Strip Mall Success - Sobani Restaurant and Wine Bar

Once again, we started with the best of intentions.  With family in town staying with us (the fun ones, so we’d been taking them all over town eating and drinking for days), we figured a low key night close to home would be smart.  I’d heard good things from someone whose opinion I trust about this new little place in a local strip mall, so I thought we’d give it a try.  Sobani is located in a strip center right outside of Costa Bella, one of most expensive gated waterfront communities in the Lakeway area, but the mall itself boasts a Dunkin Donuts and a new Sears store.  When we arrived, there were only three other cars in the parking lot.

Upon entering the restaurant, I was pleased to see that they had a separate wine bar area in addition to a dining room.  We were waiting on my other half to finish work and join us, so that was the perfect place to sit and have a glass of wine while we waited.  No pressure of being seated at a table with our incomplete party.  We settled in and were promptly greeted by the bartender, Eric.  We were the only ones in the establishment at the time but we felt very welcome and comfortable.  He gave us the menu and wine lists, which consisted of four separate sheets – a two page bottle list, a one page glass list, and the food menu.  It was a little cumbersome to have so much paper in front of us, but as we perused we grew excited at the prospect of so many varied and affordable wines.  Eric offered us tastes of the wines we were interested in and we each found a different wine by the glass to enjoy. 

The menu at Sobani hits all the fine dining standard dishes – pork belly, lamb shank, short ribs, duck, scallops, fish, and steak.  But what sets the menu apart are the preparations and accompaniments.  Chef Jon Gaboric is highly traveled, trained extensively in Germany, but also pulls in flavors from India and North Africa.  His dishes had seasonings that were familiar, but hard to place – harissa, coriander, curry.  Prominent but not overpowering.  His accompaniments included uncommon items such as spaetzle, fava beans, pickled vegetables, and fried beets.

As we waited for the last member of our party to arrive, I suggested ordering the fried cauliflower with a white anchovy caper dressing as an appetizer to share.  The presentation was not an overwhelming bowl of “deep-fried death” that is too often served, but a small stack of neatly sliced florets in a large white bowl with fat mild white anchovies encircling the cauliflower.  We each had a few bites and wiped up the anchovy-olive oily residual with a warm roll (served in a mini clay flower pot with soft herbed butter). 

My companion made the next selection, choosing a side of roasted peppers as a starter.  Eric replaced our appetizer plates and utensils and served us a bowl of small, tender orange and red sweet peppers with the perfect amount of char in a warm balsamic vinaigrette.  The best bite might have been the one nearest the stem where the tiny seeds gave an added texture and pop to the pepper’s fruity flesh. 

As we prepared for our final guest’s arrival and our next glass of wine, we pondered ordering a bottle to share.  There were several of interest so we asked Eric about the specific characteristics of a few bottles.  Eric is an enthusiastic aspiring wino, but does not have the knowledge yet to speak to many of the wines.  So he did exactly the right thing and brought out the chef and GM, Jon Gaboric, to talk to us.  Amusingly, Chef had not personally tasted the specific wine about which we inquired, but he did offer some other solid recommendations.  We chose a beautifully fruity central coast Pinot Noir from Santa Maria, CA.  Then an amazing thing happened. 

Let me preface by saying that Ben and I try to avoid the menu whenever possible.  We firmly believe that the chef knows what’s best on any given night, and there is no food we won’t try.  We love surprises and creativity and we’ve had our best dining experiences when the chef has completely taken control.  We often ask if the chef if he or she will go off menu and create a combination or special dish for us. 

Chef Gaboric asked what we were going to eat and we threw out a few ideas of things that sounded appetizing to us.  Then he asked us if he could simply prepare a few items for us, rather than us ordering off the menu.  Yes, he asked us!  Then he pulled about a bottle of albarino and said that a white would work better with the first course.  The pinot would work with a later course.  I liked where this was headed. 

As we sipped our albarino, Eric opened a bottle of cava and poured four glasses.  This is on chef, he said, to go with the first course.  Hmm, I thought the albarino was first…but who am I to question?  We were served a platter of fresh raw oysters simply served in their own liquor and topped with salmon roe and garnished with chervil.  The roe added some nice color to an otherwise monochromatic dish, and also added some creaminess and salt to the briny oysters.  He also served an optional mignonette which I tasted on its own (and with some of that wonderful bread roll with dipped in it).  I pondered with one of our guests, who is a French-trained chef himself, what the subtle heat in the mignonette might be.  He thought perhaps horseradish.  I thought srichacha or a Thai chili paste.  We were both wrong.   Harissa.  How fun!  And the fruitiness of the cava was a nice pairing with the spice of the condiment. 

The next dish presented was a tempura-fried crab claw over a clam dressing and dill tzatziki sauce.  Crab and tzatziki?  The sauce was reminiscent of a mild tartar sauce and was an ingenious pairing with the fried crab.  The bits of clam contrasted with the sumptuous crab and creamy sauce, and the acid of the albarino cut through the richness.  And excellent and creative dish. 

Our next course is always a crowd pleaser – pork fat.  The pork belly came out with a dark brown sear and a crispy skin with a melt-in-your-mouth center.  The seasoning was a dark, smoky, and slightly spicy coriander curry spice rub, and the pork was topped with pickled vegetables and a fried beet chip.  The pickled vegetables gave important contrast to the fatty meat.  Then East met West with the pork served over fava bean and spaetzle.  It was an exotic and daring play on the pork and worked well with the fruity California pinot. 

When the food is this good, we have trouble knowing when to stop.  It should have been time for dessert, but we wanted one more savory bite.   Chef obliged with a short rib served with mushrooms and braised onions and paired an inexpensive but perfect Spanish Rioja.  My favorite thing about this dish were the braised onions – an onion and a magnum of Barolo simmered down all day.  Incredible.

We were finally pushed over the top with dessert.  Thankfully this was shared one per couple.  A bittersweet Valrhona chocolate soufflé served with a round scoop of vanilla ice cream over berries.  Rarely are soufflés available, but they are one of my favorite desserts.  This was not sweet and cooked beautifully – crisp on top and gooey in the center with a dusting of confectioners sugar.  Chef offered a sip of tawny port to accompany it. 

Our guests raved that this was the best dining experience they’d had since arriving in Austin five days before.  We had done sushi, wild game, Mexican, and carnival fare, but this was their hands down favorite.  I agree.  None of us imagined that this talent existed just down the road from us in a nondescript strip mall.  Of course the experience was elevated by the presence and attention of Chef Gaboric, but I believe that ordering off menu would have also resulted in a superior meal.  Many thanks to Chef.  We will be back soon and are excited to share this gem with others.