Bits and Bites -- Food + Restaurant News

Events
-- Jack Allen's Kitchen in Oak Hill hosts the 6th Annual Lone Star Paralysis Fundraiser, 6 - 9 pm, $150/person, January 26th.
-- Eat East, a group of restaurants/bars promoting East Austin returns February 2nd (the first Tuesday of each month).  Check their events page for full list of participating restaurants. 
-- The Blind Cafe , a socially conscious dinner in the dark, is back at the American Legion, February 2 - 4. Great experience, see my post here! 
-- Central Market's Chocolate Fest (all locations) runs February 3 - 16; lots of sampling with their Chocolate Stroll on February 4th, 5 - 7 pm.

 -- The Hightower hosts Amadeo's Army, February 4th, which is a community dedicated to promoting awareness and fundraising for Becker Muscular Dystrophy; 20% of food sales between 5-10 pm will be donated. 
-- Olive + June hosts Col d'Orcia wine dinner, $100/person February 4th.
-- Sway hosts an Indonesian pop-up dinner, February 4th.
-- Coffee and donuts pop up bakery at Lenoir, February 7th, 10 am
-- Mama Fu's celebrates Asian New Year with $10 off purchases of $20 or more, February 8 - 12
-- Antontelli's and Emmer + Rye team up, February 8th for a five-course dinner, $75. 
-- Lenoir hosts a Valentine’s-themed wine tasting, February 11 from 5:30 – 7 pm, featuring winter reds and roses with Beverage Director Chris Kelly.
-- Former Austinite Scrumptious Chef will be visiting from NOLA with a pop-up Creole dinner at Tamale House East, February 27th
-- Austin Oyster Festival, benefiting HOPE Market, February 27th, $50/person at the French Legation.
-- One of my favorite events from last year, Lamb Jam from the American Lamb Board, will return to Barr Mansion, Sunday, February 28th. $60/person. 

-- The Wine and Food Foundation of Texas presents Roast + Toast, February 28th, $75/person. The event will celebrate Texas' growing wine industry with a sip and stroll tasting of the Texas Monthly's Best Texas Wines of 2015.
-- The Austin Food and Wine Festival is back April 22-24, tickets now on sale; I would love to see Ming Tsai!

Openings, etc.
-- Torchy's Tacos now open at South Congress and West Mary (the old Fran's).
-- Prelog's now doing Sunday family-style suppers.
-- The Carillon has new winter menu featuring "new American cuisine with a Texas focus and modern spin." 
-- Emmer + Rye now offering Happy Hour, Tuesday through Sunday from 5 - 7 pm. 
-- Austin-based fast casual Freebirds World Burrito has six dishes under 600 calories to kick off the new year (and actually, 4 of them are under 500 calories).
-- Pacific Rim Sushi + Yakitori Lounge now open for lunch.
-- Barley Swine has relocated to 6555 Burnet Road; now open for dinner. 
-- Isla open for Saturday and Sunday brunch.
-- Burn Pizza now open for lunch.
-- South Congress Hotel now has happy hour in the lobby bar. 
-- Dallas pizza restaurant Cane Rosso announced they will open in the old St. Philip spot in Sunset Valley, and also bringing local ice cream truck Cow Tipping Creamery to brick and mortar.
-- Flyrite Chicken at 2129 E. 7th opens February 7th.
-- Contigo has various options for Super Bowl Snacking (February 7th).
-- Fresa's has wood-fired wings and other snacks for the Super Bowl too.

Valentine's Day Specials

-- Andiamo: $70 dinner
-- Barley Swine: dinner
-- Cafe No Se: macarons available, 5 for $20
-- The Carillon: 5-course dinner, $80 with optional wine pairings, February 12-14

-- Contigo: 4-course dinner, $65

-- Dai Due: $85/prix-fixe dinner 
-- Dine: $69 dinner

-- drink.well: dinner
-- Emmer + Rye, 7-course dinner, $75
-- epicerie: brunch (new Chef de Cuisine, Keith Abate)

-- The Flying Carpet: dinner on February 13th, $50

-- Gardner: 4-course dinner, $65

-- Goodall's: 3-course dinner, $70

-- Isla: Paella special for two -- Jack Allen's Kitchen: Red velvet cake glazed with chocolate ganache

-- Jacoby's: Sunday brunch and Valentine's dinner (normally not open on Sundays)

-- Juniper: brunch, with half-off bubbles
-- Lenoir: pop-up brunch

-- Odd Duck: brunch and dinner 
-- Olaime: 5-course dinner, $100 with optional wine pairings, Saturday and Sunday

-- The Peached Tortilla: pre-fixe menu $45/person

-- Peche: dinner specials 
-- Prelogs: dinner special, $75 
-- Russian House: dinner for two, $150; $280 for VIP caviar menu
-- Sagra: Valentine's brunch and dinner 
-- Sala + Betty: $40 dinner
-- Texas French Bread: prix-fixe, $65, Saturday and Sunday nights 
-- The Townsend: 4-course meal for two, $200
-- VOX Table: Saturday and Sunday specials 
-- Walton's Fancy and Staple: floral specials
-- Whislers: burlesque and boozy cocktails, Saturday and Sunday 

Image via Babble.com

Bits and Bites -- Austin Food News

LOTS of stuff coming up!

