Saturday Recap - Chili Cookoff, W Austin, The Pharcyde @ Mohawk

Saturday, January 22

1:00ish - We arrived at the Chili Cold Blood Chili Cookoff, benefiting Caritas of Ausin, at Jo's on South Congress. Gorgeous, sunny day, and lots of chili to be had. There was the usual good looking, South Congress crowd - young families, dogs, 20-30 something bearded guys and fashionable girls,  tattoos and piercings sprinkled throughout. Something that sounded like hard rock country was playing by on the stage surrounded by hay bales. As we grabbed our Lone Stars, we heard that the winner would be chosen in 45 mins. Oh no! By the time we got there and purchased our tickets, about 1/2 of the contestants already ran out of chili. The winner of the cookoff also ran out, so we didn't get to taste theirs either.

Multi-Tasking

Our Faves:

Contigo Austin - Yummy Brisket Chili. All around delicious, excellent texture, good depth. Modest spice, but nevertheless delicious. Garnished with avocado and Fritos.

Our second favorite was actually a combo of La Condesa cornbread (that's all they had left) and Bubblin Red's chili with fresh grated cheddar, creme fraiche and green onions. Really good flavor and depth, the cumin and chili powder and matched perfectly with the sweetness of La Condesa's cornbread.

3:00ish - Continued on with our Saturday eating and drinking festivities with a stop at the new W Hotel Austin. Swanky place...there are multiple bars, lounges and restaurants areas, with modern design and nice pops of color and texture. We wanted to check out Trace, as we've heard great things, but The Living Room Lounge was the only bar/food area that was open at the time we arrived. 

 

The Record Room - Vinyl Galore

We enjoyed drinks and an appetizer over a game of checkers. (I whooped Jason, of course.) I had the Strawberry Stormy - Goslings Rum, fresh Strawberries, sugar, lime, mint and Ginger Beer ($11), and Jason ordered a Fireman's 4. (Side Note: no Lone Star, 512 or Live Oak beers. This is a travesty in Austin. Someone needs to tell them to change this before SXSW.) The Butchers Sliders with House made Fries ($15) were perfect; tasty rolls, dressed with lettuce ribbons and tomato relish, served with crispy, well-seasoned, home made fries. 

The W Austin is sleek, refined and cool, just as suspected, and I can't wait to hang out when the pool area is open. 

5:00ish - Called Olivia's to make a dinner reservation, no dice. I think I might fare better on a weekday or maybe calling ahead. Bonus: I found my belt in Jason's truck! I bought this really cute gray leather knot belt from Anthropologie that I wore on NYE, and I totally thought I left it at Boomerz and someone stole it. My bad.

I read that Pharcyde was performing at the Mohawk, and I could not pass up the opportunity to see them live. You remember their song from back in like '93, She Keeps on Passin Me By. My brother had the CD, so Ya Mama and Other Fish in the Sea all bring back great memories. 

We purchased our tickets from Waterloo, $17/ea. (not bad) and checked out some used vinyl. Went home and watched the Fantastic Mr. Fox and napped. 

10:00pm - Dressed in layers for the outdoor show, practiced my hip-hop moves, then headed to The Mohawk. 

Ahhh, I remember this place when it was the Velvet Spade and we had our Decemberists birthday party here. Awesome venue, we should definitely come here more often. They removed the stuffed grizzly bear in the front (bummer) and tented the outdoor stage area, which is nice. 

They had some opening bands/DJs before Pharcyde, we arrived just in time to get warmed up to some hip hop remixes before they hit the stage.

