THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Restaurant Congress

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Restaurant Congress Restaurant Review:

Chef David Bull, formerly of Driskill Grill and most recently Bolla in Dallas, returned to Austin to orchestrate the opening of an ambitious triple-establishment affair. The crown sophisticate is Restaurant Congress, replete with crystal chandeliers and white lounge chairs that invite a lengthy stay. In a city proud of its casual image, Restaurant Congress ups the ante quite a bit. Nonetheless, Bull knows this town, so he pipes in classic rock music lest the proceedings go too black-tie. Choose from a three-course menu (with several options in each course) or a fixed seven-course tasting menu, which changes nightly. Some creations are redux classics, such as the steak tartare with green beans and a delightfully piquant curry mustard, or rack of lamb with cardamom yogurt rather than the pedestrian mint jelly. A less conventional dish is the chilled pea soup with horseradish and tête de cochon, a laboriously reinvented head cheese sans aspic. A lighter option featured blue cobia --- a flaky white fish with just enough oil to add character --- with crushed pistachios, marjoram and flavor-packed pioppini mushrooms. Innovative desserts have yielded sweet potato beignets with salted butter ice cream, pecan brittle and toasted meringue. The 500-plus-bottle wine list has a pairing for every bold course, and while one could easily spend four digits on a couple bottles of wine, there are also some values under $50.