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Your A-List: Best Chinese
Contrary to popular belief, all Chinese restaurants are not created equal, and Suzi’s China Grill, with its three locations in Austin, rose above the rest in the A-List poll for Best Chinese, receiving 31 percent of the votes this week.
Suzi’s on South Lamar Boulevard has long been a Statesman newsroom favorite, especially those night-siders who crave a big Styrofoam container full of sesame chicken or basil shrimp ‘round the 8 o’clock hour when things really start to get busy. The Shoal Creek Boulevard and Bee Cave Road locations also serve sushi, which doesn’t exactly qualify as Chinese food, but I don’t hear any complaints. Y’all must be too busy chowing down.
Others receiving votes:
- Chinatown, 17 percent
- T & S Seafood, 7 percent
- Mama Fu’s, 7 percent
- Wan Fu, 6 percent
- China Cafe, 6 percent
- Pao’s, 5 percent
- Snow Pea, 4 percent
- Hunan Lion, 4 percent
- Twin Lions, 3 percent
- Asia Market Cafe, 1 percent (write-in)
- Hong Kong, 1 percent
- Peony, < 1 percent
- Nanking, < 1 percent
- Din Ho, < 1 percent (write-in)
Write-ins: Thomas Super Buffet, Buffet Palace, First Wok, Hunan Ranch (2), Hao Hao, China Dragon
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Eat local tonight at Cipollina
Eat Local Week is next week, but you can get a head start by either shopping at the farmers’ market tonight at The Triangle or by checking out the new Farm to Table dinners at Cipollina.
The monthly dinners, on the first Wednesday of the month, feature a locally sourced meal created by chef Parker White. One of the farmers whose hard work went into the dinner will be on hand to talk with diners. The three-course meal costs $35 and wine pairings are available.
I ran into some of the Cipollina folks at Boggy Creek Farm this morning — they were picking up some greens and veggies for tonight’s meal — and they said Loncito Cartwright of Loncito’s will be there tonight.
The first Wednesday of the month might be the official local dinner at Cipollina, but Chef White told me a few weeks ago that 80 percent of their everyday produce is from the area. Only a couple of other restaurants in the area are regularly using that much local food.
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What’s Dale Rice up to?
In addition to teaching political blogging at Texas A&M, the former Statesman restaurant critic if, of course, still finding plenty of time for wine and food. Sharon Roberts, head of the Statesman’s design staff, had this to report from a recent fundraiser he attended:
Dale Rice, Texas A&M professor and former Austin American-Statesman food writer and restaurant critic, served as “wine guide” recently at the “Texas Wines, Texas Stars” U-Bar-U fundraiser. The event was organized by Rose Ann Reeser and a small group of folks from First Unitarian-Universalist Church of Austin. It was held at the U-Bar-U Retreat & Conference Center, a religious and educational facility on 142 acres near Kerrville. Rice told behind-the-scenes, gossipy and informative stories about the Texas wine industry in the authoritative, always-entertaining voice that Statesman readers enjoyed for many years. Wines from Becker, Haak and Brennan vineyards and Stonehouse Cellars were included in the tasting throughout a dinner prepared by Lynda West.
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Win a copy of Rachael Ray’s new book
Congrats, Leslie! You’re the winner of Jose Andres’ “Made in Spain” cookbook! (Pad Thai has always given me troubles, too.)
But mainly we talked about how the heck she keeps up with this busy schedule of hers. With the magazine, the cookbooks, the nonprofit and, of course, the television shows, she’s got to be exhausted.
She sure sounded like it.
When she called en route to one of her Manhattan studios, I made the mistake of asking her if she was sick. (I didn’t even recognize her voice she sounded so hoarse.) She bristled but eventually warmed up. She, too, sounded conflicted about working 80-100 hour weeks, at times defensive and at others self-deprecating. Work is affecting her health; she’s having vocal surgery in a few weeks to remove a benign cyst. “It’s a bummer that I have to be hospitalized to stop working,” she says.
