the peached tortilla

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Eric Silverstein quit lawyering in the midwest, moved to Austin, and opened The Peached Tortilla food truck in 2010, slinging up Southern-Asian comfort food. “Hmmmm…” you may be hmmmming: “Southern. Asian. Silverstein?” However, this is home cooking for Silverstein, who was raised by a Chinese-American mother and a Jewish-American father in Tokyo and Atlanta. Since he opened his trailer in 2010, the Peached empire has grown to include brick-and-mortar on Burnet in 2014, the Peached Social House in 2016, a spot at the airport in 2018, and Bar Peached and a cookbook in 2019. The menus feature BBQ, Japanese, Korean, and Southern dishes, sometimes alone, but often fused to a fun and tasty effect. Matched with the food are delicious concoctions conjured by the resident mixologist Kevin Kok.

The Burnet brick-n-mortar is cozy but bright and cheery with a Southern vibe spiced with pops of orange and yellow. Waitstaff are friendly and helpful, especially with the more inventive dishes which require some instruction. The cocktails are about flavor rather than impressing you with a list of ingredients you’ve never heard of before. Take, for example, the excellent Margarita de Peached (habanero-infused tequila, Thai basil, Cointreau, and lime juice; $9, $6hh): It’s a well-made margarita with enough habanero to let you know it’s there. A friend swears their gin and tonic is the best in town, a smokey-colored gin topped with housemade tonic ($8). The Hill Country Snakebite (Fireman’s #4 draft, Eastciders original dry cider, and blackberry liqueur; $8) is a delicious Central Texas version of a shandy. The Bump and Run (gin, lemon juice, blueberries, and brut; $10) is also a fun and tasty gulp.

The Peached Tortilla divides its dinner menu into greens, plates, street-to-table, and shareables (plus a full page of dietary restrictions options). The Asian Pear Miso Salad (baby kale and mixed greens, overnight pear kimchi, radish duo, herbs, miso pear vinaigrette; $9) is healthy, tasty, and highly instagrammable. If you’re feeling more southern, there’s the savory Charred Brussels (with bacon jam, Parmesan, and lemon oil; $8) to enjoy with a cocktail. Less green appetizers are under Plates, including one of our favorites, the unusual Mom’s Toast (chopped shrimp, ground pork, gochujang chili sauce, and fresh herbs; $8), a piece of toast coated in the ingredients above and pan-fried into an exotic Wienerschnitzel. The Pork Belly Buns (Vietnamese braised pork belly, green onions, cucumbers, Chinese BBQ sauce; $9) are another popular choice (sub-able with fried tofu). The bar has a different menu than the dining room, but if you are extra sweet, you can order the Blistered Shishito Peppers (with kewpie mayo and salt; $5). The bride, who knows Shishito from Shinola, says these are the best in town.

Street to Table features street food, including tacos (pick three of Banh Mi, Brisket, or Crunchy Fish; $13) and the Japajam Burger (tomato jam, 6 oz. all-beef patty, pepper jack cheese, fried egg, tempura onion strings, and Chinese BBQ sauce with fries; $13). Shareables are main courses, such as the Dan Dan Noodles (five-spice pork, chili peanut sauce, and cucumbers; $14) and the fiery slurp-it-to-the-last-drop Malaysian Laksa Bowl (poached shrimp, tonkatsu noodles, curry seafood broth, bean sprouts, and 45-minute egg; $14). For dessert one evening, we enjoyed the Asian Movie Night (popcorn ice cream made exclusive for Peached by Amy’s, Asian caramel, and rice puffs; $8), a salty-savory-sweet way to end the evening.

The Peached Tortilla has a low-key, friendly atmosphere meant for sharing fusion fun with family and friends. Silverstein has tapped into his unique life story and transferred it comfortably and effortlessly into a place and onto every plate. It’s all quite peachy keen!

I wrote this review for the Allandale Neighbor.

web&where: interwebs; 5520 burnet road (parking is limited on-site, but is available across the street at Karavel Shoes after 6 pm); (512) 330-4439; reservations
what’s the deal? low-key Asian-Southern fusion; table service (also a trailer about town)
overall: *** (food***; drink***; atmosphere***; service***; instagrammability***)
cost: $$$

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]

each $ = $10; cost is based on a typical dinner entrée and appetizer (no drinks)

Margarita de Peached