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The Beat Divas—the celebrated Austin female vocal trio that warbles while it works—has filmed its first video. To celebrate the occasion, they’re having another of their hallmark cooking-singing classes (they sing, not the students), on Saturday, June 18, from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at Central Market Austin, north
Well, well. It looks like the quirkiest little city in Texas might have to have a showdown with its big brother. (Cue tumbleweed and some Western whistling.) Austin has long been the food truck king in this state, but Houston is quickly gaining ground. Last week I sampled some amazingly
Tyson Cole, who is the force behind the two most innovative Japanese-fusion restaurants in Texas right now, tied for the title of Best Chef Southwest at the James Beard Foundation awards gala in New York City last night. (His co-winner was Saipin Chutima of Lotus of Siam in Las
Dear Froot-Loops-Milk Crème Brulée, A year ago, Houston hardly had any food trailers. The few that did exist were only open seasonally, and at strange hours. Now the scene is growing faster than ironic mustaches in 2002. Hip trailers are Tweeting their locations and serving eclectic items to more-eclectic customers
Francesca's at Sunset, San Antonio, and Saldivia South American Grill, Houston.
PICTURE YOURSELF ON A Mexican-tiled patio as sunlight filters through a rustic roof made of slender wooden latillas. A margarita stands at the ready, droplets of moisture condensing enticingly on the chilled glass. Within arm’s reach on your left is a cast-iron dish piled with chunky guacamole. On your right
Watching lawmakers bicker over the state budget in Austin reminds us of the old adage about what politics and sausage have in common. Fortunately for sausage, its approval ratings are through the roof. “It’s become easier to stuff sausage at home, since more places are selling small grinders and stuffers,”
If I were the goat at the Giggling Goat gastro-trailer, I don’t know if I’d be giggling or grieving. On the one hand, the gourmet offerings, such as Japanese sweet potato fries and a lamb loin Greek salad, are mouth-wateringly delicious. On the other, the cabrito (i.e., goat) burger is
Years ago, I was under the impression that every Texan knew what a salt lick was, loved the smell of hay in an old barn, and knew better than to request chocolate pie for dessert, lest one be handed a cow patty from the fields. But a dear friend of
If you’re not already busy on the evening of Friday, June 3, consider going to the Edible Austin-sponsored Texas wine dinner at the AT&T Conference Center in Austin. I could be prejudiced, because I was one of the judges who got to choose the finalists, but it sounds absolutely
Awesome Tomatoes Feature: Fried Green TomatoCritics 83% Audience 91%Movie InfoGenre: Southern, Comfort Food, ComedySynopsis: The Whistle Stop Café it ain’t, but the Fried Green Tomato, on the corner of South First and
On March 29 we received this letter to the editor: The greasy slop recipes in Home Plates are disgusting, the photos were stomach turning. The chili looked like diarrhea, the meat was charred and carcinogenic, and anything fried and/or covered in cheese and grease is disgusting. The enchiladas look
It was when I was talking to our cover boy, Buffalo Gap Ranch owner Tom Perini, about frying chicken, that I realized something: The common denominator in a good half of the dishes we feature in our April cover story, “Cook Like a Texan,” is a cast-iron vessel. Think about
I spent the last seven years living away from Texas - that's right, got back as fast as I could - and there were times, especially in smallish Missoula, Montana, that the best restaurant in town with Texas food was certainly our kitchen. That wouldn't have happened without Lisa Fain,
How had six years gone by since I attended the Buffalo Gap Wine and Food Summit? It’s the best of the small-scale wine and food fests in Texas–maybe in the country–and the most scenic, with walk-around tastings under the live oaks behind the Perini Ranch Steakhouse and a
Long before this month’s “Cook Like a Texan” package, in December, 1983, Texas Monthly published a cover story boldly headlined “The Texas Food Manifesto”. The author was Alison Cook and even today, more than 27 years later, the story is an astonishing tour de force. And an enormously
