BY EMILY PELLERIN PHOTOS BY PE TER TUNG
The warmest colors of the spectrum are classically identifiable with Southeast Asian beauty. Subdued yellows, vibrant saffrons, and the piercing red of Thai chili peppers. Each of these, recognizable in either the architecture, the flanking adornment of Thai King Rama IX’s portrait, or the presentations of edible artistry, contributes to the identity of the elevated deliciousness, as its name denotes, of Sway modern Thai restaurant—Austin’s freshest façade on the foodie front. When you’ve got a kitchen team headed by acclaimed Executive Chef Rene Ortiz, Chef de Cuisine Alexis Chong, Food & Wine’s “Best New Pastry Chef” Laura Sawicki and mixologist Nate Wells, there’s a certain level of splendor you’re expecting. And when this crew is in cahoots with restaurateurs Jesse Herman and Delfo Trombetta, there’s a certain level of splendor you’re going to get. Aside from Chong, who is a veteran of Shoreline Grill, each of these culinary virtuosos is of La Condesa renown. Sway, however, takes the La Condesa ideology of eco-conscious innovations on haute cuisine and removes it from downtown and from a familiar genre of cooking. Sway’s modern, hybrid cuisine bears inspiration from Australia’s take on Thai; Herman and Trombetta have both spent time in Australia and Thailand. “Some of the most innovative Thai food in the world is being cooked in Australia,” Herman proclaims, drawing a comparison between its ubiquity there and the ubiquity of Mexican food here in Austin. “Chef Ortiz,” Herman says, “worked under some of the most famous Australian-Thai chefs in Sydney and has continued to develop his craft.” The craftiness of Ortiz’ menu resonates both with those in tune with and un-introduced to Thai culture. Dishes include the likes of chili tamarind caramel chicken wings, flavored with ginger and Thai basil; crispy pork belly stir fry, made with glazed daikon and shitake mushrooms; Jungle Curry, employing Texas wagyu beef, eggplant, red chili and coconut cream; an intact fish, served with jasmine rice; seafood platters that feature prawn and lobster, to name a couple; and tamarind glazed beef fried rice, prepared with caramelized onions. These are just a few of the ambrosial items on the menu, which, if dependency on seasonality and locality come into their likely play, will be evolving with the availability of regional agriculture. Perhaps even more beautiful than its culinary concept is the mystical pulchritude of Sway’s architecture. The conceptual design rings familiar in its pastiche tendencies, though is entirely original in its attribution to traditional Thai culture. Beget by the team of Michael Hsu, vestiges of the firm’s Uchi, Olivia, and Fino designs, to name just a few, can be recognized in Sway’s building. There is ample use of natural light and deliberate use of space and natural materials, both in- and outdoors. The design grants a wealth of that natural light to the interior through windows, which, innovatively, even find themselves in the kitchen. The kitchen is a grand innovation in itself—it is an entirely open quadrant of the restaurant, set-up behind a bar top that patrons have the extreme
luxury of sitting at. Herman describes how the theatrics of the culinary arts are in themselves a show. Diners can watch, up close and personal, the evolution of their orders from conception to fruition to—most enjoyably—consumption. The grounds of the venue present an architectural dichotomy. From the street perspective, the corner lot at South 1st and Elizabeth Street seems to host a private garden. The fence-like façade barricades the public eye from its contents in an alluring, almost seductive display of deep gray cinderblock pores. Entering the premises is, in fact, very similar to setting foot in a private garden. A graveled area with chairs curves closely around the building to the spirit garden. This intimate area houses one table of communal seats, a Thai spirit house—complete with spirit guardian—imported from Thailand and a canopy (by summertime, at least) of Texas wisteria. The location, in the heart of a burgeoning South Austin has, as Herman puts it, “become more of a restaurant destination.” With neighboring prodigies such as Lenoir and Elizabeth Street Café sharing the region with classic Austinite go-tos like Polvos, Sway is looking forward to having its own identity amongst a community of other restaurants. “It’s great to be around like-minded small business owners,” says Herman of the area. He does, however, appreciate the ability to reside in a stand-alone building. Coming from New York City venues and downtown Austin locales, it’s a refreshing accommodation to have the “experience completely defined by us,” Herman says. With Thai ideograms everywhere from the entryway to the restrooms, it’s an experience that, yes, is completely defined as uniquely “Sway.” Sway, as an idea, has been executed with a commendable comprehensiveness. A meticulous three years in the making, let us now relish in the nuances of cultural splendor, the graces of superb culinary talent, and the indulgences of a regionally unique flavor. ALM
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