Latest / Austin Signal / A Central Texas city eyes desalination to help with water woes

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A Central Texas city eyes desalination to help with water woes · Austin Signal

0:08
Water is never far from the top of
0:10
concerns for central Texans and
0:11
folks across the state.
0:13
Downing Corpus Christi plans for a
0:14
desalination plant are underway,
0:16
and a nearby city is set to spend
0:18
half a million dollars for a spot in
0:19
line to get some of that water.
0:21
We're going to have an update.
0:22
And city of Austin leaders are
0:24
divided on a bond election to
0:25
improve local roads and parks.
0:27
A bond election this November would
0:29
come just one year after voters
0:30
soundly rejected a property tax
0:32
rate increase known as Proposition
0:35
Plenty more about that coming up on
0:37
today's show.
0:38
The Austin Signal is a production
0:40
of KUT News, hosted by
0:42
Jerry Quijano.
0:43
Plus, Austin's food scene is chock
0:45
full of fine dining experiences,
0:47
but has that erased the presence of
0:49
a bona fide Texas staple?
0:51
Our ATXplain project chewed the
0:53
question over.
0:54
That's up next, and it's right here
0:56
on Austin Signal.
1:07
Howdy out there, you are listening
1:09
to Austin Signal.
1:10
I'm your host, Jerry Keconnell.
1:12
It is Wednesday, June 24th.
1:14
Thank you for making us part of your
1:16
day.
1:17
Plans for a desalination plant
1:19
in Corpus Christi are underway,
1:21
and a quickly developing city here
1:23
in central Texas is set to spend
1:24
half a million dollars for a spot
1:26
in line for some of that water.
1:28
KUT's Hayes County reporter Lee
1:30
Walden has the story.
1:33
In October of last year, the Kyle
1:35
City Council was presented with an
1:36
ambitious plan.
1:38
So we are going to build a desal
1:40
project, and we're going to
1:42
bring it down from Harbor Island,
1:43
which is, if you've ever been to
1:44
Port Aranda's, I'll show you a
1:45
picture of that. That's Travis
1:46
Perlman.
1:46
That's Travis Perusky.
1:47
He was the chief operating officer
1:48
for the Nueces River Authority based
1:50
out of Valdi.
1:52
The desal project he's talking about
1:53
is a proposed multi-million dollar
1:55
water desalination plant set
1:58
to be built just off of Corpus
1:59
Christi.
2:00
It would use seawater from the Gulf
2:02
of Mexico, take the salt out of
2:04
it, and treat it so it's drinkable.
2:06
So at Harbor Island, we're going to
2:08
drill down about 80 feet.
2:09
We will build a 14-foot wide tunnel
2:11
to put a 12-foot pipeline.
2:13
The intake is about 1.3 miles
2:15
out into the Gulf.
2:16
The project would require
2:17
infrastructure to bring the water in
2:18
from the ocean, and the treatment
2:20
plant. Also, the technology to
2:22
expel the briny waste water produced
2:24
in the process.
2:26
It would also need over 200 miles
2:28
of pipe to bring water from Corpus
2:30
to Kyle.
2:31
Parts of his presentation came off
2:33
like a sales pitch.
2:34
We're actually 90% sold out
2:36
now, so actually the last 10 million
2:38
gallons is what luckily
2:40
Mike put on the list for you guys to
2:41
put on would be on phase one for the
2:43
first hundred MGD.
2:44
Ultimately, the council voted to
2:46
approve signing on to the plant to
2:48
the tune of half a million dollars,
2:50
all to reserve Kyle's spot in line.
2:52
Y'all look like y'all are taking the
2:53
last 10%, so congratulations to
2:55
you guys.
2:56
Now, city officials and residents
2:58
are becoming skeptical of the
2:59
timeline and efficacy of the plans
3:01
for the desalination plant.
3:03
And as some city users are paying
3:04
over $300 a month for
3:06
water already, worries over
3:08
the cost of the pipeline needed to
3:10
actually get this water to Kyle are
3:12
growing.
3:14
That was KUT's Hayes County reporter
3:16
Lee Walden, who is with us now in
3:18
the studio for more.
3:19
Lee, thanks for being here.
3:20
Thanks for having me.
