I would have expected that at my age, I would no longer find people that “I’d like to be when I grow up.” Still, I recently sat down with food and wine impresario Alex Bell and couldn’t shake the admiration (and a bit of envy) for what this really charismatic man has done in just the last few years.
By day, Alex is a managing partner at Aviary Wine & Kitchen, which, oddly enough, started as a unique furniture and décor shop. The well-located South Lamar spot eventually found unexpected success as a wine shop and, as of late 2017, is thriving as a full-service restaurant.
The kitchen focuses on small plates from a wide range of flavor profiles. Shrimp Potstickers and Date-Butter Burrata offerings can be found alongside Coconut and Bluefin Tostadas, and the Beef Short-rib Naan competes for appetites with a very hardy Aviary double meat burger.
As beverage director for the restaurant, Alex spends a great deal of time exploring wine and thinking how best to pair it with the restaurant’s diverse offerings. I quickly learned that Alex’s taste is a kaleidoscope, expounding not only on fine French and Italian wines but also Slovenian, Austrian, and even rare Greek labels easily.
Like most of my conversations, we turned to some of our best dinners, favorite wine regions, favorite restaurants in town, and some of the sad losses after the pandemic. (We both miss Chez Nous.)
Though the restaurant industry has recovered much since the worst of Covid, those that relied on food and wine for their livelihoods will still have rough memories of those early days.
In November of 2020, Alex took notice of the impact that Covid was having on the food industry and decided to try and help in some way. He saw chefs and service folks sidelined and, in many cases, hurting. Together with Chef Damien Brockway (Distant Relatives BBQ), Alex launched a modest dinner event in the backyard of his south Austin home. He remembers a significant focus on safety with mask protocols and guidelines limiting the first event to just eight guests. He remembers warmly that his first guests were all regulars and close friends.
Four months passed before Chef Damien spurred Alex to continue the wonderful events, and ‘Midnight in the Garden’ was born.
Sixty-plus dinners later, Alex and his partner Jaycee host the phenomenal events on Saturday and Sunday nights, most times with two seatings of twenty.
Midnight in the Garden is an intimate Chef’s Table dinner featuring a variety of cuisines created by famous chefs from Austin and beyond. The elaborate dinners are paired with exceptional wines and now take place in various venues depending on the season.
Alex showed me photos of the humble beginnings of his garden and how it’s evolved into the shady and wonderfully eclectic space it is today.
My first Midnight in the Garden experience was last month when the talented Chef Kristina Zhao, owner of DASHI Sichuan Kitchen + Bar in San Antonio, brought her magic to Alex’s garden.
To keep a bit of mystery, the exact dinner location was only sent on the day of the event.
We arrived at the pretty, tree-lined neighborhood just before 5 pm and were soon escorted by Alex to the brilliant backyard setting. Rows of paintings on black velvet decorated the back wall, which is topped by a high band of evergreens, and a series of classical statues dotted the ground cover under the enormous trees. The long table set for twenty was a riot of color and treasure.
As it turned out, the table was a very well-planned riot. The more you studied the details, the cut flowers, placemats, centerpieces, and huge collection of glass and plates, the easier it was to appreciate the thought behind it. Alex gives Jaycee credit for much of the lovely details, but he and the guest chefs also have some input.
During our conversation, one little table detail helped Alex remember how many dinners they hosted. Among the wooden Chinese fans and monogrammed wooden coasters were colorful cards featuring a tarot theme combined with the name of the guest chef. With a different card for each dinner, Alex estimates that they have gone through sixty-three of the original seventy-three card deck.
As we were seated, Jaycee and some of the staff ensured everyone was hydrated and comfortable, and then the magic began.
Every bit a ringmaster, Alex greeted the guests with a palpable welcome. He explained the progression of the evening, a bit about the food to come, and described each wine in exacting detail; its origin, its qualities, and why it was chosen to pair. A particular gleam is evident in his descriptions, and it’s clear that he loves presenting the wine for the evening.
We got a short introduction from Chef Zhao, and the fantastic Sichuan dishes started coming to the table.
Dinner is served family style, with platters of dishes being shared by sets of four guests.
Our first course consisted of several cold Sichuan appetizers. “Smashed Cucumbers” are rounds of small cucumbers marinated in rice vinegar, sesame oil, soy, garlic, and chili flakes. The effect is cool, spicy, and sour at the same time. The cucumbers were combined with generous amounts of flavorful wood-ear mushrooms and “mild” birds-eye chilies.
