Providence smiles upon us on Sunday, April 30, from noon-4pm, when
Amy’s
Ice Cream and Mangia Chicago-Stuffed Pizza will be serving their
majestic
morsels free of charge to celebrate the local legends’ recent decision
to shack
up in a brand new location.
The Amy’s First Unannual-Birthday-Welcome Wagon-Benefit also
celebrates 10
tantalizing years of Amy’s Ice Cream and benefits Christopher House, a
care
facility for people with AIDS. The fortuitious event takes place at the
brand
new Amy’s/Mangia store (3500 Guadalupe). “Dress” is optional, whatever
that
means. – Cindy Widner
Penny’s Popular Pastries
Some of the most bestselling items in the pastry case at the
Central Market
deli are the delicious cookies from local wholesale custom bakery,
Penny’s
Pastries. Though they were pretty pricey, the beautiful bunnies and
Easter eggs
with the porcelain sugar glazes sold like hotcakes recently. My
personal
favorites are the bags of Plain Janes, simply scrumptious shortbread
rounds.
Look for Penny’s Pastries at all the Whole Foods stores, Central
Market, and
many of your favorite coffee shops, such as Little City, Ruta Maya,
Cafezino,
Trianon, and Carlo for Coffee.
Good Taste, Good Deal
A relatively new company, Good Taste, puts forth what looks like
an
all-purpose entertainment bargain. A $50 plastic card from the Good
Taste
company entitles you to 12 months’ worth of reduced prices at selected
restaurants, fine arts and entertainment venues, and custom services.
Restaurants such as the Belgian Restaurant, Barbara Ellen’s, Shoreline,
Chez
Zee, City Grill, El Rinconcito and Taj Palace participate, as do the
Austin
Symphony, Austin Light Opera, Ballet Austin, Zach Scott, Live Oak,
Capitol City
Playhouse, and the Paramount. Call 397-9975 for an information
packet.
What’s Cooking at Boggy Creek Farm
Local chefs and restaurateurs such as Bitter End’s Emmet Fox,
Zoot’s
Stewart Scruggs, Randy Salls of Kerbey Lane Restaurants, Mars pastry
chef Tina
Haverty and Stelline’s Harvey Harris met with Central Texas growers for
a
pot-luck supper at Boggy Creek Farm this week. They were there to
network and
plan the upcoming What’s Cooking in the Park Tasting Event, to be
sponsored by
Whole Foods Market and The Austin Chronicle on May 20 in Duncan
Park
downtown. Tickets are on sale at all the Whole Foods Markets and Boggy
Creek
Farm.
Culinary Oscars
The International Association of Culinary Professionals annual
convention
brought a dazzling lineup of international culinary stars to our area
in early
April. The cookbook fare event featured the cream-of-the-crop of
cookbook
authors, seated at tables to sign their books and chat. Although the
line at
Julia Child’s table stretched outside the ballroom most of the
afternoon, two
books with local connections were attracting attention. San Antonio
chef Jay
McCarthy was signing Travelling Jamaica with Knife, Fork and Spoon
(Crossing Press, $16.95 paper), written with Chronicle critic Robb
Walsh. Lucinda Hutson was on hand with her excellent new offering
Tequila! (Ten Speed Press, $16.95 paper), a fascinating
compendium of
folklore, history, recipes for food and festive libations, and party
ideas
delightfully decorated with drawings of Hutson’s own extensive
collection of
Mexican folk art.
That evening, the Julia Child Cookbook awards were presented in
an event
which was the culinary equivalent of the Oscars, complete with silly
jokes,
presenters who had never met, and tearful acceptance speeches. Longtime
Austinite Martha Rose Shulman won the Healthy category with her
exemplary
Provencal Light (Bantam, $29.95 hard), as wonderful to read as
it is to
cook from.
Hard Copy
Fonda San Miguel chef and co-owner Miguel Ravago has just signed
a contract
with Simon and Schuster to write a cookbook about Mexican regional
cooking in
America. Ravago and his co-author Marilyn Tausend will present
homestyle
Mexican recipes from California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and New
York that
can easily be prepared in American kitchens. Ravago is also busy
planning his
second appearance at the James Beard House coming up in June.
New and Noshworthy
Dolce Vita
4222 Duval Street, 323-2686
Open daily 11am-midnight
Bick Brown reports that he has hoisted an ice cream cone to the
top of the
fork in front of his Hyde Park Bar and Grill to attract people to his
long-awaited new gelateria, Dolce Vita. Located just north of Hyde Park
B &
G, the new ice cream store features a dazzling array of deliciously
decadent
Italian gelatos, desserts, cappuccino, and espresso. Liqueurs will be
available
as soon as the liquor license arrives. – Virginia B.
Wood
This article appears in April 28 • 1995 and April 28 • 1995 (Cover).