You need to try this Indonesian barbecue trailer
Welcome to this week’s installment of the Austin360 Eats newsletter. Things may look (and sound, if you’re the kind person who reads aloud in your mind) a little different than before.
I’m Austin American-Statesman restaurant critic and reporter Matthew Odam, and in addition to giving you a recap of the Statesman’s most recent dining and drinks coverage, I’m also gonna provide an inside look into things I’ve been eating (and loving) recently and other glimpses into my food-obsessed mind.
This week’s installment of the Best Thing I Ate This Week takes us to Saté Texas in deep South Austin for a taste of Indonesia …
A delicious street food ubiquitous in Indonesia has found a home in a food trailer park in South Austin. It might actually be more appropriate to call the Thicket Food Park an open-air international food court.
The park at 7800 S. First St. is home to an array of global flavors, with cuisine from Vietnam (Hanh’s), Mexico (Un Mundo De Sabor), Trinidad (Shirley’s Trini Cuisine), Taiwan (Song La), Italy (Artipasta), Nepal and India (The Everest Kitchen), and whatever beautiful country is that created corndogs (The Corndog Company).
There are few things I like more than grilled meat, and when it’s seasoned beautifully and cooked to order, it just can’t be beat. Indonesian native Tina Villarreal and her husband, Eugene, who own Sate obviously know this.
They grill chicken, pork and beef on a charcoal grill, and since all of the meat is cooked to order, which means it comes off hot and juicy, expect a small wait or eliminate that possibility by ordering ahead online.
The chicken (sate ayam) is brushed with soy sauce, which gives an umami blast over top of the thighs that are seasoned with coriander, turmeric and garlic, and a peanut dipping sauce puts a savory exclamation on the skewers. You can order them in a trio ($7.50) or quintet ($11) or as a meal ($14) with jasmine rice, which I highly recommend. The mound of nasi kuning is steamed in coconut milk and fragrant with lemongrass and the buzzy turmeric that gives the supple rice its yellow hue.
The pork (saté babi) is even juicier, thanks to the fatty nobs interspersed throughout the skewer, and again leans on the brightness of coriander and punchiness of garlic for seasoning. A brush of sweet soy caramelized by the charcoal flames turns the stick into piggy candy. The skewers are served with a pungent sambal and lightly pickled vegetables that help cut into the savory sensations of the grilled meat.
I love a place that specializes in just a few dishes and has them dialed perfectly. That’s why Sate Texas is now going on my list of favorite trailers in Austin. And, while I didn’t hit the other trailers at the Thicket, I look forward to a return visit soon. Even in this heat, the namesake thicket of trees at the center of the food court provides ample shade and room for little ones to roam.
If you go …
Sate Texas. 7800 S. First St. 512-843-1809, satetexas.com
Hot Luck fest look back
Speaking of grilled meat, Aaron Franklin's Hot Luck Fest returned a couple of weeks ago after a skipping two years because of the pandemic.
If you love live fire cooking, good times and sipping adult beverages, you should definitely try and make it next year. Some food events feature plates that are a little too bare for my liking and can feel like the talent is phoning things in. That's not Hot Luck.
Maybe it's because the festival is curated by Franklin, who has personal relationships with all of the participating chefs from Texas and across the country. The Franklin Barbecue owner, who runs the festival with partners James Moody and Mike Thelin and festival director Adi Anand, is well known in the industry for being an affable guy (and a tinker and perfectionist) and I think his goodwill and positivity are infectious. And the chefs just look like they're having fun, and chances are if you seem them cooking one night, the next you'll see them walking around and eating food and drinking just like an attendee.
Chefs seem to come to Hot Luck because they want to be a part of anything that Franklin has his fingerprints on and they do it because they're friends with the barbecue legend. That means they also really show out when it comes to the food. We're not talking toast points with parsimonious bites. We're talking thoughtfully executed tacos from Edgar Rico of Nixta Taqueria, sublime anchovies from San Francisco chef Stuart Brioza of Anchovy Bar and State Bird Provisions, seafood-stuffed crab from New Orleans chef Todd Pulsinelli of the new Chloe hotel, and an entire cheeseburger (with beans!) from North Carolina's Ashley Christensen of Poole's Diner.
One of the great benefits of Hot Luck is getting a chance to try something new from home (very rare for me due to my job) and discovering an out-of-state chef for the first time. That was the case this year with me when I got to try some barbecue lamb from Egyptian chef Kareem El-Ghayesh of pop-up KG BBQ, who said we can expect a restaurant from him in the future and a light, refreshing shrimp dish from Philadelphia chef and Her Place Supper Club owner Amanda Shulman, whose food I was passionately directed to by none other than a whiskey-sipping Aaron Franklin.
The week that was
It was an exciting week in the Austin restaurant scene, as two Austin chefs took home two big prizes at the James Beard awards. I can't play favorites in my role, but I guarantee there were a lot of happy people in town when they heard the news that chef Edgar Rico of Nixta Taqueria was named the country's emerging chef of the year and chef Iliana de la Vega of El Naranjo took home the crown of best chef in Texas.
It was also a big week for me personally. After a 27-month hiatus from reviewing restaurants (I get into the reasons in my review), I returned to full-on restaurant criticism with my review of East Austin Caribbean restaurant Canje.
In addition to the review, I wrote a profile of chef-owner Tavel Bristol-Joseph that I hope you read. The chef sat down for a long lunch with me ahead of the restaurant's opening last year and shared his incredible story with me. I was honored to tell it.
Until next week, happy dining, and if you like pretty pictures of food (and probably one or two of my kiddo and dogs), follow me on Instagram @matthewodam. And if you want to share any food news tips or recommendations (or yell at me), email me at modam@statesman.com.
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This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: You need to try this Indonesian barbecue trailer
