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August 2008
Ranch 616 closing to prepare for new patio
A heads up if you’re planning a dinner at Ranch 616 in September: Chef/owner Kevin Williamson is just about to finish a new patio in front of the restaurant at the corner of Nueces and Seventh Street, but he’s closing the place from September 2-12 to put on the finishing touches. In 10 years of operation, this is the first time the restaurant has had to close outside its normal schedule.
A reopening party will be Saturday, September 13, so you can enjoy live music on the brand new porch!
One cool thing happening in the meantime is this photo contest with a prize of eating dinner with Alexandre Renoir, the 35-year old great grandson of Pierre-Auguste Renoir.
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Brenda Lyons: What’s in Your Fridge Friday
Brenda assures us that Cali’s not sitting in there all day, just when she needs a little cool down. “She’s done it since she was a puppy, but she’s not what most people
find (or allow) in their fridge!” Brenda wrote me recently. Brenda also has this collection of snapshots of the adorable Cali in the fridge through the years.
What’s in Your Fridge Friday is a weekly feature on Relish Austin where we look inside a Central Texas fridge and find out about its contents and the food habits and preferences of its owner. If you have a fridge you’d like to submit, e-mail me a photo of it.
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And Austin’s Official Drink is…
The task was simple enough: Create a drink that represents Austin and includes Tito’s vodka.
Five drink finalists prepared their custom beverages for five judges, including yours truly, who scored them based on taste, presentation, creativity and viability.
To get things started, bartenders from the Alamo Drafthouse at the Ritz, who admitted being underdogs, wowed the judges with their superhero costumes and watermelon ginger “Summer Blockbuster Cocktail,” even though it was short on the ginger and strong on the Tito’s.
The Driskill Bar tapped into the legend of the Driskill ghost to create “Tito’s TomaTini,” which was made from tomatillo juice, lime and green Tabasco sauce. I was the unfortunate judge who had to tell them that although the idea was great, it just didn’t cut the mustard to be Austin’s Official Drink.
Eighteenth Over Austin, the bar at the Hilton Garden Inn, created the “Austinpolitan,” a delicious if slightly overpowering cocktail that combined basil-infused vodka and kumquat juice. I really wanted this one to work, but it just didn’t have the right ingredient proportions.
Using softened Amy’s ice cream, orange juice and (gasp!) orange food coloring, bartenders from Marker 10 at the Hyatt created the “Orange 10-tini” that tasted like a sweet, boozy orange push pop.
It was up to Ranch 616 to close the competition with a bang, and that they did. One bartender, dressed to evoke a young Johnny Cash, mixed drinks and bantered with a woman in a jalapeño costume before they presented “Fire in the Hole,” a shot made with Paula’s Orange Liquor, lime juice, cayenne and chili powder that was served in a jalapeño and with a Lone Star chaser.
I had my doubts about the jalapeño shot, but the quality of the drink pushed it to the top of my list. The other judges — The County Line’s Skeeter Miller, L Style G Style editor Chantal Outon, Tipsy Texan David Alan and Brilliant editor Lance Avery Morgan — must have agreed.
After a few minutes of vote-tallying and jokes from emcee Bryan Beck of KGSR, Tito Beveridge himself announced that the jalapeño shot was the winner and the Austinpolitan came in second. Much cheering and belly bumping commenced, and the Ranch 616 folks, including chef Kevin Williamson, let attendees have the first taste of this year’s official drink.
You can sample “Fire in the Hole” yourself at Ranch 616, but you might wait until September 12, when the new patio is complete.
Update: Check out the Austin360.com photo gallery!
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‘Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs’ goes to Hollywood
In case you missed out on this 1982 classic by Judy Barrett, it’s based in the dreamy town of Chewandswallow, where the landscape and weather are made of food. You can imagine it: Pea soup fog is actually pea soup, snow is mashed potatoes, and it’s hamburgers for lunch on a windy day.
Anna Faris and Andy Samberg are slated to star, and early reports say the movie will be only loosely based on the book.
From Zap2it.com:
Unlike the book, the film will give the origins of the phenomena: a scientist who seeks to end world hunger by creating the unusual weather. Unfortunately, the weather, like sour milk, takes a turn for the worse.
