Latest / Austin Signal / Election Day in Central Texas, Abbott campaign ad, Austin plane crash victims

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Election Day in Central Texas, Abbott campaign ad, Austin plane crash victims · Austin Signal

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It
0:08
is finally election day across
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the country, and we've got you
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covered on what's happening at
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polling places across central Texas,
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as well as some of the biggest races
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and issues that voters are gonna be
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deciding on.
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We're gonna talk about the contest
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for House District 31.
0:22
The incumbent in that race is
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seeking his 13th term in office, but
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his opponent has had difficulties
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finding him during election season.
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We're going to hear from them both,
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and we'll tell you about an attack
0:32
ad from Governor Greg Abbott's
0:33
reelection campaign highlighting a
0:34
1991 murder in Austin.
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Only part of the story made the
0:38
final cut for the ad.
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We'll tell you about the rest of it
0:40
coming up on today's show.
0:42
The Austin Signal is a production
0:44
of KUT News, hosted by
0:46
Jerry Quijano.
0:47
And we've got the latest on the
0:48
local victims who died in a plane
0:50
crash in Florida after departing
0:52
from Austin's airport.
0:54
Those stories and a whole lot more
0:56
coming up today on Austin
0:58
Signal.
1:08
Howdy out there, this is
1:10
Austin Signal.
1:11
I'm your host, Jerry Keconnell.
1:12
It is election day, November
1:14
3rd.
1:15
Thank you for being with us today.
1:17
Polls are open until 7 p.m.
1:19
Across the state.
1:20
Right now, taking a look at polling
1:22
places in Travis County.
1:23
A handful of spots with a
1:25
wait time longer than 51 minutes,
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but plenty others with a waiting
1:29
time under 20 minutes.
1:30
You can check out a full list of
1:32
polling locations here in Travis
1:33
county by going to votetravis.gov.
1:37
Now, if you voted early,
1:38
you likely couldn't avoid a bit of a
1:40
wait because of the record-breaking
1:42
turnout here in central Texas.
1:44
Here with more about those numbers
1:45
is KUT's Gabriel Velazquez-Neda.
1:48
He is our breaking news reporter.
1:49
Gabriel, thanks for coming back on
1:50
the show.
1:51
Hey Jerry.
1:52
OK, so about how many people
1:54
early voted here in Travis County.
1:55
Yeah. So including in-person
1:57
and mail-in ballots, there was over
1:59
450,000.
2:01
Um, so yeah, it's a lot of people.
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That compared to your
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passed so it's
2:06
for midterm election it's it's
2:08
very high even as a percentage
2:10
of the amount of registered voters
2:12
it's 47%
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so nearly half of all registered
2:15
voters in Travis County have already
2:17
voted and with
2:19
the registrations coming in I'm sure
2:21
that number might change but it's
2:23
been high yeah
2:24
Yeah, have you had a chance to look
2:25
at the numbers in other central
2:26
Texas counties like Williamson or
2:28
Hayes County?
2:29
I did look at Hayes and Williamson,
2:31
and actually as a percentage of
2:32
registered voters, they're higher.
2:34
So they're closer to that 50% mark
2:35
at 48 and 47% for
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Williamson and Hayes.
2:39
Okay, as we were preparing for
2:40
election day, I know there was some
2:42
registration backlog that was still
2:44
being worked through.
2:45
Has that been addressed here?
2:46
In Travis County?
2:47
So yeah, there has been a backlog,
2:49
it has been addressed, but that's
2:50
kind of what I was saying about the
2:52
number of registered voters.
2:54
The number that I've been working
2:55
off of was since October 19th,
2:57
and the tax collector's
3:00
office has continued putting in
3:02
voter registrations since until
3:04
last week, so we're likely seeing
3:06
a higher number of people
3:08
registering to vote, and
3:10
everything's in the system now.
3:11
So when we compare this year's
3:13
turnout, early voting turnout,
3:14
excuse me, with years past,
3:16
what does that signify,
3:18
this big jump in numbers?
