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Monday, February 20, 2012
Events: That Takes the Cake returns, plus a hot dog eating contest for Mardi Gras and a pub run at the Paramount
Confectionery artists (and hundreds us who are better at consuming sugar than decorating with it) will descend upon the North Austin Event Center, 10601 N. Lamar Blvd,, this weekend for the eighth annual That Takes the Cake Sugar Arts Show. Each year, the Capital Confectioners’ Cake Club, a local organization of cake bakers and sugar aficionados, brings together some of the top cake talent in the country for this two-day event that features classes, demonstrations, hands-on activities and entertainment.
Show director Jennifer Bartos, who owns the Make It Sweet cake shop in North Austin, says the theme this year is “Cake-A-Lot: Knights of the Turn Table” and that more than 500 cakes will be on display. You can buy tickets ($10 per day or $17 for a weekend pass; children under 18 are free; $1 off if you bring a nonperishable food item to donate to the Capital Area Food Bank) at the door. A portion of the proceeds will go to scholarships for local culinary students, and you can find out more on the show’s website.
Here are a few other upcoming events worth noting:
• Spicewood Vineyards is hosting its annual Pair It With Claret Chili Cook-off from 1 to 6 p.m. on Saturday at the vineyard off U.S. 71 west of Austin.
• The Butterfly Bar, the bar located next to the Vortex theater at 2307 Manor Road, is celebrating Mardi Gras with a hot dog-eating contest and a ping-pong tournament starting at 5 p.m. Tuesday. Free admission, and you can sign up by emailing butterflybaraustin@gmail.com.
• Cannoli Joe’s, 4715 Hwy 290 West, is hosting its next cooking class with chef Quirino “Q” Silva at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. Guests can enjoy a four-course meal while Silva demonstrates how to prepare each of the dishes. To reserve a space at the class, which costs $35, not including tax or gratuity, call 799-6884 or visit the website.
• Local websites VegAustin and Red Hot Vegans are hosting a vegan social hour from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, at the Brixton, 1412 E. Sixth St. According to the website, ATX Vegan Drinks is an event for vegans and the “veg-curious” to make new friends, meet up with old ones and try the food at Arlo’s, a vegan food truck next door.
• On Saturday from 1:30 to 5 p.m., Texas Sake is hosting its “Spring is Around the Corner” Celebration with brewery tours, live music, local food vendors and Texas Sake available for purchase by the glass or bottle. 5501 N. Lamar Blvd. You can find more info here.
• Kat Edmondson and Darden Smith are performing Feb. 27 at Fino, 2905 San Gabriel St., as part of Smith’s “Be An Artist” program, in which he bring his guitar into classrooms to teach, inspire and encourage students. (He’s also adapted the lessons for corporate retreats and event to help members of the military transition back into civilian life.) Smith and Edmondson will perform alongside a multi-course meal from Fino chef Jason Donoho. Tickets ($150) or tables (starting at $600 for four) and information are available online.
• Three of Austin’s best chefs — Josh Watkins of the Carillon, Paul Petersen of Vivo and Zack Northcutt of Swift’s Attic — will compete in a “Tops In Texas Cookoff” on Tuesday, February 28, at the AT&T Executive Education & Conference Center, 1900 University Avenue. The event, which will feature “Top Chef” contestants Tre Wilcox and Arnold Myint, along with Uchi’s Tyson Cole and David Bull of Congress Austin as judges, is a benefit for the Wine & Food Foundation of Texas. Tickets ($50 or $85 for VIP) include wine, cocktails and tastings of the chefs’ dishes, as well as from local restaurants and food companies. Info and tickets here.
• IHOP’s annual tradition of giving away pancakes to raise money for charity is getting a boost this year with the backing of Governor Rick Perry and his wife, Anita, who recently commended the restaurant and Shriners in Texas, the beneficiary of the fundraiser. From 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Tuesday, February 28, guests are asked to make a donation in exchange for a plate of free pancakes, which will support the Shriners Hospitals for Children. Through this pancake day fundraiser, IHOP has helped raise almost $8 million for charity. For info, go to IHOPpancakeday.com.
• The Paramount Theater is hosting a pub run and screening of “Back to the Future” at 6:15 p.m. on Wednesday, February 29. Start the night at the Paramount Theatre, where the group will jog/run 1.1 miles to Luke’s Locker. Enjoy a pint of Thirsty Planet beer and then hike back to the Paramount for more Thirsty Planet and a screening of “Back to the Future.” Costumes encouraged; $15 covers admission to the movie and beer.
