Bits and Bites: Austin Food News

Events
-- Browne Family Vineyards four-course wine pairing dinner at Olive + June, Thursday, October 29th, $96/person.

-- Pop-up bakery from I Knead That at Metier (1805 S. First) on Saturday, October 31st, 10 am.

-- Throughout November, Noble Sandwich will "swap" sandwiches with four other national restaurants in the inaugural Signature Sandwich Swap; proceeds benefit Share Our Strength's No Kid Hungry.
 
-- Still some tickets left for the Texas Monthly BBQ Fest, this Sunday at the Long Center, $80/person.

-- Texas French Bread hosts a Boggy Creek Farm harvest dinner, Sunday November 1st, $60/person.

-- The Blind Cafe, a socially conscious dinner in the dark will be in Austin November 3 - 5; see my blog post for more information on this unique event!

-- Tuesday, November 3rd is National Sandwich Day, and ice cream sandwich shop Moojo celebrates with a $1 off their Superhero sandwich.

-- Eat East, happening the first Tuesday of each month (coming up: November 3rd) where a number of centrally located east Austin restaurants offer a special on that day.

-- Shake Shack is partnering with Hops + Grain to bring live music the first Tuesday of each month; on November 3rd at the Domain location, Supernomadic will play from 6- 8 pm, and Hops + Grain beers will be half off.

-- Six-course Kaltern Winery pairing dinner at Dine, $65/person, November 5th.

-- The annual Wurstfest, November 6 - 15.  #sausageonastick

-- Tickets for Wine and Swine on Sunday, November 8th are still available, and the full lineup of chefs/dishes/hog heaven has been announced. (I'll be volunteering at registration, come say hi!)

-- The Brooklyn Brewery #AustinMASH tour begins November 8th; see their site for all the events; this is the largest traveling international beer and arts festival.

-- All locations of Wienerschnitzel will offer a free hot dog and small drink to veterans with valid military ID, proof of service or by wearing a military uniform on November 11th in appreciation for their service.

-- Startup Food Weekend, November 13-15, is a food tech conference looking for ways to impact the global food system. From their site: We're looking for passionate foodies, students, entrepreneurs, developers, chefs and designers who want to innovate new systems and products related to food. Come learn the basics of founding and launching a successful startup while solving real problems we face in our food system. 20% off registration via this link.

-- Swoop House presents East Austin Supper Club with a dinner with guest chef Egil Valentin, November 13th, $85/person.

-- Austin Bakes is back on November 14th. This city-wide bake sale has raised thousands of dollars in the past for various relief efforts. Be a volunteer baker or a generous shopper, more details on their site.

-- Johnson's Backyard Garden postponed their Fall Potluck and Harvest Hustle event to November 14th.

-- November 15th will be the 10th bi-annual Sustainable Food Center Chef Series dinner at La Condesa; ticket are $150/person.

-- The Salt Lick BBQ is teaming with Jester King Brewery on Wednesday, November 18th for their first pairing dinner, $75/person.

Openings/News
-- Pinthouse Pizza has just opened at 4236 South Lamar, next to Bombay Bistro and Pei Wei.

-- Two much anticipated Italian spots have opened on the east side: osteria-inspired Al Fico opened at 1700 E. 2nd Street and modern Italian Juniper at 2400 E. Cesar Chavez.

-- Kerbey Lane's fall pumpkin menu will be available October 28th. Austin Monthly is holding a $50 gift card drawing.

-- Harvest restaurant delivery has just launched.

-- Gourmet By Numbers now has desserts available on their menus.

-- Wheatsville Co-op has partnered with Instacart; new users can get a $10 discount and free delivery with the code wheatsville10.

-- Baby Greens, the former South Austin salad drive through, will reopen in 2016 on Anderson Lane.


-- Happy hour at Texas French Bread, Monday - Saturday, 3 - 5:30 pm, with drink and food specials
-- Gardner has a new fall a la carte menu featuring seasonal items.

-- The Tapatio Springs Hill Country Resort and Spa in Boerne just completed a $3 million renovation. Their on site restaurant, La Cascada Table + Bar, has live music on Friday and Saturday nights, and features local Texas fare from a host of regional dairies, farms, and ranches. From breakfast Vaquero Huevos Rancheros to Poteet Farms produce to Bandera quail, you will not go hungry though you're at a spa!

-- New fast-casual chain Blaze Pizza will open in December in Lakeline Commons (14009 North Research Blvd., #103), close to the Lakeline Mall.

-- Artisanal snow trailer SnoLabs begins their winter break November 1st.

-- Amy's Ice Cream on South Congress closed, as the landlord doubled the rent. Booo.