Let’s just hope this movie doesn’t turn one of my favorite childhood books into a big screen joke. Look for it in theaters sometime in early 2010.
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Do these beans make me look fat?
Finally, a book celebrating the oft maligned crown jewel of the food pyramid.
The book, which is by author Jennifer McLagan and comes out September 16, goes into far more detail about fat than most people would enjoy, but the fabulous recipes will cure your hankering for bonafide refried beans (see recipe below), brown butter ice cream and, should you so desire, whole roasted veal kidney.
Fat is beautiful in so many forms, but lard in particular is a food darling right now. I grew up using Crisco in cookies and such, but can’t recall cooking with the real deal. You can get lard everywhere and, if you keep it in the fridge, it will last a long time. Pie crusts made with lard are legendary in their flakiness and taste, and we all know that refried beans aren’t really refried beans unless they are made with lard.
Lard — and, let’s face it, fat altogether — have gotten the short end of the butter stick for decades. No fat, low fat, good fat, bad fat have taken over our culinary vocabulary, replacing responsible fat consumption, which people were exercising for hundreds of glorious food years before the f word became so cursed.
So, to get you started thinking about how you can use lard in your own kitchen, here’s the official “Fat” recipe for refried beans. (I particularly like the last instruction.)
Refried beans
1 1/2 cups pinto beans
2 onions
generous pinch of dried epazote
2/3 cup plus 2 Tbsp. lard
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
Soak the beans overnight in cold water to cover. Drain the beans, discarding the soaking water, and place them in a saucepan. Cut 1 onion in half and add it to the saucepan. Add the epazote and cover with water. Bring to a boil over high heat, cover, lower the heat, and simmer until the beans are very soft, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
Drain the beans, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Using a potato masher, mash the beans. Finely chop the remaining onion. In a large, heavy skillet over medium heat, melt 2/3 cup of the lard. When it is melted, add the chopped onion and cook, stirring, until softened.
Add the beans to the onion and gradually stir in 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid to make a soft puree. Continue stirring until heated through, adding more of the cooking liquid if the beans become dry, and season well with salt and pepper.
Serve drizzled with the remaining 2 tablespoons of fat, melted, if desired.
Did you know? According to “Fat,” epazote, an herb available at many area grocery stores and Latin markets, is a carminative, meaning it relieves flatulence, as if you needed another excuse to try this particular bean recipe.
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Fabric design student Britt Case: What’s in Your Fridge Friday?
Brittany Case is University of North Texas student who is majoring in fabric design. Her aunt saw my call for reader fridge photos and told her she should submit photos of her unique fridge items.
As part of a project last semester, she wove and assembled life-like lettuce, strawberries, sliced cheese and a milk carton out of hand-dyed warp yarn using a standard 8 harness floor loom. “The strawberries were the hardest to create,” Case says. “The milk carton was screenprinted on top of the woven fabric to create imagery of a milk carton.” Pretty impressive pieces of art, Britt!
Ed. note: Brittany says her woven food items are for sale. Just e-mail her if you’re interested.
I’m always looking for interesting refrigerators. Got one? Send me a photo and tell me about it!
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Fearless Critic dupes Wine Spectator
Robin Goldstein, author of the polemic Wine Trials and Fearless Critic books, pulled a fast one on Wine Spectator. Goldstein submitted a fake wine list from a fake restaurant in Milan, paid the entry fee for the magazine’s contest and ended up winning an Award of Excellence.
Goldstein’s harsh criticism of the wine establishment became well known after the Wine Trials came out this summer and basically said that in blind tastings, most people can’t pick out a pricey wine versus a cheapy, implying that the wine industry’s high-minded approach to making and selling wine manipulates everyday palates across America.
Now, Goldstein’s publicity stunt against one of the biggest wine magazines in the world has everybody talking. Wine Spectator reacted with strong words against Goldstein and his motives and defended its methods of giving awards to restaurants with strong wine lists.
Wine Spectator says it: 1) made numerous calls to the restaurant, where a recorded message said the restaurant was closed 2) found the location of the fake restaurant on Google maps 3) verified the wine list from the supposed restaurant’s Web site 4) reviewed posts from fictitious “diners” on Chowhound boards.