3:21
Well, I mean, part of it is
3:23
population growth.
3:24
Part of it, is more people
3:26
registering to vote.
3:27
And I do think that
3:29
with the midterm election,
3:32
with how the Senate and House can
3:33
be, I guess, decided by this,
3:36
a lot of people have just come out.
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We are gonna have reporters all
3:39
across Central Texas, all across
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Austin tonight.
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What are you gonna be watching?
3:43
Where are you going to be at?
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I'm gonna be at the Save Austin Now
3:46
watch party in Bolden
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Acres, and I'll be reporting on
3:49
charter amendments.
3:50
Okay, what is the big proposition
3:52
that Save Austin now is focused on?
3:54
They're focused on proposition I and
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it's about having an independent
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audit on the city and its
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finances every five years and
4:01
locking it into the city's charter.
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So we'll see how voters decide
4:03
tonight.
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All right, that is KUT's Gabriel
4:06
Velasquez-Neda.
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Thanks for coming back on the show.
4:08
Thank you, Jerry.
4:14
All right, by this point, many
4:16
political candidates have stumbled
4:17
upon each other on the campaign
4:19
trail, whether in media interviews
4:21
or at public forums and debates.
4:23
But that is not the case in a
4:25
congressional district just north of
4:27
Austin. The Democratic challenger to
4:29
Congressman John Carter has been
4:30
trying to find the incumbent
4:32
Republican, as KUT's
4:34
Kaylee Hunt reports.
4:37
Where's John Carter?
4:38
Where's Johnny Carter?
4:40
It was a chaotic scene Monday
4:41
morning outside Congressman John
4:43
Carter's office in
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Georgetown. Car horns blared in
4:47
opposition to chance from a dozen or
4:49
so people holding signs saying
4:51
Where's John Carter?
4:53
Where's Johnny Carter?
4:55
Carter, who's 84 years old,
4:58
has been noticeably absent from the
4:59
campaign trail in recent months.
5:02
Carter's Democratic challenger,
5:03
Justin Early, says his campaign
5:05
has asked to meet with Carter
5:07
multiple times, but has never
5:09
received a response.
5:10
We decided why don't we just be here
5:12
and do the, have a conversation with
5:13
him right now. So we brought coffee
5:14
and donuts to have a conversation
5:16
just here in the parking lot with
5:17
him.
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Carter didn't show up, nor
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did any of his staff from the nearby
5:21
office.
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But faces could be seen watching
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Early and his supporters from the
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office's windows.
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Every time Early attempted to speak,
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multiple car horns would sound off.
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It seems that the people who are
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also in this parking lot are honking
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their car alarms at the fact that
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we're here asking the question,
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where's John Carter?
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Early says Carter's absence from
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the campaign trail is concerning.
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He says he's worried about Carter's
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ability to serve constituents if
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he's re-elected for a 13th term.
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Meanwhile, Carter says he is
5:52
more than capable of holding the
5:53
office.
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I spoke to Carter briefly over the
5:56
phone Monday afternoon.
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And now I'm perfectly well in the
6:00
whole office and I'll be up there
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next week.
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As far as his absence on the
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campaign trail, Carter says...
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I've got issues at home that
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I have to take care of.
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But I've always been, you know,
6:12
telling us everything I need to do.
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And I'm not gonna talk about
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anything else.
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That's what you, that's.
6:19
My race is just done and
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I think I'll win.
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I'm Kailey Hunt in Williamson
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County.
6:25
An attack ad from Governor Greg
6:27
Abbott's re-election campaign is
6:28
highlighting a 1991 murder
6:30
here in Austin, but
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as QUT's Andrew Weber reports,
6:34
it falsely accuses Travis County's
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Jose Garza of releasing
6:38
a murderer.
6:40
The ad from Abbott's campaign
6:41
features testimony from Christina
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Byington.
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Her cousin Anita was killed in East
6:46
Austin in 1991.