3:21
So tell us, where does the situation
3:23
currently stand?
3:24
Yeah, so the fellow we just heard
3:26
from there, Travis Pruski, who was
3:28
the chief operating officer for the
3:30
Nueces River Authority, he actually
3:32
resigned, alleging that
3:33
there was, you
3:35
know, a little bit of falsified
3:37
information about the financing and
3:39
water availability from the Nuece
3:41
River Authority against the
3:43
executive director there.
3:44
And since then, they
3:46
have been...
3:47
Dealing with a little bit
3:49
of trepidation on this project,
3:51
most recently, Greg Abbott has
3:53
put four new board members onto
3:55
the board for the new Racist River
3:56
Authority, and it's lost a lot of
3:58
faith for cities like Kyle,
4:00
who have invested money in this
4:01
project that was ambitious to begin
4:03
with and operating under
4:05
the idea that this relatively
4:07
small and rule agency
4:09
would be able to take it on.
4:11
You mentioned that some people are
4:12
starting to get worried that this
4:13
water might never materialize.
4:15
Who have you heard from?
4:17
Yeah, I've heard from residents
4:18
within Kyle, but I've also heard
4:19
directly from Kyle's mayor,
4:21
Yvonne Flores-Kale, said that this
4:23
is a project she was worried about
4:25
from the beginning before she was
4:26
even elected.
4:27
This was raising alarm bells for
4:29
her.
4:30
Let's hear a little bit.
4:33
I don't think this is a good idea.
4:35
There's not enough solid
4:38
information. There's no enough,
4:40
to me,
4:42
it almost seemed like a Ponzi
4:43
scheme.
4:44
So she spoke on this
4:46
proposal when it first came up in
4:47
October of last year.
4:49
And since then, she hasn't really,
4:51
the faith in this project hasn't
4:52
materialized for her.
4:54
So initially, it was a kind of a
4:56
rushed decision in her eyes.
4:57
The city signed on after a 30 minute
4:59
presentation from Travis
5:01
Prusky there.
5:02
And since them, yeah,
5:04
it's just a project that hasn't,
5:06
really seems solidified, hasn't
5:08
built the kind of trust that for so
5:10
much money, you would think public
5:12
officials would be rooting for at
5:13
this point.
5:14
Um, so she's also worried because
5:16
the city of Kyle has already put
5:18
down a quarter of a million dollars,
5:19
$250,000 signed on last
5:21
year, and they're anticipated to put
5:23
down another quarter of a million
5:24
this fall just to keep
5:26
their spot in line.
5:27
So this is just to reserve future
5:29
water from this desalination
5:31
plant.
5:33
Okay, you've also you have reported
5:34
on how expensive water has
5:37
become in some parts of Kyle.
5:38
Tell us more about that one
5:39
Yeah, thank you.
5:41
Water in Kyle has grown a lot more
5:43
expensive.
5:45
So for inner-city limits
5:46
users, the water rates last
5:48
fall jumped up 20%, and
5:50
for out-of-city limits users 77%.
5:54
This doesn't totally encapsulate
5:56
even just this project.
5:57
It's a lot of different things.
5:58
They're spending a lot money in Kyle
6:00
on water. People say that there's no
6:02
cheap water anymore in the Hill
6:03
Country, which is true.
6:05
But people like the mayor argue that
6:07
there is cheaper water options
6:09
than projects like this,
6:12
which is piping water all the way up
6:13
from Corpus Christi into their town.
6:16
What do we know so far about how
6:17
this project has contributed to
6:19
increased water bill, specifically
6:20
in Kyle?
6:21
Yeah, we don't know so much on
6:23
how much this project specifically
6:25
has increased water bills.
6:27
Probably not that much because Kyle
6:29
has a lot of
6:30
water projects going on.
6:31
One of them is with water
6:34
from the Carrizo-Wilcox
6:36
Aquifer, which is only about 50
6:38
to 80 miles away from Kyle.
6:41
To build that infrastructure, to
6:42
build the pipes to bring water into
6:44
the city, it was a project
6:46
that took longer than anticipated
6:47
and cost more than anticipated.
6:49
And residents in Kyle are already
6:51
starting to pay it off, and it's
6:53
hurting their budgets.
