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fast moving and ever changing restaurants. For Cirkiel, his primary challenge was using fresh ingredients and knowing where they came from. He finds food that he knows is good for his customers, checking each one for quality, and sourcing only from the best farms. This way, he can ensure that all the food is healthy and real.
“I believe strongly in the fact that, culturally we should support those around us, and I think it starts with how we spend our money, how we donate, how we give. Those small decisions build a much better community”
Growing up in Austin, Cirkiel has always appreciated Austin’s food culture. “Austin’s kind of laid back, it doesn’t necessarily have such a stuffy attitude… historically, it's a very welcoming place,” says Cirkiel. Since he was brought up on a farm, his family often used what they had at home, which is how he picked up sustainable eating habits. For Cirkiel’s seafood restaurants that cannot be sourced from Austin, he gets fish from a small family distributor in Canada. “This way, it still maintains that small ethos of local, even if the actual product isn’t locally sourced,” says Cirkiel. Cirkiel’s travels across the world and his Austin roots have been the main influence for his restaurants. “I am constantly going to restaurants, to farms, to different growers and producers to learn,” says Cirkiel.
The weather is the biggest determining factor in his seasonal menu. He tends to add citrus and other bright, fresh flavors during the summer months. In the winter, Cirkiel incorporates rich creams and steaming soups into his menu. He is very particular about the location of his restaurants as well, generally choosing spots that are considered “non culinary destinations”. In 2008, Cirkiel opened Parkside to pay homage to the Bronx Housing Project in New York where his father grew up. Parkside is located on 6th street, which at the time, was not popular for its restaurants and fine dining spots. He designs his restaurants around the prospect of community and bringing people together. Joan Gillcrist, the owner of 68 Degrees, which is an ingredient driven restaurant in central Austin, shares many of the same values as Cirkiel. For her, having a restaurant in the central area really capitalizes on Austin’s communal culture. “On a special occasion, people will drive wherever to get something to eat. But otherwise they mostly stay in their
neighborhoods,” says Gillcrist. She believes that having a restaurant with a casual environment and friendly atmosphere really shows what Austin’s culture is all about. 68 Degrees’ name comes from the average temperature of the Deep Eddy Pool, which happens to be right next door. She started the restaurant with her sister to bring their Italian roots to the Austin area, while still honoring the Deep Eddy, and other aspects of the local culture. “The evolution of traffic in Austin has really compartmentalized the restaurant interest in this town,” Gillcrist comments. To her, it is very important to have many other restaurants in the area that also take part in ingredient driven practices, so that there can be a variety of options for the people. Being an ingredient driven restaurant means that the menu is constructed around quality foods that are available at that particular time. “Sometimes with the food supply chain, things shift, and you won’t be able to get a specific item for a long time,” says Gillcrist. For those scenarios, rather than