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This year has been rough on the bar and restaurant industry, marked by the ebb and flow of businesses moving in and out of existence. With closures like Sellers Underground, Black Walnut Cafe, Full English and Threadgills this year, 2020 has done away with many Austin eateries.
But when one door closes, another one opens. After a respectful period of mourning, you might want to check out one of these new restaurants in town.
Chicken as Cluck
Coming into Austin from the Bay area, Chicken as Cluck is operating in Austin exclusively as a ghost kitchen—a restaurant that only serves delivery and takeout—for now. Located on 5610 North Interstate Highway 35, Chicken as Cluck opened its second location in Austin at the beginning of December, though the restaurant has plans to open another soon in Dallas. The restaurant has a fresh, rotating menu every week and specializes in pressure-fried chicken sandwiches and "chunks."
C.L. Butaud and Wine for the People
Two Texas small-batch wineries are joining forces to open up a joint tasting room, taking over what was previously Argus Cidery, on 12345 Pauls Valley Road. C.L. Butaud and Wine for the People opened their tasting room last week, featuring $25 wine flights, cheese boards and choice outdoor seating for COVID-19 safety. Members of the respective wine clubs get additional benefits and reservations are recommended.
Curry Up Now
From one food truck-loving city to another, San Francisco-native Indian food restaurant Curry Up Now started as a food truck and is now making a move to Austin in 2021. No date has been announced yet for a grand opening, though the restaurant is working on expanding 40 locations across the U.S. Featuring mash-up options like tikka masala burritos and tandoori fried chicken sandwiches, and naughty creations like "sexy fries" and "naughty naan," this restaurant is sure to have you wondering why you've never had food quite like it before.
Golden Castle
Paying homage to the iconic Midwestern chain White Castle, the temporary burger joint is operating inside the temporarily-closed Original Hoffbrau Steakhouse, located on 613 West 6th St. Golden Castle is selling its beef, onion and American cheese-on-a-potato-roll sliders by the half-dozen or full dozen, made complete with some crinkle-cut fries and a frosty beer. Golden Castle is only a pop-up for now—the restaurant is planning to move into a food truck by the second week of January.
Luck's Wagyu Burger Shoppe
Coming to you from the minds behind Lucky Robot and Zen Japanese Food Fast, Luck's Wagyu Burger Shop made its debut last month. The casual dining restaurant, located on 2900 West Anderson Lane, sells Asian-inspired burgers and sandwiches made with premium ingredients, like rare wagyu beef. Go for the tempura onion rings, panko-fried patties and Asian-fusion condiments. The restaurant also sells options for non-hamburger-eaters like chicken and vegan Beyond burgers.
Mama Kong
According to its website, Austin needs Cambodian soul food and Mama Kong is bringing it to the city via a pop-up kitchen, supper club, caterer, speakeasy and online cooking classes. With a rotating menu on deck, Mama Kong serves different "snackies," "soupies" and "biggies" every day. Stop by and get Puh Hut, or fried fish cakes with lemongrass, to start; a Somlar Kaw, caramelized chicken, soup; and finish with an order of Nyom Samot, or squid and shrimp salad over glass noodles. The pop-up has kept their location hush-hush, but you can place orders here.
Man vs Fries
Man vs Fries will make you rethink fries as a side dish. The french-fry centric restaurant is yet another move from the Bay area, also operating as a ghost kitchen while under COVID-19 restrictions. Bringing you the "maximum version of the french fry" and inspired by the Texas State Fair, Man vs Fries's menu puts fries in burritos, carne asada fries and plans to bring its newfound Lone Star State audience unique Texas-specific items in the spring. Man vs Fries is currently operating at 11410 Manchaca Road, but plans to open two more locations on East Cesar Chavez and South 1st before the end of the year.
Sammataro
Specializing in the classics, cheese and pepperoni, Sammataro started as a pop-up in Austin before it became a permanent fixture. The pizza truck, located on1158 Lost Creek Blvd., opened this month, after a group of former New Yorkers moved to Austin, mid-pandemic, with the goal of bringing Silician pizza to town. Using pepperoni from the famous Ezzo's, flour from Barton Springs Mill and a host of toppings, Sammataro's pizza is meant to reflect a Sicilian experience.
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(Paxton Smith/Instagram)
Paxton Smith’s 2021 valedictory speech at Lake Highlands High School in Dallas wasn’t the same speech she had previously shared with school administrators. She dropped the approved speech and made a case for women’s reproductive rights after lawmakers passed the Texas "Heartbeat Bill.”