I’m sure the crowd on Sunday will be strong. I just hope her voice holds up to greet everyone.
So, for next week’s question: What food person — cookbook author, chef, restaurant owner, food writer, etc. — would you wait in line for hours to meet?
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Martinis and massages for a cause
On Mondays, Oilcan Harry’s has been hosting “Martinis and Massages” nights, where if you buy a martini, you get a free chair massage.
Tonight, in support of World AIDS Day today, the club is offering the same deal, but with a cause in mind. The (wonderful and very talented) massage therapist, Scot Maitland, is donating his tips to the Wright House Wellness Center, and 42 Below Vodka, the sponsoring spirit, will match the donation. So, grab a Red Ribbon Martini from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. tonight, have Scot massage away that holiday stress and help local AIDS/HIV support programs.
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34 things to do with leftover turkey
In case you still have plastic containers overflowing with turkey in your fridge, here are some ideas for what to do with it from the folks at McCormick & Schmick’s.
- Use it in lasagna for a healthy alternative to ground beef or sausage.
- Hide it in chili.
- Make a good old-fashioned comfort-food hot dish, complete with cream of something soup.
- Make a turkey pot pie.
- Boil the bones to make a delicious turkey stock to use later for soups and stews.
- Use the turkey stock for turkey soup.
- Create turkey omelets.
- Use it as a topping on bruschetta.
- Turkey sandwiches for bagged lunches.
- Try it in tacos.
- Give your dog or cat a special treat.
- Have a post-Thanksgiving party and ask your friend to come up with creative turkey recipes that they bring to the party; award a prize.
- Turkey jerky.
- Doggie bags for friends, neighbors and extended family.
- Make turkey tetrazzini or any pasta for that matter.
- Don’t forget to break the wishbone and make a wish.
- Serve open-faced hot turkey and gravy sandwiches.
- Send the leftovers with your son who lives in a fraternity.
- Slice it and freeze it for a wonderful warm up supper in January.
- Turkey pizza with sundried tomatoes and lots of cheese.
- Toss turkey into a salad.
- Make turkey curry.
- Host a leftover turkey eating contest.
- Top it with your favorite sauce - cheese, Hollandaise, ketchup, barbecue, etc.
- Make turkey hash for a day after turkey breakfast, lunch or dinner.
- Create Mexican inspired turkey enchiladas that won’t remind everyone of the turkey dinner the night before (recipe below).
- Turkey noodle soup.
- Instead of chicken salad sandwiches, opt for turkey salad.
- Leftover holiday turkey gumbo.
- Stuff peppers or zucchini with turkey.
- Turkey nachos for game day.
- Make a delicious and easy creamy turkey melt (recipe below).
- Try an Asian or Chinese inspired dish such as turkey chow mein.
- Make one of these delicious turkey dishes and bring it to a neighbor.
Turkey Enchiladas
1/2 pound turkey
1 cup mild “thick” salsa
1/2 cup sliced olives
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
One 8 oz container soft cream cheese (with chives/onions recommended)
Six 6-inch flour tortillas
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack or Cheddar cheese
In one quarter casserole dish, heat turkey, salsa, olives and garlic powder. Spread 2 tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture on each tortilla, top with 1/3 cup turkey/salsa mixture in center of each tortilla. Roll up, place seam side down in greased baking dish. Cook on high for 4 to 6 minutes or until heated through, rotating dish once during cooking. Top with cheese and cook 1 to 2 minutes until cheese is melted.
Creamy Turkey Melt
1/2 cup chopped red onion
5 Tbsp. butter or margarine, softened, divided
3 ounces cream cheese, cubed
1/3 cup sour cream
2 cups cubed cooked turkey
8 slices dark rye or pumpernickel bread
4 slices Swiss cheese
In a saucepan over medium heat, sauté onion in 1 tablespoon of butter until tender. Reduce heat to low. Add cream cheese and sour cream; cook and stir until smooth. Add turkey; cook until heated through (do not boil). Spoon 1/2 cup filling onto four slices of bred; top with a slice of cheese. Spread outside of bread with remaining butter. In a skillet over medium heat, cook sandwiches until lightly browned on both sides.
