From national honors to tequila splashes, here are the biggest Austin dining stories of 2023

Many Austin restaurants shook the dust from the rubble of the pandemic and in 2023 picked up forward momentum not seen in several years.

Inflation, hiring difficulties and a historically hot summer ensured that it was not perfectly smooth sailing for anyone, but the successes, many celebrated by national publications and organizations, made 2023 feel like our best year since 2019.

One minor silver lining of the pandemic has been the shift to alternative service models, and Austin witnessed quite a few successes in unexpected places in 2023. It was also a year that saw several beloved old names get an infusion of new blood. In short: it was not a boring year for Austin dining. Here are some of the biggest stories of the year:

Too many food awards to count

Joe’s Bakery & Coffee Shop has been a stalwart of the East Austin community since the late Joe Avila opened the East Seventh Street restaurant in 1962. Known for its fortifying breakfasts and comforting Mexican dishes like carne guisada, the family-owned restaurant is operated today by Avila’s daughters Rose Maciel and Carrie Avila and granddaughter Regina Estrada.

The James Beard Foundation recognized the restaurant as one of six “America’s Classics” in the same year that the American-Statesman inducted the iconic spot into its Austin360 Restaurant Hall of Fame.

The foundation acknowledged the restaurant’s pan dulce, carne guisada and breakfast tacos, as well as the important role the women-owned-and-operated restaurant has played in the "rapidly gentrifying" neighborhood.

Joe's Bakery joined fellow Texas institutions Louie Mueller BBQ and Perini Ranch Steakhouse among the ranks of Beard "American Classics."

While Joe’s was the only Austin restaurant to take home hardware emblazoned with the visage of the late food writer Beard, six Austin restaurants did earn semifinalist nods from the New York City-based organization.

Related: Joe's Bakery & Coffee named to Austin360 Restaurant Hall of Fame

Damien Brockway of barbecue trailer Distant Relatives, which focuses on African-American foodways, earned his second consecutive semifinalist nomination for Best Chef in Texas. The former fine dining chef operates his trailer from Meanwhile Brewing, and he was joined by fellow brewery trailer operator Kareem El-Ghayesh of KG BBQ, who serves Egyptian-inspired barbecue from his trailer at Oddwood Brewing.

Completing the trio is celebrated chef Tavel Bristol-Joseph, a co-founder of the Emmer & Rye Hospitality Group and 2020 Food & Wine best new chef, whose Caribbean restaurant Canje has earned local (Top 10 in the 2022 Austin360 Dining Guide) and national (best new restaurant nods from multiple publications) honors since opening in 2021.

No Austin restaurant has ever earned the distinction of outstanding restaurant in the country from the Beard Foundation, but La Condesa, the downtown restaurant opened by Delfo Trombetta, Jesse Herman and chef Rene Ortiz in 2009, was part of the conversation this year, as it was named one of the country's 20 semifinalists.

Longtime executive chef Rick Lopez helms the beautiful interior Mexican restaurant operated by New Waterloo, which also operates Sway and South Congress Hotel.

Modern Mexican restaurant Suerte, which celebrates agave spirits, was named one of the 20 semifinalists in the outstanding wine and other beverages program, and chef Mariela Camacho, of the pop-up Comadre Panadería, was one of nine semifinalists in the outstanding pastry chef or baker category.

While Suerte celebrated that recognition, its sister restaurant, Este, was having one of the best first years of any Austin restaurant of the past decade.

The modern coastal Mexican restaurant from owner Sam Hellman-Mass and chef Fermín Nuñez (both of Suerte) was named one of the 24 best new restaurants in the country by Bon Appetit.

The publication raved about the trout, pork carnitas and chili-butter-drenched shrimp, which we named one of our 10 favorite dishes from new restaurants in 2023.

Hellman-Mass and Nuñez opened the restaurant in fall 2022, transforming the historic East Side Cafe space and pumping up its garden to an epic bounty. The raw preparations alone are worthy of snagging a reservation or pulling up a seat to the bar.

The New York Times also got in on the Este love fest, naming it one of the 50 restaurants about which the publication “is most excited about right now.”

Sharing that distinction with Este was Wee’s Cozy Kitchen, a West Campus gas station food stall from Wee Fong Ehlers, who changed the complexity and appeal of her counter-service operation when she added homemade Malaysian dishes like beef rendang and curry laska to her menu.

Both Este and Ehler’s “restaurant” also made the American-Statesman’s list of the 20 Best New Restaurants in Austin.

This wasn’t the first time the New York Times included an Austin establishment in its list of 50. East Austin counter-service restaurant Birdie’s landed on the inaugural list in 2021, the same year the American-Statesman called it the best new restaurant in the city, and the restaurant from chef-owner Tracy Malechek-Ezekiel and husband Arjav Esekiel continued to earn national praise in 2023.

Food & Wine named the small spot on East 12th Street the best restaurant in America this summer.

“It’s the place you go to at least once a week if you live down the street, and at the same time, it’s the place worth getting on a plane to Austin for. Birdie’s is also the restaurant that the industry needs," Food & Wine’s Khushbu Shah wrote. "Two years in, Arjav and Tracy have proved that their restaurant model — one that prioritizes boundaries and the wellness of both themselves and their staff — is not just a pipe dream, but fully implementable.”

Birdie’s neighbors over at Nixta Taqueria also got kudos from Food & Wine. The publication named chef Edgar Rico, who owns the East 12th Street taqueria with his wife and business partner, Sarah Mardanbigi, one of the 10 Best New Chefs in the country.

