- Coming up on "Austin InSight."

Austin's food scene is known for creativity and innovation.

We're taking a look back at some of our favorite food-centered stories.

Plus, an edition of authentically Austin on a beloved local toy store just in time for the holidays.

"Austin InSight" starts now.

- [Announcer] Support for "Austin InSight" comes from: Sally & James Gavin.

And also from Daniel L. Skret.

(lively music) - Hi, there, and thanks for joining us.

I'm Laura Laughead.

For our final show of 2025, before we take a holiday break for two weeks, we'll focus on a topic that is always top of mind this time of year, food and drink.

Over the past year or so, we've highlighted some noteworthy people and places in the local restaurant scene.

We'll start with a true Southern staple from Amanda Turner, chef de cuisine at the Michelin-recognized restaurant, Olamaie.

Among other honors, she's a James Beard Emerging Chef finalist and a Bravo TV's "Top Chef" contender.

Take a look as she taught us how to make her grandmother's cornbread dressing.

- My name is Amanda Turner, and we are in Olamaie in Austin, Texas.

It's a holiday season and I'm going to be making my grandmother's very famous dressing.

To start, you're definitely going to need some cornbread.

I have homemade, but store-bought is fine, just like Ina Garten.

(Amanda laughs) All right, we're in the Olamaie kitchen and we're gonna start making my grandmother's dressing.

She just passed this year, so it's pretty personal for me.

You're gonna start with some cornbread.

I have some already baked here.

You can totally use store-bought, however.

I'm just gonna loosen it out of the pan.

So, I'm just gonna turn it out.

In the South, we call this dish dressing because it dresses the table.

In the north, they call it stuffing because sometimes they put it inside of a bird.

I do not recommend that.

It does not make for good eats.

Please don't put stuffing inside of a bird.

(Amanda laughs) All right, this is all gonna go into a bowl.

Feel free to scale this recipe down if you're only feeding a few people.

You're going to want to dice some onion and celery.

I also have some brown butter here that we're just going to sweat these in.

Sweating means to cook without adding any color.

So we're going to put this on low-ish heat and cook it until these ingredients are completely tender.

So I have a pot here.

Celery goes in.

Onion.

And I also have some brown butter.

To make brown butter, you just need to put it on the stove until the solids turn into this caramelized color.

Great.

And we're just gonna get this on the stove.

And then that just needs to cook for a moment.

Probably about five minutes or so.

So we're gonna go ahead and start mixing everything together.

Get a big bowl.

Here, I have parsley, thyme, and sage just chiffonade.

Chiffonade is a fine mince.

And here, I have salt, sage powder and black pepper.

This is chicken stock.

We make our own, but you can totally use store-bought.

And then the most unusual thing about my grandmother's dressing, and I think this is just from her German heritage, is hard boiled eggs.

We're gonna add those in.

We have our brown butter with the onion and celery.

This is really just gonna soak into all the cornbread.

So I'm just gonna go in with my hands to start mixing it all together.

And I'm breaking it up because you want your cornbread to hydrate evenly.

So I'm just breaking up the biggest chunks with my hands.

And then finally, I have a raw egg.

The raw egg is just going to bind everything together.

Stir this all together.

Our oven makes that sound.

(Amanda laughs) You have to edit that out.

Once we're fully mixed here, we're just going to go into a hotel pan or a baking dish.

And this will bake in the oven at 350 for about 30 to 40 minutes or until it's cooked all the way through.

And again, you're not looking for perfection here.

It's supposed to be kind of crumbly, but not dry.

Definitely not dry.

Nana never likes their dressing dry.

Great.

Then we're just gonna put this in the oven for about 40 minutes.

So it's just as easy as that, and I hope that you enjoy this with your family for the holidays this season.

It's something that we have every year and it's always a heartwarming occasion.

(bright music) - Okay, I am a sucker for some cornbread, and that looks amazing.

I think I'm gonna have to add that to my family's Christmas dinner this year.

But there is no legit discussion of food in Texas without mentioning, of course, barbecue.

And in Austin, we are lucky with some of the very best in the state, from Franklin's to Terry Blacks, and the standout new school barbecue restaurant, LeRoy and Lewis.

