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Commemorate a double rainbow while you accessorize
Now, you can take the “What does it mean?” meme home with you in the form of this throw pillow on Etsy. I love the description: “Sometimes life can be so intense.Rest your head here and unwind.”
And, because can you really ever have too much of a good thing, double rainbow all the way …
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A Coffee With … David Neff
As it turns out, the fresh-faced nonprofit pro doesn’t need the caffeine boost. Sitting down at Flipnotics recently to discuss the film festival, Neff exudes a perky energy that can be only natural. It’s the kind of passion I assume is requisite when working in the nonprofit world.
After serving for almost a decade as director of Web, film and interactive strategies for the American Cancer Society, Neff realized that there was informative and engaging filmmaking coming out of the nonprofit world. The films he saw were increasingly artistic and original, and moved beyond the traditional talking-head cliché of corporate documentaries. The problem was these messages were not reaching a big enough audience.
Though documentary and feature films have the benefit of countless festivals around the country, non-profit organizations generally rely on people visiting their websites to see and hear their messages. Not many people want to go to South by Southwest to see a short about hurricane relief efforts, and not every organization can afford to run ubiquitous 30-second spots featuring a tear-jerking soundtrack from Sarah McLachlan.
In an effort to shine a light on these deserving organizations and their films, Neff organized Lights. Camera. Help. in 2009. After modest success as a one-day event in its inaugural year, and thanks to the power of social networking, the film festival has expanded to three days and includes 32 films from six countries. In an effort to offer the broadest opportunity, there is no entry fee for submissions, of which there were 235 for this year’s festival.
Unlike most film festivals, which (at their best) help filmmakers find distribution deals or (at least) create buzz, the purpose of the cause-driven Lights. Camera. Help. is more specific, its goals more concrete.
“Watching something like this can flip a switch in people’s brains to go out and do something,” Neff said. “Even if they don’t end up going to volunteer for the specific organization they saw in the film, it may get them to donate money or volunteer their time for something similar in their community.”
The festival presents works in three categories (feature, shorts and public service announcements), with the winners in each, as named by a panel of three judges, receiving cash prizes. Attendees can expect to see works from national organizations such as the Red Cross as well as a film about earthquake relief made by longtime Burning Man attendees.
Skeptics of the idea of cause-driven film should not worry about being bored to tears or have their heartstrings yanked relentlessly, Neff said.
“It’s interesting. … I think comedy works really well,” Neff said of the films. “As with regular features, the things that work best are movies that tell a compelling story and have a resolution. The difference with our films is there’s a call to action at the end: ‘Do you want to prevent this from happening? Get up and volunteer. Do you want to make this change or help us pass this law or solve this problem? We need you to tell 10 people to donate $10 or get out your cell phone and text right now.’”
As a response to audience inquiries following the inaugural festival, Lights. Camera. Help. decided to broaden its scope to include education and match services. Neff and his team offer filmmaking classes to nonprofits along with an interactive database that allows organizations to link with creative talents.
In addition to his work with Ridgewood and his attempts to grow Lights. Camera. Help., the previous winner of the Statesman’s Social Media Award is writing a book about the future of nonprofits and the inherent challenges and opportunities they will face.
He’s probably going to need a refill on that cappuccino.
Lights. Camera. Help. Film Festival When: Thursday-Saturday Where: Mexican American Cultural Center, Millennium Youth Center and Space 12 Cost: One-day pass, $12; Two-day pass, $20; Three-day pass, $30 Information: www.lightscamerahelp.org.
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Two Austin salons make Elle’s top 100
Last week Playboy recognized two of Austin’s bars (Continental Club and Mean-Eyed Cat) in their list of the nation’s best, and this week another national magazine is found giving love to two more Austin businesses.
The big winners this time? Milk + Honey and Birds Barbershop. Both were named in Elle magazine’s top 100 salons.
It is the third year in a row that Birds has made the list. With its cool graphics, clever and strong marketing, cute stylists and constant presence in the community, Birds has done a solid job of branding itself as a very “Austin” salon, tapping into the hip cultural zeitgeist from the second it opened its doors in 2006.
As for Milk + Honey, I’ve never been, but have heard only raves, and it certainly looks luxurious.
Houston’s Elektra and The Upper Hand rounded out the Texas contingency, while Dallas got iced out.
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Is Katz’s (finally) klosing?
Update: Marc Katz says he may or may not move, but he won’t close, despite what the Austin Business Journal says.
The deli that has made a name for itself in the Austin area thanks to its larger-than-life owner and his ubiquitous promise of 24-hour eats is in search of a new home after losing its lease, according to a report in the Austin Business Journal.
