Foodie is the New Forty: patio

Monday, September 24, 2012

Eleven Plates & Wine

Eleven Plates & Wine has been on my "to try" list for some time, so when they invited us out for a meal as their guests, we jumped at the opportunity. Their space is very pleasant - casual and comfortable, yet lovely, with a large west-facing patio that looks out over the hills.

A small part of Eleven Plates' interior.

Patio at Eleven Plates

View from the patio
We started with cocktails - I selected an Ode to Hemingway ($10) which, according to the menu, contained Bacardi, cucumber, St. Germain, and lime. I was a little confused by the color; when I asked, I was told that it also contained peach bitters. I drank every bit of it, but I think I'll ask them to leave out the bitters next time. My husband's mojito (not pictured; it was attacked too quickly) was perfect - one of the nicest specimens of a mojito we've found in Austin.

I have great difficulty turning down truffle fries...so I didn't. These are listed amongst the side dishes and came in a large cone ($7); we made short work of them. They were scrumptious, tossed with shreds of fresh parmesan and herbs as well as truffle salt.

Brussel sprouts are another thing I find hard to resist. These super rich sprouts ($7) are deep fried to produce a lovely caramelization and tossed with Meyer lemon dressing and aioli. Healthy? No. Tasty? You'd better believe it.

At least you can tell your mom you ate your vegetables...
For my entrée, I ordered the soft shell crab ($21), which is served with roasted heirloom tomatoes, and shaved fennel & arugula salad with a sherry vinaigrette. I don't usually like cooked tomatoes, but these were as perfect as cooked tomatoes come for me; I found myself wishing I could have a whole plate of just those.

At the suggestion of our very helpful server, Michael, my husband ordered the diver scallops with grilled corn, Spanish chorizo, corn nut dust, and citrus aioli. Oh my, this dish was divine. The chorizo was fried crispy, bringing a nice texture and flavor counterpoint to the lusciously tender scallops.

We finished off our meal with a sweet corn panna cotta with brown butter sorbet, which was served over a sauce made with apples. I don't like overly-sweet desserts, so I'm always on the lookout for ones that use ingredients that are most often used in savory applications, like corn. I must say, this was one of the most successful examples of corn desserts I've had. The flavors and textures were just right, and that brown butter sorbet - oh!

After our meal, their Executive Chef, Chef Joe Anguiano, was gracious enough to come visit with us for quite a while. Chef Anguiano is new to Eleven Plates as of about six months ago, and he is a great addition to their kitchen. I loved to hear that he is passionate about sustainable, local sourcing, and his enthusiasm for bringing his culinary viewpoint to Austin was infectious.
Eleven Plates is open for lunch and dinner daily (except for Saturdays, when they are dinner-only), and offer a social hour with $5 select small plates and $3 off wines by the glass on Mon-Fri from 3-6p and all day Sunday at the bar. They also do monthly wine dinners - three courses paired with wine for $45 - and they're currently participating in Austin Restaurant Week, where you can get three courses for $37. I definitely recommend that you check them out - I know I'll be back soon.
Eleven Plates & Wine 3801 N. Capital of Texas Hwy, Suite C-200 Austin, TX 78746 (512) 328-0110

Contigo Austin

Oh...uh...hi!

You're still there?

Cool!

Sorry for the lack of posting; I'm not sure exactly what happened there, except that I've just been a little overwhelmed with life. Nothing serious; just enough to keep me from staying as engaged with this process as I'd like. But I'm back!

And, of course, I have lots to share with you.

Last night, I finally got to venture out to try Contigo Austin. I first read about Contigo on Jodi Bart's wonderful blog, Tasty Touring, and as soon as I read her post, I knew I needed to try this place. I have a huge soft spot for places that are casual enough that I can show up in shorts but that still provide a great dining experience, and it's a huge bonus if they are also dog-friendly. Contigo fit all these criteria.

So, my friend Liz and I (and Mindy) spent the lovely summer evening on the patio at Contigo sampling their fare. And by "sampling," I mean that the two of us ordered a boatload of food and then managed to leave with it all in our bellies.

I started with one of Contigo's cocktails, the El Pepino ($7): tequila, cucumber water, lime, and just a whisper of mint. So delicious and refreshing, and quite dangerously easy to drink.

The first food to arrive was the house pickles ($4) - green tomato, green beans, and cucumber. These were super vinegary and were the only thing we tried that I probably wouldn't order again (although I was sort of glad we had them, as the acidity helped cut through the heaviness of the other stuff we ordered).

Next up were the "crispy green beans," ($6) which don't necessarily sound like they're deep-fried, but I knew from Jodi's post that they would be. These were really tender and delicious, and the batter had just the right amount of salt in it. I liked the sambal aioli that came with them, as well.

I was dead-set on trying one of Contigo's house-made charcuterie offerings, so ordered the crepinette ($7), which our server described as a patty of pork sausage meat mixed with reconstituted earl grey currants and crimini mushrooms, and encased in a netting of fat (!!). Uh, yes, please.

I loved this. The texture of the pork was hearty, and the flavor was rich but still nice and clean, and wasn't muddled with that greasy aftertaste that you sometimes get with low quality sausage. The herb salad made a nice, bright complement to the meat.

Mindy asked Liz several times if she could have some, but fortunately, Liz was not swayed by her hopeful attention.

We also tried the cauliflower gratin ($7). Cauliflower was lightly cooked (it still had a little crunch to it) and topped with parmesan, toasted almonds, and a balsamic reduction. It's not listed on the menu, but I think I detected a bit of cream in the sauce, as well.

It wouldn't be patio dining without a mess of fries, right? So we got some of those, as well ($4). Fries + aioli are such a fine combination, and these were nice and crispy and, like the green beans, perfectly salty.

I really enjoyed my first experience here and hope to be back again soon. I love the restaurant's concept - basically, "We love our South Texas ranch, and since we can't bring everyone down there, we're bringing the ranch to you." I'm so glad they did.