Events
-- I Knead That pop up bakery at Metier, January 24th and 31st, 10 am until sold out, cash and credit cards now accepted; Flat Track Cold Brew will also be available.
-- Bacon and Beer Fest  is this Sunday, January 25th, but it's sold out! Hope you got your tickets for this tasty annual event.
-- January 27th, 6 pm, Jack Allen's Kitchen (Oak Hill)  hosts a Gulf seafood cookout benefiting the Lone Star Paralysis Foundation,$150/person, tickets here.
-- Chavez will host a 5-course Folio Fine Wine Dinner on February 3rd; $100/person.
-- Central Market's (all locations) annual chocolate festival will be February 4 - 17. This year's event, A Chocolate Affair, will also include a store wide chocolate tasting on February 6th from 5 - 8 pm.    
-- Leading up to their 5th anniversary, Antonelli's Cheese Shop has a couple different events going on: Feb 9th -- Pig Crawl with La Quercia charcuterie maker Herb Eckhouse; Feb 10th -- pizza party with special pies at ABGB; Feb 11th (their actual anniversary) -- a house party at their shop. Check their events page for more details on all of these!
 -- Sit Stay Day from Emancipet is coming up on February 13th. For $175, you purchase a box of locally curated items donated by area restaurants and food smiths; the various items are gathered in a basket, which can be delivered to your Valentine on the 13th. Some South Austin favorites such as Sugar Mama's, Bouldin Creek Cafe and the Soup Peddler are amongst the donors, and the full list can be found on their website.
--  Lamb Jam will be February 22nd,  at Barr Mansion, brought to you by the American Lamb Board, with 16 local chefs making great use of lamb. $60/person.  From the press release:

Competing for the titles of “Best in Show,” “People’s Choice” and “Best Mediterranean, Asian, Latin and Middle Eastern inspired dishes,” chefs will prepare and serve their most flavorful American lamb fare to be voted on by lamb-loving attendees and judged by Austin’s top food media. 

 -- February 26th, is the Official Drink of Austin event, where the local bartending community gets the spotlight, as the Austin Food and Wine Alliance partners with the Tipsy Texan. Tickets $45 before February 1st, $55 after. 

-- The Gluten Free Food Allergy Fest will be February 28 - March 1 at the Austin Convention Center. Attendees will be able to sample hundreds of gluten-free and allergy friendly foods, learn new cooking techniques and sit in on lectures from leading researchers in the field.  
-- The third annual Austin Oyster Festival will be February 28th, 12 - 6 pm at Carson Creek Ranch, $45-75/person, benefiting the Capital Area Food Bank. East and west coast oysters, bloody Mary bar, games, live music and more!
-- Tickets now on sale for the Austin Food and Wine Festival, April 24 - 25; restructured pricing from last year.

Super Bowl -- February 1st 
-- Did you know that chicken wings have surpassed pizza as the "must have food" for Americans watching the Super Bowl? Pluckers will make 5,000 wings an hour for the 4-5 hours surrounding the big game, but you can place your order now!
-- Fresa's will have special offerings for the game, including wood-grilled wings, jalapeno poppers and 7-layer dip.
-- Salty Sow and Roaring Fork present "Dinner On Us" (or, buy one entree get one free) throughout Super Bowl Sunday.

Valentine's -- February 14th, duh! ** make reservations now!**
--Three course luncheon at Fall Creek Vineyards, $39/person (includes wines); strawberry and goat cheese salad, choice of chicken, pasta or spinach tart, chocolate raspberry mousse
-- Five course dinner at Olamaie, $80/person with optional $45 wine pairings; Olamaie Biscuit, Venison Heart & Sunchoke Tartare, Day Boat Fish, Rutabega Spoonbread, Biscuit Wellington, and Chocolate Cremeux
-- Four course dinner at Finn + Porter, $75/person, with optional wine parings. Different offerings for each course, which include oysters, smoked duck, sea bass, and hazelnut pot de creme. 
-- Five course dinner at The Carillon, $80/person, with optional $65 wine pairings; beef tartare, grilled romaine, blue prawns, beef tenderloin, and chocolate in black and white. (They're serving on both Feb 13 and 14.)
-- Four courses at Lenoir, $65/person. No further menu info available at this time.
-- Four courses at Sagra, $50/person, with optional $15 wine pairings; different offerings for each course, including saffron bisque, pistachio crusted scallops, and creme brulee; vegan options also available.
-- Odd Duck and Peche will offer plate specials as well.  
-- Dai Due offers three savory courses plus dessert. 
-- Due Forni: dinner for two for $60. 
 -- Epicerie, four courses for $45/person with scallops.
-- NXNW has four courses for $49/person with beef tenderloin or snapper. 
-- Daily Grill, three courses with choice of lamb, scallops, or filet + lobster as an entree.  
-- The Preserve at Travaasa offers four courses for $75/person with optional $45 wine pairings. Entree choices include halibut, prime rib, or vegetable melange. Couples massages also available. 
-- And a "Love Hangover" brunch at drink.well on February 15th.

Now Open/New Offerings
-- Barley Swine's Hour of Snacks and Drinks (aka Happy Hour) is now a thing, every Monday through Friday from 5:30 - 6:30 pm.
-- Eastside Cafe is now offering their homemade soups ($3.95/12 oz and $4.95/16 oz) to go next door at Elaine's Pork and Pie. Check their Facebook page for daily varieties.
-- Chi'lantro, a 1509 South Lamar -- Korean/Mexican fusion food.  I attended the media preview last week, and found the k-pop chicken wings to be particularly tasty! Excited to have them in South Austin!

-- Lucky's Puccias at 1611 W. 5th Street
-- Delysia Chocolatier and Tito's Vodka have paired up for three new limited edition truffles.
-- Ramen Tatsu-ya is holding soft openings at their new south location (1234 South Lamar) through January 24th, with their official grand opening on the 25th.

In Progress...
-- The old Fran's at Mary and South Congress was demolished this week to make room for the new flagship Torchy's Tacos.