Txokos (pronounced cho-kos) Basque Kitchen at East End Market in Audubon Park opened earlier this year in March 2014. The much anticipated restaurant is brought to us by James Beard award nominated Chef Henry Salgado of New Smyrna Beach’s Spanish River Grill.
A fifth generation Floridian, Chef Henry Salgado grew up cooking with his Cuban grandmother in his hometown of Tampa. A graduate of the Florida Culinary Institute in West Palm Beach, he worked his way through the kitchens of the south. He along with his wife, Michele, eventually opened Spanish River Grill in 1999, earning a semi-finalist nomination for the 2012 and 2014 James Beard awards.
At Txokos Basque Kitchen, Chef Henry and his team bring the flavors of Northern Spain to the expanding Orlando food scene, utilizing homegrown produce, locally raised provisions and Florida seafood. The menu features authentic Pintxos (small plates), Spanish wines and a wood fired Asador for grilling.
The menu at Txokos Kitchen is seasonally driven by Chef Henry’s access to the East End Market’s vegetable garden, local, sustainable seafood and many talented Florida farmers.
They recently started brunch service on the weekend and so we dropped by with some friends and came away very impressed.
Brunch Menu at Txokos
We love the decor at Txokos, modern yet rustic – comfortable place to go with a group of friends to share pintxos small plates over a meal
You can’t have brunch with out mimosas, bloody marys, and sangriasA gorgeous Wood fired Asador grill is featured at Txokos Basque KitchenFried Shrimp and dirty grits with chicken liver, jamon, and shallot. – $10 – One of my favorites – the shrimp was crunchy, crispy and fresh and the grits had a sultry, savory flavor that went very well together with the crunchy fried shrimp.Calamari Fritto – lightly fried with a house made romesco sauce for dipping -$7Tortilla Espanola – a tapas classic, not the corn tortillas that we are used to – these tortillas are made with layors of potato, onions, and eggs with a tomato aioli – $5Benedict Lomo – pan de gallego, tomato relish, lomo ham, poached local egg, saffron hollandaise, and charred vegetables – $12Benedict Lomo – pan de gallego, tomato relish, lomo ham, poached local egg, saffron hollandaise, and charred vegetables – $12Jamon pintxos – thinly sliced iberico ham, lomo, chorizo, with marcona almonds and alioli – $13Chef Henry Salgado and Peter Lee of Txokos Basque KitchenBaked Spanish Toast – cinnamon baked bread pudding topped with Bordeaux cherries, kalimotxo glazed pork belly, and poached egg – the dish was subtly sweet and savory, kalimotxo is a signature Basque style made by marinating the meat with cola and wine. $14Tacos con Bacalao – Deep Fried salt cod, shredded cabbage, tomato garlic relish, toasted cumin seed vinaigrette – $14 – the salt cod was a bit too salty on this visit and would have benefitted from soaking longer to reduce the salt content in the bacalao.Local celebrity Master Chef season 5 contestant Francis Biondi spotted at Txokos Basque Kitchen on a recent visitJamon Stuffed Trout – Wood Grilled Rainbow Trout stuffed with serrano ham, fresh basil, summer potato salad
i have 22 months old son in tow. Would you think I could bring him to this restaurant for brunch ? Thank you, Ricky.
Should be a-OK! it is pretty casual during the day!
[…] Shrimp and dirty grits with chicken liver, jamon, and shallot at Txokos Basque Kitchen at East End Market for […]
Yummy! Que rico!