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This week, The Chronicle goes long on new East 7th dining destination LaV, with both a review and a profile of the culinary team. Reviewer Wes Marshall calls LaV a contender for Austin's best new restaurant. On the food:
We started with salt cod & chickpea fritters ($7), just as moist and juicy and light as any fried thing I've eaten outside of Japan. LaV's charcuterie board ($20) was beautifully presented and delicately flavored, especially the rabbit rillettes and chicken liver pâté. The slices of rosemary lardo were some of the best I've had, though that's damning it with faint praise. We absolutely adored the pan-roasted Massachusetts cod ($29) with a ragout of tomato, artichoke, and beans.Marshall is the wine writer, so a great deal of his review is taken up by weighing the pro's and cons of a wine list he finds unbalanced toward pricey buys.
The Chronicle also published a lengthy profile of managing partner Vilma Maizate, executive chef Allison Jenkins, and executive pastry chef Janina O'Leary. Much of the profile by writer Melanie Haupt is concerned with larger issues of how the media discusses women chefs, and highlights all three women's impressive resumes in an attempt to combat what she alleges is a local media tone that treats them like "aliens."
THE BLOGS: Not much going on in the Austin food blog reviewing verse this week. Forks Up checks out East Side King's new Thai Kun trailer, and Taste of Koko recaps the best Food & Wine festival bites.
· A New Contender for Austin's Best Restaurant [Chronicle]
· Life is Sweet [Chronicle]
· All Week in Reviews [EATX]
