Podcast: Randy Ford of Homespun
Randy Ford is a co-owner and head mixologist of Homespun Kitchen in Dripping Springs. He is not a career restaurateur, but a serendipitous series of events over the past few years, including meeting partner Jennifer, propelled him toward the opening of this neat little restaurant. In today’s Podcast, you can get the interesting back […]
Weekend Brunches Around the River City
Who doesn’t like a tasty weekend brunch? Unlike weekday dining, weekends have a sense of liberation to them, and brunches really seem to fit well with relaxed attitudes. Here are some of our favorites. District Kitchen + Cocktails This newish bistro at Escarpment and Slaughter has a really interesting brunch. Eggs Benedict that stand out […]
Podcast: David Meltzer of Sumo
Today’s Podcast features David Meltzer, the 31-year-old general manager of Sumo restaurant in San Antonio. David follows in his father Brad Meltzer’s footsteps as they’ve created a family dynasty of sorts with Teppanyaki restaurants. Sumo is more than worth the drive from Austin. It’s the best food of its kind in the area, and […]
David Joseph: the Story Behind El Patio
El Patio on Gualalupe is one of Austin’s oldest Tex Mex restaurants. Opened in 1954 by a Lebanese couple, the Josephs, the building formerly housed a restaurant named Schoonerville. Today’s Podcast is with their youngest son, David Joseph who began working for his dad at age 11 for $0.25 per hour. Thirty-nine years later, […]
Pizza Wars 2014: The Best Pizzas in Austin
According to our pizza pals, the week after Valentine’s Day is traditionally a good one for pizza restaurants in Austin. Guess everyone went broke on Valentine’s Day, or some such reason. Nonetheless, here’s one of our favorite pieces of the year for your enjoyment. As many of you may know by now, I grew up […]
Valentine’s Day Dining 2015
Welcome to the Dining Out with Rob Balon’s special Valentine’s Day page. This is, without question, the most popular dining out day of the year for couples. We post all special menus sent to us, and continue to post updates as we receive them. But be sure to book early. The night’s going to be […]
Podcast: Michael Freid and Noah Polk of East Side Pies
Michael Freid and Noah Polk had a fortuitous meeting some years ago at a local coffee shop, became friends, and in 2006 opened their first East Side Pies location on Rosewood. Today, they have three stores, and a bunch of specialty pies including one of my favorites, the Little Piggy. They pioneered the downtown/East […]
Another Austin Original: Margarito Maldonado
Think about how many restaurants in Austin have opened within the past 10 years. Then, regrettably think about all of those that have closed in the same time span (way more than you might think). So when you reach the point when your place is celebrating a 10th anniversary, you have really accomplished something. Margarito […]
Podcast: Elmar Prambs
Elmar Prambs, the only Exec Chef the Four Seasons Hotel in Austin has known since it opened in 1986 joins us for this week’s podcast. Prambs began his career with a three-year apprenticeship at a hotel in Germany. He moved on to resorts in London and Montreal, and then had a stint in Vancouver […]
An Austin Original: Freda Cheng
I was having lunch at Chinatown Bee Caves the other day when I ran into an elegantly dressed elderly Asian woman with a friendly yet dignified air about her. We shook hands and I asked for her daughter. “What else new?” she said. “She working.” The woman was Freda Cheng’s mother, matriarch of the Cheng […]
An old Austin Food Year Passes, and a New One Awaits!
It is hard to put the enormous changes in the Austin food scene over the past year into perspective; and harder still to anticipate what impact the 2015 openings will bring. Bottom line, we are as on point food-wise as I’ve ever seen us. And it makes my job all the more pleasurable. While we […]
Podcast: John Cho of Cho Sushi
John and David Cho have given the foodies of the Lakeway and Steiner Ranch communities some genuine options with regard to great sushi and sashimi. David is the back of the house while John handles the front. They make a great team. John was comfortably settled in NYC working for a tech firm when […]
Rob’s Christmas and New Year’s Dining Options 2014
For your convenience, we’ll be compiling many recommended restaurants’ hours of operation for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Enjoy, and don’t forget to generously tip your servers over the holiday season. We’ll be updating this list as we approach the holidays, so check back with us daily for more […]
Podcast: Steve Adler
Mayor-Elect Steve Adler joins us this week to discuss the permitting, licensing, and other infrastructure issues that confront and often cripple the hospitality industry (restaurants, bars, hotels, clubs, et al.) that comprise the LARGEST number of workers in central Texas (far larger than IT). Unbeknownst to many, the city is actually protected by a […]
Hollywood Comes to Austin for Opening of Fat Sal’s
I must admit to being a huge fan of Entourage, the long-running HBO comedy about a band of buddies playing or trying to play the Hollywood game. But when Jerry “Turtle” Ferrara and his former East Coast pal Sal Capik (who turned out to be my High Pointe neighbor) decided that LA needed some decent […]
