Bits and Bites

Jeez, how'd it get to be Labor Day already?!

Here's what's going on:

Events
-- Buy one entree, get one free at both Roaring Fork and Salty Sow, on September 2nd.

-- Jack Allen's Kitchen (original location) is holding a local Texas spirits dinner (as in alcohol, not ghosts) on September 3rd, $75/person; email banquets@jackallenskitchen.com for reservations.

-- Olivia continues their Summer Dinner Series with a Pacific Northwest meal on September 5th, $115/person; for reservations, eat@olivia-austin.com.

 -- Dining for Life, which supports AIDS Services of Austin, will be September 16-17; participating restaurants will donate a portion of their proceeds to ASA. 

-- Olive + June is hosting a wine and pasta dinner with Italian winemakers from Tenute Silvio Nardi and Tenuta Sette Ponti, September 16th, $100/person.

-- Austoberfest will be in full-German swing on September 28th from 1 - 6 pm at Saengerrunde Hall, with all you can eat German food from the area's best meat purveyors, including Louis Mueller and Black's barbeques. $35 in advance/$45 at the door.

-- Edible Austin is planning an Edible Escape to Marble Falls for an evening highlighting regional chefs, food artisans, and winemakers from areas North and Northwest of Austin. September 29th, $35-45/person.

-- The 24th La Dolce Vita Food and Wine Festival is October 24th from 6 - 9 pm at Laguna Gloria.  From their press release: "Guests will be privy to 'the sweet life' as they experience and taste the creations of over 50 of the best and brightest culinary teams and wineries." Tickets are $150 for general admission/$200 for VIP, and they benefit the newly re-branded venture, The Contemportary Austin.

-- Fado Irish Pub is now showing the English Premiere League soccer matches; schedule can be found here, and they've got a full brunch menu.

-- Umami Mia Pizzeria, KUTX (98.9 FM) and LiveVibe are partnering to host live music at Umami Mia, beginning September 1st. See their website for the list of upcoming musicians. 

-- Daily Grill in the Domain is now offering a new happy hour drink and food menu; daily happy hour from 3:30 - 7 pm.

Openings
-- A-OK Chinese, a new partnership of former Mars and Alamo Drafhouse Executive Chef John Bullington and front of the house manager Jerry Reid, will open at 1509 South Lamar around the holidays.

-- Dai Due has announced plans for a kitchen and butcher shop at 2310 Manor Road; former Sway Chef Rene Ortiz will consult on the kitchen layout. 

-- No Va, from Chef Brad Sorenson, at 87 Rainey Street, serving modern American foods, including late night pizza and tacos to support the area scene.

Bits and Bites -- Food News

Events
-- Trailer Food Tuesdays at the Long Center resumes on March 26th; the list of tasty truck at this month's event can be found here.

-- Sagra will have an Easter Buffet for $25/person on March 31st.

-- Texas Veg Fest will be April 6th at Fiesta Gardens. 

-- Edible Austin is sponsoring a Children's Picnic and Real Food Fair, on April 7th at the French Legation. 

-- Austin Restaurant Week returns April 7 - 10 and 14 - 17. Check out their pages for what spots will be participating. 

-- The CultureMap Tastemaker Awards will be April 11th at the Driskill Hotel, $50/person, which benefits the Austin Food and Wine Alliance. 

-- On April 14th, the Sustainable Food Center's Chef Series Spring Bounty dinner will be held at La Condesa, $125/person, benefiting the SFC. The multi-course dinner will feature chefs from Congress, La Condesa, Lenoir, Olive + June, Salt + Time, Smoke + Chicken Scratch, and Sway.

-- And the iconic food trailer park on South Congress Avenue has gotten a brief reprieve, and the trailers are there through May, though I hear some are already moving out. Hey Cupcake has migrated about a block north, next to Homeslice. 

Openings
-- Smashburger, part of a California burger chain, has opened in Southpark Meadows.

-- Arro, the latest project (this one being French-inspired) from 24 Diner and Easy Tiger's Drew Cullen and his pastry chef wife Mary Catherine, will open in the former Haddington's (601 W. 6th) later this year. (Yes, Haddington's closed last weekend.)

-- Searsucker, from Top Chef and The Taste's Brian Mularkey, will open in the former Maria Maria (415 Colorado) later this spring.

 

Bits and Bites

Opening

-- Lenior, from Todd Duplechan and wife Jessica Maher, officially opens in the old Somnio spot on January 20th at 1807 S. 1st Street

-- Easy Tiger, a bake shop and beer garden from the folks behind 24 Diner, at 709 E. 6th Street, opening January 23. Bread and beer...potentially a celiac's nightmare and a carb-lover's dream!

-- Hillside Farmacy, from Sonya Cote of East Side Show Room, a soda fountain/bar/deli/grocery store /carryout kind of place. 1209 E. 11th. Sort of a Walton's Fancy and Staple for the east side?

Closing

-- El Greco's kitchen nightmare has come to fruition, and they have officially bitten the dust. 

-- Get Sum Dim Sum has closed their 45th & Lamar location; apparently they are in negotiations for a spot close the UT campus....stay tuned!

Events/Changes

-- On January 24th, the Lone Star Paralysis Tequila Bash will be at Jack Allen's Kitchen, where five local chefs will be pairing their dishes with various tequilas. $200/person, which includes spirit pairings, in addition to tax and gratuity;100% of ticket sales will be donated to the Lone Star Paralysis Foundation
-- Austin Restaurant Week has tweaked their structure a bit. Restaurants will now be able to register on ARW's website, and $1 of each meal will go to the designated charity. Mark your calendars now for the spring cycle of ARW, April 1 - 4 and April 8-11. The new Austin Food Trailer Week will be May 6 - 13.
-- Valentine's Day at Braise for $99/couple. 
-- The Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival is now the Austin Food and Wine Alliance. Their inaugural festival will be April 27-29, largely at Auditorium Shores.

Bits and Bites

Mostly reposts from my Twittering, but bits and bites to pass along. Will try to make this a weekly segment!

-- P Terry's has opened a new location at South Congress and Ben White/290. I believe it's at the northwest corner, by the Shell gas station. Eater Austin has more, here. Hopefully they've designed it so the overflow of cars waiting in line are along the side street, and not actually blocking traffic on SoCo, or the 290 access road. Cross your fingers!

-- Although they moved from just off Lake Austin Blvd to way out on Bee Caves two years ago, Zoot is closing. The owners will transform it into BC Tavern, says Forklore/Mike Sutter. I hadn't eaten there since the move, but as they say, all good things must come to an end.

-- The Cooking Channel's show Eat St. is currently in town filming various food trailers. Show them some love! The camera will love the very charismatic Iba, owner of Cazamance, where they'll be tomorrow evening. He's a good guy too. :)

-- Looks like the Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival has now become the Austin Food and Wine Festival, targeted for March 30 - April 1, 2012. Read more from Sutter.

-- Congrats to Barley Swine, named best new restaurant in all of Texas, by Texas Monthly magazine!

-- And while this isn't local news, the National Pork Board is giving away a year's supply of PORK to a lucky winner! Enter here by May 31st, and if YOU win, you must share with me!