Wink

[NewYorkTexan]

Went to Wink restaurant last night and they continue to be one of the most innovative places in Austin. We were a group of 12, so there was the opportunity to try almost everything on the menu. The small restaurant was packed on a Thursday night, which is encouraging. I am tired of seeing so many good restaurants in Austin close.

The menu

Summer Vegetable Soup

Chefs garden baby spinach with roasted shitake and goat cheese dressing

Baby mixed green with marinated summer squash and heirloom tomato vinaigrette

Artichoke with roasted torpedo onion and lemon aioli

Duck confit salad with cabbage slaw and pickled beets

Searched foie gras on quince-hard pear bread pudding with pomegranate syrup

***Excellent dish. The bread pudding balanced the richness of the foie gras nicely.

Roasted sweetbreads with green lentils and wild mushrooms

Carpaccio of lamb

***I did not think I would like this, but it was tasty.

Skate wing en papillote with mushroom duxelles and leek-carrot “angel hair”

Seared snapper on beet pasta with asparagus, leeks and citrus fennel fumet

***Biggest disappointment of the evening, fish was overcooked

Grilled chicken breast on crushed Yukon gold with tiny bell peppers and lemon-garlic butter

Crisp duck breast on spaghetti squash with wiled kale and duck jus

***They could have crisped the skin more, but still good.

Grilled pork tenderloin on warm polenta with okra and grain mustard sauce

Pan roasted hanger steak with fingerling potatoes, collard greens and pan sauce

Grilled lamb t-bone on celery root puree and snap beans with balsamic reduction

***It was pepper crusted and very tender

Roasted antelope on fresh cranberry beans and wilted greens with herb-cabernet sauce

***My first antelope experience and it was a winner, not gamey at all

El rey chocolate cake

***Wow, the zinfandel infused cherries made this dish

Chocolate soup with milk chocolate-ginger mousse

***The mousse was fantastic, the soup was infused with earl grey tea and dominated the dish. Not visually appealing, looked like you were eating a bowl of Heresy syrup.

Crème brulee

***Ok, nothing special

Lemon meringue pot

Cherve cheesecake

***Heavier use of goat cheese than in other versions of this dish I have had before, the texture was too firm for cheesecake. It was like a cheese course masquerading as a dessert.

Plum tart

They have a well rounded wine list with some nice values. We did not order it, but they had a 98 Beucastal C-du-Pape for only $98. We drank a 2000 Domaine du Vieux Lazaret C-du-Pape, $39 which everyone liked. It is not easy order wine for a group of 12.

[Jaymes]

Great report, NYT.

Thanks!

[foodie52]

I like Wink, too. Stewart Scruggs is doing a good job there. He shops at CM alot, so the next time I see him, I'll tell him to check out your review!

My daughter and I ate there a while ago and we had sweetbreads to die for. I don't particularly like them, but when they are on the menu I am too curious to pass them up. I'm glad we ordered them. When you order, you think there won't be enough food., but we were more than sated with 3 orders from the "main' menu and two desserts. It's a fun place and I recommend it.

Only problem is, it's pricey because there are so many dishes that are hard to resist!

[coolranch]

NYT, thanks for the refresher. Mr. coolranch and I are dining there tomorrow. We've haven't been in a couple of months. I'm glad to see they're still busy on weeknights.

[claire797]

Thanks for the review!

I think we're going to go to Wink for our anniversary dinner. Of course, it won't be nearly as romantic as our anniversary dinner at Foodie's house.

[ChzHead]

We went to Zoot a while back (also owned by the same folks that own Wink) and I went ga-ga for the El Rey Chocolate dessert!

[claire797]

Finally made it over to Wink. The food was excellent and the wine list is limited but well thought out. Our waiter let us sample a few and we settled on a Lane Tanner Syrah. I'd never heard of Lane or her Syrah but now I'm a big fan. Time to go to CM and get a case.

The bread was served warm and tasted homemade, though the waiter informed us it was from New World bakery. At any rate, it was memorable -- a good preview of things to come.

I had the grilled pork loin over polenta cake with kale and leeks. It was good, though a little less lean than I prefer so I probably would not order that dish again. Not that I'd want to order the same thing at Wink. As for the polenta, I liked it a lot -- but it definitely was not the rich, buttery kind that you find in some other restaurants. It was just dry enough to complement the sauce that came with the pork -- perfect.

For dessert we had the El Rey Chocolate Cake and the Meringue Pot. The cake was more like a rich brownie smothered in chocolate sauce and garnished with cherries and the Meringue pot was like a tiny, mini, lemon cream pie. It was more creamy than meringue-y ;) if that makes any sense. You won't find it at Luby's.

Atmosphere was casual and trendy with tables packed together and semi-comfortable chairs. Great atmosphere for people-watching. It's a little loud, but if you're drinking you probably won't care after awhile.

Edited September 15, 2003 by claire797 (log)