The day has come! Tickets for the Austin FOOD & WINE Festival go on sale today, November 8, at 10 a.m. CST. The Festival, which takes place April 26-28, 2013 at Auditorium Shores and Republic Square Park, will feature a myriad of food and wine events, including hands-on seminars, food, wine, and cocktail tastings, book signings, live music performances, and much more.

The first Austin FOOD & WINE Festival was held in April 2012 – taking the place of the long-standing Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival. Tickets are $850 for a Savor pass and $250 for a Taste pass.

The Savor pass includes priority access to demos, tastings, hands-on events, Grand Tastings, VIP lounges, and the Taste of Texas and Rock Your Taco evening events. Unlike last year, Taste pass holders may also purchase individual tickets for Friday night’s Taste of Texas event ($150) and/or Saturday night’s Rock Your Taco event ($200).

Christina Tosi

A lineup of renowned chefs, talented sommeliers, cocktail experts, and food celebrities will headline the festival, including Marcus Sammuelson, Susan Feniger, Christina Tosi, Tim Love, Paul Qui, Andrew Zimmern, Marc Murphy, and numerous others.

Marcus Sammuelson. Photo taken by Paul Brissman.

The Taste of Texas Kickoff Event at Republic Square Park will feature live music performances by Delta Spirit and Whiskey Shivers and tastings from well-known chefs, including: Tim Byres, chef/co-owner of SMOKE; Jason Dady, chef/owner of Jason Dady Restaurant Group; Ned Elliot, executive chef/owner of Foreign & Domestic; Jodi Elliot, pastry chef/owner of Foreign & Domestic; Aaron Franklin, pitmaster of Franklin Barbecue; Terrence Gallivan and Seth Siegel-Gardner, executive chefs/owners of The Pass & Provisions; Sarah Grueneberg, executive chef of Spiaggia; James Holmes, executive chef of Lucy’s Fried Chicken and Olivia; Paul Qui, founder of East Side King; John Russ, executive chef of Lüke; Chris Shepherd, executive chef of Underbelly; Philip Speer, pastry chef of Uchi and Uchiko; Blaine Staniford, executive chef of GRACE; Danny Trace, executive chef of Brennan’s; Tre Wilcox, executive chef of Marquee Grill; Andrew Wiseheart, executive chef of Contigo; and Jamie Zelko, executive chef/owner of Zelko Bistro.

Terrence Gallivan & Seth Siegel-Gardner

At the Rock Your Taco event, a number chefs will compete against each other in creating the “ultimate” taco. Tyson Cole, executive chef of Uchi and winner of last year’s Rock Your Taco competition, will compete against a mix of local and national chefs, including David Bull, executive chef/owner of Congress, Second Bar + Kitchen, and Bar Congress; Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo, chef/owners of Animal and Son of a Gun; Susan Feniger, executive chef of Border Grill; Bryce Gilmore, chef/owner of Barley Swine; Tim Love, owner of Love Shack, Lonesome Dove, and Woodshed Smokehouse; Tony Mantuano, chef/partner of Spiaggia; Marc Murphy, executive chef of Landmarc and Ditch Plains; Rene Ortiz, executive chef of La Condesa and Sway; Marcus Samuelsson, chef/owner of Red Rooster Harlem; Laura Sawicki, pastry chef of La Condesa and Sway; Christina Tosi, pastry chef of Momofuku Milk Bar; Jonathan Waxman, chef/owner of Barbuto; and Andrew Zimmern, host of Travel Channel’s Bizarre Foods. There will also be a live music performance by Allen Stone at the event.

Paul Qui

The Rock Your Taco winner will be selected by three judges: Christina Grdovic, publisher of FOOD & WINE, Adam Richman, host of Man vs. Food, and a special guest judge. This year’s lineup also features a mix of sommeliers and mixologists, including Tony Abou-Ganim, Devon Broglie, Craig Collins, Anthony Giglio, Ray Isle, Russ Kane, Cathy Mantuano, Bill Norris, Mark Oldman, June Rodil, Jason Stevens, and Nate Wales.

For more information on the fesival or to purchase tickets, please visit the Austin FOOD & WINE Festival website. Follow the Austin FOOD & WINE Festival Twitter and/or Facebook for schedules, details, and news as the festival approaches.