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Alan Andre Causey was convicted of
6:50
her murder.
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Here's Christina.
6:51
Our family thought we had received
6:52
justice when her killer was
6:54
convicted and sentenced to 50 years
6:55
in prison.
6:56
In 2022, her killer was released
6:58
on parole until the murder charges
7:00
were dropped by DA Jose Garza.
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A couple of things to unpack here.
7:03
For one, Causey was convicted of
7:05
murder. His murder charge was also
7:07
cleared and expunged by Travis
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County District Attorney Jose Garza.
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That was only after the state's
7:13
highest criminal court, all
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Republicans said Causey's confession
7:16
was likely fabricated by Austin
7:18
police and that the prosecution
7:20
relied on false testimony.
7:22
Mike Ware, Executive Director of the
7:24
Innocence Project of Texas, says the
7:25
governor's campaign ad ignores the
7:27
fact that Causey, was cleared of
7:29
the murder charge.
7:30
Fighting tooth and nail to keep
7:32
completely innocent people
7:33
incarcerated is not
7:35
tough on crime.
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Ware also points out another man was
7:38
identified as a possible suspect
7:40
in Barrington's murder, Kevin
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Harris.
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Harris was later accused of
7:44
assaulting women in both Travis and
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Harris counties.
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Ware says Causey's case is similar
7:49
to the yogurt shop murders, which
7:51
also happened in 1991.
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Innocent men were implicated while
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the real perpetrator walked and
7:56
committed more crimes.
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I just don't understand the
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reasoning of why it's tough on crime
8:00
to convict innocent people
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when the actual perpetrator,
8:04
as in the Andre Kazee case and
8:06
as in the Yogashop case,
8:09
is out there committing war crimes.
8:11
That makes no sense to me.
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KT reached out to Harris for
8:14
comment, but he did not respond.
8:16
APD did not say whether Harris was
8:18
currently under investigation for
8:19
Byington's murder, though Diegarte
8:21
said his office could re-examine
8:23
the case.
8:24
I'm Andrew Weber in Austin.
8:32
All right, now let's check in with
8:33
our county reporters who are out at
8:35
polling places across central Texas.
8:37
First, we are gonna talk with
8:38
Williamson County reporter Kaylee
8:40
Hunt. Hi, Kaylee.
8:41
Hey, Jerry.
8:42
So where are you this afternoon
8:44
and what's the vibes like so far?
8:46
Yeah, I am outside these offices
8:49
in Williamson County.
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It's called the Williamson County
8:51
Annex up here in Georgetown,
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just a few miles away
8:56
from the county's elections
8:57
department.
8:58
And I got to tell you, it's buzzing
9:00
out here today.
9:01
There's a there's a lot of folks in
9:02
the parking lot, so much so that
9:03
people are starting to park on the
9:05
Yes.
9:05
Okay, so turnout has been up
9:07
already in Williamson County.
9:08
So it seems like voters are turning
9:10
out as well on Election Day
9:11
We just a few minutes ago heard your
9:13
story about the race involving
9:14
incumbent congressman John Carter
9:16
What are some of the other big races
9:18
and issues on the ballot in
9:19
Williamston County that voters are
9:22
thinking about?
9:23
Yeah, so in addition to the
9:25
congressional districts,
9:27
all of the state house seats and
9:29
many of the State Senate seats are
9:31
also up for election and
9:33
I was actually on the show a couple
9:34
weeks ago talking about State
9:36
Senate District 5.
9:38
In that race, Williamson County
9:39
voters will help decide if
9:42
Charles Shortner will remain in
9:44
office or if they'll elect Democrat
9:46
Paul Thomason.
9:48
I'm also looking forward
9:50
to results from several school
9:52
board races tonight.
9:54
Leander, Round Rock, Pflugerville,
9:55
they're all electing trustees.
9:58
Also several school districts
10:00
are holding tax rate elections
10:02
today.
10:03
So we'll be looking for those
10:05
results.
