MisoHungry

Craft Beer, Fine Wine, Artisan Spirits, and Mouthgasmic Food.

Friday, September 17, 2010

GABF 2010 #3: Visiting Euclid Hall


Euclid Hall is generating its fairshare of buzz.  From Austin to Denver, from locals in Denver to Tweeps across the country, we kept hearing about Euclid Hall.  So after @theartofbeer's birthday party, @windaddict and I strolled down to check it out.  Euclid has only been open for about 6 weeks, and we'd say that they are full of potential.  Even though Euclid was offering beer and small plate pairings for $5 each, we were so hungry that we decided to get regular size portions.  The menu at Euclid is all a la carte and not your typical bar fare.

I ordered the cheesesteak (9.50) that was served with a cheese sauce, picked onions and jalapenos on a hoagie roll.  The meat was perfectly tender and well-balanced with the flavors of the mild cheese sauce and sour vegetables. 

TheBrat Burger (9.50) came highly recommended so we gave it a try.  Served on a bretzel bun with pickled cabbage, thousand island dressing, and Jarlsberg cheese, this dish is certainly for those who love brats.  It is a hearty sandwich with a sturdy bun to match.

 On the side, we ordered the hanger steak and braised short rib poutine fries with Wisconsin cheese curds.  While I enjoyed this dish, I think a few tweaks, it could be outstanding.  The fries were a bit unevenly cooked with some being a light golden color, and some being a darker crunchier brown.  With the heavy toppings on the fries, I think a little crunchier could have helped the fries hold up to the toppings.  Our serving was a little heavy on the cheese (more cheese than fries), and a slightly bit over sauced.  The gravy topping was fairly salty and tangy which overpowered the flavors of all the other items.  If I get the chance to try Euclid before I leave, I'd try a poutine dish again.

If you have a place in your heart for deep fried foods (DFF), this dish is for you.  These pig ear fries ($5) weren't like any that I've ever had.  These fries are time consuming to make.  The ears are first braised for some time (I think the chef said 4 hours), flattened, the cartilage cleaned off and removed, sliced thinly, and then battered/coated, and fried.  The results are little crispy shells surrounding the soft skin of pig ears. This dish is one for DFF-lovers.  If you aren't a fan of DFF, you might want to skip this one. 

Pretzel pies (7.50) are somewhat like deep fried pies, however the crust is made with a mixture of pretzel and pie dough.  One order comes with three of these little pies in three flavors: chocolate, cheesecake, and peach.  I thought they were fairly tasty, though the crust was a bit tough. 

We didn't order these, but they sure did look good.  Waffle ice cream sandwiches.  Mmm........

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GABF 2010 #2: Concerts for Kids Community Garden

On Wednesday morning, @WindAddict and I met up with @BisonBrew for some lunch at the Concerts for Kids Farmer's Market.  While we were there, we samples many delicious bites, but there was one vendor that really stole the show.  The Inventing Room's dessert cart boasted inventive techniques and flavor combinations.  Collectively, we all decided that the mint chocolate space foam was the first thing to try.  What appeared to be mint chocolate whipped cream was placed on a spoon (see below), then dropped into liquid nitrogen.  This isn't liquid nitrogen ice cream though.  What resulted were frozen puffs of cream resembling divinity cookies.  One pop into your mouth, and you'll soon see that these were just a little colder than cookies; they were freezing!  Even for three adults, these treats were pretty fun to eat, and I wish I had gotten to sample other offerings from the Inventing room.

Whipped cream going on the spoon.

It is ALIVE!  Not really.  It is just freezing in liquid nitrogen. 

@BisonBrew is breathing out cold air.  The foam is pretty cold so it can freeze your tongue. 

We found a cupcake truck, but before we could settle down to enjoy a lunch, we were distracted by something else. 

A Concerts for Kids volunteer approached us and asked if we wanted a tour of the garden and if we needed a bag.  I was kind of confused, but we went on the tour anyways.  It turns out that the community garden is open to the public during specified hours.  The public is invited to harvest the fruits and vegetables of the garden.  Donations are accepted on behalf of Concerts for kids.  @windaddict, @BisonBrew, and I got to enjoy picking strawberries, okra, and noshing on fresh squash blossoms.  I'm bringing some okra seeds home for planting.  I love the idea of a community garden, and I was thoroughly impressed with the vibrant and lush garden in downtown Denver. 

@BisonBrew noshing on a strawberry. 

Spearmint. 

Another view of the garden.

Giant Squash.
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GABF 2010 #1: Cooking with some Master Chefs

@Windaddict and I arrived a few days prior to the Great American Beer Festival to spend some times with friends.  @BeachBumChris invited us over for dinner at @SpeakEasyKitch's home, to which we gladly accepted.  They met on the set of Master Chefs, so dinner was sure to be a treat.  The menu consisted of fruit and veggies fresh out of the garden, an array of delicious cheeses,  shrimp etouffee, and a variety of beers to pair.  @SpeakEasyKitch's garden was overflowing with plump, fresh tomatoes, plums, and crisp kale.  I brought some plum seeds home to plant.   Photos by John M. P Knox.

Before dinner, we stopped by the cutest little ice cream shop ever.  Little Man Ice Cream wins in the creative and cuteness category. 

Chopped veggies. 

