Jun 4, 2026 - News

Desert Island Dish with Austin's Eric Silverstein

Asher Price

Black-and-white portrait of a smiling man with glasses wearing a striped apron, seated at a table with food, in front of light curtains. — Eric Silverstein. Photo: Courtesy of Consumable Content

As part of our running feature about Austin chefs' favorite meals, we recently caught up with Eric Silverstein, head chef and founder of the Peached Tortilla, the Asian fusion restaurant with a handful of locations around town.

One location, Bar Peached, on West 6th Street caught fire early Sunday, leaving it with extensive fire and water damage. This interview was conducted before the fire.

The backstory: Silverstein was born in Tokyo, the son of a Chinese mother and American father, both with ties to the restaurant business. He was raised in Japan until junior high, when his family moved to Atlanta.

By the time he arrived in Austin in 2010, ready to take a crack at opening a food truck, he was a trained lawyer.
"At the time, it didn't seem like Austin had quite arrived," he says. "That's fundamentally changed."

You're on a desert island. What's the one dish you'd like with you?

"It'd definitely have to be a noodle dish, that's my go-to kind of food to eat. I'm going with beef chow fun. It's made with a wide rice noodle, which I love — I love the texture of the noodle, the flavors, it's just comfort food for me, and it's something my mom made for me growing up as a kid."

You can bring along a dessert.

"Probably bring a six-pack of the Jeni's ice cream sampler."

And what about to drink?

"A classic Negroni, with a one-one-one-ratio of vermouth, Campari and gin."

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Desert Island Dish with Austin's Eric Silverstein

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