Bacon-wrapped quail ($11.95) is grilled and stuffed with a jalapeno and goat cheese.[/caption]Wooden floors, walls and ceilings; large photos of the Pacific Northwest; an open-space dining area; totem-style artwork; a functional fireplace; and a beer brewery are all part of the aesthetic at North by Northwest Restaurant & Brewery on Slaughter Lane.
The local chain, which opened its Southwest Austin location in late August 2014 in the Parkside Village retail center, incorporates the look of Pacific Northwest lodges, Executive Chef George Powell said.
On the menu are Pacific Northwest staples such as duck, quail and salmon, Powell said. Grilled bacon-wrapped quail ($11.95) is stuffed with a jalapeno and goat cheese, and cedar plank salmon ($18.95) is served with a port wine demi-glaze, blue cheese, scalloped potatoes and sauteed spinach. At any given time, the restaurant has 16 to 18 in-house brewed beers, Head Brewer Hayden Winkler said.
Powell has been the executive chef of the restaurant chain since its original location opened in Northwest Austin in 1999.
North by Northwest Restaurant & Brewery opened in Southwest Austin in August 2014.[/caption]Restaurant General Manager Ben Bronson said staff considered downtown for a second location for years but decided the Circle C Ranch neighborhood was the better choice.
“We felt Circle C has a good neighborhood restaurant feel,” Bronson said. Powell said there was not much development around the original Northwest Austin location when it opened. But because the Greater Austin area has sprawled to Round Rock, it is now in a centralized location, he added.
“The same thing is going to happen here [at the Slaughter Lane location],” Powell said.
North by Northwest Restaurant & Brewery serves 16 to 18 house-brewed beers at a time, Head Brewer Hayden Winkler said.[/caption]How beer is brewed
North by Northwest Restaurant & Brewery makes its own beer. The entire three-week process, from milling the grains to serving the beer, is performed in-house, Head Brewer Hayden Winkler said. He added that four essential ingredients are needed to make beer: malt, water, hops and yeast.
- Malted barley shipped from Germany is stored in the silo outside the restaurant.
- The barley moves through a pipe from the silo to the mill indoors and is sometimes combined with other specialty grains depending on the beer being made.
- The grain mixture combines with water to convert starches inside the grain to sugar. The mixture is then filtered out.
- The filtered liquid is boiled while hops and spices are added for flavor.
- The liquid is cooled while yeast is introduced to ferment the sugar to alcohol. The fermentation lasts three weeks.
- The yeast is removed, and the liquid, now carbonated beer, is stored in serving tanks behind the bar.
- Beers range from “introductory” to more robust flavor, Winkler said.
Source: North by Northwest Restaurant & Brewery/Community Impact Newspaper
North by Northwest Restaurant & Brewery, 5701 W. Slaughter Lane
512-301-6969, www.nxnwbrew.com
Hours: Mon.-Thu. 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Fri. 11 a.m.-11 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m.-11 p.m., Sun. 10 a.m.-10 p.m.