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Thanksgiving on the move
This Thanksgiving, I’m thankful for a new house, a new yard and all the people who helped us move.
And the fireplace.
Our landlord failed to tell us last week that the gas wasn’t turned on, which has left us without heat, hot water and, possibly worst of all, a stove or oven.
It feels a little like camping with a microwave.
Good thing for all those Thanksgiving leftovers to keep us fed. One non-turkey-day highlight was the meatballs I picked up on the requisite post-move trip to IKEA over the weekend. (In case you were wondering, you can make gravy from a packet in the microwave. Stuffing, which we also made in the zapper, wasn’t as good as in the oven, but it went well with the store-bought rotisserie chicken and canned green beans.)
I’ve also been torturing myself by flipping through magazines and cookbooks, marking the first recipes I want to make as soon as I can fire up the gas stove, which, God willing, should be tomorrow.
Until then, it’s cereal, toast, cheese quesadillas, microwaved pasta and whatever else we conjure up. I know there are entire cookbooks written about microwave cooking, but after four days of it, I’ll be thrilled to have my good old stove back.
Not to mention a shower.
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Tips to keep your Black Friday plumber free
Apparently, the day after Thanksgiving is the busiest day of the year for plumbers, many of whom are called in due to problems associated with the kitchen sink.
InSinkErator, the world’s largest manufacturer of food waste disposers, says it receives 43 percent more calls on that day. Don’t assume your disposer can grind anything. Turkey bones, potato peels and coffee grounds are particularly bad.
Here are some dos and don’ts from InSinkErator:
Don’t put grease or fat down the disposer, or any drain. It can build up in pipes and cause blockage. Instead, pour it into a glass or tin container, and then discard waste in the trash once it solidifies.
Do grind hard materials such as small bones, fruit pits and ice. Contrary to what you might think, it’s good to grind these types of items in your disposer because it helps scrape the inside of your pipes and disposer, removing any build up that might be there, such as grease build up.
Do have a container for dirty silverware so that guests do not toss their utensils in the sink. Glass, plastic, metal or other non-food materials can seriously damage the disposer.
Do run cold water down the drain for 30 seconds before and after disposer use to flush the food waste through the plumbing system and keep debris from settling in the pipes. Hot water can melt fatty/greasy waste and allow it to re-solidify, which may lead to jams and clogs.
Don’t hurry through clean-up as this is one of the main reasons users overfill or jam their disposers - simply because they are not paying attention.
Don’t use your disposer like a garbage can. Avoid letting items like tea bags, bread ties and bottle caps fall into the sink as they can easily run down the drain and cause jams.
Do grind lemons and other citrus fruits. This will give your disposer a fresh scent.
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Cookbook giveaway question
Hopefully Martha Stewart’s new book will help reader Holly’s sister-in-law learn how to throw a successful Thanksgiving dinner. (Cold, pink turkey is never a good sign…)
For next week’s book, “Made in Spain: Spanish Dishes for the American Kitchen” by PBS host Jose Andres, tell me about your favorite ethnic dish you wish you could pull off in your own kitchen.
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Note to self: Don’t serve Ina Garten a pumpkin pie
Ina Garten is not a pumpkin pie person.
Instead, she serves desserts such as pumpkin banana tart or pumpkin mousse parfait; this year, she’ll be making a pumpkin roulade filled with mascarpone (recipe below) on Wednesday to serve for her husband and six guests on Thursday.
These informal gatherings at her house are the focus of “Barefoot Contessa,” which is in its seventh season. A second show, named after her most recent cookbook, “Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics,” premiered last month and is also filmed in her own kitchen.
“I try to include more information about cooking” in the new show, she says over the phone this morning from her kitchen/office in the East Hamptons. “Tips, what you can make in advance…It has a slightly different energy.” Filming both shows in her home was part of the deal from the beginning. “I wanted it to feel real. My friends, my family, my home, not in a studio,” she says.
“Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics” has been in the works for four years, even though its publishing happens to coincide with rough economic times when many people are heading back to the kitchen. “Many of my recipes are basic anyway, so I couldn’t make it more basic,” she says. “So I decided to write about how to get the most flavor out of the ingredients.”
“I can’t tell you how many people have said to me, ‘This economic thing is a disaster’,” she says. There is a silver lining: It’s reminding us what’s important this holiday season. “It’s not all about the stuff and the Santa cards, but it brings you back to bringing people closer and spending time with family and friends. ”
She also had a few thoughts on Michelle and Barack Obama. “I am so thrilled and so excited for his intelligence, his deliberateness and centeredness and how grounded he is,” she says. That is so important for the economy. (She should know; before she became a celebrity cook, she worked on budgets in the Ford and Carter administrations.)
She also says that Michelle Obama is the perfect person to show what is so great about this county. It’s not about entertaining; it’s about showcasing the best of what we have, from food to clothes to theater, she says.
I couldn’t help but point out that the forecast for Thanksgiving in Central Texas is a warm 77 degrees. “You can spend it in your bikini,” she says with a chuckle.
A few people on Twitter had some additional questions for Ina:
@csharo: “Back to Basics” often calls for “outdoor grill.” Any Contessa-approved alternatives? Will grill pan do? One of the most popular recipes from the new book is the Tuscan lemon chicken. I’ve heard of people broiling and baking the chicken and it turned out fine, so you don’t have to grill many of the dishes.
@natanyap: What advice do you have for those who want to change careers like you did and move from a non-food related job to a foodie job? Just jump off the cliff, she says. Focus your attention and you’ll figure out how to do it. It’s not an easy transition. I love the food business. It keeps me up at night, which I love. You have to roll up your sleeves and dive in. I don’t know that blogs would create a professional base for you. I think you really need to be out there in a kitchen or with a food store or with a culinary degree. Work your way up. Be prepared for a few years of learning your way through the food business.
@allenweiner: What about low fat alternatives? I do have some recipes that are quite high fat, she says. I like to balance a meal with things that are low fat and things that are richer. People feel better when they have a balance, she says. I tend not to substitute, but I will make a recipe that’s lower in fat.
@dquack: I’d also be interested to hear your take on the sustainable food movement. I think everybody needs to look around their neighborhood and see what’s made there. There’s a chicken farm in East Hampton, so I cook a lot of chicken. I buy Italian sausages made in a store near here. I write a menu around what’s available and what’s in season. Focus on the ingredients that are available, then fill in the gaps.
Pumpkin Roulade with Ginger Buttercream
For cake:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup canned pumpkin (not pie filling)
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, plus extra for dusting
For filling:
12 oz. Italian mascarpone cheese
1 1/4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
2 Tbsp. heavy cream
1/4 cup minced dried crystallized ginger (not in syrup)
Pinch of kosher salt
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 13 inch by 18 inch sheet pan that’s about an inch deep. Line the pan with parchment paper and grease and flour the paper. In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt and stir to combine. Place the eggs and granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium-high speed for three minutes, until light yellow and thickened. With the mixer on low, add the pumpkin, then slowly add the flour mixture, mixing just until incorporated. Finish mixing the batter by hand with a rubber spatula. Pour into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake the cake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the top springs back when gently touched.
While the cake is baking, lay out a clean, thin cotton dish towel on a flat surface and sift the entire 1/4 cup of confectioners’ sugar evenly over it. (This will prevent the cake from sticking to the towel.) As soon as you remove the cake from the oven, loosen it around the edges and invert it squarely onto the prepared towel. Peel away the parchment paper. With a light touch, roll the warm cake and the towel together (don’t press!), starting at the short end of the cake. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
Meanwhile, make the filling. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the mascarpone, confectioners’ sugar, and cream together for about a minute, until light and fluffy. Stir in the crystallized ginger and salt.
