FOOD MATTERS

Beard House welcoming chef from Restaurant Jezebel

Also, new yogurts for the little ones

By Addie Broyles, Dale Rice
Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Jezebel chef-owner has two very special dinners on tap

Parind Vora, chef-owner of Restaurant Jezebel, is teaming up with Pahlmeyer, a famed Napa winery, for two major dinner events this fall. In what is a major honor for Vora, the chef will be cooking Nov. 25 at a dinner featuring Pahlmeyer wines at the James Beard House in New York City. The menu for that Big Apple meal includes Maine lobster bisque with fresh sea urchin and white truffle oil, roasted Moulard duck breast with blackberry-cocoa nib compote and chipotle oil, and carpaccio of Hudson Valley foie gras in sesame seed oil, habanero and ver jus marinade topped with pineapple-garam masala sorbet (an outstanding dish of sweet, sour, savory and spicy flavors). A few weeks before that, on Oct. 19, Vora will feature a Pahlmeyer wine dinner at the restaurant (914 Congress Ave., 499-3999), which also is a recipient of the Wine Spectator's Award of Excellence. That meal will include a sashimi of marinated ahi tuna crusted with espresso beans and roasted peanuts served over lychee granita and a brûlée of warm saffron-pistachio rice pudding with homemade white peppercorn brittle.

— Dale Rice

Saccone's spicy Italian pizza impresses judges

The maker of some of the best pizza in the Austin area received more plaudits this summer. Steven Saccone, owner of Saccone's Pizza & Subs in Leander, won the inaugural "Best of the Southwest" Pizza Competition, held in conjunction with the Southwest Foodservice Expo in Houston in June.

His winning entry was a spicy Italian pie, which he intends to put on the menu this fall when he reopens his Anderson Mill store, closed after a fire last summer, in a new location at the Shops at Volente, near RM 620 and Anderson Mill Road.

Next month, Saccone takes his spicy pie to Orlando, Fla., to compete in the American Pizza Championship.

— D.R.

Lone Star wine experts converge in Austin

For the second year in a row, the Texas Sommelier Conference will bring some of the top sommeliers in the country to Austin on Aug. 17 and 18 for two days of seminars and tastings at the Four Seasons downtown. A total of 23 master sommeliers will be among those instructing classes for both insiders and the public on everything from how to taste wine to the ins and outs of the wine service industry. Tickets are $100 per day and Sunday, Aug. 17 is the primary day open to the public. The seminars on Aug. 18 are for members of the wine service industry, and Texas' Best Sommelier 2008 will be named Monday night at the Grand Tasting, which is open to the public. Visit www.texsom.com for more information and to buy tickets.

— Addie Broyles

Probiotics branch out beyond yogurt

As Jamie Lee Curtis cloyingly reminds us in Dannon commercials, probiotic cultures help regulate your digestive system, but don't think they are limited to little cups of yogurt for adults. Two new products offer kids' and nonyogurt eaters a way to ingest these happy, healthful bacteria. Lifeway Foods has released a line of organic whole milk kefir called ProBugs that boasts 10 live and active cultures to aid digestion in little tummies. Kraft has a new line of chewy granola bars called LiveActive, which also have probiotic cultures and fiber and taste better than many other granola bars on store shelves today. Both products are available at most Central Texas grocers. ProBugs retails for $4.99 for a four-pack; LiveActive costs $3.59 for five bars.

— A.B.