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Hoo-hoo for Huhot
Huhot Mongolian Grill, 12710 I-10 W, where diners create their own Mongolian feast, opened in early August. A variety of meat, seafood, and noodle options — as well as 20 vegetables and 24 sauces — are offered assembly-line style. Diners make their way to a 6-foot grill at the center of the dining room where a chef sears or stir-fries their creation. Huhot is open seven days a week, 11 a.m.-10 p.m.
That’s 3,577,000 gallons of tartar sauce y’all
October 11 marked the 40th anniversary of locally owned and family-operated Sea Island Shrimp House. Dan Anthony, wife Chrissy, and friend Henry Reed opened the first location at 322 W. Rector in 1965. Since then, the Sea Island Shrimp House has opened seven restaurants, each of which still prepares the restaurant’s dishes as it did 40 years ago: They still peel the shrimp, filet the fish, grind bread crumbs, shuck every oyster to order, make 245 gallons of homemade tartar sauce daily, and host approximately 40,000 guests per week.
To commemorate its anniversary, Sea Island is serving a “40-Year Favorites Platter,” which includes skewered, charbroiled Texas Gulf shrimp, hand-cut fish filet, wild Texas Gulf shrimp, Texas shrimp gumbo, fresh coleslaw, and French fries topped off with an onion ring. For more information call 342-2800.
Eat, drink, and be artsy
Silo Restaurant & Bar, 1133 Austin Hwy, will host an art opening and artist reception on Thursday, October 27, from 6:30-8 p.m. This month the gallery features the work of photographers Barbara Digby, Larry Leissner, and Neil Maurer. For more information call 824-8686.
A rolling ciabatta gathers no moss
Baker Jenny Mattingsley left Paesano’s Bakery last month to be the pastry chef and production manager in Central Market’s bakery, 4821 Broadway. Mattingsley, who worked at Paesano’s for 6 1/2 years, says “it was simply time, and this is a good change,” adding with a laugh that she really appreciates that the local chain’s bakery has air-conditioning. “That’s not why I moved, but it’s very nice.”
The veteran baker says she hasn’t worked in a large bakery since her first job at Austin’s Sweetish Hill Bakery 27 years ago. “I was just learning, so it is really nice to be back, but on the other side, as a manager,” she says. “It feels like I’ve come back around — not full circle, there’s always more circle.”
Central Market’s bread and pastry recipes — developed with the Culinary Institute of America — are excellent, says Mattingsley, but she’d like to see the bakers creating crustier breads from the recipes, which she’ll be working on in the coming months.
– Compiled by Francesca Camillo and Susan Pagani