M&M Katz Inc., the parent company of the deli that has been around for over 30 years, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 20, but Katz tells the ABJ that this is not the end of Katz’s Deli.
Katz’s problems apparently began when he sold the Sixth Street building that houses his restaurant and then began renting from the new property owner. The Journal takes a deeper a detailed look at Katz’s financial problems.
Katz’s Deli owes $121,900 in federal, state and county taxes, according to court records. The company owes about 14 vendors about $30,000 and owes more than 55 past and present employees about $26,000. The company has annual revenue of about $2.7 million, based upon court records that said monthly revenue is $225,900.
Katz told the ABJ that his financial woes are not connected to his failed bid for lieutenant governor.
From the archives: Mark Katz attempts to file for lieutenant governor. (unforauntely, without “Yakety Sax” soundtrack)
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Summer salad love at South Congress Cafe
The bright red cubes of sweet melon atop mixed greens provide an immediate burst of flavor, their juices adding to the bright, refreshing lemon-mint vinaigrette dressing. The light bite of red onions keeps the fruit from overpowering your palate like a sugary soda. Both the sweet and spice, along with the watermelon’s coarse texture, are mellowed wonderfully by a soft, chunky feta cheese crumbled liberally. I like to add grilled shrimp ($7 extra), because its sweet, charred crunch enhances both the texture and flavor of the salad, making it the perfect culinary salvation from the Texas heat.
South Congress Cafe [site]
4700 S. Congress Ave.
851-9300
Click here to read about 10 more salads on the 360 cover story written by Mike Sutter (with an assist from me).
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The Highball introduces karaoke app
The shrieking, the spilled booze, the high-fives, both the bump and the grind … there ain’t nothin’ wrong with a little karaoke at The Highball. The suckiest part of the experience (if we have to get all critical) is the same as it is at any karaoke night — furiously flipping through countless pages of song titles while your impaired, sweaty mouth-breathing friends (said with love) crush in on you in an attempt to steal the notebook of songs so they can see if the list contains that epic Journey tune.
The new Highball karaoke app may solve that problem (at least the song-list-bogarting part). The free app, available at the iTunes store, allows you to browse by artist, title, or group The Highball’s entire catalog of available karaoke tunes. You can download the app here. Now if they just had an app to make it easier to bowl while wearing the ol’ wobbly boot.
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A fresh look at Wimberley
Photos: The fresh food scene in Wimberley
The rich, viscous voice — like Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla drizzled with local honey — tempted me with fried chicken. Ken Kimmons was making one of his regular loudspeaker announcements from the deli at Brookshire Brothers in Wimberley. I attempted to tune him out as I pingponged through the fluorescent-lighted produce section. The best fried chicken in town would have to wait for another visit. I needed arugula.
A decade ago, a request for the bitter, spicy greens might have been met with quizzical stares. On this day, however, I got more than a shrug of the shoulders. When apprised of my hunt, one of Brookshire’s produce section employees told me the grocer was fresh out. Then, with a glimmer of knowing excitement in his eyes, he asked, “Do you know Kathleen over at EIEIO farms?”
So, with the sun in quick descent, we made our way down the meandering Green Acres Drive before pulling to the side of the road to make the call. After a few rings, a breathless but cheerful voice answered.
“This might seem like a weird request,” I said tentatively, “but I was told you may have some arugula to sell?”
Kathleen Mooney could see me from her porch, she told me, and then directed me to turn around and head up her driveway.
The effervescent Mooney, hands caked with dirt from the day’s work, greeted us warmly like old friends and showed us to her row of arugula while happily offering answers to all the questions I had and some I hadn’t.
Now, in her fourth season, Mooney — who admits to being blessed with the help of friends and neighbors — has three goats, 75 chickens, a slew of organic vegetables and recently planted four Asian pear trees, three apple trees and more than four dozen blackberry bushes to go with her growing selection of fruits. Central Texans can buy weekly baskets from Mooney that contain her seasonal produce and eggs; go to www.eieiofarm.wordpress.com for more.
“People want to know where their food comes from,” said Mooney, who takes great pride in her role of educator. “And Wimberley has just been tremendously supportive.”
As the glow of a full moon outlined the twilight, we began to pluck our evening’s salad from her field and Kathleen and Max finally left for their own dinner. They were 90 minutes late and headed just down the road to The Leaning Pear Café & Eatery, an occasional customer of Mooney’s and another community advocate for fresh and local foods.