6:54
This project is way more
6:56
ambitious, way further away, and
6:58
would take a lot more time,
7:00
presumably to actually deliver
7:02
any water to Kyle.
7:03
Yeah. And you spoke, the mayor had
7:05
something to say about this as well.
7:06
Let's hear that tape.
7:07
At some point, it's going to be
7:09
cheaper to go to HUB and put water
7:12
bottles on people's doors than
7:14
it's gonna be for us to bring
7:16
this DeSalle plant into
7:18
our city.
7:20
Okay, we have been speaking with Lee
7:22
Walden. She is KUT's Hayes
7:23
County reporter.
7:24
We're gonna have more about this
7:26
story in our podcast show notes and
7:28
at kut.org slash
7:30
signal. Lee, great to talk with you.
7:31
Thank you.
7:40
The Austin City Council could ask
7:42
voters this fall for money to tackle
7:44
parks, transportation and
7:46
cultural arts needs.
7:47
KUT's Luz Moreno Lozano reports
7:49
on the potential bond and
7:51
the division among the City Council
7:53
on whether this fall is the
7:55
right time.
7:56
Last month, the majority of the
7:58
Austin City Council directed staff
7:59
to create a bond package with a
8:01
focus on parks, transportation, and
8:03
cultural arts.
8:04
Staff responded with a plan that
8:06
would spend about $400 million.
8:08
But it's an asset that is coming
8:10
just a year after voters rejected
8:12
a property tax rate increase known
8:14
as Proposition Q, which would have
8:15
raised more than $100 million in
8:17
property tax revenue.
8:19
Councilmember Ryan Alter helped lead
8:21
the council effort to get a bond on
8:22
the ballot in November.
8:23
We have a lot of
8:26
deferred maintenance and just other
8:28
capital needs that ranges
8:30
from our parks to
8:33
our sidewalks and roadways.
8:36
They're just things that you have to
8:38
invest in as a growing city.
8:39
Councilmember Paige Ellis
8:40
understands the council needs to be
8:42
mindful of how a bond would impact
8:44
taxpayers, but says the city
8:46
needs to also consider long-term
8:48
investments.
8:49
The voter approved bond projects
8:51
are sometimes the only
8:53
chance that some neighborhoods are
8:55
going to get the improvements that
8:56
they desire.
8:57
So I'm focusing on parks,
9:00
active trails.
9:01
And libraries.
9:02
Through voter approved bonds, Austin
9:04
can borrow money to pay for large
9:05
projects like libraries, roads, and
9:07
parks.
9:08
The city uses a property tax
9:10
increase to repay the bond separate
9:12
from the taxes it pays for the
9:13
city's basic needs, like public
9:14
safety and homelessness.
9:17
And the focus on improving things
9:18
like parks has some Austinites
9:20
excited about the possibility.
9:22
Members of the Zilker 351
9:24
group say they would support a parks
9:26
bond in hopes of restoring the at
9:27
Barking Springs.
9:29
That's the free side of Barton
9:30
Springs Pool.
9:31
Fleetwood Jacobs is a nonprofit's
9:33
executive director.
9:34
It will improve
9:37
our water quality in
9:39
one of the most heavily used
9:41
swimming areas.
9:43
It will stabilize
9:45
an eroding shoreline.
9:47
It will increase access
9:49
and safety.
9:51
And importantly,
9:53
it will preserve the natural
9:55
character.
9:56
Of barking springs.
9:57
She says the project would also add
9:59
more appropriate places for people
10:00
to relax, like benches and picnic
10:02
tables.
10:03
Jacob says it's a project that has
10:04
been needed for quite some time.
10:06
It was approved by city council in
10:08
2009 in the Barton Springs pool
10:10
master plan.
10:11
And it's just been sitting here
10:13
waiting for funding for
10:15
that many years.
10:17
And every year that we don't do
10:19
something about it, this just gets
10:20
worse and worse.
10:22
The group is even willing to help
10:23
raise matching funds if the city
10:25
adds the $3 million project
10:27
as part of a new bond.
10:29
Councilmember Mike Siegel says these
10:30
tangible projects are why he thinks
10:32
voters will be with another ask
10:34
for more money at the ballot box.
