Food Matters: Former Longhorn football players launch cookie company, 'Lunch Line' doc screens at Drafthouse

NFL players lend their names for Gooden Sweet cookies

If former University of Texas Longhorn and current Houston Texan Kasey Studdard were a cookie, what flavor would he be? Gooden Sweet Gourmet Treats has the answer: chocolate chocolate chip with M&Ms. The Austin-based Gooden Sweet has been selling its "Original Square Cookies" online since April 1, and already Studdard and two more Austin-connected NFL players - Quan Cosby of the Bengals and Chris Houston of the Lions - have lent their names to cookie flavors. The business is owned by Sean Gooden with help from partner Camille Chandler. A cookie baker for more than 20 years (he's also a martial arts instructor and a graphic artist), Gooden turned his hobby into a business in part to honor his brother, Anthony, who died in a sparring accident in 2008.

Gooden Sweet bakes more than 15 blond, double chocolate and chipless varieties, including Callin' Oats (oatmeal raisin), the Sledgehammer (with macadamia nuts and cream cheese), even the nut-fortified Dudley & Bob, named for the KLBJ-FM morning radio jocks.

Cookies start at $12.99 plus shipping for a half-dozen. www.goodensweet.com .

- Mike Sutter

From a pair of documentarians, Another lesson in school lunches

School might be out for the summer, but the debate over school lunches continues even while the kids are out of classes. Earlier this year, "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution" TV show made millions of Americans take another look at the kind of food served to schoolchildren, but its short, six-episode run left many with more questions than answers.

At 7:30 p.m. tonight, the Alamo Drafthouse at Lake Creek, 13729 Research Blvd., is hosting a screening of "Lunch Line," a new documentary that explores many of the issues related to school food and the attempts to reform it. Michael Graziano, who co-directed the film with Ernie Park, says that this will be one of the first screenings of the documentary and that several local food advocates will be on hand for a discussion after the film.

In addition to its regular menu, the Drafthouse will be offering healthy school lunch foods for this screening. Tickets cost $7 and can be purchased online at www.drafthouse.com. To find out more about the film, go to www.facebook.com/lunchlinefilm .

- A.B.

More than one way to fry a chicken

You often hear about the "art of cooking," but how often to we really recognize that a cook is a performance artist who expresses an individual interpretation of an emotion through food? From 7 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, explore the art of fried chicken during "Culinary One Acts," an event at the former location of Ms. B's, 1050 E. 11th St., that is part of the Black Arts Movement festival.

After a screening of a short documentary about the late Southern food expert Edna Lewis, food writer Toni Tipton-Martin will talk with three local cooks as they make their unique styles of fried chicken. "These women are known in their communities as great cooks," Tipton-Martin says. "We want to spotlight the differences in style in each person's execution, as well as showcase the personality and family history in each recipe."

Audience members will get to sample each of the three versions of fried chicken, as well as dishes that will appear on the menu of a new restaurant from Homer Hills, the former owner of Mr. Catfish. Tickets cost $15 at the door, and passes for all the BAM festival events cost $65. bamaustin.org .

- A.B.

Opening, closing and coming soon

• Open and relocated: Vegan Yacht and Cheer Up Charlie's. When Cheer Up Charlie's owner Tamara Hoover moved her business from a trailer into a small building at 1104 E. Sixth St., she dropped most of the food items from the menu and was looking for someone to operate a vegan food trailer out back. Mike and Daniel Wood stepped in and opened Vegan Yacht, where they sell vegan smoothies, sandwiches, quesadillas, wraps and chili. Hoover now offers vegan beer, wine, kombucha, coconuts and chocolates. , facebook.com/theveganyacht . 431-2133, cheerupcharlies.blogspot.com .