Food Matters: Dripping Springs couple give ketchup makeover

Bill Hallett and his wife were at a restaurant in Nashville a few years ago when they were served french fries with a trio of flavored ketchups that weren't really that good, but the underwhelming sauces got them talking: What would it take to make a really good gourmet ketchup?

They came back to their home in Dripping Springs and started working on a line of tomato-based specialty sauces that didn't contain tomato paste, puree, concentrates or "and certainly no high fructose corn syrup," Hallett says. "It had to be full of flavor, not just flavors added to the standard ketchup."

He bought as many kinds of ketchups as he could find both online and off and started testing recipes and creating new ones, including a chipotle ketchup that he says was their "eureka moment." They developed a sweet onion ketchup and a spicier version of the original chipotle flavor to create a line of three Drippin' Sauces, which he first started selling at the Dripping Springs Farmers' Market in 2010.

Two years later, you can now find the sauces online (drippinsauce.com), at the Barton Creek Farmers’ Market and at a number of area retail outlets and specialty store, including The Meat House on Bee Cave Road, Taste Buds in Wimberley and Carmela's Pizzaria Cafe, Rolling in Thyme and Dough and Bell Springs Winery in Dripping Springs. The sauces, which Hallett recommends using on not just hamburgers and hot dogs but pork tenderloin and even baby back ribs, cost about $9 per 13.4 ounce bottle. You can also buy a sample pack of three 4-ounce bottles for $15 online or at the farmers markets.

Get your food, craft fix at Cedar park market

• The Austin Open Air Market is a new weekly event in Cedar Park that is a hybrid of a traditional farmers' market and a crafts fair. From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Sunday at the Cedar Park Center, 2100 Avenue of the Stars, you'll find produce and meat from local farmers, as well as honey, baked goods, prepared food, flowers, chocolates, jewelry, crafts, art, clothing, live music and more. For a list of vendors and more information, go to austinopenairmarket.com.

• Women propose to men every day of the year now, but tradition used to dictate that Leap Day was the only day a woman could ask a man for his hand in marriage. Flat Creek Estate near Lago Vista is hoping to host a few proposals that day by offering a $65 proposal package that includes a wine tasting and a bottle with a custom label, a cheese plate and views overlooking the Texas Hill Country or a hideaway spot in the vineyard to accompany the big question. (www.flatcreekestate.com)

• Dr. Eydi Bauer knows that switching to a gluten-free diet can be as big an emotional challenge as a practical one. In her book "Life After Bread: Get Off Gluten and Reclaim Your Health," Bauer chronicles her own transition to a gluten-free diet after discovering she had celiac disease and explains the health benefits that even people without celiac can have by eliminating gluten. Bauer, a chiropractor specializing in nutrition and food allergy testing who recently moved her practice to Whole Body Health in Austin, is speaking at 7 p.m. Feb. 22 at BookWoman, 5501 N. Lamar Blvd., where she'll also give out samples from some of the recipes in her book. LifeAfterBread.com

• Food delivery has long since expanded beyond pizza, and a new Austin company, Smitty's Beer and Wine Delivery, is offering delivery for a flat fee of $3.49 for orders up to $39 and free for orders above that amount. Co-founder Tyler Smith says that the primary delivery area is between Lady Bird Lake and Koenig Lane and MoPac Boulevard (Loop 1) and Interstate 35 but that they'll delivery anywhere within the city limits for a negotiable price. To order or find out more, go to smittysdelivery.com.

Newest Alamo features restaurant, bar

When Alamo Drafthouse CEO Tim League, executive chef John Bullington and team were planning the new Alamo Drafthouse on Slaughter Lane in Southwest Austin, opening in March, they decided to cut the eighth theater in half to create a mini theater that is more suited for private parties and small screenings. But what to do with that other half theater space? Make a cocktail lounge called 400 Rabbits, of course.