Pharcyde was the off the hook! And the show was totally old school, like, "When I say HIP, you say HOP!" Their stage presence was awesome, 3 of the original 4 members, one looking like he came out of a Soul Glo commercial with some awesome Jerry Curl action and tight leather jacket. Fatlip talked about his kids told him to wear some skinny jeans for the show and how he's a fan of Bikram Yoga. They are still rockin it out after all these years! AND, I met Fatlip out side Mohawk at the end of the show :) 

1:00am - Breakfast @ 24 Diner - Hit the spot. Jason ordered the 24 Hash with 2 eggs over easy with potatoes, garlic, onions and jalapeno and sausage, super tasty. I had the waffles, which were good, but strangely tasted of Bourbon. This wouldn't be such a bad thing if I didn't already have 3 gin and tonics, beers and that strawberry stormy thing earlier. 

Note to self: salad tomorrow.

Listening to: The Pharcyde, Ya Mama

Food & Drink Events in Austin - Weekend of Friday, Jan. 21 - Sunday, Jan. 23

Friday, January 21

2 Dine 4 Supper Club - Supper Friends Sorry I'm a little late getting the word out on this one (actually I RT on Twitter earlier this week, just have too many things to write in the blog!) Sign up to receive Supper Friends Newsletters for future information on food events.

Saturday, January 22

5th Annual Chili Coookoff and Benefit at Jo's Coffee Shop on S. Congress, 1am - 4pm. 2 Step Dance Lessons Starting at 11am. Event festivities include a Dance Contest.

Sunday, January 23

42 Below Cocktail World Cup at Lustre Pearl

Ongoing Events

Sip & Savor Austin, January 16 - 30

My picks:

El Arbol - $35/4 course Menu: First Course: Selection of empanada, Second Course: Salad, Third Couse: Entree (Seared Escolar or Braised Beef Shortribs), Fourth Course: Dessert.

Max's Wine Dive - 1/2 Price Burgers during Sat. Brunch and all day Sunday.

Snack Bar - Events every day of Sip & Savor including High Tea and Wine Tastings on Saturday, and Tarot readings and Waterloo Listening Hour on Tuesday.

Sagra - $35/3 Course Menu with an optional wine pairing for add'l $15. First Course: Selection of pasta, salad or crudo, Intermezzo, Second Course: Selection of Seared Scallops, Filet Mignon or Sundried Tomato and Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken, Third Course: Dessert.

Gumbo's - $35/3 Course Menu. First Course: Selection of Gumbo or Salad, Second Course: Options of Spinach and Mushroom Stuffed Chicken, Beef Tenderloin, Blackened Shrimp or Catch of the day, Third Course: Dessert.

Future Food & Wine Events

Tuesday, February 1, 7pm - Jack Allen's King Estate Wine Pairing Dinner. 5 courses, $65 all inclusive. http://www.jackallenskitchen.com/events.html

Farmers Market Bounty

Living in Southwest Austin, I am fortunate to have several local farmers markets from which to choose. I regularly buy from the SFC Farmers Market in Sunset Valley and Barton Creek Farmer's Market, both open from 9am - 1pm every Saturday, rain or shine. 

For me, the farmers market is a perfect place to spend a Saturday morning. First with breakfast or coffee while listening to a set from a local singer/songwriter, then visiting all the booths to fill my bag with treasures that were grown and harvested by the very people you meet. I truly enjoy this connection, and I take advantage of every opportunity to ask for recipe recommendations for vegetables I've never prepared, or, if I am purchasing a pre-made food such as baked bread, dip, salsa or spice mixes, I ask how they made it and what they put into it. I think you'll find that most vendors at the farmer's market love discussing this stuff.

Since I visited the Sunset Valley Farmer's Market on my past few trips, I decided to venture out to the Barton Creek mall parking lot to see what the farmers had in store. Maybe it's the season,  or maybe everything had already been picked through by the time I arrived at 11:30am (go early to get the good stuff!), but there was only one booth that had a good selection of veggies, so I stocked up on broccoli, carrots, rainbow swiss chard, mustard greens, parsley, green onions and tomatoes. I also picked up a nice selection of prepared foods, including Lamba's Kadhi Pakora (an Indian dish with chickpeas, curry leaves, ginger, garlic and spices), Lamba's Naan, Full Quiver Farms Marinated Feta Cheese (OMG), some fresh baked Rosemary Sourdough Bread, Multi Grain Snickerdoodle Cookies from Phoenix Rising, and some Jalapeno Dip from Blanco Valley Farms. For farm fresh proteins, I also brought home some Italian Sausage from Full Quiver Farms and Boudin from Kocurck Family Charcuterie.

