Crab toast with fennel aioli, avocado, radish top-mint vinaigrette on semolina bread at Launderette Cafe in East Austin on Tuesday, May 26, 2015. Lukas Keapproth/AMERICAN-STATESMAN
There’s some debate as to whether Texas is part of the South. Most of us think no, it is a place unto itself, the great divide between the South and Southwest. Nonetheless, Southern Living magazine has named Austin restaurant Launderette to its list of the 30 best restaurants in the South. The list, not surprisingly, is dominated by Charleston, Nashville and New Orleans, with those three cities taking 9 of the top 10 spots.
Southern Living praises chefs Rene Ortiz and Laura Sawicki for their shift to Mediterranean flavors, and adds, “Ortiz’s menu of ‘Snacky Bits,’ toasts, and wood-fired proteins is complemented by a large array of vegetable dishes, ensuring that there’s something for everyone, whether it’s red snapper crudo or romesco-draped broccolini.”
Texas restaurants Cured (San Antonio) and Underbelly (Houston) made the list, which in this case obviously intends for “Southern restaurant” to describe geography and not style of cuisine.
For the full list, topped by Husk (Charleston, Nashville), Fig (Charleston), and Little Octopus (Nashville), click here.
