Counter 3.Five.VII remains the best restaurant in Austin

I ate at this wonderful restaurant twice a while back, so I had to return while in town to see if the chefs were still hitting the same high marks.  After a seven-course meal, I'm happy to report that the food is even better than it was before.

You sit at a counter that wraps around the kitchen.  In front of you, half a dozen or so chefs work to create the dishes as you watch.  Applying modernist cuisine techniques to mostly (but not entirely, which is fine) locally sourced ingredients, the chefs create dishes that are whimsical, beautiful, and always delicious.

Tonight's menu included a foie dish, and its preparation was largely traditional--except that the perfectly cooked piece of foie sat atop sweet potatoes in a light broth.

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I don't like sweet potatoes and never order them, but because I trust these chefs, I tried a bite.  It was delicious.  More to the point, the sweet potatoes provided the sweet and the broth the acid that one expects from a foie preparation.  The combination was delicious.

An item the chefs tried out tonight--it was not yet on the menu--was a cheese fondue using two skewers of mushrooms and one of perfect country ham, all sitting in a fontina cheese thick foam.

Fun and incredibly tasty, this dish was a pleasure to eat.

The dessert, always a treat here, included an arugula sorbet.

Yeah, I know how it sounds, but it was delicious, as were all the other elements on the plate, including the large and thin macaron on which the sorbet sat.

Do yourself a favor and go eat at Counter 3.Five.VII.