Results tagged “food”

With October's Tour De Vin at Whole Foods and November's Big Reds and Bubblies at The Driskill, fall is already the favored season for swanky wine and food pairing events in Austin. A new entrant to the mix this year is the Austin Cellar Classic, a 2-day event hosted by Max's Wine Dive combining a pairing dinner on Friday with the main event of a grand wine tasting on Saturday. For this post, we're solely focused on the big wine tasting.

"Chris Bauer moved to Austin from New Orleans to work at the Barton Creek Country Club. He then opened Finn and Porter at the Hilton, worked briefly at Vin Bistro, and since February is Executive Chef at Mizu, which serves prime beef, cuttlefish sashimi, three creme brulees, and a "slow meat omelette" in a new building near Lake Travis on RR 620. I talked with Chris on the deck at Mizu about his menu, Texan wine, and his favorite Austin dinner."

Next Sunday, November 8th, they're toasting the humble fennel, a vitamin C-rich plant that has antioxidant properties and, uh, keeps your colon healthy. Best of all, the meal is free—"in celebration of the flavorful bulb and to thank his loyal family of customers," says Chef Gabriel Pellegrini.

"Lance Clark, of Richardson Farms, spoke with me at the end of one rainy Triangle edition of the Austin Farmers Market. He and his extended family raise cattle, poultry, and piggly wigglys on pastures near Rockdale, which is an hour east of Round Rock. Wheatsville Co-Op, Kerbey Lane, and Olivia buy their products, as does the public at the Manor and Austin Triangle Farmers Markets (Wednesdays) and the Sunset Valley and Brushy Creek Farmers Markets (Saturdays)."

The Austin Foodie scene has truly exploded over the last couple of years, exposing our growing metropolis to so many opportunities to eat tasty food and drink delicious drinks. It is overwhelming to consider just how long it would take, and just how many pounds we would gain, in order to experience the best of what Austin has to offer in the dining realm. Thankfully, over the last seven years, the Austin Film Festival's Film & Food Party has been able to compress all of the tasty business around town into one night of bites, booze and bidding.

Tonight, Laguna Gloria presents what is arguably one of the most highly-anticipated food and drink events of the year. Now in its 20th turn, La Dolce Vita will host 50 restaurants and 20 vineyards this event for its international tasting party, benefiting Austin Museum of Art.

As the economic slump continues, Austin continues to see casualties in the food and wine business. Having seen the likes of likable upscale concepts like Taste Select, Starlite, and Castle Hill Cafe disappear in the past year, it's not hugely surprising to see the recession hit the retail end of the wine business. Which brings us to Grapevine Market, the one-time king of Austin's wine and beer selection. A store employee confirmed by phone that the Anderson Lane location intends to shutter by December 15, with some in-store discounts beginning as early as next week to close out their inventory.

The third Austin metro-area branch of Sprouts Farmers Market, at 2805 Bee Caves Road in Rollingwood/Westlake, opens this Friday. Like Austin-based Whole Foods and Central Market, the Arizona-based chain of stores differentiates itself by offering natural and organic foods. Its two other existing Austin metro-area locations, in Sunset Valley and Round Rock, opened earlier this year to strong buzz, and another store in the Great Hills area is slated to open next January.

Though it may come as a surprise to many, The Informed Drinker is something of a wino. For as long as she can remember, wine seemed to be the logical complement to any classy affair. Date with husband: wine. Dinner party: wine. Ladies' lunch with Leslie after absolutely exhausting morning shopping for hats and matching thong bikini bottoms: Waiter, your finest vintage, please. However, the longer The Informed Drinker lives in Austin, the more she realizes that things like gin and rum can be classy, too. Tequila needn't be consumed after licking salt off one's wrist. Vodka needn't be inserted into a cherry Jello. In other words, alcohol can be sipped and savored, rather than dashing it away as quickly as possible in frat party-like fashion. Since The Informed Drinker has far less familiarity with spirits than her dear, fermented grape however, she has called in a team of experts to help her study these more serious alcohols. First up: Armando Zapata, tequila expert.

Matthew Odam over at Austin360 offers a tasty tip: the Mighty Cone ended up with a little food leftover from the festival, so they're giving it away today, starting at 11 a.m., at their South Congress trailer. "One free chicken or shrimp cone to every customer," says M.O. "No strings attached." [Austin360]

A few weeks back, The Informed Drinker spoke to FINO'S Bill Norris, one of Austin's best-known bar darlings. Last June, his protégé Dave Alan—one of two gentlemen behind Austin's local cocktail catering operation, Tipsy Texan—took over the bar at Annies on Congress. Originally a quaint lunch spot/bakery and catering service, Annies has recently expanded into a bustling Euro-bistro café and happy hour destination.

Drinking tall boys and eating chicken cones is a fun part of fall, but when ACL Fest ends, Austin foodie season begins to kick into high gear. After allowing for a few days to recover, The Wine and Food Foundation's annual Tour De Vin on the Whole Foods Rooftop arrives on Thursday, October 8th to help introduce you to some favorite new boutique wines and local dishes. While the event is normally priced at $75, the WFFT's fall member drive is offering a limited number of tickets for only $25 with a membership purchase - call 512.327.7555 to see if they're still available.