I really wish I could recall the bread booth where I purchased the Rosemary Sourdough, it was just heavenly. Paired with the Full Quivers Farm Marinated Feta and some orange segments, it made a seriously tasty lunch.

Here is my tentative menu planner for the week, recipes to come:

• Lamba's Kadhi Pakora with Naan, Orange Ginger Glazed Carrots and green salad
• My version of Portuguese Chorizo & Kale Soup with Mustard Greens and Full Quiver Italian Sausage instead
• Tomato Basil Soup
• Boudin, Red Beans & Rice and Sauteed Rainbow Swiss Chard

Yes, lots o' soups and stews. It's going to be a cold week in the ATX. Oh, and unfortunately you won't find any chicken recipes in this blog because Jason doesn't eat chicken. I know! The most non-offensive animal to write off your food list, but it is what it is. And you all know who to blame.

Listening to: Matt and Kim, Daylight

East Side Drive In: The Octopus Project & Food Trailer Bliss

Back in December, Jason and I saw The Octopus Project, a band from Austin, performing their acclaimed show, Hexadecagon, at the East Side Drive In on East 6th. Jason heard of this band before, when they played the parking lot of Whole Foods during SXSW 2010. They picked up some great press:

http://www.brooklynvegan.com/archives/2010/03/the_octopus_pro_1.html

Hexadecagon can only be described as a surround sound, trippy video and live music performance, with the stage in the center, under a tent with videos projected all above you. This isn't just a band on a stage with video streaming in the background. This is a performance that is specifically designed - music composed, video created/projected, instruments arranged - so each point of view experiences something slightly different, but equally as quality.

The show was incredible. Two things stand out most:Yvonne Lambert, an instrumentalist in the band, playing this instrument called the Theremin. You may have seen one of these before, it's a like a wooden box synthesizer with an antennae, and you control the pitch with the proximity and placement of your arm in relation to the theremin, but never touching it.

There were twin girls featured in several of the videos with wigs and makeup and roses and playing patty cake. It was a little creepy to see the twin girls, actually real kids, walking around the audience during the performance.

Check out the tour schedule for the Octopus Project here:
http://www.theoctopusproject.com/shows.html

No confirmed details for SXSW 2011, but we can always cross our fingers.


That covers the music, now the mouth.

The show took place at the East Side Drive In, a prime piece of real estate on East 6th which includes a cute compound of delicious food trailers and outdoor tables. Note: This spot is actually on your right as you are heading East on 6th, closer to 35. Not to be confused with the other food trailer park further down on your left, by Shangri La. (Which is equally as delicious. WORD to Me So Hungry's Pork Bahn Mi and Shrimp Spring Rolls.)

Food trailers include: The Local Yolk (egg sandwiches and deviled eggs), the #19 Bus (cheese steaks and burgers), The Vegan Yacht (duh), Pig Vicious (bacon and stuff with bacon), Ugly Banjos (southern comfort food), Bits and Druthers (British Food), Cafe Racer (?) and Pueblo Viejo (tacos).  

I had Jimmy's Crack Chicken from Ugly Banjos, and oh man was it good. If you can't read the description above it is fried chicken breast with honey truffle butter, served with hatch mac and cheese and sauteed collard greens. Come. On. Now. Jason had a fried egg sandwich with avocado and bacon from The Local Yolk. Quite tasty, local food and cheap. Just the way I like it.

Listening to: The Octopus Project, of course. Song: Wet Gold. You must check out the delicious randomness.