10:36
You're going to see your park
10:38
bathroom get repaired.
10:39
You're going see your local pool
10:41
get a new shade structure.
10:43
You're gonna see the acquisition of
10:45
land in a part of town that doesn't
10:47
otherwise have a park.
10:48
And I think that's a lot different
10:49
than what voters were asked to
10:51
approve with the tax rate election,
10:54
which was more of a generalized
10:55
investment in our general fund.
10:57
But not everyone agrees it's the
10:59
right time to ask voters for a bond.
11:01
Mayor Kirk Watson is leading that
11:03
charge against the bond.
11:04
He supports park improvements,
11:06
libraries, and bike lanes, and
11:07
understands a city has many needs.
11:10
But he questions the timing,
11:11
especially so soon after the failure
11:13
of the tax rate election prop queue,
11:15
which he calls a TRE.
11:16
The city had needs last year,
11:19
it had needs when voters rejected
11:22
the TRE.
11:24
It will have needs in 2028.
11:27
The existence of needs
11:30
doesn't eliminate
11:31
our responsibility
11:33
to govern responsibly.
11:36
And he says yes, a bond and a
11:38
property tax election are different
11:39
revenue generators, but the money
11:41
would still come from the same
11:43
place.
11:43
The money coming out
11:45
of the taxpayer's pocket,
11:48
the pocket is the same.
11:51
And the TRE was
11:53
a direct statement to
11:55
us about responsibility
11:58
with regard to spending
11:59
and by the way,
12:02
there has been things change that
12:04
impact that pocket.
12:06
People's pockets are
12:08
shallower.
12:08
City staff have suggested the
12:10
council only consider a bond of no
12:11
more than $400 million,
12:13
but staff also recommended waiting
12:15
until 2028 to allow
12:17
the city to spend more of the money
12:19
left from the bonds passed in
12:20
previous years.
12:23
City staff will come back in July
12:24
with a potential package.
12:25
The city council has until August to
12:27
decide whether to take that to
12:28
voters in November.
12:30
I'm Luz Moreno Lozano in Austin.
12:39
And here are a few headlines
12:41
for your Wednesday.
12:43
Camp Mystic has filed for chapter 11
12:45
bankruptcy.
12:46
That's after months of
12:47
investigations and multiple lawsuits
12:49
filed by the families of those who
12:50
died in last year's deadly July
12:52
4th floods.
12:53
We have more reporting at kut.org.
12:57
Also, the statesman is reporting a
12:59
rat infestation at St. David's
13:01
Hospital in South Austin.
13:03
That problem has forced the kitchen
13:04
to close and.
13:06
It was discovered after construction
13:07
began on the hospital's new
13:09
expansion project.
13:11
And Mexico has their final group
13:13
stage World Cup match that's tonight
13:15
at 8 p.m.
13:16
Against Chechia, where arch
13:18
parties are happening across the
13:19
city.
13:20
And previous Mexico games have drawn
13:21
thousands around town to
13:23
packed venues and bars.
13:25
We're going to have a link to more
13:26
about Mexico's avid fan base
13:28
here in Austin, in today's
13:30
podcast, Show Notes, and at
13:32
KUT.
13:33
We're coming up on a break, but we
13:35
have more, and if it's
13:37
the lunch hour, you're in for a
13:39
particular treat coming up next.
13:41
That's right here on Austin
13:43
Signal.
14:00
This is Austin Signal, welcome
14:02
back.
14:03
Austin is a foodie town
14:05
between the James Beard Award
14:07
winners, TikTok influencers,
14:09
and Michelin stars.
14:10
It's getting harder to find an open
14:12
table.
14:13
And according to one person who
14:14
wrote to KUT's ATXplain project,
14:17
all this new fancy food has
14:19
people eating less of a Texas
14:21
staple.
14:22
KUT Ben Philpott looked into
14:24
the possible disappearance of
14:26
a golden fried icon.
14:28
For this story we're
14:30
going to talk about a time when
14:31
Austin was just better,
14:33
you know, before you moved here.
14:35
No, no, just, just kidding.
14:37
Just kidding.
14:37
We're going to go back to a time
14:38
when a pounded slab of meat
14:40
battered and deep fried ruled
14:43
the landscape.
