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SXSW’s Dinner Series Returns With a Dairy-Filled Meal

SouthBites, the only dinner backed by the festival, takes place at Emmer & Rye

A board with sliced and rolled meats and a round of cheese with honey.
SXSW’s SouthBites dinner will focus on dairy products.
Dairy MAX
Erin Russell is associate editor of Eater Austin, a native Austinite, and a big fan of carbs.

SouthBites, the dinner series by South by Southwest (SXSW), SouthBites, returns to the festival this year. The single event will take place at downtown New American restaurant Emmer & Rye, at 51 Rainey Street on Monday, March 14 from 6 to 9 p.m.

The dinner will feature dairy products sourced from farms. This focus makes sense since the meal is presented by Dairy MAX, the regional dairy council for Texas, and seven other states. The dinner will focus on the story of sourcing and sustainability of dairy products (think cheeses, milk, ice cream, etc. ) Tickets for the multi-course dinner with cocktails are $140.

SXSW had previously partnered with the James Beard Foundation to host several dinners with several participating chefs throughout the conference, including one with Dairy MAX which would’ve taken place in 2020 if the festival wasn’t canceled. This year’s dinner represents a general scaling back of the SXSW festival that existed pre-COVID-19 pandemic.

Emmer & Rye co-owner Kevin Fink was a finalist for a James Beard Award in 2019 and 2020, although the 2020 awards were never held. For this year’s SXSW, the James Beard Foundation is hosting a panel during the conference on sustainable seafood and is partnering with Kvarøy Arctic, a Norwegian salmon farm, to host a private dinner during the festival.

Emmer & Rye

51 Rainey Street, , TX 78701 (512) 366-5530 Visit Website