Food & Drink Archives - Page 61 Of 74

A Taste of Texas Chefs Featured at Austin Food and Wine Festival 2014

May 7, 2014 by Lizzy Newsome Leave a Comment

Food at Trace Austin Food and Wine Festival Event

Dishes created by Trace at the 3rd Annual Food Republic Interview Lounge

You can still smell the smoke! The recently concluded Austin Food and Wine Festival celebrates the constantly evolving tastes of Texas, the flavors, aromas, cultures, and characters. Itself evolved from the earlier Texas Hill Country Food and Wine Festival, it brings chefs from all over the world to our fair city to showcase their skills and knowledge to attendees and contemporaries.

Once confined to more populous metros such as New York and LA, the chefs of honor at this exclusive culinary event are more likely than ever to call Texas home. We all know that we live in a state full of delicious dishes, but have you ever looked up from your brisket to thank the cook? [Read more…]

Don’t Settle for the Tex-Mex Version: Best Micheladas in Austin

May 5, 2014 by Edgar Barguiarena 5 Comments

Dos Batos: perhaps the most authentic Michelada served in Austin – only $5-6 bucks too!

As the temperatures in Austin begin to steadily rise, the urge for a cold cocktail tends to increase in tandem. But after long summer nights, the headache creeps in the next morning, slowly sapping your will to live.

Enter the Michelada: a beer cocktail that is equal parts delicious and refreshing with the added benefit of being a “hangover cure.” So what exactly is in this miracle concoction?

Let’s start with what it’s not: a “bloody mary” beer. The biggest misconception with Micheladas in the U.S. is that they’re just beer mixed with ice and whatever bloody mary mix is lying around behind the bar (typically poured with a light Mexican beer). If you order one and the bartender comes back with a red drink, they ain’t doin’ it right. [Read more…]

Kick Off Grilling Season With Southern Traditions Grass Fed Meat

May 1, 2014 by Cris Mueller Leave a Comment

Southern Traditions grass-fed beef (Photo credit: Jeff Parnell)

Don’t let the name fool you. Southern Traditions Grass Fed Beef brings more to the table than just beef, and cooking it up is sure to uncover home-grown memories for just about anyone.

The grass-fed meats from Southern Traditions are a sustainable product of the family owned and operated 5G Ranch, located in Briggs, Texas. For 40 years, the family has delivered a product that contains no additives, no use of corn and offers customers higher levels of Omega 3’s, vitamins or antioxidants, and is naturally fortified. I found it most fascinating that the cattle, goats and lambs are born, raised and harvested right here in our backyard, only about 45 minutes from Austin.

Owner of Southern Traditions, Jeff Parnell, was under the white canopy at Lone Star Farmers Market this past Sunday, where he and I were speaking carnivore. “People just love our [Read more…]

5 Best Pizza Joints in Austin

April 29, 2014 by Jessica Pino 19 Comments

Pizza by the slice at East Side Pies

You may say I know a thing or two about pizza. My parents bought a pizza shop when I was 8 months old. I started officially working when I was 11, until I went off to college.

In my college years, I often gave into eating bad pizza for a variety of reasons: far from home, nothing else around and, quite simply, too lazy to care. I’ve grown older and wiser, and it has become my personal mission to try every pizza joint in Austin. So here’s my list of what I believe to be the best pizza places in Austin…so far. [Read more…]

WhichCraft Is Austin’s First Craft-Only Beer Store

April 28, 2014 by Matthew Champion 2 Comments

WhichCraft opened on April 19, 2014 in Austin

Editor’s Note: WhichCraft is closing its original location on Sept. 22, 2018. The newer Mueller location will remain open.

Do you ever get tired of sifting through all the crappy domestic beers at the grocery store to get to what you want? Come on, guys. I drank that stuff in college, but I’m grown now. I look for quality over quantity and I like to actually taste my beers and distinguish them from one another.

If you’re not looking for what you’re forced to drink at a baseball game, head over to WhichCraft, where you’ll probably be interested in nearly everything on the shelves.

