Apis Restaurant

Entryway wall

Good day today: The solar inspection passed! Now if we can just get our meter installed quickly... The stream in the backyard is also finally patched and holding water. Things at Stone's Throw feel like they're finally coming together.

Tonight, for a mini celebration Dave took me to a restaurant called Apis in a little township northwest of Austin. You guessed it, they have bees. They also partner with a farm just down the road for meats and veggies. The meal is prix fixe only--you choose one appetizer, one entrée and one dessert from the list. It was truly the best meal I have had in the past couple of years.

It wasn't just exquisite food that made the experience memorable, it was also great service, good drinks, and the beautiful environs. The bee theme was everywhere from the glass and wood on the walls to the beautifully inlaid bar and dining room tables.

I end the post with the menu we chose from: (Here's the original page on the restaurant site if you want to see what else they have.)

Bar

CHOICE OF APPETIZER 

“CANNOLICCHI ALLA CAMPIDANESE”
cooked into a ragout made with pig’s head, chili, preserved tomato and the brides dowry of saffron / seasoned with preserved meyer lemon and 'fiore sardo" cheese

CHARRED SPANISH OCTOPUS
salad of fresh snow peas and meyer lemon / our house cured olives and Zach Hunter's carrot - fermented chili "gochujang" and various vinegars

LOUISIANA CRAWFISH AND SPRINGDALE “ALLIUMS”
crawfish, royal red shrimp, veal sweetbreads, and spring onions glazed with crawfish head "Américaine" sauce / spring garlic custard and crispy tapioca dusted with burnt onion powder / charred young onions / caramelized leek "whey" broth seasoned with citron vinegar

FIRST OF THE SEASON HEIRLOOM CHEROKEE TOMATOES AND MAINE LOBSTER (SUPP  6)
slightly dried and lacquered with a Manilla clam and lobster jus / tomato - seaweed tea "granité" and marinated sweet 100 sungold tomatoes / blooms, blossoms and herbs from the farm and pistachio oil - strawberry vinegar dressing

CHOICE OF ENTRÉE 

BEN MCBRIDE’S SCAMP GROUPER
scaled with first of the season summer squash in the style of "Eleven Madison Park" / stew of heirloom shelling beans cooked in a seaweed - mussel broth seasoned with grilled squash and smoked fish bones / our "nduja" sausage seasoned with smoked paprika and a sauce of fermented yellow squash, saffron, and dried castelvetrano olives 

PAINTED HILLS NY STRIP   OR   60 DAY AGED PRIME NIMAN RANCH RIBEYE (SUPP 4 PER OZ)
potato and spring garlic terrine and Montessori nasturtium / creamed spinach and smoked black garlic - pecan miso from last February

TINA AND ORION’S CHICKEN STUFFED WITH FOIE GRAS MOUSSELINE 
Sacramento delta asparagus glazed with spring garlic and Charleston gold rice enriched with ramp - walnut pesto / morel mushroom "l'crème" seasoned with peanut miso - XO butter / yellow wine sauce from 1995

OUR INAUGURAL RED WATTLE PORK TASTING FROM TINA AND ORION
loin glazed in red pepper juice, smoked belly, rillette and "ras el hanout" spiced sausage / ember roasted eggplant seasoned with black olive oil and "tarhana" wheat / preserved orange and lots of herbs with tomato raisins and Persian cucumber
 

CHOICE OF DESSERT 

VALRHONNA “EQUITORIALE” CHOCOLATE “TORTE”
ember roasted mango - passion fruit sorbet / lime scented champagne mango and mesquite bean / fresh "myoga" and candied macadamia nuts

HAZELNUT CUSTARD AND APPLE ICE (2016)
a very rich steamed custard made with Italian hazelnut paste and Tina's eggs / green apple granite, lemon leaf meringue and olive oil  

CHEESE AND OUR HONEYCOMB (SUPP  4)
Wrångebäck, St Agur blue, and Kunik / served with our red wheat sourdough and preserved orange marmalade