In a state where everything is bigger, barbecue might just be the biggest thing around.

And now the toughest critics in the business are taking note.

I'm really glad I didn't wear white.

(upbeat music) - [Evan] Barbecue is primal.

You know, you see a big tray of meat glistening with fat and juices and peppery bark, and you can almost smell it and taste it.

- [Laura] In the beginning there was barbecue.

- [Customer] Whoo!

- And then there was Texas barbecue.

Oh my God.

- That's good.

- I know no one trusts my food reviews, but trust this one.

This is really good.

- The things that are the most important, in no particular order, are probably religion, barbecue, football.

It's it's a cultural tent pole.

- Everyone has an opinion about barbecue if you're from Texas.

- [Laura] And barbecue is the business of LeRoy and Lewis in South Austin where folks line up even before doors open.

- I need some brisket.

(interviewer laughs) - [Laura] At the center of this meat mecca are Evan LeRoy.

- You guys doing all right?

- [Laura] The executive chef and co-owner, Sawyer Lewis.

- I got sides for you guys.

- [Laura] They're both from Texas, so they got the bonafides.

- My dad and I used to kind of cook in the backyard.

- I'm from a very small town, right?

So that, again, we grew up with those, like, institutions.

Very old school style barbecue.

- [Laura] The restaurant is celebrating a year and a half in this building after seven years as a food truck.

- Have you cut anything?

Did you grade the briskets yet?

- [Laura] The business partners and friends have worked in the restaurant world their whole careers.

Both ultimately decided to carve out their own path.

And barbecue was what beckoned them.

- Whoo!

Smokey.

- [Laura] But not at first.

It wasn't until LeRoy, who's from Austin, was working in a barbecue restaurant in New York City that he fell in love with cooking his hometown cuisine.

- The barbecue is pretty good for what I knew good barbecue to be back then.

- [Laura] But this really good barbecue isn't exactly typical.

It's got some Texas traditions with some twists.

- And I would say the flat iron here is the signature of the restaurant.

Certainly, the thing that we sell the most is the L&L burger.

- Ooh.

They offer unique cuts along with a spectrum of scene-stealing sides from kimchi to onion rings.

(onion ring crunches) What's your favorite thing, if you could only pick one?

I know it's like Sophie's choice, but if you could only pick one, what is your like, "this is my baby"?

- It's the Frito pie.

All day, every day for me is the Frito pie.

You know, we don't have ribs or potato salad or a lot of the things that people expect when they come to a barbecue place.

So, there's a lot of expectations that are not met as soon as somebody walks through the door.

- They call this new school barbecue.

Unusual cut served up and cooked in the classic way, on the kind of pits Texans have been using for generations.

- Barbecue is the perfectly imperfect art form, right?

Because every piece of meat's different.

Every stick of post oak is different.

- [Laura] Another key part of new school, sourcing everything from local ranchers and farmers with as little waste as possible.

- Our whole business is around selling meats.

It's nice to know who raised those animals and that those animals had a really good life.

- [Laura] And this approach has paid off.

This summer, LeRoy and Lewis earned the second spot on Texas Monthly's list of the best 50 barbecue joints in the state.

- Pretty incredible, you know?

We made number two by cooking our style of food, by sourcing locally, by having, you know, a different offering than that list has ever seen before.

- [Laura] But pushing the boundaries of barbecue has also paid off in ways they never imagined.

- With one Michelin star to... LeRoy and Lewis Barbecue.

- In 2024, LeRoy and Lewis was one of four barbecue restaurants to receive a Michelin star in Texas, the first time the Michelin Guide has ever recognized American style barbecue.

- And we opened this restaurant preparing for the Texas Monthly list.

And along the way, we got a Michelin star.

It's kind of crazy.

- I remember when I left my last job, my boss was like, "What are you gonna do?

Why are you leaving this to go and open a food truck?"

And now I'm like, "Ha ha, this is why we did it."

Now their eatery has become a national and international destination.

- First brisket in Texas.

Delicious, obviously.

- If you come to Texas and you didn't try any barbecue, like real barbecue, you didn't come to Texas.

- [Laura] And of course you can't forget the locals.

- It's a bit of a drive from downtown, but it's so worth it.

