Foodblogger Event: Haddingtons

This post is like two weeks late and even later trying to deliver content. Work and my personal life have picked up (mostly in a good way) and I've been delayed on doing bentos as well as writing out a few posts. Anyhow I was recently invited to visit one of Austin's newest restaurants: Haddingtons. It's aspiring to be Austin's first "Gastropub". What is a Gastropub you ask? If you've followed any of my posts while abroad in London you'll notice what was once labeled "pub grub" (fish and chips, shepherd's pie, all that comfort food feel you get when you think "pub") has somehow found new entrees such as sweetbreads, foie gras, and invariably truffle something or other. The hob nobbing of "higher end" food with pub offerings is what (as far as I can tell) a Gastropub, the art of bringing delicious uncommon food to the most common of places: a Pub.

The decor was wonderful. Lots of wood and earth feel to it, but it was a bit shiny to be a proper English pub. The restaurant had quite a few nooks and crannies so it definitely gave you a cozy feel. We were situated in the back bar. I was pleasantly surprised to find Bill Noris to be the head bartender. He was the bartender at Fino when I was invited to their blogger event. The guy makes some tasty and mean drinks!


I'll run thru the food and give you some fly by comments:












First up I got a nice Rabbit Rillette with whiskey Cherries, I didn't really know what to expect. Very tender rabbit meat that tasted a little rich by itself but with the sour cherries the whole bite just mellowed right out. Next up was the duckliver Mousse with Golden Raisins. Again the sweet raisins helped to soften blow of the richness of the the duck liver.











Scotch eggs, the scotch eggs were a mini version they used a pickled quail egg in the center. Delicious! the raspberry sauce was a great complement. Next was my favorite of the night. the TLT - Smoked Tomato, Bruno-ostoo cheese, lettuce and truffle aioli (whew) this was AWESOME! I would definitely come back for this. There was a great sweet smokey flavor and the sweet sun-dried tomatoes YUM!












Last was the Foie Link and the Grilled Strip. The foie link was delicious, I missed the flavor of the foie gras but the pear mustard was very tasty, the texture was very soft. Finally the Grilled Strip, the sauce was a nice creamy earthy sauce. The beef was very tender and the sauce was fun.


Thanks to the staff and PR folks for Haddingtons I had a great time and the food was wonderful, Thanks for having me!

Comments

Ann Liu said…
Just found your blog! The food at Haddington's looks pretty good. I'll be sure to check it out the next time I stop by Austin!
Ironjack said…
Welcome and thanks for dropping by! There's a nice treasure trove of places to check out when you come down. Just shoot me a mail and I'll happily write you up a list!

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