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Food
News & Commentary
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Restaurant
Events
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Openings
Closings
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Dining
Out with Pope Benedict XVI
The catholic world
got a new pope last week. Joseph Ratzinger, the German Cardinal
was elected on the forth ballot and chose the name Benedict XVI.
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OK, now for the really important stuff.
What does the Holy Father like to eat? Turns out that his
favorite meal is spaghetti carbonara.
While a cardinal, he liked to frequent
one of the many Italian restaurants close to the Vatican He
was very partial to Da Roberto’s.
He was never observed drinking any wine
or alchohol. Always orange juice.
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According to waiters around the city, he also
likes fresh fish. Sea bass is big with him. Always simply prepared.
And he was uniformly cordial. A very pleaasnt customer by all standards.
What any of this has to do with his election
to pope I have no idea. But fans of this web site will hopefully
find this rather arcane information interesting.
4/28
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Join
Rob on Food Friday tomorrow morning on 590 KLBJ-AM from 9-10AM
Got a question on a
new or old restaurant? Want a recommendation? Searching for that
perfect place for that perfect dinner?
Call Rob tomorrow, April 22nd, on the fastest
moving hour in Austin radio, KLBJ-AM’s Food Friday. 836-0590.
Rob joins Kenny Rahymayer,
Ed Clements, and Sergeant Sam Cox for a lively hour of conversation
about the Austin restaurant scene. And every caller that gets
on the air has a chance to win one of two $50 gift certificates
to fine Austin restaurants.
So make sure to listen and call in!
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4/21
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Lucky
Dog forced to change its name by a New Orleans manufacturer. Got
a suggestion for the new name?
"When the going gets weird, the weird turn
pro." Those are wise words from
the recently deceased Hunter S. Thompson. And they apply to the
rather
bizarre situation that Spicewood sandwich shop Luck Dog finds itself
in.
It seems that Lucky Dog, a neat, little Chicago-style
hot dog and sausage
joint on Spicewood, has been issued a cease and desist by the owner
of Lucky
Dog carts in New Orleans. Our local place has until May 31 to change
its
name. And the rub is that we're not talking about a competing restaurant
here; but rather, a manufacturer 400 miles from Austin.
So Lucky Dog owner Jean Zurow has started a
contest to rename the
restaurant. One humorous suggestion: "The restaurant formerly
known as Lucky
Dog." Funny, but Prince would probably object. You can log
on to Lucky Dog's
site, www.luckydogaustin.com
and submit your entry for the new name. Or stop
by the store at 4211 Spicewood, have some great dogs, and see the
entries
for yourself. Here's my suggestion: "Serendipitous Dog".
Got a ring to it,
huh?
4/15
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Only
an April Fool’s Joke: McCormick and Schmick’s is Alive and Well.
And open!
And here I always thought that most folks had
a healthy skepticism for the more outlandish things they read in
the newspaper: apparently not.
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In the wake of the Statesman’s
funny April fool’s Lifestyle front page this morning, McCormick
and Schmick’s, at Congress and 4th, was apparently besieged
with calls asking if it was true that Maria’s Taco Express had
really taken oven the entire building.
McCormick and Schmick’s is open and doing just fine. We had
three pound lobsters there two weeks ago that were terrific.
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And Maria’s is sill
on S. Lamar. And they’re doing fine too.
Happy April Fool’s day.
4/01
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Uchi
Executive Chef Tyson Cole as one of the “Best New Chefs” of 2005
Austin’s own Tyson
Cole, a favorite chef of local sushi lovers and foodies alike, has
been named to one of the culinary world’s consummate “best” lists:
Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs for 2005. The issue will hit the
stands in July of 2005 with the ten selected chefs preparing their
specialties at the Food and Wine Classic in Aspen, CO in June.
Cole is the only Texan in this year’s
line up, and the third chef from Austin to make the list.
4/01
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Openings, Closings, and Food News & Commentary
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Vegan
Nu Age opens at former site of Holiday House in Tarrytown
Well, you know what
they say: out with the old, in with the new. And in Tarrytown, Nu
Age, a vegan restaurant, has opened at the site of the former Holiday
House. The fare, from whole grain pastas to veggie burgers and sizzling
soy fajitas to some very interesting smoothies looks like it will
make all the local vegans quite happy.
At the corner of Windsor and Exposition. Phone: 469-9390
04/07
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Openings, Closings, and Food News & Commentary
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Tin
Star, Promising New S.W. Style Restaurant at Hancock Center, Closes
I don’t get it. Our
local economy is supposed to be so strong, so robust, and yet there
are restaurants out there dropping like flies. Tin Star, a southwest
style fast-casual restaurant at Hancock Center, is the latest casualty.
