Come experience an elevated dining and show experience with a Seat at the Screen! For its 3rd year in a row, the event is put on at the Arlo Grey restaurant inside the Line Hotel, located in downtown Austin. The restaurant is owned by Kristen Kish, who is also the host of the show Top Chef. Guests can expect to watch the latest episode of the show and be taken through a luxurious journey of courses from starters, sides, mains, and finishing off with a dessert. All guests get to take home a signed menu from Krish herself and an additional sweet treat! Dive deeper into what this night has to offer!
Credit: Lola Rodriguez
The Top Chef watch party is a part of a four part series that guests can attend to see the lakeside restaurant, Arlo Grey, transform into its own movie theater. The event is in celebration of the emmy nominated host and owner, Kristen Kish. Each chapter welcomes 40 guests into an intimate and heartfelt atmosphere for the night. Each part in the series will feature a highlighted ingredient throughout the course of the night, that is also featured in the episode. Chapter 1 took place on March 9th starting at 7:30 pm and highlighted sweet potatoes throughout the dishes. Combining Kish’s creative direction, the night is led by Arlo Grey’s executive Chef Alejandro Munoz. Guests will be taken through a 5 course meal all made with locally sourced foods as Chef Munoz will explain what inspired each carefully crafted dish.
Credit: Lola Rodriguez
Walking into the night, you are welcomed with cocktails or mocktails of your choosing, and a light bite as you make your way to a seat. Find your name label on one of the tables, and you’’l find that every seat in the restaurant is the perfect view of the screen. Servers will bring over water, the preset menu for the night, and an additional beverage menu just in case you want something more! To start the first course off, the AG grilled sourdough is brought out alongside green olives with feta and balsamic. The tart yet slightly charred flavor of the bread pairs well with a salty and tart flavor of the olives. To complete the first course for this chapter, a Texas farm salad was brought out. Featuring a bbq sweet potato and barley crumble, the dish was incredibly fresh and had both sweet and tart flavors to balance out. Next you’ll move into the second course, which for tonight was Hiramasa Crudo. The vibrant sushi grade fish is enhanced with a creamy coconut sauce and crispy sweet potato, making a melt in your mouth bite!
Credit: Lola Rodriguez
Moving onto the 3rd course of the night, the rigatoni shines with caramelized mushrooms paired with a sweet tomato sauce, garnished with goat cheese and basil on top. The mushrooms were locally sourced and the pasta was perfectly al dente! Throughout each course Chef Munoz comes out to explain how sweet potato was incorporated into the dish and what inspired it.
Credit: Lola Rodriguez
Into the 4th course, the peeler ranch wagyu stole the show! The peppercorn crust on the wagyu was so flavorful and the meat was beyond tender. The steak was laid over a brown butter sweet potato sauce with a radish slaw on the slide. Both the meaty and creamy flavors of the dish were balanced well with a fresh and sharp veggie. Lastly, to close out the night Chef Munoz came out to talk about the last dish, arguably my favorite, a Japanese sweet potato tart. The tart itself was perfectly sweet, delicate, and creamy paired with the ginger sherbet and blue corn dusting on the side. The ginger flavors mixed well with the very sweet flavor of the pie, creating the perfect bite! As if it couldn’t get any better, all guests were sent home with a brown butter chocolate chip cookie and the signed menu.
Credit: Lola Rodriguez
It was a beautiful night filled with laughter, good vibes, and even better food! For more information on how you can attend one of the other events in the series to come check out the Line Hotel website for more information!