Ben and Jerry's Lends a Hand in Locks of Love Donation

Summer has finally hit Austin, and it will not be merciful. Luckily for us, Ben and Jerry's tour debuting two Texas inspired flavors was in town to bring us relief from the heat. The two flavors are Bourbon Pecan Pie and Barbeque Peach. While both of them won a place in my Southern heart, I’m fairly certain that the clear winner was the Bourbon Pecan Pie.

While on the Austin leg of their Texas Tour, Dan Bookmiller and Jana Steele made friends at many iconic locations. The Draughthouse is where @MouseTheDog got to enjoy a few scoops as well.

Here's Mouse and Dan on a Summer Afternoon. I love the pairing of Mouse next to the cows as his historical function is to herd cattle.

And here's Mouse and Jana posing next to the Sprinter. Did I mention that the Sprinter is equipped with a solar panel on top? That's another thing to add to my list of "Dream Sprinter" features.

Last Austin stop at HomeAway Downtown.

As if ice cream wasn’t already a treat, the Ben and Jerry’s good deed mantra struck again on their last day in Austin. @AgentMarshall and I had been planning on donating our hair to Locks of Love for quite some time now, and the Ben and Jerry’s team lent us a hand. At their last stop in Austin, Jana of Ben and Jerry’s traded in her scoop for a pair of scissors to make the Locks of Love haircuts.
Here's Jana about t make the first snip on Marshall.

Marshall is really happy to get that hair cut off!

Good bye, Hair!

I'm next up. This is my seventh donation to Locks of Love. I have two ponytails to make it easier to cut.

I am also extremely happy to get this hair cut. Jana was a pro at cutting hair. The entire process did not take more than three minutes, and that's including the time she took to give it a some style.

And here's the final results. Two ponytails. Two freshly cut hairdo's. And three very happy people.
Thank you so much to Dan, Jana, Ben and Jerry's for bringing delicious ice cream to Austin and helping us donate to Locks of Love.

Mouse thanks you too!

Beer, Cheese, and Garrett Oliver - A Photo Post

Garrett Oliver came back for another tour of Austin. He comes every few years, and it is always a pleasure to meet Garrett Oliver. I've written about him before, and a blog post on his work wouldn't do him justice. But you get to enjoy some fun photos of his last appearance at the Draught House.

He always wins the "Best Dressed Man in Brewing" award from me. He's more put together than I am.

Antonelli's Cheese supplied the delicious cheese. If at any time Antonelli's is supplying the cheese, you want to be there.

Here's my unmolested plate and beers. Because I can just take pictures of a place without touching it.

While I don't have a long list of take-aways from this post, I will leave you with a short list of all the cheeses you should always have in the fridge in case company comes over.

• Cheddar
• Brie
• Goat Cheese
• Feta
• Blue cheese of some kind

And always have a variety of beers in the fridge to go with the cheeses.

Austin Food Keeps Going After the Festival: Chef Angela Majko on CHOPPED tonight

It is the Tuesday after the Austin Food and Wine Festival, and it was a pretty amazing weekend.  I'm still sailing by on the endorphin and adrenaline rushes facilitated by the camaraderie of the Austin food community and newly forged friendships with chefs and food lovers from other cities. While that is over, tonight is still a very special for another local chef, Angela Majko.  Angela is a sushi chef at Uchiko, and she'll be on CHOPPED tonight!  If you're available, swing by the viewing party at Draught House, 9:00 pm tonight, Tuesday, April 30th, 2013.   Food trailer Oyama by alumni of Uchiko will be on site serving Japanese/Mexican fusion cuisine.  The episode will be projected on a big screen and Chef Majko will be in attendance. Draught House is located at 4115 Medical Parkway, Austin, TX 78756.

Below are some fun panorama photos from this past week.  More blog posts to follow. 

My view as a #CityWide86d judge at Uchiko Austin.  I felt like a zoo animal.  Everyone kept watching me and taking photos of my plate.  Chef Jeremy is to my right. 

This was my view at the start of the Taste of Texas evening event of the Austin Food and Wine Festival. 

The grills at the Tim Love meaty love event.  It really isn't called meaty love, but I like the name.

The growing crowd waiting to come into Chef Paul Qui's demonstration at the Austin Food and Wine Festival. 

Beer, Wine, and a touch of Science. Three upcoming event that will make you giddy!

There's three events coming up that are sure to get beer geeks, wine lovers, and science nerds giddy with pleasure.

Saturday, Nov. 7th is the date of the DraughtHouse's 41st birthday party.  Eats include Pork on a stick from the Traveling Bistro along with cupcakes.  Starts at 1pm. 

Thursday, Nov. 19th is Big Reds and Bubbles at the Driskill hosted by the Wine and Food Foundation of Texas.  $75 Foundation Members; $90 General Public Reservations Required; Tickets Non-Refundable.  It's a celebration of wine, champagne, and delicious eats from Annie’s Cafe, Aquarelle, The Belmont, The Carillon, The Driskill Grill The Driskill Hotel, Eddie V’s, Fête Accompli, Garrido’s, Kenichi, Lambert’s, Moonshine Patio Bar & Grill, NoRTH, Pastry Chef Liz Starling, Perla’s, Perry’s Steakhouse, Roaring Fork, Streat, Truluck’s, Wink

And for the big nerd inside of you, Thursday, Nov. 12th, 6:00pm, is Chemistry Kitchen.  Chef Josh Watkins and Dr. Laude (I'm fairly certain that he was the popular Chem Professor at UT when I was just a wee undergrad) will be bringing you dinner and entertainment.  I saw the word explosion on the flyer.  I want explosions!  And dinner!  I'm just a little excited about this one.  Can you tell?  Click here for the flyer in PDF.

Chef Josh's Muscat Grape Terrine