Austin’s Top Chef competitor to open Mexican eatery in trendy downtown district
Photo by Mackenzie Smith Kelley
A taste of the Yucatan is coming to the Rainey Street District, care of an Austin-based top chef.
Chef Gabe Erales, currently a contestant on season 18 of Bravo’s Top Chef and a champion of Mexican cuisine, will open his first restaurant — a Mexican-inspired eatery called Bacalar that will draw influence from various regions of the Yucatan Peninsula, where Erales has family roots.
Scheduled to open in the fall of next year, Bacalar will anchor the ground level of the 44 East Ave Residences, the slick skyscraper currently under construction on the banks of Lady Bird Lake.