The food, a variety of wraps and innovative fare (terrific salsas
and amazing shakes) was fine.
Yet the restaurant was not even open a year
before the dreaded cash flow virus caught up with it. And fast casual
is supposed to be the hottest trend in the industry.
There is a very small chance they might reopen,
but the owner is not optimistic.
I don’t understand why these places are going
under when there are lines every night at The Olive Garden.
Well, the truth of it is, we’ll get the kind
of restaurant town we choose to get.
04/08
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Openings, Closings, and Food News & Commentary
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Events You Might Have Missed:
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Save
Our Springs Fundraiser Sunday at Jo’s Coffee on S. Congress: 11-3PM
Depending on your political
affiliation, you are either enamored of or annoyed with The Save
our Springs Alliance (SOS).
So for those who come down on the positive side:
Sunday, April 24th, from 11am-3pm, a fundraiser
for the alliance will be held at Jo’s Coffee on S. Congress. A silent
auction will take place where gift certificates from restaurants
like The Clay Pit and Fleming’s Steakhouse will be available for
bid. Also available will be DVD’s, CD’s, hand crafted jewelry, and
crafts from local designers like chiahats.com.
04/20
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McCormick
& Schmick's Seafood Restaurant to Celebrate Tax Relief Day
In celebration of "Tax Relief Day"
on Friday (4/15), McCormick & Schmick's is serving up some unique
drink specials. The "Boston Tea Party," a "1040 Manhattan,"
a "Dirty Money Martini" and an "In the Red"
Bloody Mary are a few of the delicious adult libations the restaurant
will mix up as a congratulations to those who completed their tax
return or who are waiting a little longer to file. Each "Tax
Relief Day" cocktail is $1.40 each.
McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant is located at 401 Congress
Avenue (corner of 4th and Congress). For reservations, please call
512-236-9600.
04/14
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Ka
Prow to Host Special Tapas Tasting, Apr. 13th-15th
Celebrate Thai New Year (April 13) with Thai
Tapas at Ka Prow at 1200 Howard Ln.
Click here to see the menu. Dinner only between April 13-15.
04/12
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20th
Annual Saveur Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival Storms into
Town This Weekend: April 7-10th
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It's time once again,
fellow foodies, for the Saveur Texas Hill Country Wine and Food
Festival. Started 20 years ago by the folks at Fall Creek winery,
the event, now sponsored by Saveur magazine, has grown into
one of the largest and best events in the country, rivaling
Aspen and Miami. |
The theme this year is "Retro Texas: 20
Years of Food and Wine". It's a loving look back at the food
and wines that have delighted festival goers over the past two decades.
Wolfgang Puck, the man himself, will be in attendance
this year. Also on tap are Stephen Pyles, Robert Del Grande, and
Dean Fearing.
Also new this year is a two-day tasting event
on the shores of Town Lake. And the always popular Star Chefs Friday
night event has been moved to the new Austin Hilton.
For more information, and to purchase
tickets, log on to www.texaswineandfood.org.
04/05
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Finn
& Porter Restaurant Celebrates Texas Music with Star-Studded
Fundraiser for the Texas Music Project
The Finn & Porter
Restaurant located downtown in the Hilton Austin will celebrate
Texas music April 11th with a star-studded fundraiser for The Texas
Music Project, a non-profit organization that helps fund music education
programs in Texas public schools.
The musical lineup includes Patricia Vonne, Shelley King, and Damian
Green, Austin's 14-year old fiddling sensation, with special surprise
guests joining in for a wrap-up jam.
Other top-name performers who support music education in our public
schools also will mingle with guests at the red-carpet event from
7 p.m. to 10 p.m., Monday, April 11, 2005 at Austin's top sushi,
seafood and steak restaurant, located at 500 E. Fourth Street (4th
and Neches). Tickets for the event are $40 per person, which includes
hot and cold hors d'oeuvres reflective of the Finn & Porter
menu, as well as beer and wine. Tickets may be reserved by calling
512-301-4864 or purchasing them on-line at texasmusicproject.org.
"Music is such a big part of Austin's culture
and Finn & Porter wants to be in on the ground floor of developing
new talent by supporting music education programs in Austin,"
said Richard Rogers, general manager of Finn & Porter. "We
are honored and excited to assist the Texas Music Project and its
efforts to promote music education in Texas."
For more information about the Texas Music Project, please contact
Bruce Orr at
(214) 696-1636 or visit their website at http://www.texasmusicproject.org/.
04/01
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