Tagged: 2013 Austin Food & Wine Festival, Andrew Zimmern, Auditorium Shores, austin, Austin Food & Wine Festival, Blaine Staniford, Chris Shepherd, Christina Tosi, Foreign & Domestic, Jamie Zelko, Jason Dady, Jason Dady Restaurant Group, John Russ, Jon Shook, Layne Lynch, Marc Murphy, Marcus Samuelsson, Ned Elliott, Paul Qui, Republic Square Park, smoke, Susan Feniger, Tim Byres, Tim Love, Tre Wilcox, Tyson Cole, Vinny Dotolo

In a previous post, we highlighted an opportunity to virtually hangout with Tyson Cole of Uchi and Uchiko in Austin. Today, Google+ and Zagat join forces again to present yet another virtual culinary gathering. But this time, the excitement stems from Dallas’ culinary scene.

Tre Wilcox

Tre Wilcox, executive chef of Marquee Grill & Bar in Dallas, will host a live cooking demo on the Zagat Google+ page at 1 p.m. CT. You may recall Wilcox from his 2007 Top Chef appearance, as well as his restaurant’s mention in TEXAS MONTHLY’s Where to Eat Now issue as one of the top ten new restaurants of the year. To snag one of the nine available spots, visit Zagat’s Google+ Page and comment on the following post.

Tagged: dallas, Google+, Layne Lynch, Marquee Grill & Bar, Top Chef, Tre Wilcox, Where To Eat Now, Zagat

Dining Room at Congress, Austin. (Photo Ryann Ford)

Starting in 2002, I have eaten my weight in lamb chops, roasted beets, pork belly, and micro-cilantro every year to come up with Texas Monthly’s annual list of the most innovative, exciting, and delicious new Texas restaurants. For 2012, our feature “Where to Eat Now” runs the gamut from a glittering, high-style dining room in downtown Austin to a causal sushi-and-sake bar in Fort Worth.

The full story can be found in the March issue and online. The top ten and runners-up are below.

Pumpkin cheesecake, Barley Swine. (Photo Jody Horton)

The number one slot was captured by Congress, a secluded enclave on the first floor of the swank Austonian condo tower. Since it opened on New Year’s Eve 2010, outfitted in icy crystal lights and cushy booths, Congress has become the city’s default location for special occasions of all types.

(Tip: Congress is also an excellent  choice if you forgot to send candy and flowers on Valentine’s.) Austinites will remember executive chef David Bull when he was a rookie making a name for himself at the Driskill Hotel a few years ago. Now (after a sojourn in Dallas) he’s back in town, at the top of his game.

The year just passed is notable for bringing several dining trends into sharper focus. Chief among them is what I call the offal truth, a.k.a. nose-to-tail eating. Locally sourced ingredients are also the rule these days. Pigs are big, which is observation about both their size and their popularity on menus.

Casual and small-plate dining are more prevalent than ever (several of the top ten choices have beer gardens and community tables). But fine dining is hardly on the way out (three spots are formal with a vengeance). As for culinary style, it’s all over the map: four of

Duck Three Ways, Marquee (Photo Kevin Marple)

the top places are American melting pot, two are classic French, two are Italian, one Indian, and one Japanese.

Here is the list, in order: 1. Congress, Austin. 2. Barley Swine, Austin. 3. Marquee, Dallas. 4. Coppa, Houston. 5. Philippe, Houston. 6. The Monterey, San Antonio. 7. Contigo, Austin. 8. Lucia, Dallas. 9. Pondicheri, Houston. 10. Shinjuku Station, Fort Worth.

The five runners-up (listed alphabetically by city) are Mesa Veracruz Coastal Cuisine, Dallas; Private Social, Dallas. Revolver Taco Lounge, Fort Worth. Feast, San Antonio; Restaurant Gwendolyn, San Antonio.

The restaurants in this year’s story opened between November 1, 2010, and November 1, 2011.

Tagged: Andrew Wiseheart, Anita Jaisinghani, Barley Swine, Ben Edgerton, Brandi Key, Bryce Gilmore, Chris Shepherd, Congress, Contigo, Coppa, David Bull, David Uygur, Erica Waksmunski, Feast, Indika, Jarry Ho, Jennifer Uygur, Lucia, Marquee Grill, Mesa Veracruz Coastal Cuisine, Michael Sohocki, Olga Reyes, Philippe restaurant, Philippe Schmit, Pondicheri, Private Social, Quealy Watson, Raul Reyes, Rebecca Meeker, Restaurant Gwendolyn, Revolver Taco Lounge, Robert Cain, Shinjuku Station, Stefan Bowers, the Monterey, Tiffany Derry, Tre Wilcox, Where to Eat Now 2012