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Set on an 11-acre piece of property that hugs Cypress Creek, just a few canoe paddle strokes from the village square, The Leaning Pear looks like an old Tuscan farmhouse, fitting for owners Rachel and Matthew Buchanan, who met while studying near Florence, Italy.
Despite the burgeoning restaurant scene in nearby Austin, they wanted to be in the Hill Country. “Our heartstrings just continued to pull us in this direction,” Rachel Buchanan said.
The Buchanans opened The Leaning Pear — the name playing off the two of them and their love of fresh food — in March 2007 in the renovated 19th-century building that had been in Rachel’s family for several decades.
The couple focuses on providing farmers-market-driven soups, salads and daily specials with an emphasis on fresh, seasonal and local food. “We try and expand people’s expectations of what a soup and sandwich place should be,” Matthew said.
A peach and arugula salad ($8.25) offered recently is indicative of the couple’s mission. Fredericksburg peaches with ripe, crackling skin were served atop verdant and flavorful greens that offered surprises in each bite, with cilantro, basil and mint all mixing together to provide bursts of their unique flavors.
The Buchanans have not been hesitant to introduce new flavors to their loyal customers. A chilled potato soup ($4) with a perfect balance of cream punctuated by bright fresh dill and the crunch of chopped chives was likely not seen in Wimberley before the Pear opened.
“The education is part of the fun,” Matthew Buchanan said. “It’s fun to share new things with our customers when we can.”
None of which is to say that this upscale rustic restaurant shies away from more traditional fare — the corned beef Reuben ($8) is a Texas twist on a New York standard with house-cured brisket topped with pungent sauerkraut, smothered in Swiss cheese and served on a hearty marbled rye that you can hear crunch from the other side of the small restaurant.
Due to its size, The Leaning Pear has mainly focused on lunch, with dinner being served on Fridays and Saturdays (they are closed Tuesdays). That might change in the coming months. The Buchanans hope to break ground within the next year on a bigger restaurant on their property. The larger space would allow them to add their daily specials to an expanded entrée menu, extend their hours to include lunch and dinner and continue to celebrate local flavors.
“We serve honest food,” Rachel Buchanan said. “Wimberley is a diverse little hamlet with some sophisticated palates out there, yet is also a place where a simple lifestyle and genuine hospitality are appreciated. Our goal is to cater to our fellow villagers; anybody else that wants to come and dine with us is icing.”
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Though the Buchanans might be new faces of the local food movement in town, they follow in the steps of the self-taught Linda Allen, who was a trailblazer in bringing fresh flavors to Wimberley. Allen understands the special history of Wimberley and its people, and holds dear to her heart the town that is woven together by rivers and streams.
Growing up primarily in the San Francisco Bay Area, Allen visited Wimberley, where her family has owned property since 1919, every summer for as long as she can remember.
“Wimberley has always been a consistent memory,” Allen said recently.
Following graduate school for creative writing, Allen permanently moved to the sleepy Texas town in 1980, and a decade later she began a catering business. After 15 years of serving food to every local civic club imaginable and for every kind of occasion, Allen and her partner Jimmy Ash decided to expand their business to include a prepared-foods sit-down restaurant that also offers take-away service (the eatery is closed Sundays).
Located in an old house set beneath a massive, sweeping oak tree, Linda’s Fine Foods serves as the extended dining room for the Wimberley community. The hodgepodge of mismatched tables and chairs, along with the food served on a collection of dishes accumulated through the years, lend the restaurant the feel of an extended family meal during the holidays.
With a menu that changes weekly, excepting a few standard items, Allen says she is always dreaming up new recipes to add to her growing collection of personalized comfort food.
“We like to try and keep it creative and challenging. We make fresh food with real ingredients and try and buy locally when we can,” said Allen, who speaks with a preternatural calmness, slowly choosing her words, as one would expect from a poet and writer.
On any given week the menu will boast an eclectic range of dishes from traditional country flavors to Asian-inspired dishes. A deep pink, sweet mustard-glazed wild sockeye salmon ($9.99) is moist, meaty and carries subtle notes of sweetness that are tempered by the coarse-grained mustard. The refreshing shrimp salad ($7.99) features moist, plump shrimp in a light citrus-dill dressing wrapped in a textural patchwork that is at once crunchy and soft thanks to celery, red onions and hard-boiled eggs. The expertly executed King Ranch chicken ($6.75) leaves no doubt that Allen’s curious spirit is rooted in Texas soil, and the incomparable carrot cake, made from her mother’s recipe, embodies the heart she puts into her cooking that extends from the kitchen to her relationship with her customers in the town that she says has always felt like home.