WhichCraft has impressively filled a niche that was still available for the taking in Austin, by becoming the city’s first craft-only beer store. No sifting through the shelves here. You won’t find any of the watered-down lighter lagers from the big beer companies, or wine or liquor for that matter. When WhichCraft says craft beer only, they mean it. [Read more…]

Award Winning Olive Oil Sprouts in Heart of Texas

April 24, 2014 by Lizzy Newsome Leave a Comment

Bella Vista olive oil made in Texas Hill Country

How much do you know about olive oil? Due to its growing prevalence in our restaurants and kitchens, there’s a good chance you’ve partaken in the extra virgin variety today!

Between salads, sautes and emulsions, it’s easily possible to consume olive oil every day of the week. Yet how often do we stop to consider the origins and characteristics of this transformative anointment? Recent press has highlighted the importance of vetting your olive oil supplier, and where better to start than close to home? You may not know this, but there is olive oil production within 50 miles of Austin! [Read more…]

Battle of the Brunches Round 1: South Congress Cafe

April 23, 2014 by Samantha Champion 3 Comments

South Congress Cafe is located at 1600 S Congress Avenue. (Photo credit: South Congress Cafe)

Today marks the beginning of a six-part series entitled Battle of the Brunches, where a handful of the hundreds of brunch-serving spots in town will be evaluated based on the rigid criteria of deliciousness, enjoyableness, and overall awesomeness.

All six spots have been previously determined to be well above average, so think of my series as more of a brunch bucket list than a head-to-head bloodbath, if you will. I just really liked the image of quiche and frittata going at it in some underground fight club.

To kick us off, I’m honing in on what seems to be one of the most beloved brunch spots in Austin: South Congress Cafe. Nestled neatly among other ’04 favorites such as Vespaio, Uncommon Objects and Home Slice, South Congress Cafe has been serving some of the best food south of the river since 2003. Owned by the same folks as Trudy’s, South Congress is like the Tex-Mex joint’s hipper, more sophisticated sister. [Read more…]

Walton’s Fancy and Staple Refreshes with Food and Flowers on West 6th

April 14, 2014 by Matthew Champion 1 Comment

Many don’t know it, but Walton’s Fancy and Staple has been around the Austin area in some form or fashion for 45 years now. It began in 1969 with a focus purely on flowers and plants, as Walton’s Florist and Nursery in the neighboring city of West Lake Hills.

Walton's Fancy and Staple on West Sixth Street

Walton’s Fancy and Staple at 609 West Sixth Street

In 2009, the owners of Bess Bistro (hi, Sandy!) moved the business across the street from them on West Sixth Street, and renamed it Walton’s Fancy and Staple. They kept the floral aspect of the company intact, while adding an expert team of bakers and a top-notch delicatessen. [Read more…]

Always Oktoberfest at Sixth Street’s Easy Tiger

April 10, 2014 by Lizzy Newsome Leave a Comment

Easy Tiger on 6th Street in Austin

There is a sweeter smell wafting down the alleyways of Dirty Sixth. The aroma is sweet enough to tempt the most finicky of eaters, and may even make established Austinites question their preconceived notions about our city’s most notorious street.

While 6th Street’s strongest associations may be cheap liquor and cover bands, hidden restaurant gems have been here for years. A more recent addition to the list is Easy Tiger, a somewhat unexpected mix between bakery and bar that has quickly become a local favorite.

I’ll take the yummy one!

[Read more…]

Lunch Break? 7 Local Options Around 7 Dollars

March 26, 2014 by Samantha Champion 2 Comments

Looking for cheap lunch spots in Austin? You’ve come to the right place (Photo credit: The Jalopy on Facebook)

Every afternoon around 1 PM, I tell myself “today is the LAST day” I’m going to buy my lunch this week…that from now on, I’m strictly a brown-bag girl. I daydream about planning my meals over the weekend and grocery shopping in advance.

The next morning around 7 AM, I decide that ten more minutes of sleep is so insanely critical that I will most definitely die a slow and painful death if I get up any second earlier than is absolutely necessary in order to make it to work on time-ish. I bargain with myself. I even second-guess showering. I’m not exactly a morning person.

This scenario repeats itself at least four times a week, leaving me with no other choice than to head out in search of yet another cheap lunch option that doesn’t involve any sort of pink slime. Enter my list of some of my favorite affordable Austin lunch spots where you can find a relatively quick midday meal for around $7 (because $5 is just ridiculous, but $9 lunches seem so Manhattan). [Read more…]

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