In a previous post, we highlighted an opportunity to virtually hangout with Tyson Cole of Uchi and Uchiko in Austin. Today, Google+ and Zagat join forces again to present yet another virtual culinary gathering. But this time,
Every time I use Yelp, I hate myself. But I do use it to size up restaurants, especially new ones, because it’s there. It has iPad and iPhone apps. It’s easy. What can I say? But what I really, truly want are restaurant reviews by somebody I actually trust that
Hey Texas chefs, do you like being told your cuisine is inedible? Do you like being chastised in your own kitchen every five seconds? Do you like being driven to the edge of tears? Well gas up and head to San Antonio this weekend: Hell’s Kitchen is hosting an open casting
For those who have ever craved an inside look at the culinary creativity of the Uchi and Uchiko kitchens, you now have your chance. The team is hosting a virtual Google Hangout on the Zagat Google+ page today at 2
Calling all bacon-burger lovers: P. Terry’s is about to make your dreams come true. The megapopular Austin burger joint is introducing applewood-smoked bacon on its menu at its new location in The Village at Westlake shopping center. This
The first year we had no idea if our BBQ festival would even draw a hundred attendees. Really. We were that naive. Well, it sold out in hours. (One of the big draws was Snow’s Barbecue, pictured at its home base in Lexington.) The second year, we increased attendance from
Yesterday, we introduced you to John T. Edge’s newest book, The Truck Food Cookbook. The culinary author traveled across the country to dine at some of the nation’s most beloved mobile food establishments, including East Side King of Austin and Jarro Cafe in Houston, to
Few chefs command the kitchen as confidently and calmly as Sonya Coté. As the executive chef of East Side Show Room and Hillside Farmacy in Austin, she has enlivened the local food scene and transformed it into more than
Listen up Houston foodies: Eat St. will be filming at a number of mobile food trailers, trucks, and carts in the city from May 24-29. Some of the trucks and trailers involved include The Modular,
For the past few years, food trailers, trucks, and carts have rivaled the traditional brick-and-mortar building as primary sources of delicious, affordable modern cuisine. In fact, take a look around the state of Texas and you’ll see cities like Houston, Austin, and even Dallas jumping on the mobile food wagon
Numerous Texas chefs credit their profound talents to years of hard work in culinary school, rigorous training alongside great chefs, or hours of sweat equity in restaurant kitchens. Great cooking, however, is not a subject that can be summed up in the span of a few short years in the kitchen; lessons usually begin
In 2007, Ellise Pierce packed up her life in Texas and moved across the world to join her boyfriend in Paris. The idea seemed romantic: a talented freelance writer living in Paris writing by day and cooking Texas-inspired cuisine for her sweet boyfriend by night. Things didn’t pan out. When
If Paul Qui were the type to get a swelled head, he would be getting one right about now. The young executive chef of Uchiko, in Austin, won the Best Chef: Southwest title at the James Beard Awards ceremony in New York’s Lincoln Center Monday night. This
The James Beard Awards—which are “the Oscars of the culinary industry,” as has been said ad infinitum but which also happens to be true—happen tonight in New York starting at 5 Central time (6 Eastern). The best restaurants and chefs in the country—determined by a vote of chefs and
Tomorrow is the day to put on your finest over-sized derby hats and sombreros and sit in front of the television sipping homemade cocktails for Cinco De Mayo and Derby Day. We’ve put together a list of two cocktail recipes to make at home for the occassion. Check out these
Yesterday, we shared baking tips from Christina Tosi. The famed pastry chef of Momofuku and Milk Bar was in town this weekend for the Austin Food & Wine Festival to explain her off-the-cusp pastry style and give some
Near the end of February 2012, former New Yorkers Michael and Jessica Sanders opened their American neighborhood pub, drink.well., in the North Loop District of Austin, featuring a delicious selection of all-American cocktails, craft beers, wine, and spirits on the menu. In visits to Michael’s home