To assemble, carefully unroll the cake onto a board with the towel underneath. Spread the cake evenly with the filling. Reroll the cake in a spiral using the towel as a guide. Remove the towel and trim the ends to make a neat edge. Dust with confectioners’ sugar and serve sliced.
Serves 8. You can make this a day before serving. Be sure to serve cool, so bring it out of the fridge 30 minutes before serving.
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Dr. (and mommy friend) Jenny Kokai: What’s in Your Fridge Friday?
I met Jenny Kokai exactly two years ago when we were both heavily pregnant in a natural childbirth class and wondering how the hell we were going to do this whole child-rearing thing and continue with our pre-motherhood plans. She was in the middle of getting her doctorate in Theatre and Dance at UT and I was a copy editor twitching to get back into writing.
Even though our birth plans didn’t go our way (we were the only two moms in the class who ended up with C-sections), we forged ahead, balancing diapers, sleepless nights and quickly growing boys with the day-to-day work that inched us closer to our goals. This has meant pleas for babysitting, late night hours at the computer, pumping at work or in the library and more time away from our kids than we’d probably have liked.
But it has paid off. As of this week, she’s Dr. Kokai.
Yesterday, she defended her project, which is on women and performance in Boston around the time of the American Revolution, which means she’s reached her goal of finishing school before she’s 30. She says now she gets to focus on getting a job and taking care of her sweet son, Oliver. She’ll leave the cooking up to her husband, Eric.
Oh, and she promises that all the liquor wasn’t there to help her finish the degree. It’s for Thanksgiving with the family, she swears.
What three things are always in your fridge? hard tofu (cheap protein, basis for many dinners), non-dairy coffee creamer (low calorie dessert is Mocha Almond Fudge creamer and decaf coffee), jalapeno stuffed olives (snacks and Mexican Martinis, of course).
What’s your favorite condiment? Salsa… great on everything. Especially Leal’s.
What’s your go-to snack for the little one? Lately the wee one wants pancakes, so we make up a big batch of fruit filled pancakes on Sunday and keep them in tupperware in the fridge so he can eat them through out the week.
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Empty bowls, Mama Fu’s and free Dr Pepper on Sunday
Three (unrelated) awesome things happening on Sunday:
A new Mama Fu’s is opening downtown in the Second Street District at the corner of Colorado and Cesar Chavez streets. It’s the fourth location for the made-to-order Asian restaurant, which has counter service at lunch and full-service dining at dinner. This location will offer a full bar as well.
But the best thing happening Sunday is the Capital Area Food Bank of Texas’ 12th annual Empty Bowl Project. From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Mexican American Cultural Center, you can buy a hand-made bowl filled with delicious soup for $15. Area potters have donated thousands of bowls and dozens of restaurants, including Cafe Josie, Sazon, Mandola’s, Corazon and The Soup Peddler, have donated bread and soup. The proceeds go to the food bank, which is always in need of extra help this time of year.
Besides a great meal benefiting a wonderful organization, you also get a funky bowl to take home with you!
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Top Notch to reopen
After closing a few weeks ago after the death of its manager, Top Notch, the beloved hamburger restaurant on Burnet Road, will reopen on Monday.
“We’ve had a lot of feedback from people almost begging us to try to stay open,” says Janet Stanish-Knue, whose brother and Top Notch manager James Stanish died unexpectedly in his sleep earlier this month.
To the heartbreak of many in the community, they closed the restaurant, which played a prominent role in Richard Linklater’s 1983 film “Dazed and Confused,” and had doubts they could reopen without Stanish’s leadership.
We’re going to give it a try, she says, but “it’s going to be different, though, to do it without my brother.”
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Turkey live chat with TCA instructor Stephen Cash
The recipes for injected deep-fried turkey and a brined and roasted turkey are after the jump….
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Win a copy of Martha Stewart’s new book
Now for this week’s giveaway question: What is the worst Thanksgiving fiasco you’ve ever witnessed or played a role in?
