Food-O-File

While the rest of us were hanging stockings by the chimney with care, Threadgill's owners Eddie and Sandra Wilson were departing on a trip that has to be a major contender for Most Exotic Holiday Excursion. The intrepid twosome flew out of Austin on Sunday, December 21, en route to Auckland, New Zealand to visit Sandra's daughter, Xena co-star Reneé O'Connor. The family will then take a jaunt to the South Island, where they'll be hiking the legendary Milford Trek, billed as the "Most Beautiful Walk in the World," with scenery ranging from desert to glacier, lush rain forest to sandy ocean beach. Once the trek is completed, the Wilsons will catch Reneé at work on the Xena set before returning home in early January.

H.E.B. is testing a new concept in take-out dining at big new stores in Schertz, outside San Antonio, and in Round Rock (RR620 & O'Connor, 310-2686) The restaurant/meal markets are called Greats! and offer freshly cooked or pre-packaged restaurant quality meals ready to eat from five different menus: American Heartland, Asian Pacific, South of the Border, Lone Star, and Mediterranean. Each menu is color coded so shoppers can pick entrées, soups, salads, and/or side dishes to complement each other. The pre-packaged meals contain no preservatives and can be re-heated in either a microwave or a conventional oven. It's also possible to purchase food from a "hot line," where a team of chefs are whipping up brisket, spit-roasted whole chickens, quesadillas, grilled pork chops, and vegetables. Desserts such as a homey Texas Peach Crumble, extravagantly rich Espresso Ganache Tarts, and Chocolate Pudding are available in 4-6 portion sizes, as are individual portions of local favorite Marta's Flan. Shelves are loaded with an impressive selection of Greats! brand salad dressings, seasonings, and condiments, plus fresh pasta and sauces, breads, and bread sticks. An array of designer beers for individual sale and wines in several sizes (single serving, splits, whole bottles) round out the options. The Sirloin Steak with Sonoma Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Grilled Saigon Salmon were surprisingly moist and tender, considering they'd been re-heated in the microwave, and the fresh tamales had a very good filling-to-masa ratio. The Chicken Picatta dinner with spinach, mashed potatoes, green beans, and artichoke hearts made a very satisfying meal the next day. Based on customer response to this new concept, H.E.B is considering adding Greats! departments to several stores still on the drawing boards. Since regular pilgrimages to Round Rock are out of the question for me, here's hoping they include some version of Greats! in the chain's projected stores for Hancock Center and Westgate Mall.

It may not be too long before West Sixth Street begins to rival East Sixth Street for dining and entertainment options. Check out the action in just the 600 block of West Sixth. The legendary Hoffbrau (613 W. Sixth, 472-0822), the re-invigorated Katz's Deli/Top of the Marc (618 W. Sixth, 472-2037) and the StarBar (600 W. Sixth, 477-8550) have recently been joined by the classy Mediterranean restaurant/wine bar Tocai (601 W. Sixth, 457-8880), Kayla Mitchell's ceramic studio/coffee bar The Ceramic Mug (520 W. Sixth, 472-6840) in a renovated gas station, and the Lorenzo family's newest Ninfa's (612 W. Sixth, 476-0612) in the brightly re-colored former home of the ill-fated Coyote Cafe.