We’ve been dedicated fans of Dai Due from the get-go when Jesse Griffiths, pre-brick and mortar, would set up shop at the farmer’s market in Republic Square when we lived downtown (overlooking the square!) for two years. The food was legit and often felt like we were blissfully eating from the back of a chuckwagon (I’ve included a ton of photos from the old days down below). Dai Due quickly became one of our top-five favorite places to eat (we often ate there every week). While slinging chow at the market, Jesse put out a gorgeous cookbook where the recipes essentially start with “First, grab your gun.”
Jesse’s move into a real space in East Austin was bittersweet: bitter to lose the weekly infusion of fantasticness at the market but sweet to see him succeed and take his art to the next level. And when he moved, he didn’t just simply take his farmer’s market recipes and start there, he went whole hog with a full dinner menu and mixed drinks (thankfully his market stalwarts make an appearance on the breakfast/lunch menus). He was quickly rewarded with Bon Appetit naming his storefront one of 2015’s bet new restaurants, GQ naming his place one of the 25 most outstanding restaurants of 2015, and Huffington Post listing his fare as one of the country’s best brunches, among many other accolades. The world now knows of Jesse’s magic.
Dai Due is a carnivore’s delight, and the restaurant includes a butcher’s shop, so leave the vegans at home. A friend remarked how one day, while eating breakfast, staff hangrolled a pig carcass across the restaurant to the butchery. Jesse is up front on where his ingredients and food come from and hosts hunts across Texas. He is unquestionably one of Austin’s culinary gems.
web&where: interwebs; 2406 manor road; menu; reservations
what’s the deal? upscale chuckwagon fare; table service
overall: food*****; drink***; atmosphere***; service***; instagrammability***
cost: $$$$$
does it scramble? Yessir!
our scale:
– meh [think twice]
* OK [it’ll get the job done]
** good [solid neighborhood joint]
*** damn good [we’ll definitely be back]
**** yippity-yikes that was amazeballs [fantastic; one of the best]
***** holy sh!t [transcendental; best of the best]
Wild Boar Lettuce Wraps
Tallow coffee with chile and cinnamon
Dry-aged Wagyu Double Cheeseburger
Nicoise Salad
Pastrami Sandwich
old shots from the farmer’s market days:
Jesse signing our copy of his cookbook
austin wanderlist 
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