It's hard not to eat at a Larry McGuire project these days – even if it's by accident. The chef-turned-entrepreneur has his hand in a number of Austin's most popular restaurants, including Perla's, Lamberts,
This weekend at the Austin Food & Wine Festival Christina Tosi of Momofuku and Milk Bar gave attendees a taste of her famous Cornflake Chocolate Chip Marshmallow
This made my day. Barkeep Jim Meehan, of PDT in New York, shared his favorite margarita recipe at his session on Tequila and Salt at the Austin Food & Wine Festival yesterday afternoon. As soon as I got home from the long, long day, took a shower
For months, a great deal of hype and anticipation surrounded this weekend’s Austin Food & Wine Festival, and yet even before the festival commenced, extensive criticism began plaguing it. Many critics from around Texas and Austin bemoaned the rather pricey tickets: $850 is a pretty penny to have to pay
The Austin Food & Wine Festival has officially commenced, and hoards of cooks, chefs, boozers, and devourers have descended upon the up-and-coming foodie city. This morning was off to a sizzling start with Tim Love‘s 200+
The quintessentially Texas aroma of smoked beef permeated the air at Live Fire! on Thursday evening at the Salt Lick Pavilion in Driftwood, outside Austin. Billed as the kick-off event for the three-day Austin Wine & Food Festival coming up this weekend, Live Fire! was sponsored by the
Masaharu Morimoto is the chef great chefs admire. Many of us know him from watching on as he wielded knives and slayed the competition on Iron Chef America – always willing and ready to stand up to any chef who
There aren’t many Anna Wintours out there in the world. In fact, most magazine editors generally prefer to stay hidden from the glare of media exposure. Glued to recorders and notepads, they are the ones who conduct interviews, the ones who bury themselves
We asked some of the chefs attending the Austin Food & Wine Festival what they are most looking forward to this weekend and here is what they had to say… “I am looking most forward to interacting with some of the
In late 2009, French chef Bruno Davaillon arrived at The Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek with a brave mission: to honor the legacy of Dean Fearing‘s elegant, media-darling restaurant while
Uchi and Uchiko together swept the first annual Austin CultureMap Tastemaker Awards gala on Thursday night at the Driskill Hotel, taking three prizes out of seven. The two sibling restaurants won for best restaurant, best decor and atmosphere, and best pastry chef (Philip Speer). The crowd in
Baking is a courting ritual. For years, boyfriends and girlfriends have crafted homemade cookies, Betty Crocker cakes, and candy confections in the hopes of wooing the object of their desire. In fact, it is this very gesture that lead to the creation of Tiff’s Treats,
Thousands upon thousands migrated to Austin during SXSW to hear some tunes, stalk some celebs, and, of course, eat some darn barbecue. One of those thousands included the no-holds-barred No Reservations host – Anthony Bourdain. In a recent interview with the Huffington Post, Bourdain talked about pre-made egg salad sandwiches,
Paul Qui is a chef on the move. On Friday, Qui got a key to the city of Austin and celebrated Paul Qui Day. On Saturday, he was on his way to D.C. On Sunday, he was anticipating the
What do you get when you put, ahem, three stooges in a kitchen who have no notion of what they’re talking about but feel compelled to yak about it anyway? You get the season opener of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, in which host Guy Fieri goes to the
Despite only opening in mid-March, Oxheart is already winning hearts across Houston and breaking ones too far away to grab a bite. Justin Yu was on to something with his pop-up dinners, but he is really on to the extraordinary with his first restaurant. He explained
For five years, Jesse Herman, owner of La Condesa, has been working on the concept behind his yet-to-be-opened Thai restaurant in Austin. His modern Mexican establishment, La Condesa, has garnered culinary praise from all over Lone Star State and the nation. So what’s a guy
I’m keeping my fingers crossed: Texas Monthly’s April 2011 cover story, “Home Plates,” usually referred to around here as “how to cook like a Texan,” has been nominated for a National Magazine Award. That’s like a Pulitzer, except for magazines, folks. But the people who deserve the most
