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The Best Brain Freeze in Austin

Posted by Kathryn on Feb 22, 2012 in Austin Restaurants, Eating in Austin, Front Page | 1 comment

My love affair with Austin ice creams started years ago. In college, my boyfriend and I would hang out at Amy’s Ice Cream at least once month, exchanging nibbles of Mexican vanilla ice cream smashed with cookie dough and marshmallows. We could practically chronologize our courtship with the stack of Amy’s frequent buyer punch cards in our wallets. At that time, Amy’s was the best (and practically the only) independent ice cream spot in Austin, famous for  its kooky waitstaff and creative frozen treats.

A lot has changed since then. Now I’m married to that college boyfriend, and Austin abounds with quirky, independent frozen treats of nearly every variety. And while we still enjoy Amy’s, it’s now part of a large rotation of ice cream shops that we frequent. Here are some of my favorite of Austin’s local, independent frozen treats.

Buzzworthy – Lick
2032 S Lamar Blvd, Austin, TX 78704

Lick’s concept of savory/sweet, artisan ice creams made in small batches with local ingredients reads like a checklist of what’s hot in food right now. And the ice cream is a testament to the quality and quantity of Texas’ farm offerings. The store sources their milk from a dairy in North Texas and nearly all their produce is coming from local farms and farmer’s markets. Co-owner Anthony Sobotik has been on site each time I have stopped by, peeking his head out from the kitchen to talk flavors like part mad scientist, part proud papa. He has reason to be proud– flavors like goat cheese, thyme, and honey; beet and fresh mint;  carrot and tarragon are worth bragging about.

Gelato & Frozen Booze – Dolce Vita
4222 Duval Street, Austin TX 78751

Dolce Vita was around during my college years, but I stayed away from this Hyde Park gem until I reached legal drinking age. That’s because in addition to wonderfully smooth gelato, Dolce Vita boasts a full bar. The pistachio flavor gelato is my favorite if I’m staying off the sauce, but for drinkies, you can’t beat a big scoop of prickly pear sorbet blended with fresh lime juice and tequila. The technical term for this concoction is “sorberita,” in case you were wondering, and they’re just $5 during happy hour.

Best Kept Secret – Paleteria La Selva
1208 E Palm Valley Blvd, Round Rock, TX 78664

Even Google doesn’t know where this little Round Rock Ice Cream shop is. When I used the search engine’s map function and my GPS to find it, I ended up at a nearby park instead. Luckily, the man at the Exxon station nearby pointed me in the right direction: to the northeast corner of Palm Valley Boulevard and Sunrise Road, in a small strip mall.

This paleteria boasts over 30 varieties of Mexican popsicles, made in-house with fresh fruit. Flavors include tamarindo, sandia, mango chile, and Americanized favorites like cookies con crema. According to the cashier on my visit, their most popular frozen treat isn’t a paleta at all, but fresas con crema– a large cup of frozen macerated strawberry slices, filled with a generous slosh of sweetened table cream. Like the shop, which is furnished with patio furniture, this dessert is not fancy, but it’s oh, so good.

Atmosphere – Toy Joy Cafe
2900 Guadalupe Street, Austin, TX 78705

This little ice cream shop is every stoner’s dream. It’s tucked in the corner of Austin’s weirdest toy store, so you can eat a soft serve waffle cone (or two– they won’t judge) while you wander around and look at Hello Kitties, Rody bouncing horses, and ironic statuettes of the Virgin Mary. Vanilla is a standby at the ice cream counter, but other soft serve flavors vary from week to week, so check their Facebook page to find out the flavor of the week before you go. Oh yeah, all their ice creams are vegan, too, but don’t be skeered. The taste and texture of the cubano soft serve I had on my last visit would give any cow’s milk ice cream a run for its moola.

My buddy Nathan Russell took this photo of Rami and me at Toy Joy when we got engaged.

Ice Cream Sandwiches – Coolhaus
The truck roams, so follow the CoolhausATX twitter for the location 

Coolhaus isn’t strictly local– this little truck is part of a small chain that started in Los Angeles and has spread to Austin, New York, and Miami. However, their offbeat ice cream flavors like brown butter candied bacon fit right in with our city. The ice cream sandwiches are HUGE, and you can create a custom sandwich by mixing and match ice cream and cookie combinations to your heart’s content.