14:44
That's right.
14:45
This story is about chicken fried
14:46
steak.
14:48
Now, for some of you, your stomach
14:49
muscles just tightened as
14:51
a picture of the gravy covered
14:52
yumminess popped into your head.
14:54
For others, you may
14:56
have never eaten it.
14:58
That suspected increase
15:00
in those never eating it is
15:02
exactly what led Chris Simoes to
15:04
AT Explained.
15:05
So my question is why don't
15:07
people eat chicken fried steak
15:08
anymore?
15:09
Now, Chris kind of already has his
15:10
own answer to this.
15:12
He has been in Austin since the
15:13
early 90s.
15:14
He says iconic places that served up
15:16
giant pieces of fried goodness
15:18
just aren't around anymore.
15:20
Threadgills is gone.
15:22
Nighthawk is gone, and when I was
15:24
a kid, it was so prevalent you could
15:25
find it at seemingly almost every
15:27
convenient food location, as well
15:29
as in high school.
15:31
There were only two things you could
15:32
get every single day.
15:33
One of them was a hamburger, and the
15:35
other was chicken fried steak.
15:37
That's right, folks.
15:38
The streets of Austin were paved in
15:39
battered cube steak, the kind of
15:41
fried delight you got at places like
15:43
Lone Star Cafe.
15:44
You love those chicken fried steaks
15:46
and you're crazy about the chili and
15:48
you drank a lot of Lone Star
15:49
Listenin' to Willie We've been
15:51
cookin' in the Texas way for
15:52
fifteen years LoneStar Cafe
15:56
Remember that place?
15:57
There were several locations, but
15:59
there was one also on South Lamar
16:00
near Ben White, which is now
16:02
a pay way.
16:04
Well, a permanently closed pay
16:06
way, either way chicken fried steak
16:08
is of course not on the
16:10
menu.
16:11
And it's not like you're going to
16:12
find chicken fried steak on the
16:13
regular menu at Austin's James
16:15
Beard or Michelin star winning
16:17
restaurants.
16:18
No, it's too fancy there.
16:20
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Chicken fried steak
16:21
was a very, uh,
16:22
inexpensive cut of meat.
16:24
It was breaded, it was fried,
16:26
and then it was served up and it was
16:27
inexpensive. I'm not paying $25 for
16:29
a chicken fried steak and that's
16:31
what it is today.
16:32
So I don't think you can still find
16:33
a $7 Chicken Fried Steak.
16:34
I do hate to burst Chris's bubble,
16:37
but you can't get anything for
16:39
seven bucks anymore.
16:40
And maybe that's part of the reason
16:41
why you can find chicken fried
16:43
steak. It's just not fancy
16:45
enough.
16:46
Austin is no longer only a Tex-Mex
16:48
and barbecue town.
16:49
It's a big city with big city
16:51
restaurants
16:52
This is the best Viet Cajun crawfish
16:54
that you're going to find in Austin,
16:55
Texas and they only have two
16:57
weekends left.
16:58
Jane Coe has watched Austin's
17:00
food scene grow up,
17:02
or I guess as she would say, glow
17:03
up.
17:04
I'm considered the OG food blogger
17:06
in Austin, Texas, and voted best
17:07
local food blog for several years.
17:09
I started food blogging in college
17:10
in 2010, and for over a decade
17:12
now I've featured over a hundred...
17:14
Her Taste of Coco social media
17:16
accounts have hundreds of thousands
17:18
of followers.
17:19
It's been very exciting to see
17:21
the City of Austin's palette expand
17:23
to so many different cuisines
17:25
that would have never worked before,
17:28
and seeing the city.
17:29
Hungry for more.
17:30
Jane is Taiwanese-American and grew
17:31
up in Houston.
17:32
She moved to Austin in 2007 to
17:34
go to UT, and when she first got
17:36
here, she says it was slim pickings
17:38
on the food scene, especially if you
17:40
wanted Asian food.
17:41
There was no Asian food at all.
17:43
I think there was like one sushi
17:44
restaurant on West Campus back then,
17:47
and it wasn't great.
17:49
So it's been very exciting to see
17:50
the broadened horizon of Asian food
17:52
here in town.
