varieties for sampling and purchasing (by purchasing, you can but a jar or growler and fill it from a kombucha tap  Refills are a separate cost).  The best food item from this market (and one of the best of this trip) came from the Indian food stand Chai Wallah which makes their own traditional Indian hot food, treats and samosas.  One such Samosa was the beet, paneer and chipotle chili samosa.  Served chilled, this was a filling, desert-like treat.

Farmer's Market at Republic Square Park

"Brazilian crepe" with cheese, spinach, heart of palm

Austin was a highly anticipated trip to explore this “weird” city that embraces its state and local heritage while looking toward new ideas if lifestyle, architecture and of course food.  Regretfully, we did not stop at many of its famed food trucks but we were able to explore a wide range of different food types and cuisines.  For the most part the food was good with a few exceptional standouts.  This city and food scene are growing and this city would definitely be work the stop on another occasion.  Luckily, the city has a vast bike and walking trail network.  This is much needed to burn off all of those extra calories.