Homage to Arrested Development – Bananarchy
There’s always money in the banana stand, so it moves around a lot. And it hibernates when the weather’s cold. Check their facebook.

Frozen bananas on a stick, dipped in chocolate or peanut butter? Yes, please! Bananarchy is Austin’s favorite frozen banana food trailer, so expect a line if the weather’s nice. You can build your own banana, or select a specialty treat from their pre-selected menu. Options like “The GOB” and “The Afternoon Delight” have just as much personality as the shop’s banana baristas, who are chatty and a-peel-ing.

Vegan - Sweet Ritual
4500 Duval St., Austin TX, 78751

An assortment of shakes, soft serve, sundaes, and coffee drinks are available here, with a more grown-up vibe than Toy Joy Cafe, which uses the same soft serve recipe. The sundaes, especially, are worth a splurge, since they’re covered in house made sauces and generous portions of nuts or even edible glitter(!!!). Sweet Ritual shares a store space with Daily Juice cafe in Hyde Park, so this is also a good place to bring any health nuts you’re trying to impress. Let them drink wheatgrass while you order a chic-o-stick shake!

Good for Kids – Amy’s Ice Cream on Burnet Rd.
5624 Burnet Road, Austin, TX 78756

Amy’s started it all when they opened their first shop in Austin in 1984. The model is now familiar thanks to national chains like Marble Slab, but Amy’s does it best: you choose your ice cream and an Amy’s employee beats in your choice of crush’n's by hand while you watch. This interactive candy component, plus an ever-changing menu of traditional and offbeat ice cream flavors keep people coming back to this Austin institution again and again. Pro tip: the Amy’s on Burnet shares an enormous patio and playground with Phil’s Ice House, making it an especially fun place for families to hang out.

Popsicles – GoodPop
Locations vary

What began as a farmer’s market popsicle stand is now a rapidly expanding empire, thanks to the entreprenurial spirit of owner Daniel Goetz. You can find GoodPops at grocery stores like Whole Foods and Central Market in Dallas, San Antonio, Houston, and Austin. Locally, several indiependent grocery stores, coffee shops, and book stores also stock the treats. During the summer, keep an eye out for the GoodPop pop up shop and cart in South Austin. This little cart is where it all started, and you can spot it along Pfluger bridge and at special events when the weather is warm.

Frozen Custard – Likkity’s Frozen Custard
11519 Manchaca Rd, Austin, TX 78748

Likkity’s serves up frozen custard in deep south Austin out of a converted double decker bus. They’ve got your standard vanilla and chocolate on tap, plus a rotating weekly flavor like key lime, peanut butter, pumpkin, and red velvet. Besides the quality of the custard, shaded seating with music, friendly service, and a wet wipe with every order set this trailer way above the plethora of generic yogurt and soft serve options in Austin.

This post is part of the Austin Food Blogger Alliance 2012 City Guide. Check out the full list of blog posts at the AFBA web site.

Meal Plan, February 14-19

Posted by Kathryn on Feb 15, 2012 in Weekly Menus | 1 comment

Despite what my dearth of blog posts might lead you to believe, I have been cooking up a storm in 2012. A few weeks ago I got together with my friends Carla and Susan for a sausage party. We made five different kinds of sausage with 30+ pounds of meet, using the fancy new meat grinder my parents gave me for Christmas. Carla did a complete recap of the day on her blog– it’s worth reading if you like sausage pictures or if you’re curious about the process for making sausage at home.

Last weekend I went to Dallas for “freezer weekend.” My mother, sister and I made several dozen frozen prepared dinners using a huge frozen turkey leftover from Thanksgiving. (We cooked the turkey– don’t worry!) Rami and I will be using a lot of those frozen dinners in our meal plans for the next few weeks, and I am very grateful to have so many entrees ready to go in the freezer.

Other aspects of my meal planning since I published my last weekly menu. Instead of just blogging for Greenling, now I work there full time! These days I am still getting the Local Box every week, so that still comprises the bulk of my ingredients. However, I am also experimenting with other local produce to develop new recipes for the Greenling blog.

