Austin Way Magazine - GreenGale Publishing - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/367813
Austin's restaurant scene is taking a Southerly turn. James Robert and Keith House, veterans of Eddie V's, plan to put their Southern roots down with Fixe, slated to open late this fall in the new IBC Bank tower downtown. The concept—executed through design partnerships with Pinnacle Construction (pinnacle austin.com), Nelsen Partners (nelsen partners.com), and EDG Interior Architecture + Design (edg design.com)—celebrates opulent country living with rich wood tones throughout the space. Plans for artistic, rustic touches include antique windows to section off the kitchen from the main dining room and a screen-door installation to welcome guests. Influenced by the dishes his mother cooked for him, Robert is the master- mind behind the "Sunday Supper" menu to be served nightly. Austin Way sat down with the chef for an exclusive preview of what's to come. Your chef de cuisine, Zach Hunter, who already has a pair of two- Michelin-star restaurants under his belt, is a relative newcomer to Austin. What do people need to know about him? I hired Zach as an appetizer cook eight years ago [when we opened up Eddie V's] in Scottsdale, Arizona. He reminded me a lot of myself when I was his age. He rose up the ranks pretty quickly and took over that restaurant when I came back to Austin in 2007. Through the connections he made, he was able to cook in Spain at [Mugaritz], which was at the time ranked number four in the entire world, and later at Atera, in New York City. What's unique about Zach's approach to cooking? He brings a perspective to food that you don't really see much of here yet, so having someone like him on your team is invaluable if you are looking to push the boundaries of cuisine. He injects that modernism and progressiveness into what would otherwise be tradi- tional dishes.… We're bringing new life to recognizable Southern cuisine. How so? What do you think the menu will be like? We're devoting an entire section of the menu to grits—an heirloom variety made in the Carolinas, and the best I've ever had. We're pairing grits with traditional ingredients, like shrimp— except we prepare it with shrimp butter infused into a clarified butter, and fold shrimp roe into a shrimp butter aioli. We'll also make dishes like potato salad, which will have the same components you would find in any traditional potato salad—but you'll have to dig around to find those ingredients. We incorporate pickled quail eggs, and underneath the whole dish is a sharp aioli base. With each bite, you discover something different. It's very playful, very surprising. The layout of the restaurant is sectioned off into rooms. This was intentional, yes? We want to transport you into a Southern home. It has a residential feel throughout, from the furniture to the décor to the fixtures. That was the inspiration behind it: the warm feeling you get when you are welcomed into someone's home. Is there a best seat in the house? There's a chef 's table—number 11—which sits right off a square pass table where Zach and I will be. As far as feeling like you are a part of the process and excitement, I know that's the table I would book for myself. You can take in the theatrics and the buzz and the energy of the kitchen. 500 W. Fifth St., 512-954- 3493; austinfixe.com AW Get Your Fixe In an exclusIve IntervIew wIth Austin WAy, chef James RobeRt dIscusses how he and Keith house are craftIng a progressIve southern destInatIon downtown at fIxe. by jane kellogg murray clockwise from top: Grains at Fixe are paired with traditional Southern ingredients, but always with a twist; served atop "Potlikker" pinto beans with pickled jalepeños, Fixe's pork shoulder is braised for three hours; Fixe co-owner and executive chef, James Robert. "We're devoting an entire section of the menu to grits—an heirloom variety, and the best i've ever had." —james robert photography by Knox photographics 98 AUSTINWAY.com taste sneak Peek