Tasting Buds Peter and Kristina were invited to Louie’s 106 yesterday to try out the amazing 4 course Prix Fixe menu that they developed for Flavors of Austin. Our decadently delicious meal was cooked perfectly (all of our meats were spot on) using flavor combinations that you don’t see every day. We shared the night with a few other Austinites connected to the local scene and everyone agree that it was a great meal.

Before getting to the good stuff, we should mention that Louie’s 106 will be serving up the same menu through November 25th for a set price of $35. All in all, an amazing deal at a restaurant that has been doing it right in Austin for more than 20 years. If you are interested in going, by all means check out the full Louie’s 106 Flavors of Austin menu here and stop on by while you can. Also, Flavors of Austin is an ongoing event that highlights a different Austin restaurant every week, so if you miss this particular meal, there will be opportunities for great stuff in the future as well.

Here’s the good stuff:

Our meal started off with a choice of a house or Caesar salad – while good, this was just a preview of things to come. Courses 2-4 were the real standouts.

2nd course – Sambal & Honey Marinated Sea Bass with Basil Risotto, Orange Ginger Coulis, and Sauteed Vegetables

The fish was full of flavor on it’s own and was perfectly light and flaky. The orange coulis sauce was rich and creamy with a hint of ginger, but it did not overpower the fish when the two were mixed together. This might have been my favorite course as sea bass has a special place in my heart… haha. This dish was also big hit with everyone else at our table and it was mentioned that the Sea Bass course would be enough for a meal and that it would be hard to top.

3rd Course option 1 – Beef Tournado “Rossini” with Foie Gras and Black Truffle Demiglace

Kristina got the Beef Tournado, which was a beautiful, tender medium-rare and topped with a slice of seared Foie Gras. She said she would have been happy with just the buttery and decadent fois gras, but the dish as a whole was superb.

3rd Course option 2 – Roasted Rack of Lamb With Black Truffle Demiglace

My perfectly cooked rack of lamb was sitting on a delicious bed of scalloped potatoes and sauteed spinach. The meat itself was of a very high quality and very flavorful – gamey but not overpowering. There was a nice sear on the outside and the black truffle demiglace went well with the meat. Very refined.

4th Course – Lemon Goat Cheesecake With Port and Rosemary Poached Pear

This dish was another highlight of the meal for me, as the flavors were bit unexpected but still great. First of all, the words Goat and cake aren’t seen next to each other very often… and I wasn’t sure if they ever should. Secondly, one would expect that the pungent taste of goat cheese would be a bit too heavy for a dessert. This version of goat cheesecake was very light, and when paired with the poached pear and mint on the plate, the whole thing came together beautifully. The gamey taste of the goat cheese just melted away, leaving only a bit of the distinct goat cheese flavor – overall a very nice, new take on cheesecake. We all enjoyed it a lot.

Thanks to Louie’s 106 for setting this up and we look forward to more Flavors of Austin events!
-Peter