Food-o-File
Wining and dining
By Virginia B. Wood, Fri., Feb. 27, 2015
Krystal Craig and Ian Thurwachter introduced plans for their new Italian restaurant, Intero, during a pop-up dinner at the Swoop House recently. According to the young couple, choosing the name Intero, which translates to "whole" or "complete" in Italian, embraces the full concept of a restaurant from the food to the people and the space. Craig owns a local artisan chocolate company, Crave Chocolates, while Thurwachter is currently a chef with the McGuire Moorman restaurant group. Their concept is to create a restaurant like many they saw when traveling in Italy, with a full menu of seasonal dishes, an artisan chocolate counter, and a specialty beverage program. Intero will be designed by Chris McCray and the team is currently involved in negotiations for an undisclosed space in South Austin. No opening date is projected at the moment, but future pop-ups are planned to generate financial support for the new eatery.
Mas Vino (1611 W. Fifth #165) will be a new wine and tapas bar in the former Beets Cafe space in West Austin. Local oncology research coordinator and wine aficionado Gilberto Alejo plans to spotlight the best wines from the nearby Texas Hill Country in addition to approachable wines from around the world. We'll keep you posted on the opening date.
Two new wineries have joined the Wine Road 290 group, making a total of 15 vineyards, wineries, and tasting rooms along the highway from Johnson City through Fredericksburg. The main property of Fiesta Vineyard & Winery (6260 Hwy. 290 E.) is north of the Hill Country near Bend along the Colorado River, while the vineyards of Lost Draw Cellars (113 E. Park in Fredericksburg) are located in the High Plains AVA, where owner Andy Timmons has the largest grape farming acreage in the state. Now that they have a presence in the Hill Country, both Fiesta and Lost Draw will participate in all the upcoming events listed at www.wineroad290.com.
Les Dames d'Escoffier's Austin chapter, a community service organization for female culinary professionals, has issued a call for scholarship applications. Based on the success of their fundraising efforts over the past year, the Austin chapter will award two scholarships of $4,000 each. According to the press release, applicants must be women who have completed at least 20 credit hours while maintaining a grade point average of at least 3.5 and are currently enrolled in a local certificate or associate degree program in culinary arts, baking and pastry, or hospitality and restaurant management. Contact scholarship committee chairperson Meredith Beeman-Lynes (s0618i@heb.com) for application packets. Applications must be postmarked by March 30, 2015.
Violet Crown Management owners Jesse Herman and Delfo Trombetta have now joined forces with Bill Stapleton, Bart Knaggs, Patrick Jeffers, and Stuart McManus, formerly affiliated with New Waterloo Partners, to create a full-service hospitality, hotel, and event venue company now known as Violet Crown. The group's upcoming project is the South Congress Hotel (1603 S. Congress), set to open in July 2015.