FOOD & DRINK

A day to eat local foods at Texas restaurants

State agriculture department project on Oct. 1

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

On Oct. 1, enjoy a big serving of Texas

If you're interested in eating locally and supporting restaurants that buy food from local farmers, mark your calendars for the first ever Go Texan Restaurant Round-Up on Oct. 1. The event is a push from the Texas Department of Agriculture to get more restaurants and chefs serving local and Texas-produced food products and wine. On Oct. 1, choose from dozens of Central Texas restaurants participating in the round-up (you can find a list at www.gotexan.org/restaurantroundup) and enjoy special Texas menu item or wine tastings while knowing that you're supporting the state's food economy. Another bonus: Many of the restaurants are giving a portion of their proceeds to food banks, including Caritas and the Capital Area Food Bank of Texas.

—Addie Broyles

Fredericksburg fest puts 'OOO!' in oompah

It's Oktober! Time to eat and drink German style and perhaps dance a polka. Fredericksburg, settled by Germans, offers the real thing in the downtown Marketplatz, with music starting the night of Oct. 3 and continuing until late afternoon Oct. 5. Bratwurst, potato pancakes and strudel star alongside beer both German and American. Admission is $6 a day for adults, $1 for children ages 6-12 (there's a Kinder Halle for them) and free for younger than 6. More info at oktoberfestinfbg.com or 830-997-4810.

Meanwhile, a large Austin brew pub, North by Northwest, offers its seventh annual Oktoberfest with live oompah music, German food and suds Oct. 4 and 5 at 10010 Capital of Texas Highway North. More info at 467-6969 or nxnwbrew.com.

— Ed Crowell

Sample Sixth Street's foods, aid preservation

Despite the reputation that Sixth Street is more of a place to drink than to eat, the nonprofit organization 6ixth Street Austin is hosting a Taste of Sixth fundraiser at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Parkside to raise money to help keep the downtown district clean and safe. Parkside chef Shawn Cirkiel, along with chefs from the Driskill, Habana, Chez Nous, Iron Cactus and the Alamo Ritz, will present a five-course meal, complete with wine flights and appetizers. The cost is $100 and tickets are available at www.6thStreetAustin.com. The nonprofit advocates the preservation of the historic character of the district, promotes the mixed-use development of the area and aims to preserve East Sixth Street as an economic and cultural asset to the community.

— A.B.

Farmers' market brings on the heat

Hatch chiles, those long, green seasonal bounties from New Mexico, will be roasted Saturday at the Sunset Valley Farmers Market's annual Chili Fest. Locally grown peppers of all varieties also will be sold, along with products made from chiles. 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Burger Center, 3200 Jones Road, in Sunset Valley. www.sunsetvalleyfarmersmarket.org.

Across the pond, a big winner from Dripping Springs

The International Wine and Spirits Competition held in Surrey, England, is usually dominated by Russian and Polish vodkas, but this year a little new distiller from little ol' Dripping Springs won a gold medal there. Dripping Springs Vodka took the Best of Class category and The Vodka Purity Trophy. Distilled and bottled by San Luis Spirits Inc. in Dripping Springs, the artisanal vodka has been sold in Texas for just over a year. "Among the 1,000 entries in the spirits and liqueurs, Dripping Springs Vodka was awarded The Vodka Purity Trophy, beating major brands from Russia, Poland and Scandinavia," said Frances Horder, director of the competition. The trophy is not given each year. "It is a great honor to be recognized for doing something that is our passion and an amazing privilege to be in the company of such monumental names," said Gary Kelleher, distiller and founding partner along with two brothers. They have two stills, and their vodka is sold at most local liquor stores.

— Ed Crowell

Hill-Bert's moves from its original location

Hill-Bert's Burgers, an Austin institution at 3303 N. Lamar Blvd. for 35 years, will close its original location Sunday after a day of festivities there with family members who helped the business flourish. "We're just moving, not closing," says founder Hilbert Maldonado. "The landlord is selling the property. We're getting out of the way of growth."

Hill-Bert's new location will be on Burnet Road and is expected to be up and running early next year. "We're excited about the change," says Maldonado, co-CEO with his wife, Lucille. "We've been very lucky. We are keeping the same phone number."

Meanwhile, the business, which includes three grown kids, has two other locations still turning out the popular double-meat bacon cheese burgers on homemade whole wheat buns. One location, at 1503 W. 35th St., is just blocks from the original spot and sports an eye-catcher on the building: a huge burger pulled by a real 1975 VW Rabbit. The reason? "I was the first non-pizza delivery in the area," says Maldonado, whose other location is at 5340 Cameron Road.

Why are the burger joint names spelled differently from his? More than three decades ago when he cranked up his grill on North Lamar Boulevard, Hill's Café and Bert's Bar-B-Q were already popular eateries. So he combined the names "to create a draw by association. It is also my first name, so it seemed like a good fit," his Web site says.

— Kitty Crider, special to the American-Statesman