Order Up!
-- The holidays are coming, so start thinking about your meals. (Yes, already!)

• Central Market's Holiday Hotline opens November 2nd (orders will be taken online this year!).
• Pre-order your pies from Tiny Pies , Pie Plante, and CafeNoSe.

Bits and Bites -- ATX food news!

Let's Celebrate!
 -- Celebrity chef Mario Batali has a new web series called Batali Cooks 4, where people Tweet him four different ingredients and he comes up with a recipe. For his fourth installment, he picked cauliflower, anchovies, walnuts, and Parmesan submitted by my friend and foodie mentor, Elaine DiRico! Click the link above to see what he created.

-- Congrats to Les Dames d'Escoffier of Austin for raising over $12,500 in their recent Food Fight online auction, for culinary scholarships and farm to table initiatives. 

Events + Happenings
-- Hops and Grain is having a Halloween party on October 31st; $5 at the door, which includes a beer glass.  Costumes encouraged!

-- The second annual Austin Oyster Festival will be November 3rd at Shoal Crossing Event Center, tickets are $50-75, and will get you various raw, grilled, and fried oysters as well as a bloody mary bar!

-- Epicerie and Jester King Brewery are teaming up for a cheese and beer pairing class as part of Austin Beer Week, November 3rd at 6:30 pm at Epicerie. Tickets are $35. 

-- Jack Allen's Kitchen (Oak Hill location) will host a bourbon pairing dinner with with Buffalo Trace Distillery, November 5th at 7 pm. Tickets are $75. 

-- A new concept restaurant,  Vox Table will debut next spring, and until then, they will host a series of pop-up dinners. The first will be November 6th, at 7 pm, on the 55th floor of the Austonian Building (the view of the city from up there is stunning!), tickets are $60, and benefit No Kid Hungry, a non-profit striving to end child hunger.

-- The Austin Food and Wine Alliance's annual Wine + Swine, a celebration of all things pig, is November 10th from 11am - 4 pm at Ceres Park. Tickets $75 - 95.  Check their link for the awesome list of local chefs participating. (And yours truly will be out there volunteering!) 

-- The first Austin Meatball Festival will be held at Winflo Osteria on November 23rd; several area restaurants will be competing for the best meatball title. {Have to say, the best meatball I have had in town has been from Patrizi's, who is sadly not on the list of participants.}

-- From the press release:  "The Rattle Inn (at 610 Nueces St.) will soon unveil three murals on the exterior walls of the bar inspired by vintage Topo Chico ads....Kevin Williamson, who owns Ranch 616, Star Bar and Rattle Inn, has long been a fan of Topo Chico and commissioned this project to pay homage to Topo Chico’s rich history...Williamson hired Show Goat Mural Works for this project to showcase the history of Topo Chico, which has been sold in Mexico since 1895 with an important presence in Austin and sold across the United States."

Openings + Menu Updates
 -- Italian gelateria Dolce Neve will be opening in Bouldin Creek along South First Street between Mary and Annie Streets in December. They are Italians who have come to Austin to make their handmade gelatos, using locally-sourced ingredients like Mill-king milk. I live in the neighborhood, and CANNOT WAIT!!!

-- Local chef Shawn Cirkiel (Parkside, the Backspace, Olive + June) will transform the TGI Friday's at the Radisson Hotel on Cesar Chavez into a contemporary southwestern restaurant, opening in early 2014. 

-- TacoDeli will debut two new spots in 2014, one in Crestview at 7301 Burnet Road and the other in the Village at Westlake at 701 South Capital of Texas Hwy.  

-- New York-based Shake Shack will open their first Texas location alongside the rebuilt Alamo Drafthouse on South Lamar. Look for it in late 2014. (I've never been to one, but it sounds like Hopdoddy to me. Yes/No?)

-- Also late next year, the team behind Stubbs BBQ will open a new bar/restaurant at 615 S. Lamar, in the old Ridgeway Reprographics building.

-- NoVa on Rainey Street is now doing Sunday brunch.

-- Kenichi Austin has debuted their fall menu, with items such as lamb chops and sea bass with grapefruit truffle miso.

-- Finn + Porter also has a new menu with seasonal items beef cheek ravioli and signature sushi dishes such as Tuna + Chocolate.

Bits and Bites

-- Matt Odam, the food critic for the Austin American-Statesman has unveiled his list of Austin's Top 50 restaurants. Great list, some old warhorses that you expect to see, some newer spots, and some I had never heard of! I think I have been to 37 out of 50 -- so many places, so little time! And money! ;)
 
-- Tickets are on sale for next Sunday's Wine and Swine event! Looks like an amazing line up, and I will be there volunteering with some other food blogger friends!