Here’s what I’m cooking with this week:

• Avocado – G&S Groves
• Komatsuna Bag – My Father’s Farm
• Spinach Bunch – Gundermann Acres
• Assorted Lettuces – Bluebonnet Hydroponic Produce
• Crimini Mushrooms – Kitchen Pride
• Oranges – G&S Groves
• Grapefruit – G&S Groves
• Spring Onion – Gundermann Acres
• Turnip- My Father’s Farm

And here’s what my meals look like:

Wednesday: I’m skipping dinner. Ugh.

Thursday: Baked pasta shells with Camembert and cider-braised kale. I will probably shave the turnip and stick it in wiht the pasta. Warning: DO NOT read that recipe if you’re hungry. You will end up eating a bunch of Parmesan cheese and skipping dinner. Not that I know anything about that…

Friday: Lettuce and kale salad with avocados, tomato, and spring onions. Lots of bread on the side.

Saturday: Rami and I are going out to dinner at Trace. Fancy!

Sunday: Citrus ginger stir fried chicken and komatsuna. I’m making that recipe up as I go.

Monday: Leftovers or a frozen dinner.

Tuesday: Mushroom and Spinach quesadillas.

Protected: AFBA Poll

Posted by Kathryn on Dec 28, 2011 in Uncategorized | Enter your password to view comments.

How to Roll Homemade Chocolate Truffles

Posted by Kathryn on Dec 24, 2011 in Desserts, Front Page, Gluten-free, Recipes & Menus, Vegetarian | 2 comments

Every Christmas, my sister, mother and I spend a whole weekend in the kitchen together, cooking, baking, boiling, scraping, and fudging our way through dozens of candy recipes. When we’re finished, we divvy all the goodies up onto plates and give them away to friends and neighbors. Over the years, we’ve gotten pretty good at making candy, especially the 15-20 recipes we make year after year.

Although we have several faithful chocolate confections in our stable of recipes, the perfect truffle eluded us until this year.  I had begun researching truffles back in February, making Mexican chocolate truffles for a food swap that month and dark chocolate truffles as Valentine’s Day gifts. Neither of those were just right for Candy Weekend, however. The Mexican chocolate version was surprisingly spicy– not a surefire hit for kids– and the dark chocolate version was too fudge-like for our eight-fudge-deep candy plate.

It turns out that the most appealing holiday truffle recipe for us was a very simple, semi-sweet chocolate version posted by Ghirardelli on AllRecipes.com. My sister found it and tested it this month. For Candy Weekend, we followed the proportions of that recipe,  substituting store-brand semi-sweet chocolate chips for the dark chocolate chips, and store-brand cocoa for the Ghirardelli.  I know that we probably could have improved their recipe by using a higher quality dark chocolate and cocoa powder, but there really wasn’t much point when we were aiming to make a crowd-pleasing, uncomplicated chocolate candy.

Making truffles with chocolate chips is pretty straightforward; you simply heat butter and cream, add the chocolate chips, and stir until the mixture is completely smooth. The real test of technique comes later, when it is time to roll the truffles. Here is the best method we found for rolling truffles.

Truffle Tips:

• Once you’ve cooked the truffle mixture, pour it into a very shallow, wide bowl. A bowl with a rounded bottom edge is ideal.
• Chill the truffle mixture, covered, in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours before you attempt to roll them.
• About two hours before you’re ready to begin rolling truffles, take the chocolate mixture out of the refrigerator and let it warm to just cooler than room temperature. When we tried rolling the truffles immediately out of the refrigerator, they were difficult to shape and even broke apart sometimes.
• Set up all your supplies before you get started, including a foil lined baking sheet to catch the finished truffles. Make sure the baking sheet is small enough to fit in your freezer.
• Rolling truffles is easiest with two people; one person can scoop truffles, the other person can shape and roll the truffles in cocoa powder.
• A pyrex custard cup is just the right size to hold the cocoa or whatever you plan to roll the truffles in. These have rounded edges and work better than ramekins with a sharp bottom corner. They’re also deep enough so that cocoa doesn’t spill all over the place. Using two custard cups is easier than one larger bowl, too.

• The small end of a melon baller works well to scoop the truffles. We found that the big end of the melon baller made truffles that were too large  to handle.

