Fixe Austin's Southern House - Austin, TX

The food was so beautiful and delicious at Fixe that I can almost just let you feast with your eyes. Feel free to give yourself a moment to do just that.

Fixe is relatively new to the Downtown Austin food scene. It opened Christmas Eve 2014 and serves southern cooking with items like grits, boudin, and fried chicken. However, this is not your run-of-the-mill tradition southern cooking. There's a definite twist in the flavors they use as well as the presentation style.  I met an old friend for dinner who suggested we try it and we were joined by two of her fabulous sorority sisters. It was not only great food, but also great company. 

Fixe Biscuit

Bone Marrow Toast

Of course we started with the appetizers. The biscuits are as classically southern as it can get and was highly recommended by my friend. The Fixe Biscuit is absolutely the best biscuit I have ever had. It was perfectly crusted on the outside yet soft and flakey on the inside. Instead of butter it was served with a berry preserve and n'duja. N'duja is a spread made from pork. You mixed the two together to spread it on the biscuit. It was flavor overload. The n'duja was salty and paired well with the bright sweetness of the preserves. I couldn't get enough of it and probably could have eaten just that for dinner. But this wouldn't be an adventure if I stopped there.

We also ordered the Bone Marrow Toast. I am a huge fan of bone marrow and there aren't very many places that have it on the menu. I had to take advantage of this opportunity. On a thin toast sat a layer of bone marrow that was topped with American sturgeon caviar, smoked onion marmalade, jalapeno power, and Meyer lemon. I wasn't sure what to expect with so many different layers.  In the end there was a lot of flavor in one bite and it all magically came together. The bone marrow was silky and earthy. The caviar added saltiness that went well with the smokiness of the marmalade. The jalapeno powder - which I was most worried about because I don't like spice - wasn't spicy at all. It added a subtle peppery heat without being spicy. Lastly, the lemon added a bit of acidity and freshness. I was blown away by how complex yet simple this dish was and I highly recommend it.

Fried Chicken

Veal Brisket

On to the main course. My friend decided to have the Fried Chicken and was gracious enough to let me steal a bite. You're in for a treat if you have the biscuit with this fried chicken. It's as traditional as you can imagine. However, there's only one word I can use to describe the fried chicken...amazing. Yes, it tastes as good as it looks and I'm getting hungry just looking at it. It was crunchy on the outside. The chicken itself was superbly moist and tasted great with a slight tanginess from the buttermilk. 

I had a tough time deciding on my dinner entree. Everything just sounded so good, from the Lobster & Crawfish Pot Pie to the Wagyu NY Strip. I landed on the Veal Brisket because I had never heard of brisket made from veal. Veal is meat from a young calf so it's usually more tender with less fat, which also makes it smoother. The veal brisket came as a steak that was grilled to perfection. It was served on a potato and cauliflower puree and topped with milk skin. Even if you're not a veggie fan, you would have devoured the puree. It was smooth and creamy and was a great compliment to the veal.  

Dessert Sticky Toffee Cafe

Finally, we ended with dessert. We ordered three and I only managed a good photo of one. Everything was incredibly tasty for different reasons. Fixe offers five desserts and they are in order by sweetness to savoriness. I ordered the most sweet dessert, the Sticky Toffee Cake. My friend ordered the most savory, the Red Beans & Rice. And her friend ordered the middle-of-the-road, the Zucchini "Tres Leches". You must go with a group so you can enjoy the desserts like we did. One of my favorite parts was a caramelized white chocolate bar that looked like butter that came with the Red Beans & Rice. It was sprinkled with salt that gave you a great balance of sweet and salty yumminess.

Trust me when I say that dinner at Fixe is an amazing experience. You'll definitely need to call ahead for reservations. You can even book the beautiful small dining room they have. It's almost like you're at someone's fancy house, but no one has to do the clean up. Hope you enjoy!