(Photo courtesy of Sylvia's Enchilada Kitchen) Last month, Sarah Kliff, a food and travel writer for the BBC, visited Texas. It was on the half-hour flight between Houston and Austin that realized I might be descending into some culinary trouble. I, a vegetarian for a decade now, was flipping
A sixth-generation Texan and 30-year food writer, June Naylor’s passionate about food, about Texas, and about the intersection of the two: While she was working on this month’s “How to Cook Like a Texan” cover story, she was also busy promoting the 9-month-old Foodways Texas, an organization dedicated to
Photograph by Jody Horton Talk about the saying, “nothing succeeds like success”: The instant that Austin’s Franklin Barbecue moved into its new, bigger, brick-and-mortar location at 900 West 11th (512-653-1187), it had already outgrown the space. I asked owner Aaron Franklin about this
There’s no wolf at Raymond Tatum’s new dining venture, Three Little Pigs, but the food will certainly blow your house down. The renowned chef, formerly of Austin institutions such as Jeffrey’s and Jean-Pierre’s Upstairs, has finally opened his own trailer, with the help of his son,
Our April “Home Plates” package included “Last Meals” from Jim Lehrer (“no dessert or coffee” – with good reason), Willie Nelson, Jason Moran (who takes up for mac-and-cheese as a vegetable), Charles Butt, Karen Hughes and Governor Rick Perry (bing-cherry congealed salad with cream cheese and pecan topping –
If I’ve learned one thing in 36 years of writing about food, it’s that everybody’s a critic—and Texans, being naturally ornery, are more opinionated than most. So when we here at the magazine decided to do our April cover story on the topic “Cook Like a Texan,”
Yesterday evening, while my husband and I were out admiring our highly productive (read: are you tired of lettuce yet?) raised vegetable gardens in the backyard, the neighbor called us over to ask us a very important question. “Say,” he started, beer in hand, “Would y’all mind it if my
Most of the time, comfort food from a trailer translates to french fries. Forget mashed potatoes, chicken-fried steak, or anything else that requires a fork and a knife. Instead, your choices are hand-cut, frozen, Belgian, waffled, chili cheese. But once in a while, you come across a truck that has
I suppose you could call it a working vacation, but since I’m in Marfa (staying at the Paisano Hotel, loafing around, going to see Donald Judd’s magical aluminum boxes, hanging out at the bookstore), the vacation part seems to have priority. But, still, after dessert today at the
We aren’t surprised that Bryce Gilmore, the brains and creative talent behind Barley Swine and Odd Duck Farm to Trailer, has been named one of the 2011 Best New Chefs by Food & Wine. He’s been on our radar for quite some time (his father, Jack Gilmore,
(scroll over the photos to see captions; click to see full photos) Imagine a farmers market on steroids. Now add alcohol. Hey! You’ve got the Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival’s sold-out Sunday fair. Despite the scorching 85-degree weather, everyone had a grand time at this large gathering of
On Friday, April 1, food writer Josh Ozersky (he composes the Taste of America column for Time magazine and was formerly the editor of New York magazine’s don’t-miss food blog, Grub Street) spoke on the ideal hamburger, the burger of his dreams. He’s entitled. The man wrote the book
There’s something deliciously naughty about attending a beef grilling event at an exotic game ranch in Texas. Add celebrity chefs, the open flame, and a corridor of wine purveyors to that mix and you’ve got yourself a party. In other words, the Texas Hill Country Wine and
You don’t have to be a posh Londoner to try the latest ice cream craze. The Icecreamists shop in the U.K. may be selling their infamous “Baby Gaga” flavor, made with breast milk, vanilla, and lemon zest, but D Cup, a hip new spot here in
The first person I think of when it comes to cooking like a Texan is Enrique Madrid. You probably have someone you think of, your father, perhaps, or your grandmother. I think of Enrique, a historian, archaeologist, cook, defender of the borderlands, author, and lecturer whose family has been living
Philippe and Haddington's.