“Wimberley is a real eclectic community and it’s growing and so is its interest in food,” Allen said. “We get a real cross-section of the community — from construction workers to retired doctors — and I really enjoy making friends with my customers.”
A visit to this authentic town of down-to-earth people that moves at the pace of a Willie Nelson ballad reinforces the understanding that we are all connected to the land, and that a love of food and community is as pure and natural as the Blanco River.
If you go …
The Leaning Pear. 111 River Road. 512-847-7327, www.theleaningpear.com. Hours: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
Linda’s Fine Foods. 500 RM 2325. 512-847-5464, www.lindaallencatering.com. Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays. 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Fridays. 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturdays.
EIEIO Organic Farm. 1000 Green Acres Drive. 512-847-2463, www.eieiofarm.wordpress.com .
When in Wimberley …
The Old Mill Store. What started as an 8-foot-by-8-foot space decades ago is now the centerpiece of the town square, selling everything from walking sticks to dining room tables. 318 Wimberley Square. 512-847-3068, oldmillstore.com.
Wimberley Valley Candy Co. Indulge your sweet tooth and sense of nostalgia at the candy store that tempts with an assortment of classic confections and homemade fudge. 14015 RM 12. 512-847-7774, www.wimberleycandy.com.
Blue Bacon Toys. Reward the kids and yourself with a distraction in the form of a stuffed animal or board game. 101 Wimberley Square, Suite C. 512-847-2150
By the Bridge Antiques. Vintage home decorations and furnishings at one of the most charming buildings in town. 14015 RM 12, Suite 14. 512-847-7165
Gallery on the Square. A nice mix of media, from oil to sculpture, created primarily by artists from Central Texas. 314 Wimberley Square, Suite A. 512-847-9904, www.galleryonthesquare.com.
Chick-a-dee. Walk from room to room in this old house that features vintage treasures, including some great midcentury finds. 204 Wimberley Square. 512-847-9979, www.buychickadee.com.
Blue Hole. Renew and refresh in one of Central Texas’ greatest natural gifts which is fed by the mystical Jacob’s Well. 512-847-0025, www.friendsofbluehole.org.
Wimberley Glass Co. Wonder at the glorious glass creations and watch the masters at work during a tour of the facility on the edge of town. 6469 RM 12. 512-393-3316, www.wgw.com.
Above Par Grill at Quicksand Golf Course. You don’t have to have a tee time to enjoy a burger and fries at the grill overlooking the first tee and ninth green. 1 Pro Lane, Woodcreek. 512-847-9700.
Wimberley Zipline Adventures. Get in touch with your inner action hero or Swiss Family Robinson as you soar amid the treetops and take in breathtaking Hill Country views. Winn Valley Road on the Winn Ranch, 512-847-9990, www.wimberleyzipline.com.
Wimberley Pie Co. Save room for dessert at this spot that serves over a dozen fresh pies, including a Coconut Custard that will make your eyes roll back in your head. 13619 Ranch Road 12, 512-847-9462, www.wimberleypie.com.
Creekside Vintage. Take a trip back to the ’60s and ’70s with fun and fascinating vintage items at this recent addition to the local retail scene. 14015 RM 12, Suite 5, 512-847-9444
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Longbranch Inn wants you to design their new mascot
After years of operating with a bucktoothed beaver as its logo-mascot, James Stockbauer’s bar has run afoul with Oregon State University, which has a strikingly similar semi-aquatic rodent as its calling card. Benny Beaver was the face of Oregon State into the late 90s, when the school in Corvallis, Oregon made the poor choice of changing its logo to the one below.
To submit your ideas and get more details, follow Longbranch Inn’s funny and borderline offensive Twitter feed or stumble into the bar and mold something out of Play-Doh, I’m sure they’d be greatly appreciative.
Longbranch Inn [site]
1133 E 11th St.
472.5591
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The Soup Peddler and Daily Juice founder join forces
A chance encounter at Phoenicia Bakery on South Lamar Boulevard last winter inspired two South Austin culinary and business visionaries to join strategic forces.
This November, Soup Peddler David Ansel and Daily Juice owner/founder Matt Shook plan to open Juicebox & Soup Peddler — a walk-up building at 2801 S. Lamar Blvd. The quick-service spot will become the latest addition to the Austinville 78704 complex that will include Amy’s Ice Creams & Phil’s Ice House, Gaga, Thundercloud Subs and Papalote.