I think Wine Spectator went to respectable lengths to verify this restaurant, and Goldstein is happily raking in the page views and public spotlight from this stunt. I might have been more sympathetic to Goldstein’s test of the awards process if he hadn’t gone to such great lengths to dupe the magazine. Instead, Goldstein, who lived in Austin when his Fearless Critic series debuted here, looks like a malicious schoolboy.
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Your A-List: Best Taco Stand
Torchy’s Tacos came on the Austin taco scene in 2006, and it quickly became the most talked about outdoor eatery in town. It wasn’t just the funky outdoor space on South First Street, which will only be the trailer’s home for a few more days before the taco truck moves two lots south. (There are other locations on Sixth Street and on Guadalupe near the UT campus.) The signature tacos, fresh salsas and to-die-for queso stood out from Day 1 and many taco fanatics haven’t looked back since.
The Torchy’s love helped launch it to the top of the Best Taco Stand poll, which it won with 66 percent of the votes. The green chili pork with poblano ranch sauce is the taco this foodie dreams about, and others rave about the baja shrimp, trailer park and fajita tacos. It’s not as cheap or traditional as some of its competitors, but the food is definitely awesome and just about as Austin as it gets.
Others receiving votes
- Porfirio’s Tacos, 8 percent
- Al Pastor, 6 percent
- Chuco’s, 4 percent
- Rosita’s, 4 percent
- Taqueria Piedras Negras, 3 percent
- La Guera Taco Truck, 3 percent
- El Taquito, 3 percent
- Taqueria La Canaria, 1 percent
- Mi Gordis, 1 percent
- Taqueria Star, < 1 percent
Write-ins: Amaya’s Taco Village, Casa Garcia, El Chilito, Mia Madre’s, Nuevo Leon, TacoDeli, Tamale House, Vazquez Tacos
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Say goodbye to your favorite Torchy’s trailer
When Torchy’s Tacos owner Mike Rypka told me he was closing Torchy’s original trailer on South First Street, I almost started to cry.
What about the basketball goal! The poison-ivy coated creekside! The grassy back yard where Julian learned to walk! With so many memories at the lot across the creek from the Texas School for the Deaf, how could he think of shutting it down?
Don’t get too sad, he reassured me. Not only was the original trailer moving just two lots down the street, it was also getting a neighbor — Shuggie’s, a burger and seafood trailer whose menu he’s been working on for months.
So, the original Torchy’s will close down on Sunday, August 24, only to reopen alongside Shuggie’s on Friday, August 29 (the date on the sign hanging on the trailer now is a misprint, Mike says).
“It’s gonna be a lot of fun once we get that thing up and rollin’,” Mike says. He’s planning a game room with pinball machines and pool tables, a tire swing, horseshoes and a kids’ area at the new spot, which will also have more parking.
Oh, and as for Shuggie’s: Prepare yourselves, folks. Greasy, hand-formed meat patties, po’ boys, onion rings, hush puppies. Need I say more?
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When to say “no” to leftovers?
Eating leftovers is a great way to reduce the amount of food wasted, but that pesky fine line of when something spoils is sometimes hard to spot. How brown is too brown for ground beef? Can you trim off the mold on a block of cheese or loaf of bread? Don’t condiments keep forever? ABC News asked scientists to help leftovers lovers figure it out:
Smelly, spotty or curdled food won’t necessarily make you sick. In fact, the so-called spoilage bacteria can outgrow the bacteria that can make you sick and actually act as a protection shield for the food. The ones that will make you take over the bathroom are odorless and colorless.
The key to keeping food safe is the temperature of your fridge. You can safety keep most foods for four days at 40 degrees Fahrenheit, according to one of the scientists in the article.
Limit the amount of time food is left unrefrigerated to two hours.
You’ve got three days for raw chicken and beef. If you’re not going to use it in three days, put it in the freezer.
As for that mold on the bread? As long as no one has a mold allergy, you can cut a few inches past the mold and it should be OK to eat.
If you’re still unsure, you can always call the USDA meat and poultry hotline at 1-888-674-6854.
