Your Guide to a Perfect Round Top Rendezvous

Just like Austin, Round Top is a state of mind. A mere 90 minutes away, it’s among the most bucolic places you’ll find for sleuthing rare European antiques, charming Americana, fashion with an ode to the West, vintage treasures — and now it’s a foodie destination. Here’s a quartet of reasons to roadtrip to Round Top for the Fall Antiques & Design Show, held October 5 through 27.

Discover, Shop, Acquire

Talk about miles and miles of Texas: From across the country, 100,000 seekers of home design, antiques, art, and style descend upon the historic hamlet of Round Top (population 88) and surrounding towns for a half-century tradition that today encompasses more than 4,000 dealers spilling into fields, tents, and barns across 25 miles. Among the Fall Show’s 80-some venues, TRIBEZA recommends: designer destination Marburger Farm (October 15 – 19); Bader Ranch; Blue Hills and sister property The Big Red Barn (both, October 5 – 19); Cisco Village; Ex-Cess I and II; Jardin de France; McLaren’s; Market Hill; The Arbors; The Compound; The 550 Market; The Horseshoe; The 303 Market; historic Zapp Hall; and The Halles.

The always popular Round Top venue Blue Hills launches its massive expansion – adding seven permanent barns to the existing 11-barn compound with 85-plus dealers showcasing antiques, home decor, vintage furniture, home accessories, outdoor furnishings, fashion, jewelry and more. 

Divine Dinners

The great year-round restaurants in tiny Round Top are exceptional (LuLu’s, Boon & Co, Mandito’s Tex-Mex, Royers Round Top Cafe, Duo Modern at Market Hill, The Garden Co., Merritt Meat Company, Round Top Brewing, The Stone Cellar and The Jon Perez Lounge at The 550 District and Popi Burger), but during show time, the expanded culinary scene runs the gamut from friendly food trucks to white tablecloth dining in the fields.

Scoring a seat at a special chef-crafted dinner should be a top priority when planning a visit. Be on the lookout for tickets to Royers Café’s five-course Caymus Vineyards wine dinner on October 20. Visiting chef Nick Middleton of Austin-based Y Comida reprises his role as chef in residence at Bader Ranch October 10 – 26, including a four-course dinner nightly (reservations highly recommended at shoproundtop.com). Dallas-based chef Victor Hugo returns to the kitchen at Oakbones lodge to provide nightly dinners October 14 – 26. The 550 District hosts a pair of farm-to-table Butcher’s Ball dinners presided over by chefs Erin Feges and Sasha Grumman on October 11 and 12, served in the Round Top Dance Hall, with VIPs taking their seats inside The 550 District’s swanky speakeasy, The Mark.

Other show-only dining includes Saturday hog roasts at Duo Modern restaurant at Market Hill and Feasts in the Field at Rancho Pillow, with live-fire meals served at festive communal outdoor tables. Foodie options for design lovers include the Kim Hoegger Farmhaus Dinner & VIP Barn Sale, held at the bucolic farm of designer Kim Hoegger, which includes a candlelit dinner crafted by local chefs and shopping Hoegger’s private barn filled with antique finds, and an intimate Q&A with Krissa Rossbund, style and design editor of Traditional Home magazine. The Halles’ Designer Dinner on October 14 is one of the hottest tickets in Round Top, with national design luminaries as guests, including Hunt Slonem as one of the esteemed honorees, and a seated dinner by A Fare Extraordinaire. (Tickets at thehalles.com.) Finally, go hog wild at Ellis Motel’s inaugural luau on October 18, with hog roast and a melding of Hawaiian and Texas esprit. (Tickets at ellismotel.com.)

Fashion in the Fields

During show time, Round Top transforms into an epicenter of Western fashion. Hats and hatters, milliners and boots and vintage Western wear can be found at many venues. Attending one of the six fashion shows on the docket this fall is a hot ticket. Round Top fashion week kicks off on October 16 at the Round Top Dance Hall with The 550 Market Red Carpet Fashion Show, followed by the Western Vintage Renegades Fashion Show on October 17 at Market Hill. Pixie and the Moon hosts its sartorial spectacle at The 303 later in the evening on October 17, and the Rodeo Runway fashion show and late-night shopping event featuring all The 303 fashion vendors is scheduled for October 18. The Halles joins the fashion fray on October 19 with models set to hit the catwalk during the ever-popular Late Night Luxury event – a fashion, jewelry, and accessories bazaar. Vincent Peach Fine Jewelry wraps the runway excitement with its ninth biennial Gourmet Wine Dinner & Fashion Show starring Michelle Garcia Couture at Duo Modern restaurant in Market Hill.

For up-to-date listings of hotels, shopping venues, restaurants and show events, go to roundtop.com.