10:06
And then finally,
10:08
more locally, Williamson County is
10:10
gonna be voting for their
10:12
next county judge.
10:13
So we will be watching that race
10:15
closely as well.
10:16
Republican Steve Snell was
10:18
appointed to the position last year
10:20
after former county judge Bill
10:22
Gravel resigned to take a job with
10:24
the Trump administration.
10:26
And he is running against
10:28
Democrat Heather Jeffs.
10:30
Okay, you said that there's been a
10:31
good amount of activity out there at
10:32
your polling site today.
10:34
Have you had a chance to speak with
10:35
any voters, and what did they have
10:36
to tell you?
10:38
Yeah, yeah, I've had the opportunity
10:39
to catch a few of the voters here as
10:41
they've left the building
10:43
after casting their ballot.
10:46
You know, one voter I
10:48
thought was pretty interesting.
10:49
He told me it was actually, this was
10:51
hard for him.
10:52
This was a hard election to vote in.
10:54
He said he used to
10:56
vote just straight party.
10:58
He didn't say which one, but now,
11:00
you know, he says he's
11:02
doing it on an individual race
11:04
basis, just, you know
11:06
based on the candidates?
11:08
I've run into a couple of voters
11:10
who are self-described talafricos
11:12
out here in Williamson County,
11:15
right here where you know,
11:17
Talarico is from, his hometown in
11:19
Round Rock is you know a few miles
11:21
away.
11:23
So yeah, but overall, Overall,
11:25
pretty good excitement.
11:27
Alrighty, that is Williamson County
11:29
reporter Kaylee Hunt.
11:30
Kaylee, thanks for the update.
11:32
Thanks, Jerry.
11:33
Alright, let's move on and check in
11:35
with Katie McAfee.
11:36
She's our Travis County reporter.
11:37
Hi, Katie.
11:38
Hi, Jerry.
11:39
So where are you and what are you
11:41
seeing out there?
11:42
Right now I am at the UT Student
11:44
Union and I am seeing a
11:46
lot of campaigning going on over
11:48
here. There are a couple of
11:50
candidates for Austin City Council
11:51
District 9.
11:52
Richard Heyman is here passing out
11:54
pamphlets. Katie Kam is here passing
11:56
out Pamphlets and there's also a
11:58
bunch of folks here from UT Dems
12:00
and they're passing out Panphlets
12:01
for Zoe Kadri.
12:02
So District 9 Race is definitely a
12:03
big deal here. We're right in the
12:04
heart of that district.
12:06
There's also a group here from Save
12:07
Austin Now, that's the super
12:09
PAC that put Prop I on the ballot
12:11
and they are passing out pamphlets
12:13
encouraging people to vote yes on
12:14
that.
12:15
So I heard some reports about
12:17
disruptions at the Texas Union
12:19
earlier today. Do you have any more
12:20
information about that?
12:21
Yes, a fire alarm
12:23
at this polling place was pulled
12:25
twice this morning during voting
12:27
hours.
12:28
UT police responded to the incident,
12:30
voting was paused briefly, and then
12:32
they resolved everything and
12:34
voting picked back up.
12:36
They still have not identified
12:38
who did it, but they don't believe
12:39
that person is affiliated
12:42
with the university, and if anyone
12:43
has information they are looking
12:45
for people to come forward.
12:47
Have there been any disruptions
12:48
while you've been there today?
12:50
You know, there actually was a brief
12:51
disruption.
12:52
The folks at UDEMS have been
12:55
getting in a bit of a tiff with
12:56
Richard Heyman.
12:57
He is the candidate for Austin City
12:59
Council District 9.
13:01
I talked to both parties and it's
13:03
a lot of he said, she said about
13:04
what's going on right now, but the
13:06
police actually were here briefly
13:07
responding to the incident and
13:09
there's just some tension going on
13:11
between those two.
13:12
Okay, well we know that the Texas
13:14
Union has been a popular place
13:15
during early voting and is always a
13:17
very busy place on election day.