Related: Nixta Taqueria's Edgar Rico earns spot on Food & Wine's list of Best New Chefs in America

"It's a dream come true. I remember as a teenager, I was always excited when the list would drop," Rico told the Statesman. "Seeing what chefs from all around America were cooking in their kitchens, I always felt like Food & Wine does an amazing job of seeking out the chefs that are truly defining what the culinary landscape in America looks like."

This is yet another recent honor under Rico's belt, as he landed on Time's 100 Next list last year. That same year he was invited to be part of the American Chef Corps, a diplomatic partnership that is part of the State Department. And when United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken stopped in Austin this summer for a talk at the University of Texas, he popped in with his staff for lunch at Nixta.

New faces, familiar places

“One day I wanna buy that restaurant,” Trey Wolslager told his mother after leaving what was then called Houston's.

He was in elementary school at the time.

Almost 40 years later, the businessman and restaurant owner’s wish came true. The Round Rock native, who works in wealth management and, with his brother, Ryan, owns Foxhole Culinary Tavern near his home in Avery Ranch and Republic Kitchen and Bar in Leander, this spring purchased a majority ownership stake in Bartlett’s, which opened in 1986 and was renamed in 2010.

Related: He knew he wanted to own Bartlett's. 40 years later, he fulfills his childhood dream

The purchase came as longtime general manager and co-owner Alan Thomas moved into a minority ownership position after working in the restaurant since 1989.

Diehard fans of the restaurant that starts filling when the doors open each day were happy to learn there were no major changes planned. It’s business as usual at the restaurant run by longtime chef-owner Arik Skot Williams, whose tenure at the restaurant dates back to 1996. The only change may be that of multiplication, as Wolslager is already eyeing properties in the suburbs for second and third locations of Bartlett’s.

Both north and south of Bartlett’s, restaurant veteran and first-time owner Mike Smith had his eye on two long-standing properties with strong local followings.

Smith, whose resume includes time in management at Gumbo’s and Shoreline Grill, formed Hearth and Counter with partner Chris Ragland. Their company purchased North Austin Italian restaurant Andiamo in the spring and wine bar and restaurant Aviary Wine & Kitchen on South Lamar Boulevard in late summer.

Related: Austin restaurant veteran buys two beloved longtime neighborhood restaurants

The new owners have made small tweaks to both restaurants, but their mission at Andiamo and Aviary, has been to make the restaurants that were heading down a road to closure the best versions of themselves.

“There are so many restaurants that close almost everyday, it seems. And it’s sad,” Smith said. “Sometimes it just takes somebody coming in with fresh eyes and fresh energy.”

A new set of eyes is also seeing the way forward at one of Central Texas’ legacy restaurants.

The husband-and-wife team of Carlin and chef Joseph Farner took the reins of Hudson's on the Bend, the Lakeway area restaurant that has undergone several iterations since Jeff Blank opened it in 1984.

One of Austin's first celebrity chefs, the charismatic Blank created a space that stood out with its bucolic location and a fine dining menu that included unexpected proteins like rattlesnake and wild game. He sold it in 2016 and the restaurant went through a couple of versions during short-lived reopenings before the Farners took over.

Related: Hudson’s on the Bend has reopened (again): Here’s what you need to know

“We feel a very great responsibility. We feel like we’re carrying on this tradition,” Carlin Farner said. People truly treasure this place, and we want to bring it back not only to what it was but making it a little more modern and approachable, so it’s not just for special occasions anymore.”

Farner is utilizing the property’s decades-old smokeshack for smoking and cooks on a grill fired by pecan wood to create Texas comfort food, with several dishes nodding to the famous restaurant’s roots.

Summer swelter

It’s always hot in Austin during the summer. But 2023 took things to another level. The 100-degree days were unrelenting in July and August.

Restaurants suffered as much as anyone, with slow foot traffic, fewer out-of-town guests and well-heeled guests fleeing the inferno.

Related: Hot rooms, irritable customers, high expenses: How Austin restaurants battle the heat wave

The swelter melted down air conditioners, which had to be supplemented with portable fans and air conditioning units, and taxed refrigerators and coolers, all while cooks worked in hot kitchens and servers and diners tried their best to stay polite in uncomfortable conditions.

The unprecedented heat wave led to significantly slower sales at many established restaurants around town, and left operators wondering if the century mark was going to be a new normal that would bring with it two very slow months each year.

Cheers to new spirits

Any Austinite knows one great way to cool off is with an icy glass of tequila. And a few big name locals jumped on the celebrity spirits train in 2023.

Matthew and Camila McConaughey announced via a cheeky video and social media campaign that they were releasing Pantalones Tequila, a spirit that makes you want to party with your pants off.

Those who have read McConaughey’s memoir “Greenlights” may remember the actor’s anecdote about how he first met Brazilian model Camila Alves at a club in Hollywood where he was making margaritas.

The organic blue weber agave at the heart of Pantalones Tequila is being harvested by fourth generation agave growers and produced in a certified organic family-owned distillery in Amatitán, Jalisco.

Related: Matthew and Camila McConaughey go pant less on motorcycles to launch new Pantalones tequila

Two of McConaughey’s various business partners (C3’s Charles Attal, one of McConaughey’s partners in the Moody Center; and Eddie Margain, one of McConaughey’s partners in Austin FC) rolled out their own tequila: Aguasol.

Aguasol, which was released in the spring, made a splash on the ground at the C3-produced ACL Fest 2023, where it was sold in bars across the park, part of the first time cocktails were available to general admission attendees, too.

The partners spent several years visiting Mexican tequila producers to make their additive-free tequila before selecting a distillery in Jalisco where the Rosales family has been producing Cascahuín tequila since 1904.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin's biggest dining stories of 2023: national awards, openings