Next was a platter of sliced cured pork served alongside Suan Ni Bai Rou Rolls. The rolls were also made of thinly sliced pork (“white meat”) but topped with an intense, red-oil garlic paste. Each item was delicious on its own but worked very well in succession.
The last appetizer was “Mom & Pop” Fu Qi Fei Pian, or Sichuan Sliced beef in Chili Sauce.
I’ve been lucky to have had this dish at Sichuan cold buffets before and find it almost addictive. The tender beef slices are served in a rich, spicy hot sauce and topped with peanut flakes and cilantro.
Alex paired the quartet of huge flavors with a 2022 Kobal ‘Penina Zelo Suho’ Brut Rosé from Slovenia. The wine had lots of bubbles and a light red berry taste that worked well with the pork and various chilies.
The next course was both exotic and familiar. First up was a platter of Lotus root slices combined with more of the earthy wood-ear mushroom and Sichuan ham. The combination was different from the cold appetizers and seemed to be a table favorite.
A light 2021 Texas Touriga Nacional Rosato from the Austin Winery paired well with the ham and lotus root.
Touriga Nacional is a thick-skinned grape from Portugal that traditionally makes full-bodied red wines that can age like a Cabernet Sauvignon. It’s best known as a blending grape in Port. Given the similarities in climate, the grape has been doing well in Texas.
Up next were scallops and a show. A tall daikon root was attached to a ceramic bowl, and various scallop shells were arranged around the core. Nicely seared scallops were then placed in each shell. A bit of liquid added to the base activated dry ice, filling the bowl with a veil of mist. The 2018 Meyer-Fonné Edelzwicker from Alsace worked so well with the light dish.
The Edelzwicker is a blend of 55% Pinot Blanc, 15% Muscat, 15 % Riesling, 10% Chasselas, 5% Pinot Gris, giving a variety of flavors to enhance the buttery quality of the scallops.
Our main courses were again a set of four unique dishes. Tender Pork Belly on skewers was served on a mound of noodles and came with a 2021 L’Azienda Agricola Case Vecchie ‘Sposato’ from Lombardy.
The shrimp and bean curd Pi Pa Fritters with bok choy were served with a 2019 Borell-Diehl Brut Sekt that had been sabered by two of the guests.
To me, the two best dishes were part of the main course. Chef Zhao brought out the most beautiful whole fish platters covered in chilies and scallions. The delicate poached fish was paired perfectly with a 2019 Vignoble du Rêveur ‘Imagine’ (Gewürztraminer, Pinot Gris, Riesling) again from Alsace.
The “Xia Fan Tea Party” was the best surprise. The profoundly flavored duck consommé was served with a side of jasmine rice and fried green beans. The amazing soup was served with a 2016 Craven Faure Pinot Noir, Stellenbosch, which I have to say was also delicious on its own.
Even though most of the dishes were light, having only one dessert was a welcomed sight after so many. Our last course was a Blueberry Naigaimo. Unexpectedly, nagaimo is a mountain yam used for various foods in China; our dessert was a light pudding topped with a blueberry sauce.
True to form, Alex paired the dessert with a tasty Malvira Brachetto Birbet from Piedmont.
It’s pretty amazing that after all that work and energy, a second seating was shortly after our departure, just shy of seven-thirty.
I’ve had the opportunity to attend another Midnight in the Garden since my first visit, an over-the-top dinner at Hotel San Jose with Ben Runkle of Salt & Time paired with Napa wines by Ben Brenner of Benevolent Neglect and an incredible assortment of Japanese sakes curated by Eduardo Dingler, Ambassador of Sake extraordinaire. Having both a wine pairing and a sake pairing for each dish was a revelation but also the perfect reason to have taken an Uber.
With both dinners, the standout is the tremendous energy Alex brings to the events and the talent of the teams he brings together.
Each time Alex gave an introduction, he created yet another wave of anticipation for what was coming. The evenings seem to have a buzz that his chefs and wine guys seem to know how to sustain.
I asked Alex if there were any particular favorites after so many dinners. He said that the first one still had a place in his heart, and the one he was able to do with his brother Chef Kevin Bell was another. Incidentally, his brother Kevin runs Soigné, a private dining company on the Island of Maui, and the same magic runs in the family from all accounts.
Richard Arebalo
OTL Features Editor
