FOOD & LIFE

Holy Cacao! The cake ball finds a home on South First Street

Also: 'Texas BBQ,' Zagat Guide for Texas, a taco-eating contest and a beer-and-wine Smackdown

Chocolatey, Cakey goodness, ready to go anywhere

Could the cake ball be the next cupcake? Ever on the lookout for the next big thing in trailer-borne desserts, Austinites can now flock to Holy Cacao, a South Austin trailer specializing in the cake Ball: a globe of cake and frosting mounted on a stick Popsicle-style and dipped in chocolate, with varieties such as dark chocolate, red velvet, wedding cake and peanut butter. All for $1.50 each. Run by Ellen Kinsey and John Spillyards, the trailer is parked perpendicular to the big blue Izzoz Tacos trailer on South First Street. Other delights include the $2.50 S'Mores on a Stick, a handmade marshmallow dipped in chocolate and rolled in graham-cracker crumbs. If you prefer your chocolate in liquid form, Holy Cacao offers hot drinking chocolate ($4), which the menu promises is not made from syrup or mix and can be ordered in dark or Mexican chocolate. Another liquid option is a cake shake, a $5 vanilla or chocolate shake with a cake ball tossed in. (1207 S. First St. 323-6671, www.theholycacao.com.)

- Mike Sutter

Support school with taco fest

Watch celebrities speed-crunch tacos for a good cause Saturday as Threadgill's World Headquarters at 301 W. Riverside Drive hosts the Open Door Preschools' Kids' Jamboree. The free event from 10:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. will feature music by the Open Door Children, hip-hop nursery rhymes by Big Don and a taco-eating contest with Austin characters such as American-Statesman humor columnist John Kelso and Orlando "Mr. Taco Shack" Arriaga scheduled as gustatory athletes. Proceeds from sponsoring taco contestants will benefit Open Door Preschools, which integrates children from diverse backgrounds and with special needs into traditional child-care settings. Sponsorship details at www.opendoorpreschool.org.

- M. S.

Vote for food and drink pairings

The grain and the grape will go head-to-head Saturday as Austin Lyric Opera presents a beer-and-wine Smackdown, pitting the opera's general director Kevin Patterson, who's a homebrewer, against Austin attorney and wine enthusiast Kevin Leahy. The two will compete to see whose suggested drink pairings work best with food from restaurants including Cantina Laredo, Málaga, El Sol y La Luna and North. Their efforts will be judged by food critic Rob Balon, Twin Liquors president, Marla Camp, owner Edible Austin Magazine, David Jabour and News 8 anchor Todd Boatwright, assisted by ticketholders who'll be sampling the food, wine and beer pairings and voting as well. Tickets are $35 at www.austinlyricopera.org or 472-5992. The event runs from 5 to 7 p.m. in Ducloux Hall, 901 Barton Springs Road.

- M. S.

Queue up for book on Texas 'Cue

Writer Jim Harrison gets it right in a foreward: Photography can be poetry. Photographer Wyatt McSpadden delivers those poems on nearly every page of "Texas BBQ" (University of Texas Press, $39.95). This is not your average pretty food pictures and recipe book. This is the smoke and grime and grit of pit bosses and shacks that for decades have put out true Texas barbecue. McSpadden, known for his portrait and documentary photos for Texas Monthly and other publications, has shot barbecue joints across the state for more than 20 years. He captures many familiar places in Central Texas but also some small, obscure spots. He knows this stuff and the people who labor to put it on plates or butcher paper. No one could look at these 89 photos of primal poetry and not want to visit each site to feed every one of the senses.

McSpadden will be signing books at these events:

• Book signing from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 11 at Kreuz Market, 619 N. Colorado St., in Lockhart.

• Book signing and talk at 7 p.m. Friday, April 10 at BookPeople, 603 N. Lamar Blvd.

- Ed Crowell

Zagat guide updates its area restaurant listings

The new Zagat restaurant guide for Texas is out, wrapping up the many changes in the Central Texas, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio restaurant scenes in the past year. Local writer Claudia Alarcón oversaw the section on Austin and the Hill Country, noting new restaurants such as Olivia, Parkside, La Condesa and a handful of wine bars. Uchi, Hudson's on the Bend and Vespaio earned a place at the top of the food ratings, and Tacodeli topped the list for best bang for your buck. Search by cuisine, location or special features such as quiet conversation, dining alone or senior appeal. ($14.95, available at major bookstores and online)

-Addie Broyles