Food Archives - Page 29 of 47

Leander’s Farm To Fork Highlights Local Ingredients

December 23, 2015 by Judy Rae Merhar Leave a Comment

Farm To Fork in Leander, TX

It’s past time to share this culinary treasure, unassumingly nestled between a gun store and mattress outlet. As you enter Farm To Fork, you’ll quickly forget you’re in the confines of a strip mall.

Owner and Chef Shelley Pogue

A colorful tattoo of flames travels up the left arm of Farm to Fork’s owner and chef, Shelley Pogue. The fire stretches toward her left elbow, where colors dissipate and rays of the sun take shape. Short auburn hair frames intense blue eyes. Her posture exudes confidence and strength, softened only by a southern accent, a reflection of her past.

Those blue eyes turn into pools of water as Pogue recollects her biggest culinary influence, the grandmother she affectionately called Mawmaw. In 2004, Mawmaw passed away and bequeathed her home to her granddaughter. The following year, in pursuit of her dream, Pogue made the difficult decision to sell [Read more…]

Chez Zee American Bistro Adds Sparkle, Frosting and Frills to Austin

December 9, 2015 by Judy Rae Merhar Leave a Comment

Fried Chicken Belgian Waffle at Chez Zee in Austin

Fried Chicken and Belgian Waffle at Chez Zee American Bistro (Credit: Madison Pilkington)

Many in search of sparkle peer over jewelry and makeup counters. But there is an enchanting place in Austin offering more fulfillment than shiny objects sold in department stores. Like the crimson baby grand piano tucked in the corner, it’s one-of-a-kind. Welcome to Chez Zee American Bistro. [Read more…]

Casa de Glaze Delivers Sweet Treats by Bicycle

December 2, 2015 by Bill Tucker Leave a Comment

Jenny Grayson welcomes you to Casa de Glaze (Credit: Casa de Glaze)

Whenever you’re rambling around downtown Austin, you’re guaranteed to see something new. Be it a local artist selling paintings, a brand new food truck or a spellbinding street performer, there’s no shortage of cool things to discover. It’s how we roll.

So, when I discovered a bakery selling cupcakes from the back of a bike last week, I shouldn’t have been surprised. But Casa de Glaze is more than a quirky experiment. Built on rock solid recipes and fueled by the energy of its charismatic owner, this mobile eatery is quickly making a name for itself in the Austin baked goods scene. [Read more…]

5 Reasons You Can’t Get Reservations to Eat at Juniper

November 27, 2015 by Mathis Kennington 1 Comment

Juniper in East Austin (Credit: Robert Lerma)

Juniper is East Austin’s newest upscale restaurant. This dining destination on Cesar Chavez combines old-world kitchen style with Texas Hill Country ingredients, so it’s no wonder that it’s next to impossible to get a weekend reservation.

I’m not doing you any favors by writing this article. By the time you’re done, you’ll be reaching for your phone, hoping to get a table in Juniper’s intimate dining area. Good luck. I was barely able to snag a spot at the chef’s counter.

Here are my top five reasons why reservations go so fast. [Read more…]

Café No Sé on South Congress Combines Elegant and Funky

November 24, 2015 by Eliza Weeks 1 Comment

A visit to Café No Sé is a sweet treat for any patron. (Credit: Nick Simonite)

Although no se means “I don’t know” in Spanish, Café No Sé knows how to hold its own along one of Austin’s most well-known streets.

From my perspective, South Congress Hotel serves as a peek into Austin’s future. The minds behind this hotel that hosts Cafe No Sé are greater in number than Austin’s typical local business, but this doesn’t mean they’re any less invested in the spirit of our city than the mom and pop shop down the street. These Austin entrepreneurs have gone to great lengths to grow their hotel with Austin, as the city changes from a once-hidden gem of a town to a top destination. They acknowledge and embrace the cranes permanently caressing the skyline, but strive to preserve the infamous weirdness that put this city on the map. [Read more…]

Former Owners of Your Mom’s Launch Burger Delivery Service

November 23, 2015 by Brittany Highland 2 Comments

Austinites loved the stuffed hamburgers at Your Mom’s Burger Bar, so the news hit hard when the owners announced the closing of their only location on Airport Boulevard in May 2014. After a year and a half hiatus, Ryan and Gina Blackmore are back with a fresh concept under a familiar name. [Read more…]

Swoon-Worthy Driskill Grill Reinvents Fall Menu

November 20, 2015 by Kristin Leigh Leave a Comment

Combozola Black with Sweet Onion Jam and Saba at Driskill Grill. (Credit: Susannah Haddad)

Roll up to The Driskill Hotel and try not to feel giddy. I dare you.

Located smack in the heart of downtown, this stately, behemoth of a hotel woos even the most cynical hipsters among us. The Driskill is the luxe southern darling here in the Capitol City, and the Driskill Grill is its culinary heartbeat. [Read more…]

Experience Life in the Dark During Blind Cafe Pop-up Dinner

November 13, 2015 by Kristin Leigh 2 Comments

Discussion before dinner in the dark during The Blind Cafe (Credit: The Blind Cafe)

Standing outside the American Legion, watching the sun set against a showy peach sky, I am equal parts hungry and excited. I have arrived with fifty other Austinites for a multi-sensory pop-up dinner at The Blind Cafe.

I have to admit I’m just a bit nervous, though. I eye my plus one, Lisa, secretly praying she’s excited and not about to bail before we head in. Our chef-prepared vegetarian feast, complete with an after-dinner concert and discussion is going to be amazing, but it will be enjoyed in utter, complete darkness.

The Blind Cafe facilitates unique, pop-up dinner events across the United States that promote positive social change and host legally blind keynote speakers. What that means is that dinner guests are guided by blind waitstaff into a pitch dark dining room where tables of six to eight people sit together. There they enjoy dinner, listen to gorgeously curated live music, ask questions about what it’s like to be blind and listen to the experiences of the blind facilitators hosting the event. All of this in the dark without a single glimmer of light or distraction. [Read more…]

Can’t Decide What to Eat? There’s an App for That!

November 10, 2015 by Eliza Weeks 1 Comment

The Tasty app allows you to pick the food category that fits your mood (Credit: Tasty)

It’s safe to say I’m a foodie. When I’m not trying a new restaurant, I’m drooling over online menus of restaurants I wish I could go to. We can’t have too much of a good thing, but at the rate new restaurants are opening in Austin, it’s challenging for this humble foodie to keep up!

Thankfully, an inspiring group of young engineers has created an app called Tasty. It puts my foodie problems to rest and has the potential to change the way we all experience dining in Austin.

New Way of Understanding Taste

As coworkers and housemates, Mokshika Sharma, Federico Galarraga and Dimitar Dimitrov spend a great deal of time together. They have two things in common: passion for food and interest in technology.

“We are all from cultures immersed in food,” notes Sharma. “I’m Indian, Fede is Spanish and Dimitar is Bulgarian.” Their culinary [Read more…]

Cele Store: Where Horror, BBQ and Hollywood Mingle

October 21, 2015 by Judy Rae Merhar 3 Comments

What do Michael Caine, Clint Eastwood and Leatherface have in common? They’ve all wandered into an old general store 23 miles outside of Austin, called Cele Store.

This location has been the backdrop for several movies, including Secondhand Lions, A Perfect World and Texas Chainsaw Massacre I, II and III.

So if you’re into Hollywood, horror and/or smoking hot BBQ, you might want to buckle up and drive east to Manor, TX. [Read more…]