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Openings
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Musings about town
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Austin
Fights Hunger with Taste
It seems appropriate, somehow, that people
who make their living providing us all with gourmet meals, should
give back to those less fortunate. That's what's happening in Austin
with the Taste of the Nation benefit for SHARE OUR STRENGTH. An
All-star panel of Austin Chefs including young genius David Bull
of the Driskill Grill, national award winner Will Packwood of Emelias,
Peter O'Brien of Si Bon, and Dan Haverty of the Shoreline Grill
(just to name a few) will offer up some serious food and drink at
three separate benefits in the next couple of weeks. All proceeds
will go to CARITAS of Austin and to the SUSTAINABLE FOOD CENTER.
First, on Tuesday, June 19th at Malaga Tapas
and Bar on 4th St., will be Lucinda's Hutson's Tequila Fiesta. This
is $40 per person and figures to be an outright blast. Event runs
from 6-9pm.
On June 20th, Wednesday, there will be a
gourmet wine dinner at tres chic Emelia's. This event is limited
and costs $200 per person. The food will be world class. Here's
just a brief look at the fare Will Packwood will serve up: Seared
Day Boat Scallops, Chiliean Sea Bass, Butter Braised Veal Tenderloin,
Roasted "Good Heart" Venison Strips, and peach spiked
Buttermilk Pie. Of course, each dish will be paired with a wine
specifically selected for that dish. Time is from 6-9PM. Call 899-9290
for more Info.
The final evening, Thursday, June 21st,
will give most of the star chefs at chance to "do their thing."
At the Driskill Ballroom, from 7-10 PM. this may be the bargain
of all time for only $75 per person. Come on, if you could have
David Bull, Peter O'Brien, Dan Haverty, Marion Cilchrist (La Traviata),
Jaques Richard (Aquarelle), Sam Dickey (Granite cafe), Larry Perdido
(Saba), John Maxwell (Zoot), Charles Mayes (Cafe Josie), Paul Clark
(Star Canyon), and Dave Hermann (The Range) all dishing up mouth
watering delights for you, wouldn't you agree $75 is a bargain,
considering that every cent goes to charity????
Again, number is 899-9290. Call now and
book your spots for one or all of these three great events.
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Rojo
Red
New at the Capitol Marriot on 11th St. is
Rojo Red. (Literal translation of that is "red red".)
It's downstairs in the hotel. Regular readers know my usual aversion
to hotel food. But Rojo Red steps out from the mold and kicks some
butt! They've got corn bread that's absolutely to die for and a
compelling array of entrees in the $9-$15 range. Chef Jim Trippe
has his culinary concepts firmly implanted on Rojo Red, and from
my first experience, they are dead on the money. Look for a formal
review of Rojo soon, but you don't need to wait for my advice: book
a reservation.
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PF Chang's
Downtown, across from the Mongolian Barbecue
on 2nd St., popular Chinese Bistro PF Chang's has opened a 2nd Austin
location. (Their first store opened several years ago on Jollyville].
I had lunch there on the day they opened. Started with the Peking
Dumplings which were excellent. Then tried the Kung Pao Chicken.
It was also quite good. The interior style is different from their
Arboretum store but equally attractive. It's got more of a downtown
business flavor to it. For their first day, the staff comported
themselves quite well. No obvioius flaws or miscues. Everything
ran efficiently, which is critical for a downtown lunch place. Merifully,
they valet in the evening, but at lunch, you're on your own.
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Lunch
at Girasole
One
of my favorite Italian eateries, Girasole, on 4th and Lavaca, recently
started opening for lunch. Went there last week and it was a treat.
An ornate antipasta bar is set up at the rear: artichoke hearts,
tomatoes and mozzarella cheese in a balsamic vinagrette, smoked
salmon, italian lunch meats, mushroom and onions... and many more
items. Delicious! Also had a lovely Caeser salad... very nice taste
here. And the tri-color linguini with seafood in a cream sauce.
The dish was light and delectable. I lingered over lunch, a good
hour and a half, and the place was busy the entire time. This is
a welcome addition to the downtown lunch scene.
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Dubya's
Daugher and Chuy's
(East Coast Sensibilities????)
Do you believe
the article in the Washington Post about Dubya's errant daugher
Jenna being caught "red handed" with a fake ID while trying
to buy a marguerita at Chuy's? My personal feeling is leave the
kid alone.