I’ll draw names next week for a copy of Ms. Fiasco herself’s latest, “Martha Stewart’s Cooking School: Lessons and Recipes for the Home Cook.”
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Giving turkey a second (or third or fourth) chance
Ham has always won in my book, but who can serve a Thanksgiving dinner without Mr. Gobble Gobble himself?
But it is not as if turkeys cook themselves. (You’ll remember my run-in with turkey in Spain a few years back.) They are large, once-a-year traditions that, like most fowl, are unremarkable in flavor without some effort on the cook’s part.
But the class, led by Texas Culinary Academy instructor Stephen Cash, opened my eyes to how delicious a turkey can be — if cooked properly. The roasted turkey, which had been brined, was moist and tender enough to fall apart even when cut into fat slices. The fried turkey, which cooked in less than an hour, wasn’t quite a delectable, but it was still better than any turkey I’ve ever served or been served on Thanksgiving.
Cash, who indeed marks his coffee travel mugs with a dollar sign, will tell us exactly how you cook that perfect turkey in a live chat here on Relish Austin at 1 p.m. on Wednesday.
As if the turkey wasn’t enough, TCA had an awesome mulled cider for us to drink, served with a scoop of butter and a dash of spiced rum. The recipe, which will be the only thing I actually make for the family T-day dinner next week, is after the jump…
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AMOA director Dana Friis-Hansen: What’s in Your Fridge Friday?
Dana and Mark are foodies with a deep interest in local foods. In their fridge, you’ll see evidence of trips to the downtown farmers’ market with food from Aster’s Ethiopian Catering and Thai Fresh and Rio’s sauces. Just last night, their book club met to discuss Michael Pollan’s “The Omnivore’s Dilemma,” so they celebrated with fish and shrimp from Roberto San Miguel’s seafood company and dishes made with local arugula, peppers and radishes.
Friis-Hansen, who has been the AMOA’s executive director since 2002, must relish in the dining aspect of the museum’s newest exhibit, “The Texas Chair Project,” which is opening this weekend. It is a result of Austin artist Damian Priour’s experiment two years ago in which he sent 100 limestone-and-glass chairs to fellow artists and requested that they send him a chair of their own in return. The exhibit will be open through February at the downtown location, 823 Congress Ave.
What three things are always in your fridge? Garlic, champagne, three kinds of mustard, cowboy burgers, low sodium v-8, olives, cheeses, arugula, something from Soup Peddler, something from Farmer’s market vendors… ok, that’s more than three.
What is your favorite condiment? Wasabi mustard … We lived in Tokyo for five years, so this is a great mix of East and West…
What meal have you eaten that’s worthy of a museum still life? There are many great still lives in art history, but I am lucky to be friends with a truly multi-media artist, Doug Fitch, who creates food extravaganzas and events under the rubric “Orphic Feast”. Last Thanksgiving a group of friends, including Doug, celebrated a wonderful weekend in Marfa at the home of artist Charles Mary Kubricht, it was a collage of flavors and colors!!!
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Calling pizza freaks and beer oddities
It’s not even the week before Thanksgiving, yet one could not want for more fun food activities:
The Black Star beer co-op is hosting a beer social from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. this Saturday. Bring a chair, your ID and snacks. (Curious how these socials work? Check out this explainer.)
More beer news: Craft Austin has the first glimpse of what the 100th anniversary Shiner beer will look like next year.
If you don’t feel like getting out, the newest season of Top Chef just started, so you’ll have plenty of knife-wielding and cat fights to watch from the comfort of your living room. Serious Eats has a wrap-up of last night’s premiere.
For more at-home entertainment, how about a contest? Alexandra Bruskoff, the delightful baker behind Alexandra’s Cookie Dreams, has collaborated with the Insatiable Critic, Gael Greene, for a virtual contest called the Insatiable Cookie Chase. Follow clues, find the answer, win cookies. The contest ends on Saturday, December 10, and you can learn about the details here.
One more fun thing to check out: Chow shows off the best food tattoos, because, as you can see above, you never want to forget where pork loin comes from.