• Once you scoop a small truffle using the melon baller, a long metal baby spoon works well to transfer the truffle mixture to the cocoa for rolling. The best spoons for ths task have an oval shape and firm edges; soft chew baby spoons or round-shaped baby spoons will not work as well.

• The secret to rolling the truffles without them melting everywhere is to only touch them with your fingertips, and then, as little as possible. The person scooping the truffles shouldn’t touch the chocolate much, if at all, with her hands.
• The person rolling the truffles should dampen her fingertips with water and coat them with cocoa before shaping and rolling the truffles.  Use the cocoa-coated pads of your fingers to shape the truffles into balls, and then rolling them in cocoa.
• Don’t worry about making the truffles into perfectly spherical balls.
• Taste a truffle. If the cocoa powder coatng is too bitter for your liking, try adding some powdered sugar to the cocoa mixture to sweeten it up a bit.
• Place finished truffles on a foil-lined baking sheet. Pop the whole baking sheet into the freezer for about half an hour before handling the truffles or pacakaging them for storage.
• Re-roll the chilled truffles in cocoa to even out their color and hide any lingering imperfections in the surface of the chocolate.

Obviously, these tips are a lot more detailed than the Chirardelli instructions! Don’t let the specificity here throw you off– once you get the hang of rolling them, truffles are one of the easiest holiday candies to make at home. The finished product is much, much taster than most store-bought chocolate, too!

Full Moon Pale Ale Mustard

Posted by Kathryn on Oct 27, 2011 in Front Page, Recipes & Menus, Snacks, Vegetarian | 5 comments

Mustard might be the gateway drug of homemade condiments.  I had never ventured to make my own until I whipped up this batch of spicy goodness last weekend. Now I have three cups of mustard seeds waiting in my pantry, and a bevy of must-make mustard ideas in my recipe box. Pretty soon I’ll be canning my own relish and ketchup, just you wait!

Even if I never progress to that level of condiment creativity, I will definitely be making all my mustard from scratch in the future. The process couldn’t be easier; you just mix together mustard seeds and the liquids of your choice, let them hang out together for a few days, and then blend the finished mustard to the desired consistency.

Hank Shaw describes the chemistry and magic of mustard-making better than I ever could, and it was his introductory guide to mustard that sparked my interest in developing a Beer Week recipe of my own. I used Shaw’s advice and this recipe for Guinness Beer Mustard as the starting points for my mustard, and followed my tastebuds to a recipe that fit my needs– namely, to top a sausage, apple and onion sandwich, and to serve with toasted sesame honey sticks during the World Series this week.

I started with a mix of yellow and brown seeds, since I wanted heat from the darker seeds and the bright color of the lighter seeds. To help make their flavor more mild, I toasted them in a dry skillet over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes, until they were fragrant, but not popping. (Mustard seeds will pop like popcorn if you toast them at a high temperature.) For the liquid in my recipe, I used Real Ale Brewing’s Full Moon Pale Rye Ale and champagne vinegar. I wish that I could say I chose the beer for a specific reason, but I bought a few bottles on a whim and decided to use it in this recipe without tasting it. Luckily, my gamble paid off, and the slightly bitter, hoppy flavor of the beer came through beautifully in the finished mustard.

Full Moon Pale Ale Mustard (yields about 1 1/2 cups mustard)

3 tablespoons brown mustard seeds
3 tablespoons yellow mustard seeds
1/2 cup Full Moon Pale Rye Ale, chilled (if this is not available where you live, use another unsweet pale ale)
1/3 cup champagne vinegar
2 tablespoons local honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric, for color

Toast the mustard seeds in a dry skillet over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, for about five minutes. Remove seeds from heat and set aside to cool. Meanwhile, mix cold beer, vinegar, honey, salt, pepper and turmeric in a non-reactive container with a lid. Add cooled mustard seeds and stir to mix everything together. Put the lid on the container and leave it in a cool, dry place overnight.

The next day, put the mustard mixture into a blender or food processor and process it until it reaches the consistency that you like. If necessary, add a little water to thin the mustard. (My mustard reached a spreadable consistency, with some whole seeds intact, after about 3 minutes on low in a Kitchenaid blender, with 1 tablespoon of water to loosen it a bit.) Put the mustard back in the covered container and store it in the refrigerator for at least 24 more hours before serving.

