Andrew Wiseheart and Ben Edgerton, of Austin’s Contigo, opened their second restaurant, Gardner, on Nov. 3.
The people
Andrew Wiseheart, co-owner and executive chef of both restaurants, bonded with his father, Gardner, over food throughout his youth. Wiseheart attended culinary arts school and traveled the world, learning about new flavors along the way. He met co-owner and general manager Ben Edgerton at summer camp. Edgerton has worked in all aspects of restaurants, from mopping floors to serving, and eventually decided to open his own restaurant with Wiseheart at his side.
The menu
Edgerton told Eater that the new restaurant on East 6th Street is like an “inverse Contigo” with its intimate, quiet interior and focus on seasonal vegetables. The menu includes sections for dinner, after dinner, patio and bottle. Diners choose from five snacks, five first and second courses and four deserts. Snack options include broccoli with pork salt and bearnaise and yellow squash with bonito butter and pea tendrils. First course menu items include cabbage with Flemish ale and duck confit and beets with urfa mayo, pine nuts and mint. For a second course, diners may choose dishes like Cornish game hen with collards, charred onion and malted barley or root vegetables in fermented mushroom broth with purslane. With all those flavorful veggies, it’s hard to imagine having enough room for dessert, but just in case they’re still hungry, diners may choose a Saint Agur Blue, made of sweet potato with pecan and sorghum molasses.
The drinks menu includes six white and red wines, six sparkling and aperitifs, and beer and cider.
Students attending chef schools in Texas who enjoy simple and flavorful vegetable-focused dishes would enjoy a meal at this brand new restaurant, where they can sit on the patio with good company and savor dishes like fermented potato bread with lemongrass butter.