Houston
(Ground beef guru Josh Ozersky, from a 2008 Nightline appearance) Wednesday at approximately 4 p.m., culinary event planner Mike Thelin was driving around Austin in search of hardwood briquettes, trying to fill a last-minute request from one of the many chefs participating in the Texas Hill Country Wine and Food
Last time I tried a sushi trailer, it was mid-June. The air undulated with heat waves, sweat beaded on my forehead, and even clocks melted onto the ground. “Uh-oh,” you say. “Food poisoning?” Surprisingly, no. Sushi A-Go-Go’s rolls were solid then and are now. But before the
Fat Tuesday may have already flashed across Sixth Street this year, but you don’t need a holiday excuse to eat at Lee’s Hurricane Party, at the Longhorn Food Court, in West Campus. This Cajun trailer serves up some of the best gumbo and grub in town, year-round.
As they say, there’s good news and there’s bad news. The good news is that three Texas chefs are final nominees for the James Beard Foundation awards for Best Chef: Southwest–they are Bruce Auden (Biga on the Banks, San Antonio); Bryan Caswell (Reef, Houston); and Tyson Cole (Uchi, Austin). That’s
SXSW is not just about the music. Let’s be realistic: It’s about waiting in line. But anyone can wait in line, anywhere. The doctor’s office, H-E-B, Six Flags. Oh, but how to cozy into the cool queue rather than trail in the terminal tier! Don’t worry. With a
Who cares how the sausage gets made? We’re back in Austin this week, and Man Bites Dog’s beef franks, brats, and sausages are so scrumptious that you’ll soon find yourself shoveling them in as if you’re part of a one-man hot dog eating contest. The front-runner was
Gabrielle Hamilton owns Prune Restaurant, in New York. You might have even eaten there. A tiny, awkward place in the East Village. Very much a stop on the food-lover’s circuit. Well, now she’s written a passionate, pull-out-the-stops, utterly intense memoir of her life as a chef, and I cannot
Last week we took a little road trip to a place called Bizarro Austin, otherwise known as Portland. While we’re out on the highway, let’s meander down to San Antonio and see what they’ve got going on in the world of trailers. Word on the street is that the new
No knock on Tim Byres of Smoke restaurant, in Dallas. He’s great. He certainly is a worthy “people’s choice” for Best New Chef in the Southwest, which is a recent nationwide online competition dreamed up by Food & Wine magazine. (The winner was announced today.) But here’s my problem:
I don’t usually review cookbooks in this space. I mean, hello, I eat out for a living. But every now and then a cookbook comes along that is such a great read and has such dazzling photography that I can’t put it down. Uchi, the Cookbook is one of those.
Tango & Malbec and Seasons 52.
Austin
You’re walking through the east side. In front of you dashes a flannel-clad hipster, carrying recycling on the back of his bike. Suddenly he pulls over, to a food trailer park brimming with trucks featuring quirky names and colorful, kitschy exteriors. You’re in Austin, right? Not so fast.
Hey! Texas didn’t do badly at all in the semifinalists lineup for the Oscars of the culinary world, the James Beard Foundation Awards. The list was announced this morning. There are two more voting rounds to go before the winners are announced at a gala at Lincoln Center in New
One, two, three, four. I declare a food truck war! Spotted: The Coreanos guy grinning sly while saying, “We tried what Chi’Lantro had to offer, and we thought we could do better.” Them’s L.A. fightin’ words! He wasn’t just blowing smoke from the grill,
Food & Wine has a new spin on their highly anticipated ten-best-new-chefs awards. They’re doing an additional people’s choice list, and voting has begun. It will be much, much more inclusive, and six Texans have been nominated for the Southwest region. In fact, Texas totally dominates the list of
Forget chocolate-covered strawberries, dozens of roses, and the fondu pot. No, all you need to woo your Valentine today is this recipe. Sure, it’s a little labor-intensive, but trust me. It’s worth the time, the effort, and all the pre-baking finger-licking you can handle. And here’s a plus: if you