13:19
Have you spoken with any voters, any
13:20
students who have been out there and
13:22
what is it that's on their minds as
13:23
they're going to vote?
13:25
Yeah, you know, I'm kind of shocked
13:26
that there's no line to go in right
13:28
now because as so many students are
13:30
walking past, everyone so
13:32
far has said, you know, i've already
13:33
voted. Some people are sporting an
13:35
iVoted sticker.
13:36
I think some stereotypes about
13:38
young voters maybe waiting until the
13:40
last minute are just not relevant at
13:42
this corner of the 40 acres.
13:44
Well, Katie, what are some of the
13:46
other major races you talked a
13:47
little bit about the District 9
13:48
race? What are some of the major
13:49
races for voters in Travis County
13:51
today?
13:52
Prop I is definitely a big
13:54
one.
13:55
Supporters of Prop I say that this
13:57
would help bring more transparency
13:59
of the city's finances.
14:01
However, opponents of that
14:03
proposition say the city already has
14:05
an effective auditing process and
14:07
if Prop I was passed, it would cost
14:09
more money to do an audit of the
14:10
City's finances and that more money
14:12
would have to come from city
14:14
programs that the City relies on and
14:16
those could be cut to pay for this.
14:18
Okay, that's Katie McAfee.
14:20
She is our Travis County reporter.
14:21
Katie, thanks for checking in.
14:23
Thanks so much, Jerry.
14:25
And rounding it out, let's head down
14:26
to Hayes County, where our county
14:28
reporter Lee Walden is joining us.
14:30
Hey, Lee.
14:31
Hey, Jerry.
14:32
So which polling location are you at
14:34
and what are things like out there?
14:36
I am at my fourth polling location
14:38
of the day here at Buda City
14:40
Council, or City Hall
14:42
and Library.
14:44
And the line is about 20,
14:46
30 minutes right now.
14:48
And people seem pretty jazzed
14:50
to be one, not waiting too long and
14:52
getting out to vote.
14:53
Has that been the case, the wait
14:55
time, has that been case at all the
14:56
four locations that you've been at
14:57
today?
14:58
You know, it's slowly been creeping
15:00
up, depending on location.
15:02
I think I was
15:04
in company with some of the early
15:06
birds this morning.
15:08
But yeah, it seems like that's kind
15:10
of the wait time.
15:11
I did hear that there, I checked and
15:13
saw that there were some wait times
15:14
over like 40 minutes
15:16
in more populated areas,
15:19
but for the most part, it seems like
15:21
this has been a mellow election day.
15:23
All right, well, Election Day is its
15:24
own beast.
15:25
Can you tell us a little bit about
15:26
what turnout has been like in Hayes
15:28
County so far?
15:30
Yeah, Hayes County has been
15:32
blowing out turnout numbers.
15:34
We've seen a lot more people
15:36
show up for a midterm year, but
15:38
it seems like they're on track to
15:40
kind of be competing for the amount
15:42
of turnout that they see during
15:43
presidential election years,
15:46
which is pretty spectacular and
15:47
uncommon for the county.
15:50
So what are some of the races that
15:51
you're watching and what is the mood
15:53
that you've heard and seen among
15:54
voters so far?
15:56
Yeah I've talked to a lot of voters
15:58
and it seems like some of the bigger
15:59
races do seem to be taking up a lot
16:01
their brain space and
16:03
their votes this morning.
16:05
I'm hearing a lot about Ken Paxton
16:07
and James Tallarico as well
16:09
as the Governor's race.
16:11
But you know I was at Kyle City
16:12
Hall just a few minutes ago and
16:15
there are a lot city
16:17
council seats and the mayor that are
16:18
up for grabs and That's brought some
16:20
people out today as well.
16:22
Alright Lee, anything else that
16:23
Hayes County voters should know
16:25
before they head to their polling
16:26
place on election day?
16:28
Just remember that if you're in line
16:29
by 7 p.m., stay in line,
16:31
you will get to vote.