An Oyster stout with dinner. 

Cooking down the veggies.

The beer line up.  Note, we didn't try them all. I didn't anyways.

Finished dinner.  Thanks @SpeakEasyKitch and @BeachBumChris for the hospitality. 
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Monday, September 13, 2010

Cupcake Smackdown 2.0 Wrap up with videos and photos

On August 21st, 2010, 409 Austinites gathered to set the first record of its kind - the most people simultaneously frosting a cupcake.  With the generous assistance of Le Cordon Bleu, Austin was able to pull of this awesome feat that benefited local non-profits including Lights, Camera, Help, Mobile Loaves and Fishes, Scare for a Cure, and Keep Austin Dog Friendly. Here are two videos chronicling the event.



This one was edited by me, footage by David Neff.



And this one was shot and edited by John M. P. Knox. 
In addition to completing the huge task of wrangling the masses for the cupcake frosting, Le Cordon Bleu also orchestrated the Guinness World Record attempt for most jaffa cakes eaten in one minute.  Unfortunately, none of our brave contestants beat the record of eight jaffa cakes.  Thank you so much to Le Cordon Bleu for stepping up to the plate on this. 
Other activities at the event included train rides, the cupcake pinata, and the infamous cupcake cannon.  Our event was so cool, that even Dave Chappelle made a debut. 

Photo by @Annainaustin.
We're still waiting for some administrative tasks of our world record to be completed, but I'd like to thank everyone else who worked hard to put on a great Cupcake Smackdown 2.0. The Cupcake Smackdown couldn't have happened without you!  Now onto the fun, here's the various links to press, photos, videos, and funny tweets.  List of sponsors at the end.

Press:

www.cupcakesmackdown.com

http://thataustingirl.blogspot.com/2010/08/sugar-high-snapshots-from-cupcake.html

http://www.myfoxaustin.com/dpp/good_day/Bake-and-Desetroy%3A-Cupcake-Smackdown-2.0-20100820-ktbcgd

http://naughtysecretaryclub.blogspot.com/2010/08/cupcake-smackdown.html

http://www.handmadehappenings.com/2010/08/hip-event-cupcake-smackdown-this.html

http://feteandfeast.com/2010/08/15/austin-foodie-bits-food-wine-things-to-do-for-the-week-of-august-16/

http://www.nowaustin.com/dpp/dining/let%27s-get-ready-to...bake%3F

http://www.austin360.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/food2/entries/2010/08/16/break_world_records_cupcake_pi.html

http://www.challenge52.com/C7_profile

http://larimieleigh.com/2010/08/23/cupcake-smackdown-2-0-munchies/

http://thetastingbuds.com/2010/08/austin-cupcake-smackdown-2-0-jaffa-cake-eating-contest-how-to-break-a-world-record/

http://rootedaustin.com/blog/rooted-goes-to-cupcake-smackdown

http://thataustingirl.blogspot.com/2010/08/tomorrow-cupcakes-to-eat-cupcakes-to.html

Videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7A2v2_8HRQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHsZn1xYpCs&feature=related

Photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8820084@N02/4938129876/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/annaustin/sets/72157624651882071/with/4914489732/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/angrysong/sets/72157624770593542/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jdn/sets/72157624776546236/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/my-misc-pics/4914384398/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/flipimages/4914328842/

http://twitc.com/see/32818111/Social_Events/Cupcake_2010_Austin

http://ow.ly/i/3l7r

http://yfrog.com/mso5gej

http://yfrog.com/bh6shgj

http://www.flickr.com/photos/triana/sets/72157624653163305/

Gowalla Spots

http://gowalla.com/spots/2120122

Notable Tweets

http://twitter.com/FweioD/statuses/21785811575

http://twitter.com/OrneryTX/statuses/21776254685

http://twitter.com/risekevin/statuses/21776033831

http://twitter.com/MGourmand/statuses/21774299310

http://twitter.com/BryanPerson/statuses/21772672235

http://twitter.com/annainaustin/statuses/21773174644

http://twitter.com/MGourmand/statuses/21774299310

http://twitter.com/HonestTeaATX/statuses/21777380919

http://twitter.com/bellissimobaker/statuses/21777710596

http://twitter.com/alexstivers/statuses/21777959041

http://twitter.com/SCAREforaCURE/statuses/21779286398

http://twitter.com/brokenchord/statuses/21768974973

http://twitter.com/brokenchord/statuses/21764754921

http://twitter.com/LPT/statuses/21769681298

http://twitter.com/robnitt/statuses/21770826262

http://twitter.com/carriebakes/statuses/21768312530

http://twitter.com/g_ack/statuses/21772856778

http://twitter.com/g_ack/statuses/21751621683

http://twitter.com/ggroovin/statuses/21775622836

http://twitter.com/andreaschulle/statuses/21768573932

http://twitter.com/urbandomain/statuses/21766860298

http://twitter.com/SugarMamas/statuses/21752795880

http://twitter.com/poundaustin/status/21767450914

http://twitter.com/peglouke/status/21767119225

http://twitter.com/SCAREforaCURE/status/21765985327

http://twitter.com/FranishNonspeak/statuses/21765316192

http://twitter.com/arkintermission/status/21766015361

http://twitter.com/risekevin/status/21763950124
Sponsors:
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