Austin Way Magazine - GreenGale Publishing - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/461140
INSIGHT East sidE King thai Kun: 1816 E. Sixth St., 512-480-0781; esk austin.com; whislersatx.com Las trancas: 1210 E. Cesar Chavez St. Patrizi's: 2307 Manor Road, 512-522-4834; patrizis.com Qui: 1600 E. Sixth St., 512-436-9626; quiaustin.com clockwise from left: Qui is set to demo a recipe at the Austin Food & Wine Festival in April; Saukam is currently filming a pitch reel for a reality TV series with director Christian Remde; they pair their East Side King orders with shots of mezcal from Whisler's and its Eastside Queen cocktail, which the bar named in Saukam's honor. "ThiS wholE paRT of EaST auSTin iS blowing up.... no onE uSEd To CoME hERE, and now look aT ThiS lunCh RuSh." —paul qui ds: People don't think I can eat as much as I say I do, but I'm not making it up! PQ: Usually if I order from Thai Kun to go, I get two orders of khao man gai and two orders of chicken fat rice for myself. But I really need five orders of rice to get through it—it's hot, even for me. [Saukam picks up a tray of some of their orders including the beef panang curry and the day's special, issan sausage—grilled, fermented pork sausage served with cold raw cabbage, mixed herbs, fresh ginger, and raw fresh Thai chile.] ds: It burns! This one is my favorite—I like the back burn. PQ: Eat the sausage with a raw piece of basil and cabbage, and then a bite of chile. The reason why we started putting a fried egg on things like the panang is, one, because it's traditional, but two, it cools down the curry. [after an informal meeting with the staff, they head to patrizi's for dinner. Co-owner nic patrizi greets them outside his namesake food truck, which opened last year in homage to his family's 50-year-old legendary italian restaurant of the same name in beaumont.] ds: I'm so excited to try your food—we've never been here, but we're already big fans. I signed up for your monthly dinners, but I had to cancel because our schedule changed. What you guys are doing here is so awesome. [a waiter brings out the dishes. fresh homemade pasta is cooked to order; the carbonara alexandra is made with coddled egg, bacon, onions, and grana.] nic Patrizi: We cook the pasta for about 20 seconds. We do almost everything from scratch—we make the ricotta in-house daily; we infuse our own oils with garden herbs from the back. How are the salt levels in the carbonara? PQ: Perfect. ds: It's so good—it's my favorite dish tonight, actually. It's hard to find good homemade pasta in Texas. [Satiated, the two return to Qui, a $2 million project nearing its two-year anniversary in June. The chef repairs a broken ice machine while Saukam unwinds at the bar with friends over a bottle of Jansz sparkling brut rosé.] ds: I feel like we're babies, trying to learn from everyone we meet, because it happened so fast for us. But I've always felt like Paul is a culinary genius. He's got a gift. If there's anything I can do to help him use it, then I'll do it. AW AUSTINWAY.com 75