17:53
The expansion of the food scene
17:55
followed the exponential growth of
17:57
Austin itself, but Jane
17:59
thinks the elevation of food really
18:01
happened because of the pandemic.
18:03
Lots of restaurants went out of
18:04
business, but afterwards the
18:06
places that survived, along with
18:08
new ones, were ready to take some
18:10
risks.
18:10
She says Austinites, out of their
18:12
homes for the first time in months,
18:14
were also ready to try something
18:15
new.
18:16
And trendy food led to trendy
18:18
people talking about trendy food,
18:20
which led to more trendy things
18:22
happening and more trendy people
18:24
moving here to do those trendy
18:26
things.
18:27
What's that trendy thing on the
18:28
weekends now where you like coffee
18:29
and chill? That's like the hot
18:30
thing.
18:31
I'm in my fifties.
18:32
I don't do cool things, cool, trendy
18:34
things anymore.
18:34
It's like hundreds of people that
18:35
come out and sit in cold plunges to
18:38
drink coffee and chill.
18:41
Hundreds of people on the weekend.
18:43
Those people are not eating chain
18:44
fries, I can tell you that.
18:46
Yeah, I can tell you that.
18:47
Those people are not eating chicken
18:50
fried steak.
18:51
Probably.
18:52
But the dish hasn't disappeared.
18:55
It's still a favorite at places like
18:56
Moonshine downtown and the iconic
18:58
Hoovers on Manor Road.
19:00
So you can find it if you want to,
19:02
or maybe I should say,
19:04
if you need to.
19:06
Food fills a need, right?
19:09
You're hungry, you need fuel, you
19:11
eat. You're sad, mad,
19:12
excited, maybe a little drunk, you
19:14
ate.
19:15
But food is also a way to
19:17
connect with friends across the
19:19
table or with memories miles
19:21
and miles away.
19:23
Like for me, I grew up in the deep
19:25
South and a food staple there is the
19:26
biscuit. My mom made them from
19:28
scratch all the time.
19:30
When I moved here 20 years ago, it
19:32
was pretty hard to find a good
19:33
biscuit in Austin.
19:34
But as the city grew, so did the
19:36
options.
19:37
My coworker, Saida Carrillo, first
19:39
moved here in 2008 and
19:41
she had a hard time finding the
19:42
kinds of foods that smelled like
19:44
home. I was really craving this
19:47
food that's called Haleem, which is
19:49
like this slow-cooked dish
19:51
with lentils and beef.
19:53
And it's usually like a thing that's
19:55
on the stove all day long and you
19:56
smell it and it smells amazing and
19:58
you can't wait to eat it.
19:59
Saeeda is Pakistani-American.
20:01
She was born in the U.S.
20:02
And grew up in Houston with the
20:04
smells and tastes of her mother's
20:06
traditional Pakistani cooking.
20:08
So it was natural that she would
20:09
look for a taste of home.
20:11
It was hard to find in Austin.
20:13
Indian restaurants, plenty of those.
20:15
Pakistani restaurants, not too
20:17
many.
20:18
You know, it's probably like,
20:20
if you're really craving a
20:22
pizza from a certain place and
20:23
somebody's like, oh, well, there's
20:25
like, Papa John's right there, no
20:27
shade to Papa John, but maybe
20:29
that's not the specific type of
20:30
pizza you were craving.
20:31
She knows people mean well, and she
20:33
does like Indian food.
20:35
However, there are subtle, but
20:36
important distinctions.
20:38
If you grew up with a specific food
20:40
cooked by a specific person, your
20:42
parent or grandparents,
20:43
something close just isn't close
20:45
enough.
20:46
So why not just head over to her
20:48
mom's house and have her cook up
20:49
something.
20:50
Okay, Ben.
20:52
If you make me cry, then we
20:54
got to go get dessert.
20:55
I mentioned Saeeda grew up in
20:57
Houston, but her mom and dad are
20:58
from Pakistan.
21:00
They were here on temporary visas.
21:02
Eventually, the visas expired.
21:05
Then they were long expired.
21:07
Her folks tried to get their
21:08
immigration status fixed.
21:10
They worked within the system, but
21:12
eventually they got a final no.