A note about the wait: one of the most important ingredients in this mustard is time. Don’t despair if it tastes too hot and sharp to serve on days one and two of the process; by the third day, it should mellow into a deep and spicy-flavored condiment with just the right bite.

Beer Braised Sausage, Apple and Onion Sandwich

Posted by Kathryn on Oct 24, 2011 in Front Page, Main Dishes & Sandwiches, Recipes & Menus | 2 comments

Whoever decided that Austin Beer Week and the World Series should happen in the same week is a genius. As I write this, I’m sipping a Full Moon Pale Rye Ale, eating a sausage sandwich, and watching the Texas Rangers gain momentum in the 6th inning of Game Five. Life couldn’t be better.

I had originally planned to eat leftovers tonight, but when I realized it was a Baseball Night, I opted for a quick and easy sausage dish instead. This one-skillet supper features local apples, sweet Texas onions, local smoked sausage, and Real Ale’s Full Moon Pale Rye Ale. You’d never guess that just four ingredients, plus a store-bought bun, could create such an amazing sandwich.

The sausage in this sandwich is garlic smoked  from Elgin, Texas. This little town northeast of Austin is renowned for its charcuterie, and the Meyer’s brand of sausage is widely available at grocery stores across Central Texas. I chose to pair the Full Moon Pale Rye Ale with this sausage dish because the beer has a strong rye flavor up front, and a slightly floral finish. After the beer cooks down, its crackery flavors intensify, complementing the smokey garlic in the sausage, and balancing the sweetness of caramelized onions and apples.

A plain hot dog bun would do this sandwich zero justice. I opted instead for a whole wheat hoagie bun from the grocery deli, with the middle hollowed out to make room for the good stuff. I toasted the bun in the oven with a little butter so that it would make an appropriate resting place for that lovely beer braised sausage.

I admit that the mustard in this sandwich is what really put it over the top; I made it using whole brown and yellow mustard seeds, a little honey, and the same pale rye ale that I used to braised the sausages. (Don’t worry, I’ll share the mustard recipe tomorrow.) But even with a store-bought brown mustard, or better yet, Dai Due’s Fireman’s 4 variety, this sandwich would still be a surefire game night home run.

Beer Braised Sausage, Apples and Onions (serves 4)

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 sweet yellow onion, sliced
3 apples, peeled, cored and sliced thin
4 garlic smoked sausages
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 cup Real Ale Full Moon Pale Rye Ale (if this is not available in your area, substitute another slightly bitter Pale Ale)
4 whole wheat hoagie buns, sliced down the middle
1 tablespoon butter, softened

In an extra large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add sliced onions and apples and cook for 5 minutes, until onions are golden brown on the edges. Move onions and apples to the side of the skillet to make room for the sausages, then place the links in a single layer on the skillet. Let sausages cook undisturbed for 2-3 minutes, then use tongs to turn them over to brown on the the opposite side. After 2-3 more minutes, pour 3/4 cup beer into the skillet. Stir the apples and onions, then allow the dish to continue cooking for 10-15 minutes. You’ll knowthe sausage is done when the onions and apples are soft and sweet, and the beer has reduced to an opaque sauce that just coats the bottom of the skillet.

When the sausages have finished cooking, turn off the stove. Preheat the broiler and spread a little butter on each split hoagie roll. Toast the rolls for about minute under the broiler, until they are golden brown and crispy at the edges. Place one sausage link in each prepared roll; top with mustard, braised apples and onions.

Convict Hill Oatmeal Stout Ice Cream

Posted by Kathryn on Oct 23, 2011 in Desserts, Front Page, Recipes & Menus | 3 comments

There are so few chances to enjoy cold weather indulgences in Austin that I tend to bend the definition of “cold” a little when seasons start to change. In the fall, drinking Convict Hill Oatmeal Stout is like wearing my favorite winter boots. Both are toasty and deep brown, and although I prefer to enjoy them in cooler climes, I try to make them part of a night out as soon as the temperature dips below 80 degrees.

From Independence Brewing Company in southeast Austin, Convict Hill Oatmeal Stout has an exceptionally creamy texture, deep coffee and chocolate flavors, and just a hint of sweetness. The head of the pour looks like lace as it dissolves along the side of the glass, and the beer’s high viscosity makes it the perfect cold weather sipper.

