Eater Austin and Franklin Barbecue at the Eater Awards

Grid View

• The Kowloon Filet Mignon Tart by Red Farm (NYC)
• The big boss, Lockhart Steele, giving his speech
• The (blurry) skyline as seen from The Dream Hotel
• Stacy and Aaron Franklin
• Eater New Orleans, Eater Houston, Eater Boston, Eater Austin

The Eater community from across the US gathered in New York City this past Monday to honor the winners of the 2011 Eater Awards, and Austin was represented in full form. Being flown to NYC for work... sure! The ceremony was hosted at the PH-D Rooftop Lounge at the Dream Hotel in Chelsea, and the room was packed full of Eater friends and culinary enthusiasts.

Aaron and Stacy Franklin of Franklin Barbecue were there, serving up what will have to be the best brisket in the city for decades to come. The line for their samples was long, and it was great to see people so excited to try their meat. Go Austin! Go Texas! Go barbecue!

The ceremony was sponsored by Patron, so the bar was full of cocktails made from their line of liquors. I remember something with white grape and something with pomegranate, maybe? When drinks are flowing you sometimes forget what you had. One of the best food bites was the filet mignon tart from Red Farm - it just melted in your mouth.

Despite being in Manhattan, the crowd was nice. Not stuffy. Not pretentious. No one seemed to give off an entitled aura surprisingly. Even my NYC friend that came with me was surprised.

The announcements of the winners was quick and short. Eater founder Lockhart Steele kept it easy - thanks for coming, thanks to our sponsors, thanks to the chefs, and the winners are online. Done.

The official after party was at The Darby a few blocks away, and apparently Makers Mark was the sponsor there. A Makers 46 Manhattan? Yes please. Another? Of course! It was great getting to meet many of the other Eater editors in person, and I can now confirm we are all a fun group. We all love what we do and love sharing news from the culinary and nightlife world with y'all. Now you can just imagine what it's like to have us all in one room.

Congrats again to the Austin winners, and I look forward to celebrating again next year.

· Announcing the 2011 Eater Award Winners For Austin [EATX]
· All 2011 Eater Awards Coverage on Eater Austin [-EATX-]