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

- Highest praise you could ask for.

It's a turning point in the culinary world.

While barbecue joints don't offer reservations, linen napkins, or snob appeal, the respect for the national food of Texas is long overdue.

- That work that they're doing on the pit is just as difficult as it is in a super fine dining kitchen.

- Really wonderful to get here.

And we're just getting started.

- And we cannot wait to see all the big things on the horizon for them.

And he wasn't kidding about that Frito chili pie.

It's really that good.

The best food and the best people.

Pivoting now from new school to classic, few local restaurants have earned the love and devotion that flows to Joe's Bakery in East Austin.

In our Emmy award-nominated segment, we'll hear the poignant story of this enduring family business.

It's a local family-run restaurant that's been serving up authentic Tex-Mex for more than half a century, now nationally recognized by the James Beard Awards.

But for residents of East Austin, it hardly needs an introduction.

For our first edition of our series, "Authentically Austin," we're taking you inside Joe's Bakery.

(crowd chattering) (phone ringing) - [Rose] Yes, Joe's Bakery.

How can I help you?

- [Laura] The sizzle of beans and bacon.

The plop of homemade tortillas on plates.

It's been a symphony for the senses at 6:00 a.m.

six days a week at Joe's Bakery.

Since 1962.

- Their food has been constant.

So that's what keeps me coming back.

Plus, homemade tortillas, you know, you can't get those everywhere in Austin.

(Rose Ann speaking in foreign language) - These days Rose Ann Maciel and her daughter, Regina Estrada, run the bakery/restaurant.

Age before beauty.

- [Rose] Christian, do me a favor real quick, sweetheart.

- [Laura] A community hotspot for generations of customers on the east side, with generations of Rose and Regina's family at the helm.

Each photo on the wall is a memory of their family's history and of Austin.

- When I look back, I get very emotional.

So, she put it all in, love of family.

- There's no crying in baseball.

I've told you that.

You want a napkin?

- [Laura] Though they'll be the first to say, working with family isn't always easy.

- Mom didn't answer me.

Mom ignored me.

Mom, mom, mom.

- I'm the worst employee.

- Yeah, right.

- [Laura] Rose first started working here when she was 11, when her parents, Joe and Paula Avila, ran the place.

- I mean, I grew up here.

I used to sleep behind the counter 'cause my parents would come to work, like, two or three o'clock in the morning.

- [Laura] But you can't tell the story of Joe's Bakery without, of course, the story of Joe.

- So my grandfather was kind of who everybody fell in love with.

People come in and they're always looking for Joe.

"Where's Joe?"

- [Laura] Joe's boyhood dream was to be a baker.

His parents ran a baking business in Austin in the '30s and he dropped out of grade school to help them out.

Though the restaurant bears his name, Joe's story begins and ends with women, especially his mother, Sophia, one of the kids in this photo.

- It's that picture right there.

It shows my great-grandmother, my grandmother, and her friend crossing the Mexican border at 17 years old.

- [Laura] Joe later served in the Korean War, coming home with a purple heart and symptoms of PTSD.

It was his mother, Sophia, who found a way to bring a sense of peace back to his life.

- She sold the business to him for $100 and said, "You decide, do you wanna take care of your family or continue the road that you're going?"

And so, of course, he chose his family.

- [Laura] And their business thrived.

But Rose and Regina didn't plan on following in his footsteps.

- This was not our destiny.

I mean, it is our destiny now, but it was not what we set out to do when we were younger.

When I was in college, this is not what I said, "Oh, I'm gonna go, you know, to my family business."

No, it's not.

- Nor I.

- [Laura] Rose worked in insurance for 30 years.

But after her dad had two heart attacks, she came back to help.

Joe died in 2011.

(crowd chattering) Today his 62-year-old restaurant is so popular, sometimes customers can wait an hour to be seated for their famous huevos rancheros, migas and more - Makes my heart swell with pride when I see an 82-year-old senior come in by themselves when they used to come in here with their other half.

- [Laura] That's the story of Ediberto Benavides, whose wife died in March.

- Well, it kind of reminds me of she and I being here in the mornings and had our favorite little booth and a lot of happy memories.

