A friend joined me at the new wine bar at
Cissi's Market (1400 S. Congress, 225-0521,
www.cissismarket.com) early one evening last week, and we were very favorably impressed. Everything we sampled from Executive Chef
Deegan McClung's savory menu was tasty and inventive (try the excellent Breakfast All Day Salad, a cheese plate, or a Bat City Club Sandwich), and pastry chef
Faith Chan's Belgian Ale Doughnuts are simply divine! While I expect the good food served in the new seating area with free Wi-Fi will increase the daytime traffic at Cissi's, this place really strikes me as the perfect spot for noshing and drinking wine either before or after an event at the nearby
Long Center. Try that during the holidays, and see if you don't agree... Speaking of new things in the vicinity of the Long Center, a family-owned outfit from South Bend, Ind., has opened a branch of its
Fiddler's Hearth Public House (301 Barton Springs Rd., 535-5008,
www.fiddlershearth.com) in the former Bennigan's location. The Austin branch of the
Meehan family hopes to develop a following by offering a family-friendly atmosphere, a space dedicated to community meetings, and traditional pub fare with a Celtic influence. The Guinness is on tap; the soccer, Wi-Fi, and live music are free; and the business model is green. What's not to like?... Popcorn lovers with a taste for exotic flavors will want to check out the new
Reel Popcorn outlet (9600 S. I-35, 280-7335) overlooking the bucolic Grove at
Southpark Meadows, right next to
Amy's Ice Creams. The popcorn makes a great snack to nibble while shopping or listening to music in the Grove, and the shop also offers festive seasonal tins to fill for gifts... In response to customer requests, the folks at
Changos Taqueria (3023 Guadalupe, 3005 S. Lamar) have added some popular items from the menu of their upscale sibling restaurants,
Manuel's. Check out the corn soup, the scallop ceviche, the distinctive grilled flautas, or a savory
tinga de pollo chipotle paired with Changos' fresh, homemade tortillas and a refreshing
agua fresca... If good tamales are an important component to holiday celebrations but you've run out of time to make them yourself, chef
Julio Dominguez at
Santa Rita Tex Mex Cantina (1206 W. 38th, 419-7482) is ready to lend a hand. His delectable, custom-made pork tamales with adobo sauce and chicken tamales with tomatillo-serrano salsa are $18 a dozen and available from the restaurant on 24-hour notice from now through Dec. 24... Unrepentant beer snobs looking for info on new beers released for the holiday season will want to check the popular blog
www.i-love-beer.blogspot.com, where my
Chronicle colleague
Lee Nichols has the scoop about what you'll want to be quaffing just now... Austin pastry chef couple
Philip and
Callie Speer got an early Christmas present when daughter
Lucia Rose Speer arrived on Dec. 3. The petite confection weighed in at 5 pounds, 6 ounces and was 18 inches long. Happy holidays to them all!