READ UP ON LIBRARY’S COOKBOOK BAR & CAFE
When the Central Library opened at 710 W. Cesar Chavez St. in October, one key component wasn’t ready: an on-site eatery called Cookbook Bar & Cafe. On Thursday, the cafe finally opened, and with a surprise: The cookbooks lining the shelves are from the collection of Virginia B. Wood, the late food writer who was influential in Austin’s food community before her death earlier this year.
Here are five more things to know about Cookbook Cafe: 1 The restaurantis operated by the ELM Group, which means the menus are the vision of chefs Andrew and Mary Catherine Curren, who also helm 24 Diner, Italic and Irene’s. 2 The dishes come from the cookbooks in Wood’s collection and others, including a granola parfait from “The Commander’s Palace Cookbook” by Ti Adelaide Martin and Jamie Shannon; split pea soup from “Joy of Cooking”; and an appetizer with mushrooms, garlic and lemon ricotta from Yotam Ottolenghi’s “Plenty More.” You can check out the cafe’s full menus at cookbookatx.com.
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The cafe is also a place to drink. The restaurant will be serving coffee, matcha and tea, as well as beer, wine and literary-inspired cocktails, such as the Adventures of Huckleberry Gin and Murder on the Orient Espresso. 4 You can enjoy a coffee on the rooftop, too. The Cookbook Cafe runs a coffee cart on the library’s top floor from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 3 p.m. Sunday. The restaurant and bar are open 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. 5 Parking can betricky, but you can park in the underground lot at the library. There are also some street parking options.