Chef Kieu Pham takes the Vietnamese and Thai recipes that she learned from her mother and tweaks them with her own contemporary flair, resulting in the modern fusion fare you'll find at Mandala Kitchen & Bar. Chef Kieu debuted her new Austin eatery in March and it immediately started racking up rave reviews from customers throughout the city.

Start your meal with the Mandala chicken wings, served with pickled veggies and coated with sweet chili sauce, or the crispy egg rolls stuffed with shrimp, pork, and taro root. Or skip straight to an inventive entree, like the Cajun fried rice. It's loaded with crawfish tails, beef sausage, and hickory-smoked pork, plus eggs, sweet corn, sweet onion, and green onions. The black mussels curry shaken ribeye features chunks of USDA Choice steak tossed with mushroom, bell pepper, scallions, and sweet onions, the combination perched atop a pillow of white rice. Come to Mandala to devour one of these dishes or any of the other fusion bites.

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Austin Ewald of Grizzelda's. Carmen Valera of Tamale House East. Stephanie McClenny of Confituras Little Kitchen. These are just a handful of the illustrious local chefs who will participate in the Grand Taste this year at the Austin Food + Wine Festival from April 27th to 29th.

The Grand Taste + Chef Showcase is a special exhibit that only VIP guests get access to, featuring culinary experts from Austin and Central Texas dishing out their signature eats, as well as wine and spirits. The rest of the festival boasts booths that host chefs from all around the country, many of them the owners of multiple eateries. In addition to crafting eclectic food for tastings, the chefs also host workshops designed to arm foodies with every skill they need to truly enjoy their cuisine and libations.

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Austin has always been on the cutting-edge of culinary trends, as evidenced by its food trailer parks and collection of roaming food trucks. So it should really come as no surprise that Austin innovators recently debuted a new concept: an upscale food court/park called Fareground At One Eleven. It just opened in January.

The food court consists of six distinct food counters and a central bar, as well as ample amounts of chic and comfy seating. You can savor a locally sourced salad from Henbit, dig into a German pretzel with beer cheese from Easy Tiger, or grab a couple of artisan tacos from Dai Due. Enjoy them inside the food court or, on a warm day, head out to the adjacent park and eat your lunch in the fresh air under the shade of old oak trees.

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