16:33
And have fun!
16:34
All right, that is Lee Walden.
16:36
She is KUT's Hayes County reporter.
16:38
Lee, thank you for your time.
16:40
Thank you.
16:48
The National Transportation Safety
16:50
Board is investigating the Florida
16:52
plane crash that originated from
16:53
Austin and killed the seven
16:55
passengers and two pilots on board.
16:57
QUT's transportation reporter Nathan
16:59
Bernier has more about that story.
17:02
The airplane left Austin-Burgstrom
17:03
International Airport at about 9.37
17:05
Sunday morning, headed for North
17:07
Eleuthera in the Bahamas.
17:08
At around 11.47 a.m.,
17:11
while flying at 35,000
17:13
feet, the crew told air traffic
17:15
controllers they were encountering
17:16
light, clear ice and moderate
17:18
turbulence.
17:19
Clear ice is a transparent glaze
17:21
that forms on aircraft when water
17:23
droplets hit the plane and spread
17:24
out before freezing.
17:26
NTSB board member Tom Chapman says
17:28
turbulence was causing the jet's
17:30
altitude to vary by about 700 feet.
17:32
The airplane transmitted.
17:34
We are in an overspeed condition,
17:36
descending with the rest
17:38
unintelligible.
17:39
The plane crashed at about 11 51
17:41
a.m. Austin time.
17:42
Two crew members and seven
17:43
passengers were killed.
17:45
One person on the ground was
17:46
injured. I'm Nathan Bernier in
17:48
Austin.
17:49
And we now know the names of the
17:50
seven passengers who were on that
17:52
flight. Their families have released
17:54
their names in a joint statement.
17:56
They are Adam Robinson, his wife
17:58
Helen Sharp, their children,
18:00
Emma Four and Charlie Two,
18:02
as well as Rachel Reed,
18:04
Charmy Fair and Anita Maria
18:06
Setina.
18:08
This is Austin Signal.
18:10
You're listening to Community
18:12
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18:14
News. We've got a whole lot more
18:16
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18:17
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18:18
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18:20
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18:22
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18:23
Plenty more coming your way.
18:24
Stay with us.
18:30
Welcome back. This is Austin Signal.
18:32
I'm Ben Philpott.
18:41
When I moved to Austin about 25
18:43
years ago, it was easy
18:45
to say that I had been to all the
18:46
best restaurants in town.
18:48
That's because honestly, they were
18:49
really only about a dozen places
18:51
where they elevated the dining
18:53
experience.
18:54
Now, it's really hard to keep up.
18:56
For our On Our Plate segment,
18:58
we're talking with someone who has
19:00
come very close to trying all
19:02
of the restaurants in-town.
19:03
Matthew Odom is a reporter and
19:05
restaurant critic at the Austin
19:06
American Statesman.
19:07
He has a list out now of the 40,
19:09
yes, 40 best restaurants
19:11
in town.
19:13
Matthew, thanks so much for taking
19:14
time to talk with us here on Austin
19:15
Signal.
19:16
Great to see you, Ben.
19:17
So before we get into your list,
19:19
what has 2026 been like
19:21
for restaurants in Austin?
19:23
Know, I think 2026 has been a year
19:25
of kind of holding on for
19:27
dear life.
19:28
Obviously, prices are high
19:30
everywhere.
19:31
Everything costs more, meaning food
19:33
costs more fuel costs more goods
19:35
and services cost more than people
19:37
are getting paid higher salaries,
19:38
which is a great thing.
19:40
But that's costing restaurants more,
19:42
even though the food on the plate is
19:44
costing more margins for restaurants
19:46
are as small as they've ever been
19:47
since before the pandemic.
19:49
And so I think, you It's been a
19:51
tough year for Austin restaurants.
19:53
So you'll see a lot of places on
19:55
this top 40 have been around for a
19:56
while, because I think these places
19:58
have navigated storms before
20:00
they have operations and systems
20:02
in place and employees in place.
