In the “off with my head” department, it turns out Parind Vora‘s new Simplicity Wine & Eats (4801 Burnet Rd., www.simplicitywinebar.com) is not open yet, as I mistakenly reported here Oct. 2. We’ll keep you posted on its actual opening… I am stunned by the recent demise of the 69-year-old Gourmet magazine. I knew there was a contingent of longtime readers who were not enthusiastic about the editorial direction of the magazine during Ruth Reichl’s tenure, and its thinning over the past couple of years obviously indicated a loss of advertising revenue. Still, the fact that publisher Condé Nast chose to pull the plug on a magazine I’ve read every month for 35 years in favor of one I haven’t looked at in ages (Bon Appetit) is a genuine disappointment. Gourmet‘s death knell was followed by the announcement that Scripps Networks Interactive plans to launch a new TV channel that will focus on cooking instruction by late 2010 – it will replace Scripps’ Fine Living channel and follow the template of its successful DIY programming model. Who could have imagined when we started watching black-and-white episodes of The French Chef on PBS all those years ago that cooking would ever become a multichannel spectator sport?… On the local news front, Tipsy Texan bartender David Alan (www.tipsytexan.com) is back on the open market and available to provide sophisticated mixology and custom cocktail catering for holiday parties… Founding corporate chef Jack Gilmore and operations expert Tom Kamm have left the homegrown Z’Tejas Grill (www.ztejas.com) organization to create their own restaurant. They’re working with Mann & Mann Architects to transform the former Y Bar & Grill location in Oak Hill (7720 Hwy. 71 W.) into Jack Allen’s Kitchen (www.jackallenskitchen.com). They hope to debut in early December… Enjoy Uchi’s (801 S. Lamar, 916-4808, www.uchiaustin.com) eclectic culinary delights with guests in the comfort of your own home. The new catering operation, Uchi at Home (info@uchiaustin.com), will customize a private event to suit your every need… Look for the “weirdest wieners in Texas” at the new Frankly Austin trailer in the Congress Avenue parking lot where the much lamented Las Manitas once stood. Austin attorney Eddie Eppright is dishing up distinctive dogs weekdays from 11am to 3pm… Fans of LovePuppies brownies (www.lovepuppiesbrownies.com) will be pleased to know their favorite baked treats are available at all Torchy’s Tacos (www.torchystacos.com) as of this week. Brownie man Joel Haro reports he’s currently working to complete his own commercial kitchen and plans to further increase distribution when the new facility is finished… Edible Austin magazine has announced that Polyface farmer and sustainable farming activist Joel Salatin and documentary filmmaker Ana Sofia Joanes will appear at a prescreening reception and a special screening of the film Fresh at the Paramount Theatre Dec. 5 to kick off a full calendar of Eat Local Week activities. Tickets are on sale now at www.austintheatre.org/fresh; this event will sell out quickly.
This article appears in October 16 • 2009.