On Sunday March 14 at Emo’s Austin will get piggy with it at the Bacon Takedown. I love all things pork but bacon holds an especially high place both in my heart and in my cholesterol level. Bacon and cured things in general have been very popular recently, showing up in savory as well as sweet dishes. Since I am a pastry chef, I must go with the sweet side of things and plan to enter with my Bacon Toffee. I will post the recipe as soon as the contest is over. Please come out and vote for me. And try not to o.d. on the bacon.
Bacon Takedown
Bad to the Bone Chef Smackdown
From left to right, Shawn Cirkiel from Parkside, Sandy from the JB and Sandy show, and Paul Petersen, formerly of the Gage in Marathon
Bad to the Bone was exactly that! On Saturday night at Stubbs, instead of the usually stellar rock stars on stage, chefs took over the place for the evening for an Iron Chef style competition benefiting the Sustainable Food Center. Each of the chefs got to choose a mystery ingredient which they all had to incorporate into their dish. The mystery ingredients were tangerine, goats milk, and achiote, a traditionally Latin spice also known as annatto that has a sweet and slightly peppery taste.
I was thrilled to be able to attend because I am fans of all three of the competitors and consider them some of the top chefs in Texas. Each has worked in the Austin area but only Shawn Cirkiel currently has a local restaurant, parkside, in the heart of downtown on 6th. Recently named one of the Hot ten New American taverns by Bon Appetit magazine, parkside does upscale casual in a uniquely Austin way. Shawn brought the gold home to Austin and captured the winning votes from both the crowd and the judges with a creamy and tangy goat milk sorbet served alongside an achiote and tangerine fritter which closely resembled the famous donut holes served at the restaurant.
David Bull, former executive chef at the Driskill
David Bull, following an announcement the day before that he plans to return to Austin in the fall with two new restaurants at the Austonian, did an achiote glazed salmon with smoked bacon grits, goat cheese crema, and tangerine spinach salad. Salmon is tough to keep at the right temperature without drying it out like you must do for a large crowd. I did like the flavors and remember fondly a fabulous dinner at the Driskill that will have me as one of the first in line when he fires up the grill in Austin again.
Paul Petersen, rock star
Paul Petersen had a restaurant in Buda called Little Texas Bistro that was the subject of rave reviews. I put off driving all the way out there for dinner and missed my opportunity to say I knew Paul then. He packed off to win even greater praise and national attention as the executive chef at the Gage Hotel in Marathon, TX. I finally had the opportunity to sample Paul’s cooking at one of his classes at Central Market. His rock star style of teaching and cooking was as entertaining as his food was fresh and exciting. The class was filled with rabid fans from Little Texas and I could see why. At the Smackdown, Paul served annatto crusted pork loin with goat’s milk corn pudding and achiote seared tangerine. The pork loin was tender and delicious but my favorite dish of the night was the fabulously creamy corn pudding. The savory and warm dish resembled a loose polenta which pooled on the plate beneath the juicy pork loin. Last time I saw Paul there were rumors of a new restaurant in the Austin area but he is currently at Rick’s Chophouse in McKinney. Please come back, Paul. We miss you!
Taste of Austin 2010- Review
Looks like tomatoes on top of a mini nacho but that is watermelon. Slow cooked pork on top of goat cheese with pepitas and a spicy piquant watermelon sauce was Gariddo’s little bite at Taste of Austin last night. It was crunchy and creamy with a touch of heat and the slightly sweet notes from the watermelon. I was all set to name this the best bite of the night. http://www.garridosaustin.com/menu/
And then I tried this. Green chile mac from Moonshine. Grilled chicken, corn relish, and a green chile cream. Warm, spicy, creamy comfort in a cup with a sweet crunch of corn. I loved them both and declare a tie. http://www.moonshinegrill.com/menus.php
I had a great time at Taste of Austin last night at the Palmer Events Center last night. Around 50 restaurants participated in this scholarship fundraiser. It is a fun way to try both new restaurants and old favorites in one location as well as socializing with your fellow foodies.
I have been debating since last night if I should also post the worst bites at the event. There was a crunchy risotto, bland bangers and mash, and a cold, mushy stuffed mushroom from a place that was advertising their catering services. Serving from a small booth at a tasting event is a far different animal than serving from your own kitchen so I am inclined to cut some slack to those that showed poorly but if you are there to plug your catering services, you need to figure out how to serve a hot hors douvres. I have decided to hold my tongue for now. A restaurant deserves a fair review over several visits, especially if you are going to publish something negative. But please, veal osso bucco should not taste like it has barbecue sauce on it. You know who you are.