20:04
So there's a handful of brand new
20:06
restaurants that have opened in the
20:07
past year or so, but only about four
20:08
or five on the list from the
20:10
past year of opening.
20:12
Well, speaking of tough years, I
20:13
would, you know, a restaurant that I
20:15
think many people consider one of
20:16
the best in Austin actually had to
20:18
close this year because of those
20:20
tight margins, Olamay shutting down.
20:22
Yeah, Olamay had a Michelin star.
20:24
It was one of seven restaurants in
20:26
Austin that had one.
20:27
Chef Michael Fautier's fine dining
20:28
restaurant here near campus.
20:30
I think Chef Fautiers would
20:32
tell you that if it had had a little
20:34
bit better curb appeal, possibly.
20:36
And also, I think people were
20:37
dipping in just out of curiosity to
20:39
have a dish or two, since it did
20:41
have a Michelins star.
20:42
So he had to institute a prefix
20:44
menu at a certain point, and the
20:46
pre-feed did not save them.
20:48
So yeah, it's been a tough year.
20:49
Also.
20:51
El Naranjo from Eliana de la
20:53
Vega down on South Lamar was one of
20:54
our best Mexican restaurants also
20:56
closed.
20:57
But fortunately, I would still put
20:59
our top 10 up against the top 10 and
21:01
some of the best cities in the
21:03
country.
21:03
So what's your criteria for
21:04
qualifying for this list, then?
21:06
You know, at the end of the day,
21:07
it's gotta be delicious.
21:09
You know?
21:09
That makes sense
21:10
You know, I said about the number
21:12
one place. It's a place that I wish
21:14
if I had the resources, time
21:15
and financially, and also the
21:18
freedom of a job, I would
21:19
spend a lot of time there.
21:20
So it's a place, that makes you feel
21:22
welcome.
21:22
A place that's comforting, a place
21:24
it's, you know, for lack of a better
21:25
word, a good hang, a space that
21:27
has a point of view, a place that is
21:29
consistent in its execution.
21:31
A space that is unique and that you
21:33
couldn't go to another city and have
21:34
the same kind of meal or go across
21:36
town and have the same kind of meal.
21:38
All right, so before we get to that
21:39
number one, though, let's talk about
21:41
you mentioned that there were a
21:42
handful of newbies on the list.
21:44
What what who made the list for the
21:46
first time and you know, what what
21:47
kind of kicked them into that top
21:49
40?
21:50
You know, it's interesting, a couple
21:51
of newcomers, both are
21:53
seafood restaurants, and they
21:55
kind of have themes or sourcing
21:57
from different coasts.
21:59
From the West Coast vibe,
22:00
a California native, Justin Huffman,
22:02
is a chef who used to be at
22:04
Justine's, and he opened a
22:05
restaurant called Fish Shop on
22:07
East 6th Street.
22:09
And so they do raw plates.
22:11
They also, as much as it sources
22:13
from San Francisco seafood, they
22:15
always have little bit of Texas on
22:17
the plate so you might find a
22:18
pozole.
22:19
I had a squid dish with a prickly
22:21
pear sauce, which was really great.
22:24
It's a very small, it kind
22:26
of feels like a, you know, it's kind
22:27
of like a little bit of a swan
22:28
oyster co depot out
22:30
of San Francisco, but it's a real
22:32
neighborhood joint.
22:33
And then also in East Austin,
22:35
Austin Oyster Co is owned
22:37
by some guys that actually own their
22:39
own oyster farm in Maine.
22:41
So they source most of their oysters
22:42
from Maine, all from the East Coast.
22:44
It is kind of in a Craftman
22:47
home over on East Cesar Chavez.
22:49
They also do one of the best burgers
22:51
in town, which is interesting.
22:52
Another one that's new to the
22:54
list is Paprika, which is
22:56
a taqueria on North
22:58
Lamar. I have it as number 11.
23:01
They do incredible suadero
23:03
and chicken tingas.
