I feel a particular affinity for people I’ve interviewed, even if I haven’t really kept tabs on them in quite some time. One of my first major interviews out of college was with Chef Paul Petersen, a legendary Texas chef who had then just made the somewhat controversial move to the Gage Hotel in Marathon, Texas (where I had coincidentally just visited before I interviewed him). You can download a Gage of Grandeur PDF here, if you care.
The point, however, is that Petersen has returned home to Austin to head up the kitchen at Vivo Lake Creek. Vivo is known for sexy, sometimes healthy Mexican food and orchids in its drinks. Well, that’s how I know it at least. Great first date spot. Wow I can’t manage to stay on point. So Vivo owner Roger Diaz is a lifelong friend of Petersen. Chef Petersen credits Diaz’s three generations of family cooks with inspiring him to get involved in the culinary world from a young age, and he fondly remembers urging Diaz’s mother to reveal her family recipes.
So it’s a match made in the sandbox, being realized today. “It makes so much sense for me to join Vivo,” Chef Petersen says. “Roger’s family and I have been friendly pretty much my whole life, and he’s developed a really successful San Antonio-inspired Tex-Mex restaurant unlike anything else out there. Tex-Mex and Southwestern are in my blood, and by bringing in some barbecue and French influences, we’re elevating the menu even more. It’s a great reason to make the trip to North Austin for dinner and drinks.”
Vivo’s signature dish, the (unhealthy) puffy taco, is “the best on the planet,” and Petersen won’t mess with it. But new Vivo Lake Creek menu staples will include brisket tacos, sweet and savory crab enchiladas served with a signature Vivo sauce; smooth, pan-seared panela cheese with mango-papaya salsa and raspberry puree served with grilled bread; smoked tequila braised pork belly with house made Dr. Pepper chipotle barbecue sauce; and pan roasted scallops with tomato watermelon salsa and tequila prickly pear sauce. Yes.
Vivo Lake Creek is in the Lake Creek Village Shopping Center / (512) 331-4660 / vivo-austin.com.
Sidenote: I was tagging this post and my computer auto-suggested ‘moses’ … have I tagged other posts Moses? Does this post remind my computer of Moses? Puzzling.