Hot Dish
In the "off with my head" department, my sincerest apologies to chef instructor Amy Osborn of the Texas Culinary Academy pastry program for leaving her name out of last week's notice about a chocolate event at TCA. I didn't realize there were two women named Amy teaching in her department... Not 24 hours after I turned in this week's review of Little Texas Bistro, I heard an interesting piece of news about the cozy destination dining spot in Buda. It seems that researchers from
Food & Wine magazine have been checking out the restaurant and chef/owner Paul Petersen. We don't know if he's to be included in a bigger story on hot new Austin eateries or being considered as a potential "best chef of the year," but the mere fact that they're looking at him means he's generating some very good buzz... Margarita lovers, take note! A new local company called Texacello LLC has recently released Paula's Texas Orange, a premium orange liqueur handmade here in Austin. Owner Paula Angerstein says she was inspired to make the product while on a trip to Italy. She and her husband witnessed the reverent care and respect given to artisanal food and drink products everywhere they went. "We wanted to bring that kind of feeling to Austin so that people could take pride in one of their favorite pastimes – drinking margaritas – while sharing good times with friends." It took the native Texan and UT grad about a year and a half to get her product out on the beverage market, and she's only the second entrepreneur to get a distiller's license in Texas. (Tito Beveridge of Tito's Texas Vodka was the first. In fact, Angerstein says she's concocted a doozy of a drink with Tito's and her liqueur, but hasn't come up with a name for it yet.) Paula's Texas Orange is 80 proof, and 750-milliliter bottles are retailing locally for under $25. You can find it on the shelves at all Twin Liquors stores (various locations around town) and at Grape Vine Market (7938 Great Northern Blvd., 323-5900). It's also being poured in such fine Austin establishments as GŸero's, Mezzaluna, the Bitter End, and Do–a Emilia's. The label features Angerstein's personal margarita recipe, and several other drink suggestions are mentioned on the company Web site,
www.paulastexasorange.com.
Event Menu: Feb. 25-March 3
The opening of the new flagship
Whole Foods Market store at Sixth and Lamar is generating all kinds of festivities. The pre-opening
Whole Block Party benefiting KUT 90.5 radio offers you the opportunity to get a preview of the dynamic new store, complete with a nut roaster, a Willy Wonka-style candy land, and an in-store bakery and tortilla shop. Stroll the aisles and enjoy plenty of tasting samples of everything from fresh produce and house-smoked meats and seafoods to prepared food items and beers and wines. Purchase $25 tickets online at
www.kut.org or call 866/222-4781 by Feb. 25; 525 N. Lamar, 6:30-9pm, Tuesday, March 1.