When I was brainstorming my Austin Beer Week recipes for this year, I thought immediately of my favorite stout. I was skeptical that I’d be able to cook with it at home, though, since so few local porters and stouts are available in bottles year round. Luckily, this gem of a beer is available by the bottle and in six-packs at Hyde Park Market.

I happened to do my beer week taste testing around the same time as the Austin Bakes for Bastrop bake sale, when I was baking up a storm. This ice cream developed as a play on the idea of melding beer with milk and cookies– specifically oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.

The base of the ice cream is an ultra-creamy custard; I added the stout to a traditional egg and dairy custard, increasing the cream in the dairy part of the recipe to emphasize the creamy texture of the beer. Brown sugar and dark chocolate sweeten the recipe and serve to highlight the bittersweet notes in the beer’s flavor profile, while a pinch of cinnamon and ginger bring the ice cream full-circle into dessert territory. I am really happy with the way this ice cream turned out, and I predict it will join my winter boots in this year’s rotation of cold weather enjoyment.

Convict Hill Oatmeal Stout Ice Cream (yields 1.5 quarts of ice cream)

2 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup Convict Hill Oatmeal Stout (if this is not available where you live, substitute an oatmeal stout or coffee porter)
1/2 cup whole milk
5 egg yolks
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
3.5 oz. dark chocolate (I used 70% dark, but any type of dark or bittersweet chocolate will be fine)

In a large saucepan, heat cream, stout and milk over medium low heat. While cream is heating, whisk together egg yolks and brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger and salt in a medium bowl.

Once cream is very warm and begins to steam, temper the egg yolk mixture by ladling warm cream into the yolks a few tablespoons at a time, stirring constantly. Once the yolk mixture is very warm, pour it into the saucepan and increase the heat to medium. Heat the custard mixture, stirring constantly, until it reaches 170 degrees Fahrenheit, at which time it will have thickened slightly and will coat the back of a spoon. Pour the custard through a strainer into a storage container, and then set it in an ice bath. Once the custard has cooled completely, cover it and store it in the refrigerator for at least three hours, preferably overnight.

To churn the ice cream, pour the chilled custard into an ice cream machine and proceed according to the manufacturer’s instructions. I use a Cuisinart Classic ice cream maker with a removable freezer bowl, and this ice cream was churned in about 45 minutes.

While the ice cream is churning, chop the chocolate into shards. At the end of churning, add chocolate pieces into ice cream maker and give it a few moments to distribute the chocolate into the finished ice cream. Transfer ice cream to an airtight storage container and freeze for several hours before serving.

Mushroom Barley Stew with Austin Amber Ale

Posted by Kathryn on Oct 22, 2011 in Front Page, Main Dishes & Sandwiches, Recipes & Menus, Vegan | 1 comment

Austin Beer Week is here! That means it’s time to pull out your pint glass, fire up the hospitality fridge, and enjoy the dozens of beers brewed right here in Austin. The Texas Craft Brewers Guild and other Beer Week organizers have outdone themselves this year; there are countless events, specials, tastings and parties all week long in celebration of Austin’s brewing community. (See the full calendar of activities here.)

I’m celebrating Austin Beer Week in my home kitchen, with a series of special beer recipes I’ve developed for the occasion. Each recipe features a different locally brewed craft beer, and I tried to select varieties that are widely available at Austin-area gas stations and liquor stores.

The first recipe in my Austin Beer Week series is a mushroom barley stew made with Independence Brewery’s Austin Amber Ale. Austin Amber Ale pours burnt orange with a thick white head, and it has a medium body. It is lightly carbonated with flavors of roasted barley, grass, and a hint of citrus, and it finishes very clean.

My stew recipe plays up the nutty qualities of the beer with barley, while celery and lemon juice complement the ale’s citrus notes. Three kinds of local mushrooms add umami and a rich texture to the stew, without overpowering the beer’s subtle flavors like beef would have. I definitely would have gone a different, darker, direction with this stew if I had been using a heavier beer,; however, the finished recipe is satisfying and clean without getting too heavy– just like Austin Amber Ale.