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Rachael Ray’s alter ego
Cause I know you can’t get enough of America’s favorite 30-Minute-Meal maker, meet Rachael, er Rachell, the smiling faux chef behind Every Freaking Day with Rachell Ray, a parody book out that’s sure to have Ray Ray boiling in her JCrew booties.
Or maybe not. Ms. Ray, who recently topped the list as the top-earning celebrity chef with her $18 million a year salary, seems like a light-hearted gal most of the time. Maybe she, too, can get a laugh at herself.
I sure did, especially with features “Oh My Buns! Burgers of the Month,” “Swell Swill: Wines under $5.99” and an RR drinking game, in which you take drinks each time she says “totally” or “EVOO” and drain the bottle when she calls the guests on her show “kids.” (The real Rachael’s Web site has a Rachael-isms page to explain her lingo, in case “delish” or “yum-o” isn’t clear.)
Watch out for “floater” recipes — including one whose ingredients consist of flavored gelatin and Chex Mix — and a how-to on getting from the fridge to the counter with every single flippin’ ingredient you need in your grasp.
What would we do without you, RR?
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Biscuit Brothers: What’s in Your Fridge Friday?
The lovable, musical Biscuit Brothers, who won this week’s A-List poll for the best locally produced TV show, are refreshing dose of Austin cool among a trove of bland Saturday morning kids’ shows (and one that this mommy is delighted to watch along with her kid).
They show their love of all things music every Saturday morning on KLRU (FYI, starting September 4, they’re moving to Fridays at 10 a.m. and Sundays at 8 a.m.) and in frequent performances and kids’ events around town.
Here’s what Tiny Scarecrow found in Buford and Dusty’s Musical Fridge:
It’s been a good season for “Old MacDonald’s Farm Fresh, Organic, Home-Grown Melodies” and we just launched a new green-box design! We keep the dry mix chilled and you can also see a pitcher of iced melody juice mixed up towards the back. Right in front of the juice is a fresh Flute basket. A diet full of fresh flutes and vegetables is very important! We try to keep the Jingle Bells cold just after they come off the jingle vine - you can see a nice pre-holiday bunch on the top shelf. The Trumpet is tricky. It’s typically frozen but we thaw it in the refrigerator and ‘round about 38 degrees it’s ready for some cool jazz. The Mandolin is kind of comfort music - sometimes Buttermilk (the Biscuit Brother’s sister) will sneak downstairs for some late night mandolin - those things are tasty anytime! The Cajun instruments (Washboard and itty-bitty Banjo) are in there to keep the rhythms crispy. That’s what a “crisper” is for, right?
Finally, I’m not really sure what the Ukulele (top shelf, center) is doing in there. We asked Tiny about it and he made a vague reference to some sort of musical experiment involving 6 kazoos, a megaphone, half a toothbrush and one “chilly uke” so I guess we’ll just have to wait and see how that turns out.
And of course, right in the middle, a big plate of made-from-scratch biscuits … Hey! Where did that plate of Biscuits go? Well, I guess to see the Biscuits you’ll have to tune in to KLRU/PBS Saturdays at 8 a.m. :)
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Julia Child: A spy-turned-chef
The National Archives released tens of thousands of names of World War II spies this week, which confirmed what many knew for years: Julia Child worked for the OSS, the predecessor to the CIA, in India in the 1940s. She leaked stories of her involvement in the OSS — NPR had this story in 2002 — against the government’s wishes.
She started out doing administrative work, but her biggest accomplishment before writing Mastering the Art of French Cooking and becoming the biggest chef in the world was developing shark repellent — yes, shark repellent — to ward off sharks that might trigger explosives intended for German submarines.
That Julia. She always had something up her sleeve.
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A quick tip to save you some clams, er, oysters
The restaurant’s oyster bar is one of the best in town (they fly in oysters from all over North America most days of the week). Pair some of those oysters with a shooter of one of their fabulous raw fish specialties, and you’ve got yourself one damn fine meal.
Also of note: Martini Mondays, where you can get $3 cocktails from bartender Heather Kowal. Check out fresh cocktails on the brand new drink menu.