APRIL FOOLS! Breathe a sigh of relief, all you extremist carnivores. Aaron Franklin of Franklin Barbecue in Austin IS NOT – I repeat, IS NOT – going to host Meatless Monday Vegan Brisket dinners. The TM Daily
We couldn’t resist asking Gesine to share her pecan pie recipe with us. Check out the instructions for that crunchy, gooey Texas dessert, below.Pecan Pie from Pie it Forward ⅛ batch Quick Puff Pastry (page 22 of Pie It Forward) 1/2 cup unsalted butter 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar,
I first came across Gesine Bullock-Prado after reading through her memoir, My Life From Scratch. The book is a story of how the baker found herself retreating from the glittering lights and blinding cameras of Hollywood to pursue her passion for
In case you haven’t heard the exciting news, Austin’s Jack and Bryce Gilmore are headed to the streets and avenues of New York to knock on the prestigious doors of the James Beard House. The father-and-son duo from Barley Swine and Jack Allen’s Kitchen are vigorously planning
Foodways Texas, which was founded in July 2010 “to preserve, promote, and celebrate the diverse food cultures of Texas," held its second annual symposium in Austin this past weekend. A couple of hundred participants listened to talks on the theme of “Texas Preserved”—a deliberately wide-ranging topic that covered
Well, finally! For once, Texas didn’t get skunked by Las Vegas in the finals for the James Beard Awards. Our chefs captured four of the six finalist slots in the category Best Chef: Southwest. And in addition, Houston Chronicle columnist and blogger Alison Cook, who writes Cook’s Tour, made the
Enjoying his fifteen minutes (hours, days, whatever) of fame, self-declared “BBQ Snob” Daniel Vaughn is in Austin today hanging out with the big dog, Anthony Bourdain, of the Travel Channel’s “No Reservations.” They’re seen here at Franklin Barbecue, along with Vaughn’s photographer Nicholas McWhirter, Vaughn’s book agent David
You may think that as a Texan, you know beef and smoking and barbecue and such. Friends, you don’t know anything about it until you’ve attended the smoking of a whole, entire, big honking steer. At Vaca y Vino, set for Sunday, April 22, from 1 to 6, three
Will Uchiko’s Paul Qui be the big winner on the season nine finale of Top Chef: Texas this Wednesday, February 29? Or will he be the big loser? Keep your fingers crossed for our Austin boy. If you want to really get in the mood, drop by
The James Beard Foundation has announced the semifinalists in its annual awards given to chefs and restaurants across the country, widely regarded as the Oscars of the restaurant and beverage industry. Texans did well on the whole, with 20 nominees in 9 categories, although a few outstanding names were conspicuous
Starting in 2002, I have eaten my weight in lamb chops, roasted beets, pork belly, and micro-cilantro every year to come up with Texas Monthly’s annual list of the most innovative, exciting, and delicious new Texas restaurants. For 2012, our feature “Where to Eat Now” runs the gamut from a
Not bad at all: Texas captured four of seventeen finalist slots in Food & Wine’s new “People’s Best New Pastry Chef” competition.” That’s really impressive, considering that the Texans are up against chefs from Chicago and New Orleans, among other cities (we are in Central, one of three competition
Moments after Tim Love’s late-afternoon announcement on Jan. 31 that he would open his long-awaited Fort Worth restaurant, Woodshed, that evening–a day earlier than anticipated–the indoor-outdoor smokehouse with a worldly menu of wood-fired foods was instantly swamped with hungry, thirsty
The position of pastry chef at Congress, the new and much-lauded fine dining venue in downtown Austin, didn’t stay open long. Thirty-one-year-old Erica Waksmunski has slipped into the opening left by the departure of Plinio Sandalio (who went to the Carillon, in Austin). She started on January 22. Two days
We’ve been waiting. We’ve been watching. We’ve been reading the tweets. We’ve been following the FB posts. Finally, a few much-buzzed-about restaurants will be opening their doors this week. (One even decided to open tonight—a day early. Surprise!) We confess that we can’t keep up with every new restaurant in