Her advocacy made news on NPR, YouTubeTV and in The Guardian. Just over a year later, the “war on (women’s) rights” she forewarned has come to a head as the U.S. Supreme Court voted Friday morning to overturn Roe v. Wade, ending constitutional protection for abortion access.
“It is up to the people to show up and show the courts and the politicians that we won’t sit back and let this happen,” Smith told Austonia Friday morning. “We will show up, we will fight back. Before, we were scared of them, now they should be scared of us.”
Now a University of Texas sophomore and abortion rights activist, 19-year-old Smith said she wanted to give the same speech in the “the most public way possible” to reach “as many people as possible who don't agree that I deserve this right.”
However, she says the response was “actually overwhelmingly positive” and supportive of her cause. According to a recent UT poll, 78% of Texas voters support abortion access in most cases.
The speech opened up further opportunities for activism: she advocated for reproductive rights at the International Forum on Human Rights in Geneva, interviewed with Variety magazine and spoke to tens of thousands at Austin’s Bans Off Our Bodies protest at the Texas Capitol in May.
Smith also serves on the board of directors for the Women’s Reproductive Rights Assistance Project, a national nonprofit organization that helps fund abortions or medication abortion—like Plan C pills—in all 50 states. Most recently, Smith has been attending protests in Washington, D.C. leading up to the ruling.
“This is land of the free. This is where you get to choose how you live your life,” Smith said. “Overturning Roe v. Wade violates everything that we have come to believe about what it means to live in this country. I think a lot of people aren't willing to accept that this is a human right that is most likely just going to be gone for over half of the country within the next couple of weeks.”
Bracing for the next steps, Smith gave some tips for supporters:
- Find a protest to attend.
- “I would say invite somebody to go to those protests with you, invite a couple of friends, invite people into the movement,” Smith said.
- Talk about the issue on social media—use the platform you have.
- “Have these kinds of conversations where people can just talk about their fears and then find ways to go and advocate for yourself,” Smith said.
- Volunteer at a nonprofit near you.
“I feel like a lot of the reason things have gotten as bad as they have within the abortion rights world is that people are not making a scene, not protesting, not putting the effort into ensuring that the government doesn't take away this right,” Smith said. “I want to emphasize that if you're not doing anything, don't expect the best scenario, expect the worst because that's the direction that we're going in.”
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(Council Member Chito Vela/Twitter)
The U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark ruling that guaranteed a constitutional right to an abortion, Friday morning. Moments later, Austin City Council set a special meeting for next month to pass a resolution aimed at decriminalizing abortion.
The GRACE Act, which stands for guarding the right to abortion care for everyone, is a twofold plan submitted by council member Jose “Chito” Vela. It recommends that city funds shouldn’t be used to surveil, catalog, report or investigate abortions. It also recommends that police make investigating abortion their lowest priority.
Council Member Vanessa Fuentes, who co-sponsored the resolution along with council members Paige Ellis, Kathie Tovo and Mayor Steve Adler, said the importance of the GRACE Act cannot be overstated.
“By introducing this resolution during a special session, City Council is doubling down on fighting back for reproductive health,” Fuentes said. “Items like the GRACE Act will promote essential healthcare while enabling individuals to exercise their bodily freedom.”
The act takes an approach similar to when former council member Greg Casar moved to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana. Ultimately, state law doesn't allow city officials to order police chiefs to adopt specific enforcement policies so the resolution would be a request to Police Chief Joe Chacon. In May, Politico reported that Vela is having "ongoing conversations" with Chacon about the proposal.
Austonia contacted Attorney General Ken Paxton for comment on the GRACE Act but did not hear back by time of publication. On Friday, Paxton celebrated the overturning of Roe and announced an annual office holiday on June 24 in recognition of the high court's decision.
In a press release, Vela said the Texas state government has a history of overturning municipal protections of human rights. Thirty days after the Supreme Court’s ruling, Texas will ban all abortions, with exceptions only to save the life of a pregnant patient or prevent “substantial impairment of major bodily function.”
Still, Vela expressed hope for the GRACE Act’s longevity. Council’s special meeting on it is set for the week of July 18.
“We know this resolution is legally sound, and Austin is not alone in this fight,” Vela said. “We are working with several other cities who are equally horrified by the prospect of an abortion ban and want to do everything they can to protect their residents.”
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