Back to the good! One of my favorite cookie places in town is Kevin’s Cookies. http://www.kevinscookies.com/ Trey and his adorable wife Jen run this little operation. They now only have a location south, so I don’t make it over there much but Trey sends out a great newsletter that makes me feel like part of the family. Last night they had half a dozen different varieties of their delicious cookies. Crunchy on the outside, soft in the middle, and full of chips, nuts, etc. My favorite last night was probably the white chocolate chip. And I hate white “chocolate”. I believe the darker the chocolate, the better. But these gems were delicious.
Spec’s had a booth and I <3 Spec’s! http://www.specsonline.com/ Very knowledgeable wine staff, great prices on wine and liquor, and a decent assortment of gourmet goodies. Some of the stores have a bigger selection than others. I frequent the one at Arbor Walk which also has a deli case but I hadn’t gotten around to trying it yet. I am pretty picky about my sandwiches, so when I got the sample from them, I thought, “Turkey on white, just another sandwich.” But it was really good. Fresh bread with very flavorful turkey. If they do that well on a little sample for the masses, I will be trying them in store soon.
I recently had Craigo’s pizza for the first time and was impressed. http://www.craigospizzaandpasta.com/ Last night they were serving pasta. There was an ok lasagna that had a little too much fennel for my tastes but they also had a spinach ziti that I believe was vegetarian and it was yummy.
One of the most exotic offerings came from Frank, the “purveyor of artisan sausage” at Fourth and Colorado. http://www.hotdogscoldbeer.com/ That is tony talk for $7 hot dog. Last night they were offering the Jackelope- antelope and rabbit sausage with a huckleberry compote, siracha aioli, and applewood smoked cheese. Good, different, innovative- yes. Worth $7 a hot dog? Not so sure but I was intrigued enough to want to at least check out the happy hour sometime soon.
There was a classmate of mine from culinary school passing out little bundt cakes from franchise outfit Nothing Bundt Cakes. http://www.nothingbundtcakes.com/index.php For something ever so slightly different from a cupcake, these cute little cakes were moist and rich with a bit of cream cheesy icing.
There were a few places I did not get to try because the lines were way too long. I tasted the sushi from Piranha Killer Sushi at La Dolce Vita this year and really liked it but the line only got longer last night as the evening wore on. What is really frustrating is when you see a full tray of food at the head of the line and people obliviously standing there and grazing like there aren’t 50 people behind them in line. Move it, people!!!!!
Taste of Austin is usually my first big foodie event of the year. It signals the beginning of my favorite time in Austin, spring means festival season! Before you know it, Austin Restaurant Week http://restaurantweekaustin.com/ will be here. Then my personal favorite, Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Fest! http://www.texaswineandfood.org/ You can buy discounted tickets for the Sunday Fair now for $25 (reg $45) through this link. http://twff.frontgatesolutions.com/choose.php?b=1&lid=39935&eid=46543 Price good only till February 1.
Taste of Austin
Taste of Austin is held every year in January to showcase Austin’s restaurants and give diners a chance to perhaps try something new. I actually kind of like the challenge of negotiating the crowds and I have my own system for making the most of these foodie events.
Rule # 1- Always bring a swag bag. They usually hand ones out there but that is just another line to stand in. Come prepared.
Rule # 2- First priority is finding a table. The extra $5 is well worth it to get reserved seating and your table will be home base for this foodie mission. You want a table near an entrance for quickly ducking in and out of the crowds.
Rule # 3- Get a map. Most years they have them but they are not always easy to find. Ask for one as you come in, ususally the volunteers know where to get one from.
Rule # 4- Plan your attack from home base. Note which restaurants you really want to try. The more popular restaurants usually have long lines but those ebb and flow, so if the line is really long, do a sweep back later.
Rule # 5- There is no rule saying that you have to start at table one and follow the crowd in clockwise order between booths. In fact, that is a great way to spend your time in lines instead of sampling.
Rule # 6- Try to load up as much as possible and carry it back to the table where you can relax and sample at a more leisurely pace.
Rule #7- The good booths will run out of food, probably about an hour before the end of the event, so get a good nosh to nibble on and brave the line if you have to.
Rule #8- Have a blast!!! Toss all rules out the window as needed to make sure you enjoy hanging out with a few thousand of your fellow foodies.
Eat Local Week from Edible Austin
A couple of years ago I met Marla Camp at a Slow Food reception. She told me she was starting a foodie magazine called Edible Austin. Since then I have fallen in love with this gem The photography is beautiful and the articles are educational and entertaining. I seem to run into Marla wherever there are Austin foodies and artisinal local food producers. She is a true champion for our local scene. Edible Austin is sponsoring an Eat Local Week with some really cool events. You can probably catch me at the Drink Local soiree. Eat Local Week is an invitation to Central Texans to explore and celebrate the abundance of local food and to raise money for Urban Roots, a youth development program that uses sustainable agriculture as a means to transform the lives of young people and to increase the access of healthy food in Austin. More info at edibleaustin.com!
