Interview: Chef David Bull On Year One At Congress + Second (Part Two)

2011 was a banner year for David Bull and his Congress Austin concept. Less than three months after opening, the restaurant vaulted from hot newcomer to king of the mountain status after receiving the Austin American-Stateman's first five-star review in several years. The crowds arrived, and more praise followed. Texas Monthly named it the "best place to eat right now." Celebrities like Jimmy Kimmel, Rachael Ray, and Billy Gibbons were spotted catching late-night meals. The New York Times and Wine Spectator both suggested that tourists make it a point to stop by. And so it went. Aside from a few benefit dinners and food festival events, Chef Bull and his ace team mostly spent the year with their noses to the grindstone, tweaking the Congress, Second, and Bar Congress menus and working to meet the huge number of covers that came in.

Earlier this month, we called Chef Bull during a rare week off to ask for his thoughts on the launch of Congress, the state of Austin dining, and what the restaurants have in store for us in 2012. For part one of this interview, click here.

Switching gears a little bit, we've really appreciated in all three of the spaces there's a ton of attention to beverages. I know that you have [acclaimed sommelier] June Rodil there, which is a huge asset. As a chef, do you have a favorite all-purpose pairing beverage? Something you go back to time and time again when you're trying new dishes, or something you think works well with everything?

I've been really excited about the non-wine pairings that we've had in Congress. And that's something that's kind of unique and interesting to me as far as utilizing beer or a specific cocktail for particular dinner items. That's had some great success. Luckily once again I'm supported by an incredible staff, and June has incredible talent. We can "read" a dish together, and we understand the flavor profiles completely. She can find not just the range of wine that makes sense for the particular dish, but can pick out a very specific flavor in the food and finding a very specific vintage or wine region that makes perfect sense with that particular plate. So we're blessed with the option to work with some really talented people, and have had great success. My fallback is June. I go back and lean on her and she makes sure that it's taken care of.

So to the point about your staff - you've kind of been a victim of your own success. You've had a couple of talented people (Adam Bryan, Plinio Sandalio) leave in recent months because they're in such high demand. How do you cope with a big change like that in the kitchen or at the bar? You're such a busy and constantly moving machine. Is that a challenging process to find that talent or keep finding that talent over the years?

Yeah, but I think it works both ways. We are happy to promote and to help launch individual needs and careers through our successes - that's part of the growth and the nature of the beast and the nature of the business. We want people to grow and utilize their skills and reach their own goals and dreams for sure. But when great people leave because of the high demands that's been created from this environment, it works both ways because those positions are in high demand as well.

So typically a job change leads to another high caliber, highly experienced, and talented individual [coming in.] And more often than not, when they come in, it's actually a refresh mechanism and a cleansing mechanism, because very talented individuals come with their own way of doing things. We love promoting and encouraging people to live out their own personal goals. It's obviously a challenge to replace them, but there's some great positive things that happen from change, too. This is an ever-changing environment. We're glad that the opportunities have become available for those individuals and we're really excited for the newest team members to come in and join us.

We're at an interesting moment in Austin with the food scene from a media standpoint, in that Congress and Uchiko and a lot of other folks have gotten so many accolades in the last year or two. Top Chef: Texas is happening now, Food & Wine is coming in with their festival with C3 in April, which you're participating in. It feels like Austin is finally getting a seat at the grownups table. You've done Iron Chef: America, and some work with Texas Monthly, do you have any interest in doing more television or media-type work in the future?

Absolutely. We contemplated an opportunity that was before us here in the last four or five months, but decided against it. We're looking for constant opportunities to help expand our business and provide long-term feasibility for the entire operation, and if a television show creates that demand and puts people into our space then it's going to be considered. If a television show takes me away around the world for six months with a one in a million chance to make a million bucks, it's got to be weighed, really - what is the best thing for this operation? I mean, sure, that stuff sounds fun - I would've loved to be on Top Chef: Texas to help Paul represent the state, but wasn't asked, so hopefully on the next go around they'll take a look and we'll see.

What's in store for you and for Congress for 2012? And in closing, how are you feeling about the Austin food scene generally right now?

I'm looking forward. Now in the restaurant, we have a year behind us, and we can reflect back, have some comparisons, have a model on which to go by. It's always like a shot in the dark, it comes with its own set of challenges. So now that we've gone through an entire year of operation, we've gotten our feet wet so to speak and we can make some really positive changes.

And I'm also looking forward to the continuation of the growth of the Austin food scene. I'm so excited and happy to see what's going on in the city, and like you said with the festival coming on board, and national recognition happening, it's going to help out a lot for our community and I'm proud to be a part of it. That's going to allow us to constantly challenge ourselves to provide a product that is at the high-end. We've got to constantly push the envelope, not just to compete with our local friends, but also on a national level. People are coming in here from all around the country to see what Austin is all about, and we take that very seriously. Our responsibility is to continue to push that bar and set the bar higher and higher as we go along. I've got a great opportunity within Congress restaurant to pretty much light the fuse and create whatever we want - and that comes with great responsibility, so hopefully we can continue to push that level higher.

Thanks very much for that, and best of luck in the coming year.

Second Bar + Kitchen, Bar Congress, and Congress are located in The Austonian at 2nd Street and Congress Avenue in 78701. For reservations, click here or call 512-827-2760.