Food-o-File

Tèo Espresso, Gelato & Bella Vita (1206 W. 38th) owner Matt Lee is having a busy summer, what with placing his premium gelato in the H-E-B West Lake and selling out every time he and his friendly staff share samples with customers, becoming a finalist in H-E-B's statewide Primo Picks Quest for Texas Best competition, running an in-store "Create Your Flavor" contest, and preparing the store for the "Tèo Day" celebration on Thu., Aug. 13, as proclaimed in his honor by Austin Mayor Steve Adler. Turns out, the interviews and judging of the 25 finalists in the Primo Picks competition is taking place at the Houston Food Bank this Wednesday and Thursday, so Lee might actually miss part of his own local party, but he says, "We're thrilled to be representing Austin in this contest among the best products Texas has to offer." Primo Picks winners will be awarded cash prizes as well as the opportunity to have their products featured and promoted in H-E-B stores. Lee and his staff had a great time judging their own inaugural contest, challenging their customers to design a flavor for the bragging rights of seeing it offered in the store as well as a year's worth of free gelato. Oddly enough, the winners of Tèo's "Create Your Flavor" contest are sisters-in-law who live on the same street. Angela Melina Raab won for her bourbon-soaked walnut and dark chocolate and Kris Raab was chosen for her chocolate and cardamom. "Angela is Italian, and she said the walnut and dark chocolate was a family tradition in their home at Christmas every year, and I'd already been thinking about the combination of chocolate with cardamom, so we're sure they are both great choices," Lee said this week. Drop by the store on Tèo Day to see for yourself.

ThunderCloud Turkey Trot: ThunderCloud Subs is looking for a talented local artist to design the logo for their 25th annual Thanksgiving Day ritual. The winning logo will be featured on all the T-shirts and printed race materials, as well as social media, and the winning designer will receive gift certificates for 365 free sub sandwiches. They'd also like to increase participation in the race this year, as well. "We're aiming for the 2015 Trot to be bigger and better than ever. Our goal is to register a whopping 25,000 runners for the 25th anniversary," says race director and ThunderCloud co-owner Mike Haggerty. The art contest runs through Sept. 15, and the winner will be announced on Sept. 22. For complete details, go to www.thundercloud.com/calling-all-artists-and-runners.

Fun Fun Fun Fest says they are looking to elevate the food experience of their 10th annual event by investing the same care in choosing food vendors as they've taken in music and comedy programming for the Nov. 6-8 party at Auditorium Shores. They will also have spots for selected retailers and nonprofits. For complete details about applying to be a food, retail, or nonprofit vendor, including fees, deadlines, and other requirements, go to www.funfunfunfest.com/vendors.