Food-o-File
For the first time in 50 years, Austin is without a Holiday House restaurant. Plus: Event-o-Rama.
By Virginia B. Wood, Fri., April 30, 2004
Holiday House
For the first time in 50 years, Austin is without a Holiday House restaurant, the family-friendly, dine-in hamburger joints created by longtime local restaurateur Ralph Moreland. Locations on Barton Springs Road and Airport Boulevard have been closed for quite some time, but the original Tarrytown outlet lasted 50 years at the heart of that West Austin neighborhood. In anticipation of losing the lease in the Tarrytown Center, Moreland opened a new Holiday House in West Lake Hills last fall, but the business didn't survive the move and closed recently. Score another kill for animal activist Jeanne Daniels, who inherited the Tarrytown Center at Windsor and Exposition several years ago and has systematically ousted every business that sold meat products from her property. Repeated efforts to contact Moreland have been unsuccessful, but we've heard from Tarrytown residents of all ages who are grieving the loss of a business that was an anchor in their community.
Event-o-Rama
Starting tonight, the next week is jam-packed with food-related events with plenty of opportunities for fine dining and charitable contributions.
The local chapter of the national hunger relief organization Share Our Strength has several events scheduled over the next week that will ultimately benefit Caritas and the Sustainable Food Center locally.
At 7pm tonight, Thursday, April 29, take a trip Around Fourth on a Fork at the corner of Fourth and Colorado in the Warehouse District with a progressive dinner at Málaga Tapas & Bar, Crimson, Saba Blue Water Cafe, and Cedar Street Courtyard.
Sunday afternoon, May 2, check out the Wild Beast Feast: Clay Shoot and Wild Game Dinner at the Cypress Valley Preserve, featuring food from several top Austin chefs.
The third option is a benefit dinner class at Central Market Cooking School (458-3068) at 6:30pm on May 12, taught by chef Sam Dickey of Granite Cafe and Seven. For more information about the events or to make necessary reservations, call 328-3935 or go to www.tasteofthenation.org.
The Capital Confectioners Club and All in One Bakeshop (8566 Research, 371-3401, www.allinonebakeshop.com) invite you to their annual Day of Frosting and Frills on Sunday, May 2, with demonstrations by several area pastry and dessert experts. The event will be held at Tracor Lane Cafe (6500 Tracor), and reservations are suggested. In conjunction with the Frosting and Frills event, All in One is also sponsoring an appearance by internationally known sugar artist Nicholas Lodge, who will teach limited-seating, hands-on classes April 30-May 4. Contact All in One owner Jennifer Bartos for more information or reservations.
Mark your calendar for next Thursday, May 6, so you'll remember two fun parties. Manuel's Great Hills (10201 Jollyville Rd., 345-1042) will host a garden party on their patio called Gifts for Moms from 5 to 7:30pm. The Easter Seals event will raise money to provide Mother's Day gifts for Central Texas mothers of children with disabilities. Manuel's provides the fun, food, drinks, and door prizes. Admission is $15 per person or $25 per couple, with kids free.
Downtown that same evening, celebrate Cinco de Mayo at the festive street fair outside Mexic-Arte Museum (419 Congress, 480-9373, www.mexic-artemuseum.org) at the Taste of Mexico 2004 from 6 to 10pm. Tickets are $25 for a dazzling array of food and drinks from many of Austin's finest Mexican restaurants and food businesses, as well as visiting restaurants from south of the border.
