Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Easy Tiger, A New Bread and Beer Concept

Anticipation Builds for Upcoming Bake Shop & Beer Garden on East Sixth Street


AUSTIN – April 6, 2011 –The construction of the “dinosaur bone” parking lot under I-35 and April groundbreaking of the Waller Creek District Master Plan aren’t the only newsworthy items affecting downtown. Come May, be on the lookout for Easy Tiger, a new bread and beer concept at 709 E. Sixth Street. The two-story 1890s building will feature a coffee shop, artisan bakery (retail and wholesale) and sidewalk seating at street level, with a beer garden and huge outdoor patio downstairs overlooking Waller Creek.

Step to the counter and request a specialty coffee made from locally roasted beans and a pastry (hello, chocolate croissant) or sandwich (try the ham & Gruyère with whipped butter on a baguette). Get it to go or grab a seat, relax and stay awhile. Downstairs, order a soft pretzel, a variety of sausage, corned beef and pastrami and a thick slice of rye bread—all housemade. Delicacies from Antonelli’s Cheese Shop and a vast selection of craft beers provide the perfect accompaniment.

The folks behind 24 Diner are largely responsible for all this goodness, but one key new ingredient is the addition of artisan baker David Norman. David’s pedigree includes head-baking positions at Grand Central Bakery (leading artisan bakery in Pacific Northwest), TriBakery (supplying NY greats such as Tribeca Grill and Nobu), Ecce Panis (NY, NJ) and Bouley Bakery (NY). At Easy Tiger, he’ll turn out baguettes, French country levain, German-style rye, German pretzels, Danish, turnovers and more.

24 Diner’s executive chef, Andrew Curren, a Culinary Institute of America (CIA) valedictorian who worked for top New York restaurateurs Danny Meyer and Jonathan Waxman, will helm the kitchen. Drew’s devotion to the farm-to-table movement and meticulous preparation of chef-inspired comfort food at 24 helped earn him a nomination for People’s Best New Chef from Food & Wine magazine/CNN’s Eatocracy. His menu for Easy Tiger will include smoked and fresh housemade sausages, house-cured corned beef and smoked pastrami, as well as homemade krauts, relishes and peperonata.

The bar offerings will be overseen by Billy Caruso, 24 Diner’s sommelier and another graduate of the CIA. The menu will feature cocktails, a carefully edited wine list and more than 40 draft beers, including locally produced faves Real Ale and Jester King and boutique domestics such as Avery, Lagunitas and Ommegang.

24 Diner designer Veronica Koltuniak of VeroKolt (clients include Madonna and Jennifer Lopez) describes the space as “turn-of-the-century building meets end-of-the-century kitsch.” Need a visual? Roni sites The Royal Tenenbaums as inspiration.

Molly Alexander, Associate Director, Downtown Austin Alliance, says, “Easy Tiger is a game changer for East Sixth Street. The concept of bakery and beer garden provides the perfect blend of daytime and nighttime usage. This local team is helping to bridge the gap on East Sixth Street between the Entertainment District and the hip East Side and creating the nucleus for that transformation in product, community and creative spirit.”

Easy Tiger: twitter.com/EasyTigerATX, www.facebook.com/EasyTigerATX
For more information, contact: Evelyn Sher, 512.589.6596, easytigeraustx@gmail.com

1 comment:

Evelyn said...

Thanks for posting about Easy Tiger! We are so excited for this project!