I don’t usually write about restaurant openings, but I can’t resist telling everyone that the new Cookbook Bar & Cafe is now open in the Austin Central Library!

Cookbook is situated on the northeast first-floor corner of the library building. A large indoor space and an even larger patio overlook Shoal Creek. The cafe features a seasonal menu with an emphasis on organics and farm-to-table dishes. A children’s menu is also available. I visited in mid-afternoon, so I must confess that I have not eaten here yet. I’ll be back for a meal soon.

Orders can be placed at the cafe counter or at a grab-and-go window inside the library lobby. Based on the line when I visited, this window seems like a popular option. Coffee and snacks are also available from a cart that’s up on the library’s rooftop.

The restaurant houses the cookbook collection of Virginia B. Wood, a food editor at the  Austin Chronicle who died in March. Guests can look through her cookbooks while visiting the cafe, but I don’t think they can be checked out of the library.

And, of course, I can’t resist the opportunity to show off our photogenic Central Library again!

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