Austin Restaurant Week is back and bigger than ever. The semi-annual citywide event, put on by the new crew at Rare magazine, affords Austinites a chance to try out special $25 and $35 prix fixe menus at over fifty upscale eateries. Participating restaurants include relative newcomers like Perla's, Sushi Zushi, and Frank, plus classic Austin institutions such as Hudson’s on the Bend and Jeffrey's.

As students of alcohol history know, the production and importation of absinthe was illegal here in the United States until very recently: December 2007. Thanks to the Prohibitionists (seriously, thanks guys), the stuff had been banned Stateside since 1912, due to health concerns that its high alcohol content and compositional character caused madness. But who's madder than a drunk Austinite? No one, that's who.

For the past couple of weeks, we've been speaking with local bartenders about their recommended libations. But you know what? The Informed Drinker has some drinking recommendations of her own, based on thorough field research gained from office happy hours, various dates, Alamo Drafthouse sing-alongs, “you go girl” confidence-building sessions, lunch meetings gone awry, feigning interest in spectator sports, and celebrating the fact that it's Tuesday.

The Informed Drinker is Austinist's new cocktail column. Each week, the city's bartenders tell us what to drink when. If you haven't already, check out last week's inaugural column on East Side Show Room. When it comes to Austin business establishments, FINO is kind of like the Meryl Streep of bars. What praise hasn't already been lavished? What can FINO not do? A stellar brunch. A cunning cocktail menu. Nice waiters, even. It speaks to FINO's spotless reputation that we willingly let Bill Norris, resident mixologist, use us as guinea pigs on the weekends for his divine cocktail inventions.

After so many months of crude summer drinking—$1 beers, jello shots, that new canned champagne at Whole Foods—the Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Festival swoops in just in time to give Austinites a quick shot of taste. Bubbles and Boots, a preview event for the famed Wine & Food Fest, will be held tonight at Kodosky Lounge at the Long Center from 6 to 8 p.m., and while our taste buds may have been dumbed down from far too many cheap mixes and various alcohol-laced popsicles, our eyes still know a quality lineup when we see one.

The Wall Street Journal has a nice profile today of Boggy Creek Farm, the organic market farm in East Austin where much of the produce served in Austin's best restaurants come from. The piece also briefly goes into the curious history of the old farmhouse that still stands on the property, including the mysterious giant brick-lined pit that sits nearby:

Paciugo offers their delicious gelato in big, healthy scoops to help you cool down during the dog days of summer. Flickr user Alachia sampled scoops of chocolate mint, cookie dough, and chocolate almond flavors.

After-hours revelers and insomniacs will soon have another venue to satisfy their late-night cravings, as the downtown Waterloo Ice House on Sixth and Lamar is being transformed into a brand new all-hours upscale diner.

Open less than a month, East Side Show Room has managed to make Austin's hipsters, foodies, and interior décor enthusiasts all terribly weak at the knees. The vibe. The precious entrees. The steampunk-meets-Amelie aesthetic. Oh, and they support local farms! (Of course they support local farms). Can you help ESSR's diners from becoming near-evangelical?

Olivia, the upscale eatery on South Lamar that, in true South Austin fashion, sits next to a former porno mag shop and a taxidermy store, has been ranked as one of the Top 10 Best New Restaurants in America by Bon Appetit magazine.

Don't be surprised if downtown smells like feet this Saturday—the American Cheese Society is bringing attendees the finest of fromage, from fragrant to creamy, to the Hilton, in what can only be described as the most outrageous display of cheese in the country.

If you haven't been to Frank yet, do yourself a favor and rectify it soon. The sausage-centric restaurant features classics like this Chicago dog and slaw dogs, but also classes things up a bit with antelope/rabbit blends and German currywurst. Start with a cold beer and a bowl full of Canadian waffle poutine (that's fries with brown gravy and cheese curds). All styles of dogs are also available in vegetarian versions, and the broccoli salad complements the veggie options nicely.

The El Chile chain of restaurants plans to open its second El Chilito taqueria in South Austin this August, taking over the corner site previously occupied by Gypsy's Italian Bistro.

"Participating in drive by's during this financial pinch, there may not be any local businesses left when this recession ends and life resumes" says Torchy, Shuggie's cousin. "It's a shame to see a good business die like this, it sucks. Shuggie was a good person and I'll miss him... or her, we were never really sure."

Photos from this weekend's third annual Veggie Hot Dog Eating Contest.

If you've purchased any beef products from H-E-B recently, check that they're not one of these following types—if they are, they may have E-coli contamination and are being recalled by the grocer as part of a nationwide effort.

Sometime in the midst of an Austin summer, an indoor event with fancy drinks is just what you need. For those looking for indoor wine drinking options in the immediate future, here are three events worth your time and consideration: