From an Austin icehouse marking half a century to a Dallas-Fort Worth sports bar making its Central Texas debut, the greater Austin area has several new options to try.
Impacts of the week
Cedar Park’s Grove Wine Bar & Kitchen debuts renovated space
The restaurant debuted a newly expanded dining room area in February, featuring additional seating, modern finishes and a mural wall. The neighborhood wine venue serves red, white and sparkling wines alongside beer and cocktails, with a lunch and dinner menu of salads, soups, pastas, pizzas and sandwiches. During renovations, the in-house Lola Savannah Coffee Lounge was removed to make room for 24 additional seats.
Peach Cobbler Factory to open Round Rock location this month
The Round Rock franchise will open later this month at the Sky Plaza retail center, marking the chain’s first Austin-area location. The dessert shop offers a variety of fruit cobblers, puddings, cinnamon rolls, cookies, bottled tea and smoothies, with 13 locations already open across Texas.
De Nada Cantina, an East-Austin Tex-Mex restaurant, is now serving tacos and margaritas at a new South Austin location. (Courtesy De Nada Cantina)
De Nada Cantina now serving tacos, margaritas at new South First Street restaurant
The Austin Tex-Mex eatery opened a second location to South Austin diners in late February. It serves tacos and margaritas in pink cups, offering happy hour specials and a late-night menu. The new location opened at the former El Mercado restaurant on South First Street, which closed in December after 40 years in the area.
The Round Rock sports bar will be the first Central Texas location of Rowdy Cowboy. (Courtesy Rowdy Cowboy)
Rowdy Cowboy opening Round Rock location March 13
The first Central Texas location of sports bar Rowdy Cowboy will open in Round Rock on March 13. The sports bar and grill will have 32 different beers on tap, as well as 64 television screens broadcasting live sports. The menu at existing locations in Grapevine and The Colony includes burgers, wings, steaks, pizzas, appetizers, desserts and mixed drinks.
Food fests
Waterloo Icehouse to host 50th anniversary festival March 28
Waterloo Ice House will celebrate 50 years of live music and service in the Austin area with a neighborhood festival at its northwest location. The event includes live music, raffles, lawn and carnival games, a face painter, a tie-dye station, a permanent jewelry pop-up, and an outdoor liquor and beer tasting tent for adults. Guests are asked to dress in ’70s-inspired clothing, a nod to the era the ice house was founded.
Dining feature
Tony’s Jamaican Food blends family recipes with modern spices in Pflugerville
Tony Scott learned how to cook when he was a kid, growing up in Jamaica. He stood next to his mom in the kitchen, sampling dishes as he learned how to chop ingredients, wash up and season food.
Cooking became a passion for Scott, one he carried through his 2003 move to Austin, where he would open his first restaurant less than a decade later. The eatery expanded to Pflugerville in 2018 after customers asked Scott to venture into North Austin.
Tony’s Jamaican Food serves a selection of meats, including curry chicken, jerk pork, shrimp, and oxtail—a fan favorite. Many of the recipes he uses today are adapted from his mother’s cooking. All meats are served with rice, peas, steamed vegetables and fried plantains.