So I'm still going to continue coming here forever, I guess.

(Eddie laughs) You gotta keep these old places open for as long as possible.

- [Laura] But keeping this old place open has gotten harder.

Regina says rising costs in Austin have put a strain on their small business.

- How are we protecting the very life that is breathed in the culture, the essence of what makes Austin, Austin?

How are we protecting it?

- [Laura] Joe's is a community constant, now rare in a changing Austin, enjoyed by a carousel of notable customers over the years.

From Darrell Royal, Cesar Chavez, musician Ruben Ramos, and former governor, Rick Perry.

Last year, the nation took note.

Joe's Bakery received in America's Classics Award from the James Beard Foundation.

- She told me, I said, "No."

I said, "Maybe you meant the other Joe's."

There's a Jo apostrophe S on South Congress.

I even took one of those little James Beard luggage tag.

- It's a luggage tag that they have.

- I went and put it on his grave.

I said, "We did it."

- [Regina] Yeah.

- [Laura] But if you look hard enough, you can still find Joe at Joe's anywhere, in his photos, his recipes, his beloved bakery.

- (indistinct) the red.

The besitos the yellow with the pink sugar.

- [Laura] And in his daughter and his granddaughter now taking the reins.

- And my favorite thing to tell them is, "My grandfather didn't have any sons, or he didn't have any grandsons, nor did he want them, 'cause he said that boys were too much trouble."

(Rose laughs) So all he wanted were girls.

(bright music) - Joe's Bakery is seriously one of my favorite restaurants in all of Austin.

I've made all my family members go there, and thank you so much to them for sharing their story with us.

By some estimates, there are upwards of 6,000 restaurants in Austin.

A select few have achieved national and international acclaim this year.

For example, soon after his appearance on our show back in May, Arjav Ezekiel, beverage director at Birdie's Restaurant, won the James Beard Award for Outstanding Beverage Service.

And that's not all of the accolades for the Birdie's team.

Arjav and his wife, co-owner, Tracy Malachek-Ezekiel, were named to Time Magazine's 100 Next List for their innovative restaurant model.

And there are many more major awards for Austin restaurants this year.

Birdie's also was named to Robb Report's first ever list of the 100 greatest American restaurants of the 21st century.

Also making that list are Franklin Barbecue and popular Japanese restaurant, Uchi.

Other honors include creative pastry chef Mariela Camacho of Comadre Panaderia who was named a Best New Chef by Food and Wine Magazine.

All seven of last year's winners of the coveted Michelin star were back on the 2025 list.

Barley Swine, Craft Omakase, Hestia, Interstellar BBQ, La Barbecue, LeRoy and Lewis, and Olamaie.

And one more.

Jeffrey's in the Clarksville neighborhood was named the third best steakhouse in North America, yes, the continent, by the World's 101 Best Steak Restaurants list.

A very impressive list of just some of the honors.

And while we don't think it will replace our reputation as a music town anytime soon, it's clear that Austin has arrived as a food destination.

(bright music) Before we go today, Christmas is coming up fast, and it's already a mad dash to find toys and gifts for under the tree.

But if you are looking to stick to small businesses this holiday season with some bonus local charm, this next story has what you need.

With hundreds of thousands of items in this toy store, you could easily mistake it for the North Pole, more like North Austin.

In this edition of "Authentically Austin," we're headed to Terra Toys.

A place standing in for Santa's workshop since the '70s.

- It's cute.

I don't know what this is.

But it's cute.

Aw, they're adorable.

It's a skunk.

- [Laura] Decisions, decisions for 9-year-old Landrie.

- Hi, what's your name?

"My name's I Don't Know."

"Goodbye, I Don't Know."

You're scary, buddy.

- [Laura] She's picking out toys for families in need this Christmas.

- I mean, there's a lot of options.

- [Laura] And there was only one place to come.

- You can get yourself toys and it's, yeah, a lot of people come in here, especially to get their kids toys.

So their kids are happy.

And this is just a really happy place.

- [Laura] She's right.

It's hard to be sad in a toy store.

- Yeah, it is.

- [Laura] From stuffed animals, dolls, ornaments, puzzles, handmade toys, toys from the '20s and more.

