Seems like it’s been January forever now and the unseasonable weather just adds to the confusion. There is usually a chill in the air heralding the arrival of February and Valentine’s Day, but they’ll surely get here, cold weather or not. Just in time to get everyone focused on hearts, the nonprofit Latino arts organization La Pe�a (1705 Guadalupe, #233, 477-6007) presents its annual visual arts fundraiser Toma Mi Corazon VI. Artists, writers, musicians, community leaders, and schoolchildren are busy designing original artworks on eight-inch wooden hearts provided to them by La Pe�a. The hearts will be sold at a silent auction to be held at 227 Congress, on Sunday, February 8, 6-8pm. For the first time this year, local chefs are getting into the act, creating exquisite, aphrodisiac dishes to be served at the preview party that same day, 4-6pm, at Las Manitas Avenue Cafe (211 Congress, 472-8031). Contributing their culinary talents will be Rino Lanzalotti, owner of Bottega della Pasta, chef Roberto Santibanez of Fonda San Miguel, chef/owner Charles Mayes of Cafe Josie, Zoot pastry chef Mary Ann Perna, Schlotzsky’s/Bread Alone executive pastry chef Rebecca Rather, chef/owner Jonathan Stoffregen of Creative Creations, chef/author Terry Conlan from Lake Austin Spa Resort, Sgt. Pepper’s owner J.P. Hayes, and executive chef David Garrido of Fresh Planet Cafe and Jeffrey’s. Tickets to the preview party ($20) and the silent auction ($5) are available at Las Manitas and La Pe�a.
Two local businesses reached significant milestones recently. The Caribbean-loving group of former Tivoli engineers who founded Shaggy’s (1600 S. Congress, 447-5375) last January celebrated its first anniversary this month. The restaurant’s eclectic menu reflects plenty of Caribbean influences as well as the ethnic touches of cooks from Cuba and Nigeria. The bar is stocked with seven varieties of rum, 22 beers on draft (including all four Live Oak Brewery brews), and a big selection of beers from Caribbean island nations. Regular live music offerings have a tropical flavor, as well… The owners of The Omelettry (4811 Burnet, 453-5062), Ken and Joni Carpenter, threw a 20th birthday party for current and former employees and customers on January 23. “I was 23 years old with a few thousand dollars in my pocket when I found this building. There was a “For Rent” sign in the window, and equipment and dishes already in the kitchen,” Ken Carpenter recalled last week. “I didn’t know any better than to open a restaurant.” Over the past two decades, the Omelettry has served millions of their signature pancakes and home fries to sleepy Austinites while providing day jobs to many aspiring musicians and a juggler or two. During the boomtown Eighties, the Carpenters took on partners and expanded. Former partner Kent Cole now operates the Magnolia Cafes and a lake area outlet was closed. “I finally realized I could manage one restaurant well and be acquainted with my kids while they were growing up,” Carpenter says. When asked about his plans for the next 20 years, he replied, “More hard work and golf on Tuesdays.”
The Cafe at the Four Seasons (98 San Jacinto Blvd, 478-4500, x6158) is offering a special dinner menu in honor of the month-long run of Phantom of the Opera at the Performing Arts Center. The $40 three course pre-theatre dinner will be available from 6-7pm, and the elegant “mask” dessert will be served until 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays during the play’s run… Local coffee lover Scott A. Smith has compiled a comprehensive guide to Austin’s coffee purveyors in The Guide to Austin’s Top Coffee Shops (Research Solutions, $8.95 paper). The book offers details on each shop’s atmosphere, patrons, art exhibits, and entertainment, plus menus, histories, photographs, and easy-to follow maps to each business. It’s on sale at bookstores and most of the major coffee shops.
This article appears in January 30 • 1998 and January 30 • 1998 (Cover).