• The Natural Epicurean, a vegan and vegetarian cooking school at 1700 S. Lamar Blvd., is hosting a day-long cooking class on Saturday, March 3, about the indigenous healing foods of Mexico. Leslie Korn and Ken Rubin will be highlighting recipes from their book “Chocolate, Chilies, and Coconuts,” which is slated to come out later this year. You can sign up for the hands-on workshop, which costs $220 and includes lunch and dinner, and find other upcoming classes online.
Photo by Laura Skelding for the Austin American-Statesman.
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Food takes center stage at Southwestern University’s Brown Symposium next week
For the first time in its history, the two-day event, which takes place on Monday and Tuesday, February 27 and 28, in the Alma Thomas Fine Arts Center on the campus at 1001 E. University Avenue, is dedicated to food.
In support of the theme “Back to the Foodture: Sustainable Strategies to Reverse a Global Crisis,” guests including Jo Luck, president of Heifer International, “Fast Food/Slow Food” author Richard Wilk, Native American activist Winona LaDuke and Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States, will talk about the globalized food system, the rise of veganism and industrialized agriculture and innovative solutions to helping combat food shortages in various parts of the world.
Most of the speakers will present on Monday starting at 9:30 a.m. (click here for the schedule), with Luck giving a keynote on Tuesday that will be followed by an empty bowl fundraiser lunch. (Attendees are also asked to bring nonperishable food that will be donated to local food banks.)
In addition to the speakers, there will a pop-up farmers’ market from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in the Bishops Lounge on Monday, February 27. A ceramics art exhibit entitled “Culinary Cultures: A Ceramics Perspective” is on display in the Fine Arts Gallery through March 9.
In conjunction with the symposium, a group of Southwestern students has organized a free documentary film series that continues at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday with a screening of “Food Matters” in room 105 in the Olin building. At 7 p.m. March 7, they’ll host a special screening of “Fresh” in the Campus Center Ballroom that will feature a talk from Ana Joanes, who directed and produced the movie.
Symposium organizer Laura Hobgood-Oster, a professor of religion and environmental studies, said she hopes people will come away from the symposium being more thoughtful about the food they eat. “We eat as we go without considering the impact of that food on the environment or on our own bodies and our health — or the joy of food,” she says. For more information or to register, go to the symposium’s website.
Illustration by Nick Ramos.
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Openings/Closings: Olive & June opens Tuesday, Mercury Pizza Shop serving pies off S. Lamar
• Open: Brew Exchange, a bar at 706 W. Sixth St. serving more than 100 beers that are priced based on supply and demand. 366-5727.
• Open: BikeCaffe Austin, a coffee shop on a bike serving organic, fair trade coffee at 816 Congress Ave. from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. weekdays. 994-7433.
• Open: Mercury Pizza Shop, a pizzeria at 2107 Kinney Avenue that also serves subs and salads. 707-7499.
• Open: South Lamar Wine and Spirits, a liquor store at 2418 S. Lamar Blvd., the former home of Chris’s Liquor, which moved to 2203 S. Lamar Blvd.
• Open: River City Coffee, a coffee shop at 5400 Brodie Lane in Sunset Valley. The latest project from Satay owner Foo Swasdee opened last summer but is hosting its grand opening celebration from noon to 2 p.m. on March 3. 582-0019.
• Open: All Star Burger, a restaurant in the Hill Country Galleria, 12921 Hill Country Blvd., that features burgers made with grass-fed beef. 263-7300.
• Open: Tootie Pie Gourmet Cafe at 701 Capitol of Texas Highway (Loop 360), the second Austin-area cafe and retail outlet for the famous Tootie Pie Company, which is based in Boerne.
• Open: Sugar and Smoke, a bakery and cafe at 249 E. Main St. in Fredericksburg from Nicole Davenport, a barbecue expert who appeared on the TLC show “BBQ Pitmasters.” The restaurant is in the space that formerly housed Rather Sweet Bakery, which closed last year. The restaurant is open for breakfast and lunch.
• Open: Gigi’s Cupcakes, 1335 E. Whitestone Blvd. in Cedar Park. The cupcake craze continues at Gigi’s Cupcakes, the first Central Texas location of the national bakery chain that started in Nashville. Gigi’s specializes in over-the-top cupcakes that you almost need a fork and a plate to eat. 528-5164.
• Open: Wholly Cow Burgers has opened a second location at 619 Congress Ave. in the space formerly occupied by the Pita Pit. As with its original location on South Lamar Boulevard, Wholly Cow will serve local, grass-fed beef from Rocky Hill Orchards in Fredericksburg as well as organic, free-range chicken.
Top Olive and June photo by Ken Lewin, secondary by Addie Broyles.
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