NYE Draws Extremely Nigh, Granduca Becomes Viata, Snap Abets Your Healthy Resolutions, Fiore Tedesco Is All Over the City, and OMG Garrison Brothers What’s This About Water Buffalo Milk?

All the news that’s fit to get your taste buds quivering

Here's some of what's happening in Austin's culinary scene, as wrangled from numerous PR releases, words on the digital street, and even the occasional (verified) IRL eavesdroppings.

Snap Kitchen: Bringing the healthy noms & nutritional information all year long

Yes, it’s your “Food News Buffet” for what’ll soon be the first week of January 2023 – ready or not, here it all comes.

And the new year brings that new location of Fogo de Chão we previously told you about: 200 Congress, in the base of the Austonian. Just in case you’ve been looking at the restaurant’s previous site next to the Convention Center and wondering, “Where’s the Brazilian beef?”

And the former Hotel Granduca, out along the tree-crowded and hilly part of West Austin, has been rebranded as Hotel Viata (320 Cap. TX Hwy. S.). “What’s in a name?” as some Shakespeare character asked, right? Since the executive chef of the posh venue’s Laurel restaurant is still the talented Tommy Suddeth and his menu is rather off the charts with culinary goodness, we don’t really care what they call the place – as long as they don’t call us, as Grandpa was wont to say, Late for Dinner. Bonus: Viata's got a NYE dinner planned for you, too…

How about a heapin’ helping of health? Locally owned Snap Kitchen is bringing their Resolution Revolution program into 2023, so your food-based New Year's resolutions don’t need to be abrupt, restrictive, or short-term. All of Snap Kitchen’s meals come with a nutrition profile – showing protein, carbs, and fat – which means you can easily track your dietary needs, while indulging in their newest meals – Southern meatloaf, pot roast chicken, Salisbury steak, parmesan roasted broccoli, brownie batter chia pudding, and more – available at all locations starting January 10

This dude's, like, everywhere lately

Also on January 10 – that’s a Tuesday, nota bene – is another of those remarkable Pasta Paisanos meals at L’Oca d’Oro (1900 Simond), the monthly guest-chef-supercharged feasts that go to support the Lilith Fund. Figured we’d better mention this one in advance, as none other than Aaron and Stacy Franklin will be collaborating with Fiore Tedesco and his amazing kitchen crew that night and we’re sure tickets are going quick-quick-quick. Bonus: Before that, yes, of course L’Oca d’Oro’s doing a NYE feast as well – right before Tedesco does his own guest chef stint at Suerte’s Taquero Takeover on Jan. 3

Oh, and? We also hear that chef Tedesco (dude, what, are you unstoppable?) and his business partner Adam Orman are going to be opening a separate pizza joint, in the summer of 2023 – a place to be called Bambino. Didn’t we talk about this a few weeks ago, about how everybody and their sister is opening a pizza joint somewhere in town? Not like it’s a problem, especially when it’s the folks behind L’Oca d’Oro who will be joining the glorious pied-up ranks of Love Supreme, East Side Pies, Show Me Pizza, Side Eye Pie, Bufalina, the backspace, Home Slice, Southside Flying Pizza, Conans, and – yeah, who doesn’t love good pizza?

Let’s see – what else, what else? Your current reporter’s cover story took an appraising look at the wine-forward, chef-showcasing Apt 115 on East Seventh (and, look: They’re doing NYE up all fancy this weekend)… and Wes Marshall highlighted a quartet of bubbly potables to abet your holiday celebrations… and Rod Machen wrangled a bunch of the best nontraditional BBQ sides… and we also like the idea of that Réveillon feast from Supper Friends on Friday, and lobster mac & cheese for NYE at the Marriott’s Corinne restaurant – especially because Kitty Cohen’s annual Get Lit Chanukah Pop-Up Bar will be shuttered by then… and then it’s a new year, omg, and almost time for the Texas Hill Country Wineries popular Passport event, wherein (from Jan. 30 to Feb. 24) you can experience 40-plus unique wineries on a self-guided tour centering around (hint, hint!) Valentine's Day. Note: We sent our roving oenophiles, those happy Hallidays, to check out the earlier iteration of these Passports, and you might wanna see what they had to say

Do water buffalos say, "Moooooo," y'think? Or do they just say, "Thank you, Garrison Bros, I'll have one more of those."

From the Creamy & Dreamy Bureau of Booze: From now through mid-January, the Whiskey Shack out at Garrison Brothers Distillery in Hye is partnering with Blanco's own OroBianco Italian Creamery to make eggnog cocktails – featuring the Garrisons’ HoneyDew Bourbon and OroBianco’s acclaimed water buffalo milk. Ah, there’s another great excuse for a drive through the beautiful Texas Hill Country, hey?

WUXTRY! Saw a billboard on Airport Boulevard on the way to work last week, a billboard advertising some special at Taco Bell. Thing is, see, the deal was available only through the Taco Bell app – and that gated incentive reminded us of the relevant (and prescient) rant from A.M. Gant, who cut loose on the trend in a post earlier this year

Now eat as well as you can, tip like it’s going out of style, and let’s show this presumptuous 2023 what’s what.


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