23:05
They do al pastor just on Saturdays,
23:07
and you'll see the line queued up
23:09
on Saturday mornings to get in
23:10
there. And that's an excellent
23:12
taquería, one of my favorites in
23:13
town. And then new to the
23:15
list, not new to city, but kind
23:17
of renewed to the city, the Driscoll
23:19
Grill from McGuire-Mormon.
23:21
They took over the historic
23:22
restaurant inside the Driskell
23:24
Hotel there.
23:26
Something that McGuire Mormon does
23:27
so well is kind of transport you
23:29
with this experience, whether it's a
23:30
seafood restaurant like Perla's,
23:32
or whether it is a steakhouse like
23:34
Jeffery's.
23:35
And Driscolle Grill just takes you
23:36
back in time in Texas, whether it
23:38
was all the back to the early
23:40
1900s if you were a cattleman
23:42
or like the 1980s if you were
23:44
like a trial while you're driving a
23:45
town car, you know, it's just kind
23:47
of grand and big
23:49
leather booths and old Western
23:51
art and you know stuffed animals
23:53
on the wall and they have a dry
23:54
aging case there and a great
23:55
cocktail program.
23:56
They have a dessert cart.
23:58
So it's real old fashioned and
24:00
beautifully done.
24:01
I'd say the best restaurant of the
24:03
Moorman restaurants right now.
24:05
Okay, so give me that best
24:06
restaurant in town.
24:07
The best restaurant in town this
24:08
year is Este,
24:10
which is a restaurant owned by Sam
24:11
Hellman-Mass and run by executive
24:14
chef Fermin Nunez.
24:15
They have a restaurant called Suerte
24:17
that has been on the list
24:18
previously. Suerte is also at
24:20
number four.
24:22
Este specializes in Mexican
24:24
seafood, but they also kind of take
24:25
cues from other coastal areas around
24:27
the world, but you always kind of
24:29
you'll find Mexican flavors and
24:31
sauces and peppers in their
24:33
different preparations.
24:33
The raw dishes are fantastic
24:36
but they don't just do seafood.
24:37
One of my favorite dishes there is a
24:38
cacietala taco, which is
24:40
just ribeye and crispy
24:42
cheese.
24:43
You get that with some grilled
24:44
shrimp, some oysters, some mezcal.
24:47
You get a tres leches for dessert.
24:49
It's a great place to stop before
24:52
a game at DKR, before the Moody
24:54
Center, before a show.
24:55
It's also great for happy hour.
24:57
It's great for a long Friday lunch.
24:58
It's good for a date night.
25:00
It kind of does a lot of different
25:02
things really well.
25:03
And so that's one of the reasons I
25:05
love the place is it?
25:06
If I could be a regular anywhere,
25:07
I'd probably be a regular at S-Day.
25:09
We gotta wrap this up because I
25:10
gotta go get some food.
25:11
But before we go, where can people
25:13
find the full list?
25:14
Go to statesman.com slash
25:16
restaurants and you'll find the
25:17
top 40 and you find a bunch of other
25:19
lists there as well.
25:20
Matthew Odom is the restaurant
25:22
critic for the Austin American
25:23
Statesman. We'll have a link to his
25:25
list in today's show notes.
25:27
Matthew, thanks so much.
25:28
It's been a pleasure. Thank you.
25:29
All right, that is it for Austin
25:31
Signal this afternoon, but we
25:33
have more Election Day special
25:34
coverage starting at 6.30 tonight
25:36
on the KUT app at
25:38
KUT.org and KUT
25:40
News 90.5.
25:42
Ben Philpott, who you just heard
25:43
from there, is gonna be joining us
25:45
as well. We'll talk to you then.
25:47
Karoline Pfeil is our technical
25:49
director.
25:50
Alexandra Hart is our producer.
25:51
Happy birthday.
25:52
Kristen Cabrera is our managing
25:54
producer and I'm your host, Jerry
25:56
Quijano.
25:57
We'll to you later this evening.