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Another restaurant closes in Marble Falls
On the heels of the recent closing of Cafe 909 in Marble Falls comes news of another restaurant closing in that city. Patton’s on Main, which showcased the cooking of Pat Robertson, shut its doors on Nov. 8.
Patton’s Web site, www.pattonsonmain.com, reports that Robertson will work with the Wolfgang Puck Corp. on a new restaurant in Dallas’ Reunion Tower.
The closing leaves Marble Falls gourmands with few fine-dining options. The Falls Bistro also closed this summer. Still standing is Russo’s Texitally Cafe (602 Steve Hawkins Parkway, Marble Falls. 830-693-7091, www.texitally.com), where owner John Russo serves Italian dishes with Texan and Mexican influences.
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Win a book: Tell me which beer is worth fighting for
A $2,000 meal in San Francisco in the dot-com days and a Valentine’s Day dinner at Zoot won Matt and Maggie this week’s fancy cookbooks.
A copy of “Shine On: 100 Years of Shiner Beer” will go to the randomly drawn winner.
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Carlos Santana says his corazón is in new Austin restaurant
Carlos Santana has a new restaurant downtown, and he wants you to know that he’s not just in it for the money.
Although the name, Maria Maria, is cringe-worthy — you can thank me later for getting that song stuck in your head — the food is good and the motive seems as heartfelt as Santana himself.
At a media event at Maria Maria on Monday night, Santana, clad in brown and his trademark stocking cap, said he sees the restaurants — there are four total — and even his line of shoes as a way to return the blessings he’s received, to invest in people to give them an opportunity to financially, psychologically and spirituality grow.
Former Fonda San Miguel chef Roberto Santibañez developed the menu, which is the same for each of the four Maria Marias. (The first opened in Walnut Creek, Calif., a year ago.) Apparently it was Santibañez’ dream to open a cooking school in Oaxaca that won him the job, which fits with Santana’s goal sharing the literal and proverbial wealth with those who aren’t Grammy-winning artists or world-class chefs.
Despite rough times for both the music and restaurant industries (His spirited response: “Music puts wings in your heart; we’ll never get rid of it.”) he is planning several more Maria Marias in the next few years, including in Boca Raton, Fla., and Houston.
He spoke freely about his feelings about the country and its president-elect. After the past eight years (“Halloween with no candy,” he calls it), “we’re believing in the intangibles again,” he says. If you invest in trust, hope and faith, you can go beyond a life inside a hamster wheel, he reminded the half dozen journalists scribbling away each of his words during our 20 minutes together.
As for his favorite dishes? He likes the pato (duck) tacos that we sampled before he arrived. Rich duck inside tortillas covered in a sweet, smoky and spicy tomato-habanero cream.
“The secret of life is in the sauce.”
Sounds cheesy — his words, not the sauce — but I couldn’t help but believe the guy. He’s known these days as much for h
Latest comments
Din Ho is such an amazing secret. I’m still dreaming about their shrimp wonton soup.
... read the full comment by lac | Comment on Your A-List: Best Chinese Read Your A-List: Best Chinese
Jamie Oliver - he seems like a great guy to have a beer with and talk cooking. I love his passion and the way he uses simple recipes and ingredients to create flavor. His last series on food tv jamie at home was awesome and inspired me to expand my garden.
... read the full comment by blueaustin | Comment on Win a copy of Rachael Ray's new book Read Win a copy of Rachael Ray's new book
Thanks to Central Market, I have met lots of the chefs mentioned here, and I would stand in long lines to see again Bobby Flay, Alton Brown, David Lebovitz, and especially Alice Waters. No one knows or loves food more than Alice Waters.
... read the full comment by aTxVegn | Comment on Win a copy of Rachael Ray's new book Read Win a copy of Rachael Ray's new book
Thomas Keller. I would camp out all night like it was Black Friday and the Walmart had laptops for $99. Got a chance to work with David Lebovitz at Central Market. He is wonderfully charming and humble.
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