21:14
They were forced to leave the U.S.
21:16
Saeed was 17.
21:19
I was just about to start college
21:20
and so I ended up staying back here
21:23
when I was very young and
21:26
have been here, you know, kind
21:27
of in this long distance situation
21:29
with them ever since.
21:31
And so, yeah, that's why
21:33
my mom is on
21:35
the other side of the world and I
21:37
miss her cooking very much.
21:38
Her mom and dad are still overseas.
21:40
They still can't come back.
21:42
Which really sucked when she got
21:44
married last year.
21:45
Beyond the obvious of her parents
21:47
only being able to watch the
21:49
ceremony via Zoom, she didn't
21:51
have her family around her to fix a
21:53
traditional Pakistani meal for the
21:54
reception.
21:54
Oh, thank you.
21:55
Do you take a picture of me
21:56
scooping?
21:57
Okay.
21:58
But then, she found
22:00
it.
22:01
I've got some rice on my pants.
22:04
That's okay.
22:05
Here we go, what are we eating
22:06
today, say?
22:07
We are eating chicken
22:09
biryani and
22:11
butter chicken.
22:12
Where's it from?
22:13
Oh, this is from Zavia Grill on
22:15
Palmer Lane, which is my
22:17
favorite Pakistani restaurant in
22:19
Austin.
22:20
We set out the food and the room is
22:21
filled with the smell of spice
22:23
and sauce.
22:25
And just like that, Saeeda is
22:26
transported back to her mom's
22:28
kitchen growing up.
22:30
Yum!
22:31
Smells so good.
22:33
So you know, maybe it's okay that
22:35
Austin's food scene has changed.
22:37
It might mean that my question-asker
22:39
Chris has a harder time finding
22:41
chicken fried steak.
22:42
But it also means that Saeedah can
22:44
find a Pakistani place.
22:46
And in a city this big, if you
22:48
really do need a chicken fried
22:49
steak, you can absolutely find one.
22:52
Which got me thinking about the lack
22:53
of restaurants that serve it.
22:55
And I think that's my answer to the
22:56
question of why people don't eat it
22:58
anymore.
22:59
The city is grown.
23:01
The population is different.
23:02
And it's just fallen out of style.
23:05
A heartbreaking example of that,
23:07
Hoover's on Mainer Road.
23:09
After almost 28 years, the
23:11
iconic home cooking restaurant has
23:13
closed its dining room.
23:15
For now, they will still run a
23:17
limited catering and to-go menu a
23:19
few days a week.
23:20
But the chance to sit with friends
23:21
and talk at a table over a chicken
23:23
fried steak has ended.
23:26
All right, here we go. Chicken fried
23:27
steak.
23:30
Oh my god.
23:33
There you go.
23:34
Luckily. Me and the people in this
23:36
story were able to meet up and do
23:38
just that before it closed.
23:44
They haven't found the Hoover's
23:46
delicious chicken fry steak to eat
23:47
apparently.
23:49
Each of us sat at Hoover's with a
23:50
plate of crispy fried goodness,
23:52
topped with gravy and accompanied by
23:54
classic side dishes of mashed
23:56
potatoes, green beans, fried okra,
23:58
and more.
23:59
It is so it's so flaky
24:01
which is so surprising and i
24:03
love the gravy and of course
24:05
the fried okra it is delicious
24:07
And if that makes you hungry, go
24:09
find a chicken fried steak this
24:10
weekend.
24:11
It's out there.
24:13
You just have to want it.
24:16
I'm Ben Philpott in Austin.
24:18
You
24:21
And you can find more of our
24:23
ATXplained stories on the ATXPlained
24:25
podcast, and you can ask your own
24:27
question about Austin at
24:29
kut.org.
24:31
That is it for today's show.
24:33
We're going to have more about the
24:34
stories we shared with you in the
24:36
podcast show notes and at kutt.org
24:39
slash signal.
24:41
Rayna Sevilla is our technical
24:42
director, Alexandra Hart is
24:44
our producer, and Kristen Cabrera
24:46
is our managing producer.
24:49
I'm your host Jerry Keechanal,
24:50
Austin's Signal will be back
24:51
tomorrow.
24:52
We will talk to you then.
24:53
Have a great day!