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How to: Make the best margarita ever
David Alan of TipsyTexan.com shows us once and for all the right way to make a margarita (something every single person in Austin should know how to do well, if you’d ask me). In the video, he goes over the basics, and below the video are some recipes and tips to help you get started…
Three, maybe four, ingredients, five if you count ice. So go home tonight and throw out those margarita mixes and crappy tequilas! And did you get the part about how much less expensive the locally made Paula’s Texas Orange is than the standard orange liquor?
Also, those silver measuring devices David uses are called jiggers, and they are cheap and available at most grocery stores.
Classic Margarita
1 1/2 oz. 100% agave silver tequila
3/4 oz. Paula’s Texas Orange or Cointreau
3/4 oz. fresh-squeezed lime juice
If a sweeter drink is desired, start with 1/2 oz. simple syrup or agave nectar and adjust to taste.
If you want to make a Mexican Martini, all you have to do is chill the glass and an olive garnish before assembling the drink, using the same recipe as the classic margarita.
David says that for frozen margaritas, use this recipe — which is just a stronger version of the classic — to adjust for melting ice.
2 oz 100% agave silver tequila
1 oz. Paula’s Texas Orange or Cointreau
2 oz. fresh-squeezed lime juice
1 oz. simple syrup or agave nectar
However, you don’t have to have a blender to make a frozen margarita. Just put ice in a thick dinner napkin and beat with a mallet (or kid’s baseball bat or meat tenderizer or whatever you’ve got in the kitchen with a stick handle…) until you have crushed ice.
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Tax-free weekend means free burritos
Chipotle has a deal going this week that if you eat at any Austin Chipotle today or tomorrow and keep your receipt, you can get a free meal (burrito, salad or tacos) this weekend, which is also tax-free weekend for those back-to-school items.
Sounds like a pretty good deal if you’re into Chipotle. Yes, I know it’s a part of the McDonald’s corporate family, but I still eat there when Freebirds isn’t nearby.
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Thank you, sweet beverage gods, for agua fresca
My friend Corey brought some slightly over-ripe watermelon the other day and the texture just wasn’t ideal for eating straight, so we decided to make agua fresca.
The concept is easy: Squeeze as much juice out of the fruit as you can, then add a few other ingredients to make it even tastier (as if plain watermelon juice weren’t delicious enough!). We added water and a hint of lime juice, but it didn’t need any sugar or agave nectar because the watermelon was plenty sweet by the time we juiced it.
You can juice watermelon in a juicer if you have one, but you can also use a blender or food processor and then strain the pulp. (We used one of those As Seen on TV quick choppers. Why do I have one of those? It’s a neighbor’s, I swear. :)) I froze the watermelon pulp in little containers and gave it to my kid as a cool afternoon treat.
Cantaloupe, honeydew, pineapple, mango, grapes and strawberries work well with this method. Traditional jamaica and tamarind flavors and horchata, an almond rice milk often served alongside aguas frescas, aren’t too difficult to make, but we’ll cover those on another day.
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Austin named hardest-drinking city in U.S
Feeling tipsy?
You’re not alone, according to Forbes magazine, which this week said that Austin might be the hardest-drinking city in America.
Forbes, which releases similar rankings several times a year, used data from a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey to pinpoint Austin residents’ affinity for alcohol. The CDC’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey last year found that 61.5 percent of residents said they had at least one drink in the past 30 days.
But it was the number of drinks per day that put Austin at the top of — or perhaps the bottom of — the bar. Nearly nine percent of people surveyed said they had at least one drink per day for women, two for men.
Milwaukee, Wis., came in at No. 2, followed by San Francisco, Providence, R.I., and Chicago.
The University of Texas, like most major universities in the U.S., has been battling the binge drinking image for decades. Forbes named it the No. 1 party school in 2006.
“I would hope that people would look at the methods of how these rankings are made,” said Sandi Cleveland, manager at the Health Promotion and Resource Center, which is part of the University Health Services. “It’s important for people to understand that UT students make up 5 percent of Austin’s population when they are all here.”
