Food-o-File: Friday Lagniappe

Sometimes there is too much Austin food news to squeeze into the print edition of the Chronicle. Rather than wait a week, we've decided to give our readers a little bite of something extra.

• Lammes's Candies enters their 130th year serving the Austin community in 2015 and folks at the venerable confectioner are busy today opening a new store at 2927-A W. Anderson Ln. The new retail outlet replaces the popular store at North Lamar and West 38th that was lost to development earlier this year. They've got a full supply of signature chewy pralines and peppermint taffy for all the Lamme's lovers on your holiday list.

• Eden East (755 Springdale Rd) chef Sonya Coté celebrates her Italian heritage by presenting the Festa dei Sette Pesche (Feast of the Seven Fishes), a southern Italian and Italian-American holiday tradition. The multi-course feast will include dishes made with fish, shellfish, and mollusks, enhanced by seasonal vegetables and herbs grown at Springdale Farm, home to the unique eatery. Dinner is $70 per person and reservations are strongly suggested. Friday & Saturday, December 19-20.

• To commemorate National Hamburger Day on Sunday, December 21, all Austin Waterloo Ice House locations will be offering $5 hamburgers and cheeseburgers. In other good burger news, don't be a Grinch, invite someone to join you at Hopdoddy Burger Bar for a holiday-inspired Roast Beast burger special ($11) made with a Texas Kobe beef patty smothered in steak sauce with green beans and Who Hash (smoky sweet yam casserole) on a fancy dinner roll bun. Either deal should have you singing Fahoo Fores this weekend!

• Fans of Eastside Cafe's signature fresh salsa will be pleased to know the tasty stuff is once again for sale in 12oz containers for $2.75. "The salsa was always a big selling item at our farmers' market booth and we've had so many requests for it that it's back by popular demand," reports Eastside owner Elaine Martin. The salsa recipe is also included in the recently re-issued Fresh & New, Tried & True cookbook ($15.95) and both items are for sale at Elaine's Pork & Pie, next to the restaurant.

• This has been record season for holiday fundraisers! The Thanksgiving Day tradition Thundercloud Turkey Trot raised a whopping $335, 000 for Caritas of Austin this year, their higgest donation ever. And last week, the "Stuff the Bus" event sponsored by Whole Foods Market and Capital Metro generated food for more than 30,000 meals for the clients of the Capital Area Food Bank, twice as much as they raised last year. Good work all around.

• Indulge your inner culinary decorator with a gingerbread house class at Make It Sweet (9070 Research Blvd).The houses are already built and the $25 price includes all decorating materials. Classes are scheduled at intervals all day and many are full, so call 512/371-3401 to check availability. Tuesday, December 23.