Chad Dolezal, who opened the restaurant in 2014 along with Victor Farnsworth, draws on Tex-Mex, eastern European and other cuisines to craft The Hightower’s menu.[/caption]The Hightower, located on the east side of downtown Austin, is named after co-owner and chef Chad Dolezal’s mother—her maiden name was Hightower.
A look at Dolezal’s family tree provides a glimpse into the influences at his 3-year-old restaurant, where the menu is a union of the Scottish and English heritage from his mother, Sheila Hightower Dolezal, the Czech flavors from his father and the Tex-Mex cuisine he grew up with, Dolezal said.
The restaurant calls its fare New Texas Cuisine: Its menu harks back to the traditional foods of Texas but also integrates other regional and local flavors, he said.
Dolezal, who owns the business with General Manager Victor Farnsworth, said the primary impetus for opening The Hightower was to create a dining space the neighborhood could enjoy.
“[We said,] ‘Let’s just try to build a place that everyone feels comfortable in,’” Dolezal said of his conversations with Farnsworth when the two were considering going into business together.
On the culinary side, he said The Hightower explores “the identity of cooking in Texas.”
Growing up in Dallas, Dolezal said his family would eat goulash one night and enchiladas the next.
That eclectic mix of cooking influences “interweaves itself throughout the menu,” he said, such as in the gnocchi. The classic potato pasta dish is topped with a pozole verde sauce, hominy and greens for an infusion of Mexican zest.
“So you still get all the elements of a traditional pozole,” Dolezal said. “Instead it really feels like we made it our own, and it’s something we’re proud of.”
The Corned Beef Short Rib tacos are served on sourdough tortillas and sprinkled with a sauerkraut slaw.
Down to the Mexican crema it uses in its zucchini dish, Dolezal said The Hightower makes everything in-house. Its ever-evolving menu features seasonal foods, and the restaurant works with local farms to source its dishes.
He said the restaurant encourages an ego-free atmosphere, but The Hightower will not shy away from responding to cultured palates as Austin has become more of a foodie town.
“I think there needs to be more to it now,” he said. “Austin diners are expecting a little bit more heart and soul in food than in the past. I think there are a lot of places stepping up to that challenge.”
The Corned Beef Short Rib tacos ($16) combine co-owner and chef Chad Dolezal’s British and Czech heritage with Tex-Mex influences. The short ribs are brined for seven days, rubbed in sorghum and mustard, and roasted. They are served on homemade sourdough tortillas and topped with sauerkraut, an apricot and mezcal puree, sunchoke chips, and other garnishes.[/caption]A Texas smorgasbord of flavors
The Corned Beef Short Rib tacos ($16) combine co-owner and chef Chad Dolezal’s British and Czech heritage with Tex-Mex influences. The short ribs are brined for seven days, rubbed in sorghum and mustard, and roasted. They are served on homemade sourdough tortillas and topped with sauerkraut, an apricot and mezcal puree, sunchoke chips, and other garnishes.