UT participates in a survey similar to the one conducted by the CDC in which students are asked about their drinking habits. About 72 percent said they had had an alcoholic drink in the past 30 days, Cleveland said. Thirty-four percent said they had participated in binge drinking, which means drinking more than five alcoholic drinks on one occasion, but the average number of drinks consumed was fewer than four. In the CDC survey, about 20 percent of adults in Austin said they have had five drinks on one occasion.
“We work with freshmen at orientation to talk about how students can avoid dangers of alcohol abuse, how to recognize alcohol poisoning,” she said. Cleveland said that 35 percent of first-year students don’t drink any alcohol.
Photos: Forbes’ hardest-drinking cities
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Deb O’Keefe: What’s in Your Fridge Friday?
Deb now pulls the early shift on “The Morning X with Jason and Deb,” where she frequently brings up topics related to food, including the importance of eating locally and even a recent up-close encounter with a salmonella-like illness.
I can’t help but wonder if it wasn’t the buttered Marmite. :)
What three things are always in your fridge?
1. Free range, veggie fed brown eggs for my dog Blue’s dinner. He gets one everyday!
2. Red Bull. I can’t live without it! I just get up way too early. I’ve cut back to one a day though… :-)
3. Carrots. They are nice and healthy, go with everything and best of
all, take ages to go off…
What’s your favorite condiment? We have a few things in the UK that you can’t get here (as you can see by the weird things in my fridge) and one of them is my beloved Heinz Salad Cream. It goes with everything. I’m also a really big Heinz Tomato Ketchup fan.
It’s 4 a.m. You either just got home from a crazy night out or are just getting up for the morning show. What do you put together to satisfy your grumbling stomach? I will immediately feel better if there’s a couple of pieces of hot, buttered Marmite on toast in front of me. Marmite is this sandwich spread from the UK. I grew up on it and get depressed when I run out. My family were just here visiting and brought me a supply to last at least 6 months… However, it’s not for everyone. You either loveMarmite or you hate it. Seriously.
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A tomato love fest at Whole Foods
Tomato farmers lost roughly $100 million due to the salmonella scare this summer, even though tomatoes weren’t the culprit for more than 1300 people getting sick. They’ve been cleared to eat for some time now, but some say the industry is still reeling.
Whole Foods wants to give tomatoes a boost. Both Austin stores will host a tomato celebration on Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. to “do our part to reinvigorate the industry and support the growers,” according to company spokeswoman Elizabeth Leader Smith.
Throughout the stores, tomatoes will be featured in cooking demonstrations and even wine pairings. There will be plenty of samplings and a Q&A session with experts.
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We want your tips on the best UT eateries
We’ll probably do categories. You know, Best Pizza, Best Late Night, Best Sushi, Best Asian, Best Place to Gain your Freshman 15, Best Hole-in-the-Wall (oh wait…), so feel free to submit multiple suggestions. If you have a particular dish that you can’t help but recommend to newbies on campus, let us know.
(And on a personal note, can you spare some campus food advice for a foreigner here? I’ve done some campus exploring, but I don’t know it like the back of my hand like the tens of thousands of you Longhorns out there. You say UT eateries can beat Mizzou’s? Prove it. :))
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Do you dig Dishola?
The concept is simple: Rather than review a restaurant, you review specific dishes instead. I think this is particularly helpful if you are craving something, say pad thai, and can’t decide between Madam Mams and Thai Kitchen.
It’s an Austin-based company, but it long ago went global. Now, there are more than 950 dishes reviewed in Austin alone, and dedicated community reviewers are adding to that every day.
It’s free to use and works like many social networking sites. You can read the reviews even if you’re not registered, but if you register, you can start reviewing and connect with other reviewers with similar tastes.
My favorite feature has to be the Dish Roulette, which guides indecisive eaters such as myself to random local dishes.
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Best local food blogs
There are tons of local food blogs out there that have gone dead in the past year. Besides making me sad to lose the stream of brilliant content, it also means I can’t include them on this list.
So, here are Austin area food blogs on my radar.
Texas Locavore — Freelance writer Beth Goulart writes about “eating local in the Lone Star state.”
Taco Town — “A product of a couple of gringos who eat Mexican food every day, every meal.”
Tipsy Texan — In-depth cocktail/mixology blog that features recipes and information on seasonal cocktails.
