I’ll begin by saying that the Austin Food & Wine Festival does a lot of things right. The Auditorium Shores location offers enough space to fit the crowds with relative ease, the organizers effectively organize seating areas and water stations, and the range of chefs and wine/beer/spirits purveyors always represents an exciting cross-section of cuisines and drink styles. 

This festival has almost everything that it needs to be an unqualified success: great chefs, fun cocktails, rousing DJ sets, and educational demos. But the one thing it’s missing is enough food to keep everyone satisfied from start to finish. 

The festival is, by nature, somewhat lopsided; there are always far more alcohol brands represented than there are restaurants. As a result, it’s easy for attendees to overindulge on booze, and the situation becomes challenging when there isn’t enough food to soak up the spirits and wine. On Saturday, most of the restaurant kiosks ceased serving at around 2:30pm, but the event wasn’t scheduled to end until 5pm. Conditions were better on Sunday; the attendance numbers seemed slightly lower, so there was more food to go around.

Playful Bites and Individual Styles 

On a more positive note, the food that was available at the festival gave participating chefs a chance to really show what their restaurants are all about. At the VIP-only Made in Texas event at the Long Center on Friday night, Suerte chef Fermín Núñez delighted attendees with his predictably excellent brisket tacos, while Sarah Heard and Nathan Lemley of Foreign & Domestic served a crisp and tender fried pork rillette with an addictive pickle relish and Amanda Rockman of Rockman Coffee & Bakeshop appealed to campfire nostalgia with her mini s’mores croissant with chocolate pudding and flame-toasted meringue. 

Some top bites from Saturday included a smoked catfish courtbouillon (a type of stew fortified with tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, and plenty of cayenne pepper) ladled over bay leaf rice from Parish Barbecue, Krystal Craig’s acclaimed chocolates from Intero (this year’s flavor selection included brown butter cacao nib and apple cider), and akami crudo with a bright aji amarillo puree from Uchi. On Sunday, I particularly enjoyed a tender pork belly and duck terrine with pickled apples from Justine’s Brasserie, a magical ‘ndjua-ricotta mousse served on a cannoli cracker from Casa Bianca, and a Gulf oyster topped with apple, garlic, serrano pepper, and salt foam from Tare. 

Enjoyable Spirit Activations

While most of the wineries, breweries, and spirit houses poured their drinks at stands within the festival tents, a few of the larger brands took a more interactive approach. Tanqueray Classic or Nothing Diner offered the brand’s classic martinis (served in very cute green-and-clear mini martini glasses) paired with perfectly crisp and playfully dressed fries (like their Dirty Martini – Caesar Loaded Fries combination). As for Maker’s Mark, they chose to partner with an Austin favorite – Bad Larry Burger Club – for their Red Camper event, which matched those burgers with Maker’s old fashioneds and other bourbon drinks. 

Credit: Austin Food & Wine Festival

A Clear Favorite at the Fire Pit

The Austin Food & Wine Festival always features a Fire Pit section, where barbecue chefs get the chance to cook over open flames. Plenty of skilled smokehouses (like Mighty Quinn’s BBQ in Brooklyn, Lil’ Bros BBQ Shack in San Antonio, and Palmira Barbecue in Charleston) showcased their skills at the Fire Pit on Saturday and Sunday, but one name on the roster eclipsed all others and made for the longest lines of the weekend: John Bates of Interstellar BBQ. Bates served Interstellar’s rightfully lauded brisket, and the wait times stretched for well over 30 minutes for the bulk of Sunday. 

More Portions or Limited Attendance

Perhaps the ticket sales for Austin Food & Wine Festival’s busier Saturday service need to be capped; perhaps more chefs need to be enlisted; perhaps the alcohol representation could be thinned a little. I don’t know the correct answer, but as a longtime fan of the festival who treasures the high points and looks forward to each new yearly iteration, I’m rooting for Austin Food & Wine to find that perfect balance. 

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