Senior editor Katy Vine, author of the Greatest Barbecue Story Ever Told, put together a BBQ Road Trip soundtrack. It features fourteen songs with a variation of the word "barbecue" in the title, six tracks called "Salt and Pepper," three boogies, an ode to white bread, and one catchy instrumental that captures the fizzy feeling one gets when they consume the magical elixir that is Big Red. Listen below, or here.
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Thu June 6, 2013 1:50 pm
Erica Beneke, executive chef of Max's Wine Dive in Austin, took home the victory on Food Network's Chopped.
The popular network series requires four chefs to open mystery baskets consisting of foreign ingredients and odd flavor combinations and prepare dishes that showcase their culinary creativity in an appetizer, entree, and dessert round. The competition pitted Beneke against chefs Erik Cho, Vanessa Ayala, and Vincent Williams. Beneke is the fourth Austin chef to compete on the show this spring.
Beneke dishes included fried plantains with coriander-crusted catfish, apple, and cilantro; fried capon wing with potatoes and halloumi with blueberries, paprika, and chiles; and fried pizza dough empanadas with cookies and cream filling, strawberries, vanilla, and sugar.
“It was a huge honor to be chosen to compete on Food Network’s Chopped and I was thrilled to have come out on top. It was an extremely exciting experience, and I’ve been blown away by the support shown by my friends, family, colleagues, and the entire MAX’s Wine Dive family," Beneke told Texas Monthly. "It was important for me to represent MAX’s, the city of Austin, and especially young female chefs in the best way possible, and I can’t think of a better way to do it than with a victory."
Beneke brought home $10,000 for winning the competition.
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Tue June 4, 2013 2:30 pm
The private tasting room/Qui's library and office. He describes the concept of the room as eating "inside my brain."
Finally! Top Chef Texas and James Beard Award winner Paul Qui announced today that his much-anticipated East Austin restaurant, qui, will open its doors on June 20. Qui, who was the Chef de Cuisine at Uchi and the Executive Chef at Uchiko, has been on the verge of opening his first full-scale restaurant for months, but kept getting delayed by one thing or another. Among the hold-ups were a series of culinary expeditions he took over the past eight months to Europe and Asia, from which he appears to have returned with a lot of ideas.
According to a press release, opening dishes include Salmon Butter (Ora King salmon poached in oil with a texture that resembles spreadable butter); Rabbit 7 Ways (rabbit prepared using French, Thai, and Vietnamese stylistic touches, served with greens and carrot nuoc mam dipping sauce); and Street Urchin (grilled Mexican street corn topped with sea urchin bottarga). Desserts will include a Cheddar Cheese Ice Cream Sandwich (with crispy waffles, honey, and Cabot cheddar); Mais con Yelo (milk ice, corn milk, and chocolate leche flan); and Kakigori (a Japanese-inspired coconut snow cone with a rum and cinnamon custard and caramelized peanuts).
Like East Side King, qui has managed to draw together an impressive roster of talented, eccentric, and creative folks (watch a video of the process here). June Rodil, formerly of Congress and Uchi, is the general manager and manager of wine, and Tim Dornon, who was the Chef de Cuisine at Uchiko, came over as Chef Consultant. Local architects Eric Barth and Ryan Burke of A Parallel Architecture designed the space, which features a main dining room, a small tasting room located in Qui’s office/library, and an open kitchen. A local potter made the plates and bowls, and Japanese artist Peelander Yellow (who painted the East Side King food trailers, also a Qui project) painted the interior of the restaurant.
Editor-in-chief Jake Silverstein was at the restaurant yesterday for a feature on Qui in the forthcoming issue of the magazine, and came back with these photos of the new space.
Qui is located at 1600 E. Sixth Street. Dinner Monday through Saturday. Information available at www.quiaustin.com.
The private tasting room/Qui's library and office. He describes the concept of the room as eating "inside my brain."
The bar.
Qui's idea board where he assembles concepts for dishes. Large tags indicate potential main courses, and small tags indidate preparations. "If the tags are clustered together, it's possibly a dish."
A joke ingredient, we assume.
The main dining room.
The hostess stand.
Qui's fiance, Deana Saukam, who works as Qui's PR/media/event wizard.
Tue June 4, 2013 1:48 pm
The Texas rap musician announced the launch of a new culinary website, YouGottaEatThis.com, this weekend at the Free Press Summer Festival media breakfast alongside Uchi Culinary Director Philip Speer. The duo have developed a mutual admiration for one another's craft through Uchi Houston.
"I've always been a big fan of good food, but eating at places like Uchi have completely changed the eating experience for me," Bun B said. "I want to continue and share that experience through YouGottaEatThis.com."
The site, conceptualized by Bun B and Premium Pete, features sections on recipes, pizza, snacks, restaurants, vegetarian cuisine, drinks, and sweets from all around the world. Through the blog, users are encouraged to submit meals and drinks for others to view and share in the WDYET (What Did You Eat Today) section. Famous chefs and respected culinary personalities will also contribute to the blog as well.
During the brunch, Bun B and Speer utilized lyrics from Bun B's career to create Uchi-inspired dishes. The eclectic plates included Choppin' Blades (a fried pork chop, green eggs, and crystal lettuce), Bun (pork belly buns, pickles, and herbs), Country Shit (chicken karaage, sweet chili, and smoked potato salad), and I'm Cold (Captain Crunch ice cream with freeze-dried berries).
The festival brunch also served as a preview to the upcoming Feast: A Dinner Series that the Blaffer Art Museum and Uchi is hosting in the coming weeks. In the five-part series, Speer and his team will collaborate with artists featured in Blaffer's fall exhibition "Radical Hospitality in Contemporary Art," to create gourmet feasts that re-imagine the notion of hospitality.
For more information on the series or to purchase tickets to one of the dinners, click here.
Full disclosure: Texas Monthly is a sponsor of Feast: A Dinner Series.
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Fri May 31, 2013 4:58 pm
Starting tomorrow, June 1, James Coney Island is upgrading its signature line of dogs.
For a six-month period, the ninety-year-old Houston fast-food establishment will feature a six-part series called the "Houston Chefs and Show Dogs," which features gourmet, refined hot dogs from chefs around the Houston area.
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