Austin360 blogs > Out & About > Archives > 2011 > July > 04 > Entry
Qarnival Launch Party at the Clay Pit
Leave it to Zarghun Dean to take the lead. He did so 10 years ago with Tribeza, the trendsetting magazine about food, fashion, design and arts. He did so with excursions into website development and the vast Austin trailer food industry.
Zarghun Dean and Bijoy Goswami
Now it’s Qarnival. This dinner-and-coversation program seems related to Dean’s previous chef-centric parties, although this time the guest list was small enough to encourage exchanges with everyone across a single table. The launch party at the Clay Pit, the purveyor of contemporary Indian cuisine, set the right tone. Tucked away in the restaurant’s brick-and-stone basement, the dinner joined together just seven guests, all ardent communicators.
Rachelle King and Jennie Chen
Boostrapper Bijoy Goswami helped steer the conversation to the basic characteristics of Austin’s ethos. Food blogger and high-techie Jennie Chen brought us up to date on the latest among city’s disorienting restaurant developments. Greg Ackerman, Haley Odom and Rachelle King contributed strong opinions regarding Google vs Apple and the evolving relationship between food and community.
Greg Ackerman and Haley Odom
The family-style servings, as expected, helped us along. I particularly liked a coconut milk curry that encouraged me to stay longer than I had planned. This whole Qarnival concept appeals to me enormously. Small dinner parties at different Austin restaurants and different Austin interlocutors sounds like heaven to a social columnist.
Correction: In a previous version of this post, the final two photo captions were switched.
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