Food Matters

A young face in the 34th Street Cafe kitchen

Ha Lam for AA-S Justin Raiford, the 22-year-old chef at 34th Street Cafe, can whip up a scrumptious salmon dish.

Zin is now Vin, with an emphasis on wine

It sounds new and it appears different, but the heart of this restaurant isn't changing. Zin American Bistro became Vin Bistro (1601 W. 38th St.) this month to counter confusion with the local Zen chain and to underscore its new emphasis on wine. Vin's new menu, in a major departure from other fine-dining restaurants in the area, is listing a wine -- with a detailed description of it -- ahead of each food item. The effort, the restaurant owners say, is to create a new synergy between wine and food pairing. Suggestions include a Spanish rosé with the grilled salmon and a California sauvignon blanc with the Chilean sea bass. Underneath it all, however, remains the appealing cuisine of executive chef Sean Fulford, who will continue to reach across a broad range of culinary techniques and ingredients to create his dishes.

A local baker shares her 'Cookie Stories'

For more than a dozen years, Penny McConnell made her name in Austin baking pastries and beautifully decorating shortbread cookies. Last fall she handed off her client list to Russell's Bakery so she could focus on a book, a collection of cookie tales. Co-authored with Kathy Sutton, "Cookie Stories" (Falling Star Press, $14.95) is a 140-page softbound book that includes 20 recipes -- many of them Penny's jewels-- and 20 real-life tales of cookie love and comfort from contributors. Art is minimal with the exception of a few line drawings, which is a disappointment because yummy-looking cookies can evoke strong emotions and memories. That was clearly a goal of this book, found at local bookstores and cookiestories.com.

At La Frontera, European pub grub and New York pizza

There's more than shopping at La Frontera. There's a lot of eating to be done there, too. Two new additions to the restaurant lineup in the Round Rock shopping center include the Brooklyn Pie and the Tilted Kilt. The Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery (2701 Parker Road, No. 300), which held its grand opening last weekend, originated in the Rio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. It combines a sports bar (with seven large-screen TVs) and pub, with beers from around the world and a variety of dishes, such as clams steamed in beer. A week earlier, the Original Brooklyn Pie Co. (2711 La Frontera Blvd., No. 330; ) held its grand opening. As its name implies, the Brooklyn Pie is serving New York-style pizza.

Tea in a cube, for more than just two

How square is iced tea? As square as a box, but very good and refreshing. Produced by the Republic of Tea, the Iced Tea Square comes in three no-calorie, unsweetened organic flavors. The Raspberry Quince Black Tea flavor won accolades from both male and female tasters. The tea is vacuum-packed in plastic inside the box, complete with spout and punch-out handle for picnic-toting. A box -- yeah, we know it's really a cube --holds 96 ounces (3 quarts) and sells for about $10 at World Market and elsewhere.