The second annual Eat Local Week benefiting Urban Roots culminated last Saturday with a Celebrity Local Food Cook-Off at the Downtown Farmers’ Market (Fourth & Guadalupe). Despite the drought conditions, market stalls were packed with the bounty of the Central Texas fall harvest, and seductive cooking aromas attracted a crowd to watch KVUE newswoman Olga Campos and American-Statesman writer John Kelso duke it out in the cooking tent. Each had one hour to prepare a dish using products from the market with the able assistance of students from the Culinary Academy of Austin. Z’Tejas Grill corporate chef Jack Gilmore was on hand to offer color commentary, and student farmers from Urban Roots rapped about their recent farming experience and joined area farmers and local media at the judges’ table. We awarded Kelso first-place honors for his Big Fatty Pork Chops – Peach Creek Farms pork chops paired with sautéed butternut squash and Swiss chard with honeyed pecans – a perfect fall plate. Campos’ Beat OU Beef Stew was done in the allotted time but really needed a little more seasoning and another hour of simmering for the Richardson’s beef and fall vegetables to develop genuine depth of flavor. The competition was all in good fun and attracted plenty of positive attention to Central Texas farmers and food producers, just as the events of the entire week had done. Kudos to Edible Austin Publisher Marla Camp for a job well done!… Chris’ Little Chicago (3600 S. Lamar) proprietor Chris Miller invites hot dog and beef sandwich lovers to drop by his busy South Austin trailer for the happy-hour promotion he’s offering during the rest of December and January. From 3 to 7pm, buy any two hot dogs or beef sandwiches and a soda, and get a free order of fries. When we stopped in for a dog the other day, Miller also said he expects his sister to relocate to Austin in early 2009, bringing a trailer cuisine concept of her own from the Windy City – he said something about organic coffees and teas, gourmet panini, and healthy desserts. We’ll keep you posted… Speaking of healthy sweets, distressed fans of Living Arts Bakery‘s natural, organic, and gluten-free baked goods e-mailed us recently about its closing. When contacted, Janet Daum said that she and co-owner Brian Kudler had invested everything they could into building and expanding the business they bought from Susan Fein two years ago. Within the past few months, they were overwhelmed by a perfect storm of casualties that included the loss of important wholesale accounts, rapidly escalating food costs, and the loss of a cheap, convenient rental kitchen. “We’re very proud of our products and really appreciate our loyal customers, but we just weren’t making any money,” Daum explained. Kudler plans to leave Austin, but Daum will remain here, and the trained macrobiotic chef will consider private chef assignments and filling personal baking orders. Interested? E-mail her at janitalatifa@gmail.com… We’ve also learned that Mars Restaurant & Bar (1400 S. Congress) in Austin and Rebecca’s Table in Fredericksburg are closing this month – more on both next week.
This article appears in December 19 • 2008.