Juicebox & Soup Peddler, described by my friend Shook as “a fueling station for South Austinites,” will serve eight smoothies and juices, along with about eight soups (a mix of hot and cold offerings). Ansel said that everything on the menu — which he described as light and refreshing — will be less than $6, with the drinks coming in 18-ounce sizes and the soups served as pints.
Located at the corner of South Lamar Boulevard and Manchaca Road, the building will be designed by Michael Hsu, with build-out expected to begin in the next couple of weeks.
Ansel says he expects the new business — which will offer take-away service as well as a seated area — to be open seven days a week, with exact hours yet to be determined.
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Two Austin bars recognized by Playboy
It seems Hugh Hefner’s original baby, Playboy magazine, has a soft soft for Austin in its silky, satin-and-velvet-lined heart. Over the past two years, The University of Texas finished at or near the top of Playboy’s best party school list, and now the nightlife scene is getting some love.
The Continental Club and Mean-Eyed Cat were two of only four Texas bars listed in “Playboy’s Guide to America’s Greatest Bars,” which appears in the August 2010 issue of the magazine men read for the articles.
The Continental Club — venerable venue for lovers of rock, hot rods and Betty Page — made the best overall list, while its kid brother of sorts, the Johnny Cash-loving Mean-Eyed Cat over on West Fifth Street, made the best dive bar list.
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Capsule review: ‘The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia’
The ‘Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia’ screens at Alamo Ritz tonight at 9:40. What follows is my capsule review from the screening at the Austin Film Festival last year. Click here to listen to a recent (and not safe for work) interview Adam Carolla did with the film’s producer, Johnny Knoxville.
Inspired by director Jacob Young’s cult documentary, “Dancing Outlaw,” a movie that featured the eccentric tap dancing Appalachian phenom, Jesco White, “Jackass” producers Johnny Knoxville, Jeff Tremaine and director Julien Nitzberg decided to follow the entire White clan for a year.
Notorious for their drinking, drugging, violence and illegal behavior, the White family of Boone, West Virginia is a petri dish of dysfunction and amoral behavior.
The documentary, “The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia,” opens on a shot of a muddy puddle behind a chain-link fence, an apt metaphor for a family rolling around in slop, trapped by its history and genetics.
Using an animated family tree, the audience is introduced to one bad seed after another. The cameras follow various family members on an apparently typical year in the life in which they battle the law, their addictions and each other.
I’m always a little leery of a documentary that appears to exploit its naïve and foolish characters, but the Whites are more than willing participants in this quasi-sociological excavation of their sins. And the filmmakers don’t exactly seem to be overtly judging their subjects, for whom it seems they have a bit of an affinity. Whether that makes it OK to laugh and guffaw, I am not certain.
At times the movie almost feels like a snuff film, but instead of watching someone get killed, the audience must endure the shock, perverse humor and brutality of a family that is slowly killing itself.
A few glimmers of hopefulness appear in the bond and commitment the family members have to one another and the act of one White mother to try and get clean in order to save herself and her baby. But generally it is a darkly comic and unsettling look into a family set to self-destruct.
In the midst of the madness, Jesco White attempts to philosophize about the fate of this family that is a product of its geography and history. His massive back tattoo, one that features the visages of both Elvis and Charles Manson, may best encapsulate their burden — For as evil as they seem to be, there is a certain charisma to this band of country outlaws.
As the credits roll, the audience can shake its collective head in awe and disgust at the display of grotesque humanity in this unrated version of “The Jerry Springer Show” and then move on with their safe, comfortable lives, but, sadly, for the Whites, there seems nothing left to do but ponder the losing battle they half-heartedly wage against their demons.
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Buy a burrito, get a ticket to the Paramount
Now, with all the blabbing out of the way, the point: As the art to the right reads, the first 100 people to buy a burrito, bowl, salad or order of tacos at any Austin-area Chipotle after 11 a.m. on Wednesday will receive a free pass to attend a screening at the Paramount Summer Film Series (I’m told the pass expires in October of 2011, so if none of this year’s films strike your fancy, I guess you could wait around till next summer. But that just seems really weird.)
Some of the movies still on tap for this summer at the Paramount:
“Sunset Boulevard,” “Lenny,” “Valley of the Dolls,” “Badlands,” “Pretty in Pink,” “Breathless,” “Vertigo,” and “The Big Lebowski.”
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The filmmaking classes cost $200. Where does the money go? And what filmmaking qualifications do the presenters have?
... read the full comment by superman | Comment on A Coffee With ... David Neff Read A Coffee With ... David Neff
Interesting! What qualifies Neff to give filmmaking lessons?
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