Rojo Red at the Capitol Marriot continues the Austin trend toward excellent hotel restaurants begun by the Four Seasons and carried on by the Driskill Grill.

Althought not in that upscale price range, Rojo Red features an innovative and delicous menu with prices ranging from $8 to $24 with the majority of items prices under nineteen dollars.

We dined there in the midst of the recent Harley convention, in a room full of upscale bikers, and a wonderful time was had by all.

Let's start with the bread. Oh my gosh, let's start with the bread. They have unquestionably the best cornbread I've tasted in Austin. Moist and flavorful with a hint of jalapeno, I took home an entire bag of it, by request. If for no other reason, go there and try the cornbread.

We enjoyed the lump crabcakes. Firm, lots of crab and not much filler. Also, we tried a devilishly appealing mixture of pure luck goat cheese, portabello mushroom, and arugula served on grilled focaccia bread. Really nice flavor and a killer presentation. We also tried the Texas Sweet Onion Soup which had a nice, full flavor. Kind of anachronistic though: reminded me of restaurant dinners in the 60's. If I had a vote, I'd opt for a southwest style corn chowder.

We tried the Pan Seared Sea Bass with a burre blanc sauce and tomato jam for an entree. It was exceptionally well-cooked and firm and served on a bed of sauteed greens with a lovely Texas sweet potato. The taste was quite compelling. We also tried the Ribeye, done medium rare, rubbed with Ancho chiles and served with a pearl onion jam and oven dried tomatoes with copper spiced Austin potato chips, an old cowboy recipe. The meat was very tender and that smoky flavor imparted from the anchos worked really well.

I like what Chef Jim Tripi is doing with Rojo Red. Using local ingredients wherever possible and suggesting pairings with quality Texas wines, he is shaping his cuisine to fit the hill country. He holds forth at a chef's table each weekend where you can have the maestro cook for your party. And I, for one, am going to take advantage of that., For Fox 7 news, I'm Rob Balon, dining out at Rojo Red at the Capitol Marriot downtown on 11th street.

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