Before it could truly get out of the starting block in February, La Piscina Ceviches & Fajitas, McGuire Moorman Hospitality’s poolside restaurant at Austin Proper Hotel & Residences had to close due to the coronavirus pandemic.Now, it’s getting a chance to start over. The indoor-outdoor restaurant and bar located on the Proper’s fifth-floor pool deck opened for dinner today, with a ..read more

One of South Austin’s most popular upmarket dining destinations decided it had sat on the sidelines long enough.Following a closure of almost 9 months, dating back to the start of the pandemic, Eberly on South Lamar reopened its dining room Tuesday night. The stunning restaurant, which features 15,000 square feet of dining and drinking space, is serving dinner from 5 to 10 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday.In addition to its dining room ..read more

Freezer burn is a bummer, but so is tough, dry chicken.Polly Conner and Rachel Tiemeyer, authors of the Thriving Home blog and a 2017 cookbook called "From Freezer to Table," have specialized in freezer cooking for almost a decade, and they are experts on getting dinner on the table, no matter if you’re starting from fresh or frozen.Their new book, "From ..read more

The mercury has dropped. For now. Why spend hours creating complex soup, chili and curry at home when you can support local businesses and order those dishes for takeout?And with this list of 30 warming dishes at restaurants around town, we’ve done half the work for you. Almost all of these restaurants offer online ordering for their takeout.CENTRALMadras soup (tomato-coconut soup infused with Indian spices) at Clay Pit ..read more

A fire early Tuesday caused severe damage to House Park Bar-B-Que, Austin’s oldest continuously operating barbecue restaurant.As many as 30 firefighters responded around 4:20 a.m. to the blaze that owner Matt Sullivan said he believes started in the pit room. The fire left holes in the ceiling and caused major smoke damage to the restaurant.Nobody was injured, Austin fire officials said. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.Sullivan, whose ..read more

Did you pick your lemons before the freeze? What about your pomegranates and persimmons?Most of Central Texas got a freeze Monday night and into Tuesday, which happens to also be the first meteorological day of winter. It’s our first widespread freeze of the year, too, so plenty of gardeners and plant-lovers were bringing in their ..read more

The restaurant industry received a heaping helping of good news over Thanksgiving weekend, as celebrity chef David Chang, he of Netflix show "Ugly Delicious" and the Momofuku empire, won $1 million on the celebrity version of ABC’s "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire."Chang was playing for the Houston-based service industry nonprofit Southern Smoke Foundation, an organization co-founded by Houston chef Chris Shepherd (Georgia James, One ..read more

The restaurant industry received a heaping helping of good news over Thanksgiving weekend, as celebrity chef David Chang, he of Netflix show "Ugly Delicious" and the Momofuku empire, won $1 million on the celebrity version of ABC’s "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire."Chang was playing for the Houston-based service industry non-profit Southern Smoke Foundation, an organization co-founded by Houston chef Chris Shepherd (Georgia James, One ..read more

It’s rare that I give a Christmas present that gets used every day of the year.That’s not the purpose of presents, of course, but if I can’t find a present that will totally surprise and delight someone and make them feel spoiled, I love giving something that will get a lot of use.Last year, I gave a kitchen gift that fit both categories. My mom wasn’t asking for a carbon steel skillet, but long believing that cast-iron skillets were too heavy ..read more

After such a big week of cooking (and eating all those Thanksgiving leftovers), you might be ready for some simpler meals this week.This recipe from "The Complete Mediterranean Cookbook: 500 Vibrant, Kitchen-Tested Recipes for Living and Eating Well Every Day" by America's Test Kitchen (America’s Test Kitchen, $34.99) starts by browning sausages and then ..read more