Beloved mom and pop shop, Terra Toys, is like a Christmas miracle year round since 1978.

- A rabbit.

And here's a bird.

And we trace them by hand.

- [Laura] This is the workshop of co-founder Charles Edwards.

(machine whirring) One of Santa's more experienced elves.

- So that's sort of the rough cut through it.

(machine whirring) Now we got four.

- [Laura] He still makes wooden toys by hand, like this climber toy.

- These are all hand painted.

I cut 'em out, sand them.

- [Laura] Or gives them a new life if they've fallen on hard times.

- I met a man who said he had kept it since his sixth grade.

He was like 40 years old.

And it was taken apart, and now we're inventing a way to repair it.

Put this bolt into there and then this head will screw onto the top.

So we'll get the dinosaur's head screwed on straight.

- [Laura] And it only took 65 million years.

- Oh, yes, that's right.

- [Laura] Charles and his wife Ramalda met while they were students at UT Austin.

They sold snow cones on the drag for several summers while making and selling toys on the side.

- As I collected toys from childhood, we would make the things with really simple tools in the our little garage apartment.

- [Laura] They worked their way up to their own store on South Congress, selling their wooden toys with toys from around the world.

In 2004, they moved to their current location on West Anderson Lane, allowing them to expand with additions like a coffee shop, a clothing line, and a local art gallery.

- We had working restrooms, which, very important.

- [Laura] But as a philosophy student, Charles has an intentional approach to toys that's definitely authentically Austin.

- But the idea is classic, fun and beautiful.

It's a sense of saying, "Will somebody play with this toy if it's handed to them even though they don't know the background?"

- [Laura] In a place like this, play means something more.

- And it's cross-cultural and eternal.

People have played with toys as a way of understanding the world.

- When children play, they're really pretending to do all of the things that they'll do in adult life.

Solving problems, you know, casting different social situations on each other and exploring creativity.

(kid babbling) - [Laura] That's something we witnessed in real-time.

- No, no, not me.

No!

- Mama, what's this?

Mama, what's this?

- [Mom] Look at this.

- Can I have that?

- [Laura] It's a generational rite of passage for kids in Austin.

- Little shopkeep.

Make all the little babies face out - [Laura] In safe hands with the next generation of the toy-making family.

- If they were dental hygienists, I would not be a second generation family business owner.

(Sylvia laughs) - One day, Charles' daughter Sylvia will take over and has big dreams to add locations.

With its unique offerings, Terra Toys is a hallmark of a disappearing Austin, but also a time machine, taking everyone who walks in back to the best days of their childhood.

- There's not many stores like this around anymore.

- [Laura] They're merchants of magic for kids and kids at heart.

- I see parents who are bringing their grandchildren here who shopped here when they were little babies.

There's like that quote that says, "I'm a Toys R Us kid."

We have a lot of Austinites that say, "I'm a Terra Toys kid."

- [Laura] But we had to ask the toy makers the hardest question of all.

- How are you doing, Sophia?

- What's their favorite toy?

- And he is part of the Charlie Bear collection, and I just love how, you know, how their faces have this little 'who me?'

eye.

- We have an armadillo puppet.

Here we go.

Some people think they'll come to Texas and they think armadillos are a made up joke.

- [Laura] But Charles has lots of favorites, - A deck of cards.

A deck of normal playing cards.

- [Laura] And also this walking stick.

And finally... - And it's the Labyrinth, but it's one I made.

So I don't know if that counts.

It might.

(laughs) - And for the record, I did actually take home that adorable armadillo puppet at the end of the story.

We have proudly proclaimed his name to be Steve.

Steve, you did so well.

We are so proud of you.

Why don't you take a bow?

Amazing, Steve.

You have a bright future here at Austin PBS.

Well, that is our show.

Thanks so much for watching today and joining us in our first full year of "Austin InSight."

It's a pretty big deal.

On behalf of everyone here at Austin PBS, we wish you and your loved ones a joyful and a restful holiday season.

We'll be back on January 8th.

But until then, Happy Holidays.

(bright music) - [Announcer] Support for "Austin InSight" comes from: Sally & James Gavin.

And also from Daniel L. Skret.

(lively music)