Last night we went to Hudson’s on the Bend, an Austin institution that has been around for twenty-five years, for Austin Restaurant Week 2009. Hudson’s featured a three course menu for $35 and you could add wine pairings with each course for an additional $15. Cha-ching – can you say amazing deal? The food at Hudson’s is universally accepted as some of the best, if not the best, in the Austin area. Simple yet elegant preparations and presentation with seasonal produce and a focus on wild game, the menu is nothing short of sheer carnivore bliss.
My first course was duck Diablos – little nuggets of heaven that included smoked duck, jicama, jalapeno, and figs in balsamic all wrapped in bacon. Slightly sweet, crisp, and luxurious they were served on skewers stuck into a halved green apple and accompanied with a sweet chili dipping sauce.
For my main course I had the pecan grilled venison and my wife had the Shiner Bock marinated ribeye. The venison was perfectly medium rare served with green chili mashed potatoes and al denté summer vegetables. The meat was slightly smoky from the wood and the Chipotle Beer Blanc sauce added another level of complexity. The dish was great – don’t get me wrong – but the ribeye stole the show. The ribeye was served with a rich Madagascar green peppercorn sauce, which you could put on a car bumper and it would still taste sensational. The meat was so tender and flavorful that it didn’t need any sauce, but boy was that sauce perfect.
For dessert I had a berry flambe that had a hint of orange liqueur served atop homemade vanilla bean ice cream. It was light and refreshing and the perfect ending to an amazing meal.
Restaurant week is still going on for another couple of days, so head on out to Lakeway for some killer food that is entirely affordable.
I can’t wait to eat my way through Austin in Dec.!