Food-o-File
Congratulations abound in the foodie community this week
By Virginia B. Wood, Fri., Oct. 1, 2010
Lots of folks to congratulate this week! The winners of Austin Monthly's Craziest Cakes competition: Most Creative – A Stack of Buttermilk Pancakes with a syrup bottle from Kerbey Lane Cafe's commissary bakery; Best Designed – South Austin Landmarks from Blue Note Bakery; and Most Delicious and Best Overall – Strawberry Champagne Layer Cake from Krissy's Cakes of Leander. Photos of the winners will appear in Austin Monthly's November issue. Next up, Austin Slow Burn owners Jill and Kevin Lewis celebrated big wins in the Houston Hot Sauce Festival in mid-September where their company was voted Best in Show. They garnered first place wins with their new creamy jalapeño dip and green chile salsa fresca and with longtime favorites green chile con queso and Jamaican jerk marinade, plus second and third places with salsa verde and salsa con habanero. Look for Austin Slow Burn's new award-winning products to show up on Central Market store shelves soon. And finally, Roberto Chavez and his avocado and tomatillo salsa won the recent FoodiePalooza salsa contest at Faraday's Kitchen Store (1501-A RR 620 N., 266-5666); see his winning recipe at www.faradayskitchenstore.com... Though the Backstage Steakhouse & Garden Bar closed late last month, fans of chef Raymond Tatum's cooking need not despair. The popular longtime local chef reports that he has a pork-centric trailer food business in the works, and he's busy looking for just the right tree-shaded location in which to set up shop. We'll keep you posted on his progress... And speaking of pork-centric food options, chef John Bates (formerly of Asti and Wink) has a new breakfast and lunch shop in the Anderson Mill area. Noble Pig Sandwiches (11815 RR 620 N. #4, 382-6248) serves breakfast and lunch daily with house-cured meats and fresh sausages, homemade bread, and pickles and other condiments made in the store. Can't wait to check it out... Meanwhile, my neighbors in the Mueller development have a new breakfast and lunch spot to try. Paco's Tacos (1304 E. 51st, 323-6206) is open 6:30am-3pm every day but Monday, serving build-your-own breakfast tacos; gorditas, steak, fajitas, and fish tacos for lunch; and a very tasty chicken tortilla soup... If you've been curious about what's happening in the former Cissi's Market space on South Congress, here's the scoop: Moonshine Patio Bar & Grill partners Chuck Smith and chef Larry Perdido are joining forces with Eddie V's owners Larry Foles and Guy Villavaso to open the Hopdoody Burger Bar in the 1400 block of South Congress some time this month. Sounds tasty!... Hungry jazz aficionados will want to make a note of the new Friday Jazz Nights in the courtyard at Chez Zee (5406 Balcones Dr., 454-2666, www.chezzee.com). The new series kicks off this month with the Bob Meyer Trio featuring Mitch Watkins playing from 9:30pm to midnight on Friday nights. There is no cover, and the kitchen serves until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays, as well... And here's some great news for beer lovers: The long-awaited Black Star Co-op Pub and Brewery (7020 Easy Wind #100, 452-BEER, www.blackstar.coop) is now open for business in the Midtown Commons development, serving beer and food daily from 4pm to midnight.
