Foodie is the New Forty: Austin food event

Showing posts with label Austin food event. Show all posts

Monday, September 30, 2013

On Tapas the World: Paella Lovers United's 11th Annual Spanish Culinary Festival!

So sorry, dear readers; I've been a terrible slacker-blogger. I won't bore you with my reasons. Instead, I will woo you with a gift. The gift of knowledge.

One of my favorite events of last year - and one that seems to be very much on the down low - has tickets for sale. Right now. Get them while you can - they sell out early!

Paella Lovers United (is that not the best name for an organization EVER?) is holding its 11th annual Spanish Culinary Festival on November 9, 2013. For just 39 bucks (plus service fee), you can taste tapas, pig out on piles of paella, imbibe bodacious beverages (last year, ticket price included alcohol - but the event page this year says BYOB), and fawn over Flamenco fabulousness.

In case that description didn't sell you, here are some photos from last year's festival:

Tantalizing Tapas

Piles

And piles

And piles of paella (there were MANY more piles that were not photographed)

Pig, too!

Hope to see you there!
(photo by the lovely Joelle Boehle)

Event info
Ticket purchase linky

Monday, April 8, 2013

Austin Songkran Festival at Wat Buddhananachat

Every year, the Thai Buddhist temple in Del Valle, Wat Buddhananachat, throws a big Songkran festival celebrating the Thai New Year. We went a couple of years ago, and it was a super fun and very culturally-interesting experience. Dozens of vendors were making and selling all kinds of Thai food - from Thai fried rice to intestine soup to curries galore, as well as tons of other offerings that were unfamiliar to me, and all of which I wanted to try. I sorely wished I had a spare stomach that day! There's also live music, dancing, and a Miss Songkran beauty pageant. Here are a few photos from when we went:

This year, the festival is on Saturday, April 20th. The festivites go from 10:00 a.m. until midnight. It's family-friendly, entrance is free, and you just have to pay for whatever food you buy. I highly recommend this event for all you Thai food lovers, and for anyone else interested in experiencing a Thai cultural celebration.

Here's the link to the event Facebook page.

Saturday, October 15, 2011

La Dolce Vita

Ah, fall. The departure of summer in Austin always has us all breathing a sigh of relief - particularly this year, when the relentless parade of 100+ degree temps coupled with one of the worst droughts Central Texas has ever seen had us all wondering whether summer would ever leave again. But sure enough, the temperatures have magically dropped (to the mid-80s, mind you), which means it was time for another round of one of my favorite fundraisers in Austin, La Dolce Vita.

I have previously blogged about this fantastic event, so I won't go into all the gory details, but it is for sure one of the best food events in Austin. Hats off to the amazing folks who put together the staggering list of fabulous restaurants and wine & spirits purveyors who participate every year.

I didn't take a lot of photos this year; juggling a plate, a wine glass, a camera, and my nerd lights in the midst of what is always a pressing crowd is a little harrowing, to say the least. But I did at least manage to snap a pic of my favorite bite of the evening, a stunning pork belly and foie paté banh mi from a restaurant that has yet to open, Swift's Attic. They are currently under construction in the space that formerly housed Kyoto, and hope to open in December of this year. If this bite of utter decadence was any indication, it should be well worth a visit.

I also loved these salmon rolls from Imperia - nori pastry cones filled with miso salmon tartare and topped with cured salmon skin and ikura (salmon roe).

Other favorite bites: duck two ways over a wonderful quinoa from Paggi House (their panna cotta was also to die for); and braised short ribs over pumpkin puree from Moonshine.

Here's my Instagrammed photo of the band, which was excellent - does anybody know who they were?

I ate and drank myself silly. This performance artist from last year's La Dolce Vita perfectly summarized how I felt by the end of the evening.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Win Two Tickets to Viva! Las Vegas!

One of the most rewarding things I've had the opportunity to do in my career is to volunteer for the Capital Area AIDS Legal Project, or CAALP. CAALP, a joint project of AIDS Services of Austin and Volunteer Legal Services of Central Texas, provides free legal services for low income persons affected by HIV/AIDS.

CAALP's biggest fundraiser every year is a really fun event called Viva! Las Vegas. Viva! channels the essence of Las Vegas (or Monte Carlo, which is the theme this year) with faux gambling, an outstanding fashion show (last year, Stephen Moser called it "Austin's best fashion show ever"), a silent auction, great tunes spun by DJ Chicken George, and delicious bites from the likes of East Side Show Room, Max's Wine Dive, Moonshine, Parkside, Garrido's, Mirabelle, Siena, Whole Foods, and Austin Cake Ball.

Viva! is coming up next Saturday, February 20th, from 8 p.m. to midnight at the Austin Music Hall. If you'd like to win a pair of tickets to the event (door price for a pair of tickets is $120), you can enter up to two times by: (1) following me on Twitter and retweeting my tweet about this contest which will go out Monday morning; and/or (2) commenting on this blog post. All entries must be received by 9:00 p.m. on Monday; I'll randomly select a winner on Monday night. If you enter by commenting below, be sure you include your Twitter handle, e-mail address, or another way to contact you in your comment in case you win!

While you're waiting for the contest to end, here are a few shots I took of last year's fashion show. There are also some great little videos here and here.