Holiday Gift Idea: Buñuelos Gourmet

Posted by Kathryn on Oct 20, 2011 in Austin Foodies, Eating in Austin, Front Page, Outside the Kitchen, Shopping | 10 comments

I got these lovely heart-shaped buñuelos recently from my friends Nathan and Amy. I’m still not quite sure why they gave them to me, since Rami and I were attending a dinner party at their house at the time. Maybe it was a reverse-hostess gift? Maybe a just-because-you’re-a-sucker-for-cinnamon gift? In any case, I’m now totally enamored of these crunchy, cinnamon and sugar covered cookies.

If I have my story straight, Nathan and Amy discovered the cookies when they were shooting the wedding of the company’s owners here in Austin a few weeks ago. The couple handed out boxes of the cookies as favors, and Nathan and Amy ended up with several. (One of the perks of being a wedding photographer, I guess!) 444 Buñeolos Gourmet started in Mexico, and it has a branch in Austin. The cookies are currently made in Mexico and shipped to Texas, but the family that owns the business is planning to start making them here in Austin next year.

35/35: Tiffany Harelik

Posted by Kathryn on Oct 17, 2011 in Austin Food Events, Austin Foodies, Eating in Austin, Front Page | 4 comments

Tiffany Harelik began blogging the Trailer Food Diaries in 2009 as a way to get her mind off of her desk job.  In just under two years, Harelik has turned that office distraction into a full-time multimedia and consulting career based in Austin’s booming mobile food business. “It all started with a job I hated,” Harelik quips. “If you asked me five years ago whether I’d be working in the food industry, I would have said, ‘Hell no.’”

Although Harelik didn’t intend to work in the restaurant business, it’s easy to see how her quick smile, enthusiasm, and genuine affection for Austin’s restauranteurs has taken her far in a short time. Today she continues her blog with scouting help from interns, she recently published a trailer food cookbook, and she writes regular columns for Austin Man Magazine and Austin Culture Map.

Gypsy Picnic founder Tiffany Harelik

Perhaps her most visible project in Austin is the Gypsy Picnic food festival, which last year drew over 15,000 to feast on trailer food at Auditorium Shores. The Gypsy Picnic was received favorably in concept, and generated more media buzz than many of Austin’s long-running food events. In practice, though, the festival’s popularity presented some stumbling blocks in the form of long lines and slow food service. With the second festival coming this Saturday, October 22nd, Harelik is getting another chance to impress local critics and the public alike.

“We’re making some changes this time around,” Harelik said. “The spirit will be the same, but it will be a little more like ACL’s food court from an operational standpoint. We’re working with trailers to select menu items that will scale well to accommodate large crowds.”

In addition to the tweaks Harelik described, this weekend’s festival will boast over 40 trailers and a larger footprint in which to spread out. As an additional time saver, each trailer will limit its menu to  three choices. If there are long lines after all of that, the festival promises plenty of live music and people watching to help pass the time.

The week leading up to the Gypsy Picnic also marks the debut of Harelik’s Trailer Food Diaries Cookbook, which she published with Austin-based Greenleaf Book Group this fall.  The 150-page cookbook offers recipes and photos from Austin Food Trailers, with personal stories from many of the chefs.

Harelik is also active behind the scenes of Austin’s trailer food movement. For the past year, she has worked as the Director of Marketing and Events for Torchy’s Tacos, the Austin-based taco chain that started as a food trailer in 2006. And as a freelance consultant,  she has counseled business owners who want to break into the mobile food scene in Portland, Washington D.C., Virginia and Austin.

“If I could give anyone who’s thinking about getting into this business two pieces of advice, they would be to stay open when you say you’ll be open, and be a part of the community,” advises Harelik. “Oh yeah, and limit your menu. There’s such a wide variety of food here in Austin, that if you don’t have a niche product, no one cares.”

If this advice seems harsh, it’s because Harelik has seen firsthand how difficult it can be for new trailers to survive in the volatile mobile food industry. There are many challenges outside the kitchen, she says, and it can be overwhelming to navigate. Luckily, from these challenges come community. ”Not every chef is going to be able to do social media, or figure out the city’s codes. We have to stick together,” she insists. “The people here are real people, who are happy o go to work in the morning because they love what they do. It’s a great community.”