But what about the Post's description of
Chuy's as a tex-mex joint with "killer margueritas and average
food." The Statesman's John Kelso called the author of the
story and asked her how she came to the conclusion that Chuy's has
average food. She said she relied on anecdotal information from
three colleages with "east coast sensibilities" who had
dined there. What the hell does that mean? East coast sensibilities?
They probably couldn't distinguish a tamale from a taco. Remember
when President Gerald Ford, a noted Yankee with ostensible East
coast sensibilites came to San Antonio and at a tamale, husk and
all? The issue is not whether Chuy's has average food, which in
my opinion, it does. But I've earned the right to make that statement
by plowing through 20 years worth of tacos, enchiladas, tamales,
chili con queso, and other tex-mex fare. I would not presume to
go to the East coast (with my Texas sensibilities) and pronounce
judgement on the myriad varieties of say, clam chowder for example,
that one might find there, without some extensive due dilligence
on my part. Doubt we got that in the Washington Post's article,
and I, for one, am ticked off about it.
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Cozzoli's
I stumbled across a little pizzeria on Congress
the other day called Cozzoli's. I was pleasantly surprised. The
pizza was crisp, and good. Ditto for the vegetarian calzone which
I found to be excellent. The stromboli, at $3.49 was a steal. And
the baked zitti with meatballs was not overwhelmed with ricotta
cheese as one often finds with this dish. There are other Cozzoli's
around the area and I suggest you check them out.
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Whatever
happened to the Wines of the 70's?
Older baby boomers will remember fondly,
or perhaps not so fondly, the era of wine drinking when Americans
had relatively little choice and four wines dominated the scene:
Mateus, a horrid little wine from Portugal, Blue Nun (made famous
by the Stiller and Mara commercials), Riunite (they even had an
ad suggesting it was "nice" to put Riunite over "ice".
Arrrggghhh!!!!!!) and Lancers. Now, that we've become a nation of
wine snobs, with even the lowliest of us apparently able to wax
poetic about the virtues of a pristine white Bordeaux compared to
a more sallow white burgundy, it almost makes me a bit nostaligic
about those days when if you wanted to impress a girl on a date,
you showed up with a bottle of, God help us, Cold Duck!!!! Great
Article about this in the May edition of Food and Wine magazine.
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Truluck's
Wine Pairing Dinners
Now that chef Johnny Carino is up
and running at Truluck's (4th and Colorado), you can look for his
culinary passion to be manifested in a number of creative ways.
Saw the first of those last month in a wine pairing dinner with
an Australian winery. Johnny served up a grilled sea bass that was
absolutely outstanding. The meal and the evening was a smash. Next
Truluck's wine pairing dinner is Monday, June 11th. Call the restaurant
for more details at 482-9000.
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Best
Mexican Breakfasts
We are truly blessed in the river
city to have an awsome contingent of places where we can indulge
in one of my passions, Mexican desayuno, or breakfast. My favorite
for huevos rancheros is Joe's Bakery on E. 7th. Awesome. Great choriso
migas can be had at El Sol y La Luna on South Congress near Riverside.
Tacos are terrific at Juan in a Million on East 1st (Caeser Chavez)
and at Las Manitas on Congress at 2nd. Another spot for great desayuno
is Curras on E. Oltorf.
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Readers: Do you have suggestions for this
list?
Drop us an email
and we'll share your opinions next month.
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Question
of the Month
Peggy Adler, from North Austin, writes:
"Why is it that there appear to be
so many chain restaurants and so few owner-operated restaurants
in North Austin."
Well Peggy, it doesn't just appear to be
that way, it IS that way. For every Saccone's Pizza or Reales (both
on 183) there are a twenty chain restaurants. For every Mirabelle
(on Mesa near Spicewood) there are dozens of Red Lobsters and Joe's
Crab Shacks. For every Brick Oven (on Jollyville) there are five
IHOPS.
The largest contingent of owner-operated
restaurants has centered in the downtown and central Austin areas.
There's also a surprising string of independent operators out in
the Southwest/hgwy 620 area: Hudson's on the Bend, Hill Country
Pasta House, Calame's, The Emerald Restaurant, Barbara Ellen's,
Wilson's Hill Country Cuisine, Lemongrass, and the inimitable Rosie's.
Independents are the diner's best bet for innovation and quality
control. But the public has to support them.
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