Tomorrow Friendly Food — Vegan recipes, tips and restaurants. (They do weekly vegan potlucks.)
The Retta Show — The adventures of a six-year-old chef.
Thai Cooking with Jam — Asian, local foods, plus tons of recipes and beautiful photos.
Taco Journalism — “In search of tacos y mas in Austin, Texas. “
I Love Beer — A must for beer connoisseurs.
Eat My Words — Texas Monthly food editor Pat Sharpe keeps it short and sweet.
Dining in Austin — Two women review local restaurants.
Red White and Grew — Information on Victory Gardens, as well as recipes and details on local produce.
Austin Farm to Table — “A celebration and exploration of Austin farmers markets, fresh produce and locally-made products.”
Please leave a comment, @broylesa me on Twitter or send me an e-mail with your food blog or your favorite local food blogs! I’ll continue to update this list as I find new ones.
Note: I use Google Reader as an RSS feed to track these blogs. Several local blogs, including Dining Out with Rob Balon and BrewHound, which is written by a producer at Fox 7, don’t allow RSS feeds, which severely limits (hint, hint, Internet folks in charge of those blogs) how often I read them.
Another note: I regularly share items from the 200+ food blogs I subscribe to. You can see these shared items at http://tinyurl.com/6n4lhj.
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Check out Rusty Irons on the Food Network this weekend
Rusty Irons, the foodie behind The Irons boutique rental property in South Austin, has her debut on “Grill it! with Bobby Flay” this weekend. The episode, which they shot in New York earlier this summer, will air Sunday at 8 a.m. and again Monday at 10 a.m.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: Cooking
What is Mexico saying about the FDA’s pepper investigation?
From the AP:
MEXICO CITY - Mexican agriculture officials said Thursday that U.S. colleagues hunting for the source of a salmonella outbreak are rushing to a conclusion about finding the strain at a Mexican pepper farm.The salmonella sample that one U.S. official called “a smoking gun” was taken from a water tank that had not been used for more than two months to irrigate crops, said the director of Mexico’s Farm Food Quality Service, Enrique Sanchez.
Sanchez told a news conference on Thursday that the tank held rain water and suggested that roaming cattle or other factors could have recently contaminated the tank with the same strain of salmonella that has sickened 1,300 people in the United States since June.
On Wednesday, Dr. David Acheson, the food safety chief for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, described the finding of the salmonella strain at a farm in the northern state of Nuevo Leon as a key breakthrough in the case.
“We have a smoking gun, it appears,” said Dr. Lonnie King, who directs the center for food-borne illnesses at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Sanchez said the U.S. officials “totally lacked scientific evidence” to make such statements and said they had broken a confidentiality agreement by announcing findings before their investigation is complete.
“We’re eating this same produce in Mexico and we haven’t had any problems,” Sanchez said.
He suggested the FDA officials confused the source of the samples because the tainted water was found on a farm in the Tamaulipas state municipality of Hidalgo — not in Nuevo Leon as the FDA reported.
The FDA issued a statement later Thursday saying it was “surprised and disappointed” the Mexican response.
“We are confident of our findings,” the statement said. “FDA’s analytical methods are publicly available.”
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Tom Spencer: What’s in Your Fridge Friday?
His partner, Victor Martinez, a senior engineer at Freescale, is considered the foodie of the house. Together, they’ve grown hundreds of varieties of plants, both edible and non.
Victor says they used to have a veggie patch that produced fantastic tomatoes, but now the yard is too shady for them to grow. Now we all just have to fantasize about the heirloom tomato and fresh mozarella tart with basil pesto and a black peppercorn/Parmesan crust he used to be able to make fresh out of his backyard.
What three things do you always have in your fridge? Does it have to be food? We always have beer, white wine, champagne and sake. As far as food… Goodflow grapefruit juice, organic fat free yogurt, and cheese are always in our fridge. :)
What’s your favorite condiment? My favorite condiment is by far black peppercorns. I use it on everything, always freshly ground. After that chiles, particularly chipotles and serranos.
What’s your favorite dish from the garden? I guess my favorite dish now would be a leg of lamb marinated in fresh chopped rosemary, garlic and olive oil and grilled over charcoal.
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