two february food events

Antonelli’s Cheese Shop Announces 1 Year Anniversary
February 7th – 10th

Antonelli'sAntonelli’s Cheese Shop, locally-owned and operated by John and Kendall Antonelli, will celebrate its one-year anniversary on February 11, 2011. To commemorate this cheese-y day, as well as thank customers and partnering wholesale restaurants, Antonelli’s Cheese Shop is giving away free cheese plates around town from February 7-10. While supplies last, the following restaurants will be participating:



Monday, Feb.7th:
FINO – Free Cheese Plates starting at 6pm
ASTI – Free Cheese Plates starting at 6pm

Tuesday, Feb.8th:
El Arbol – Free Cheese Plates starting at 5pm
Dolce Vita – Free Cheese Plates starting at 5pm

Wednesday, Feb.9th:
Jeffrey’s Restaurant – Free Cheese Plates starting at 5pm
House Pizzeria – Free Cheese Plates starting at 5pm

Thursday, Feb.10th:
Apothecary – Free Cheese Plates starting at 5pm
24Diner – Free Cheese Plates from 6pm to 10pm

Monday through Friday: Make a purchase at Antonelli’s Cheese Shop and be entered into a raffle to win a free private cheese tasting in the shop for up to 20 guests. Additionally, bring into the shop a receipt showing a cheese plate purchase that week (2/7-2/11) from one of the businesses above or from the following and be entered into the raffle: Andiamo Ristorante, Max’s Wine Dive, Truluck’s, The Steeping Room, Salt Lick Cellars, Snack Bar, House Wine, Hotel Saint Cecilia, Star Bar (Wednesday only), and Gibson (Wednesday only). (Please note that the raffle closes at 7pm Friday, February 11.) Thanks also to wholesale friends Vino Vino, Farmhouse Delivery, Hyde Park Bar & Grill, Royal Fig Catering, 2nd & Congress, Pink Avocado Catering, Barr Mansion, and Bola Pizza.

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Private Wine and Chocolate Tasting
Sunday, February 13th

Becker and DelysiaJoin the Sustainable Foodies on Feb. 13 for a Becker Vineyards and Delysia Chocolate pairing and hill country day trip. Don’t miss this Valentine Sunday afternoon chance to join the Sustainable Foodies for an exclusive Becker Vineyard Tour and Tasting with Delysia Chocolate. Included in your ticket price are roundrip transportation on a charter bus, pairing of six Becker Wines, and six Delysia Chocolates. Only a few tickets remain! Click here for more details.

secret circus: hosteria verde supper club, 2/14

Secret CircusSecret Circus, a modern take on pre-WWII Cabaret, is taking place on Valentine’s Day, Monday, Feb. 14th. With An Array of Gastronomy, High Fashion, Live Music, and Original Art.

Dinner guests will arrive at The Mansion at 2312 San Gabriel (Texas Federation of Women’s Clubs) and be greeted with a glass of bubbly before they partake in a sumptuous four-course meal with cocktail pairings by Hosteria Verde Supper Club.

Taking advantage of local, seasonal produce, the dining experience will begin with butternut squash soup with brown butter, sage and nutmeg, followed by a crisp frisee and mixed greens salad topped with spiced walnuts, pears, blue cheese and drizzled with Port Wine vinaigrette. Guests will have a choice of main course between roasted beef tenderloin, seared halibut or a vegetarian option before enjoying a decadent chocolate terrine with toasted pistachios and crème Anglaise.

Romantic delights throughout dinner include:
A musical performances by Chrysta Bell and David Garza, and Esther LevonneLos Bandidos” music from DJ Manny & Claude 9
Fashion from Boudoir Queen
Aerial acrobatics by Ricochet
Following dinner:
An absinthe station
Boudoir Queen Fashion Show “Glam Dolls of Knightsbridge”
Music by Electric Touch
Headliner Murder My Sweet featuring Mark Younger-Smith (Billy Idol, INXS, Charlie Sexton), Aaron Barrera (Abra Moore, Active Radio), and Chris Potter (Ministry)

Dinner and Show Tickets $150. Available at: www.secretcircus.net
6:30pm- midnight
*Ticket includes signature cocktails followed by an open bar.

happy hour: east side show room 1/20/2011

Date: Thursday, January 20th, 5pm – 7pm
Location: East Side Show Room, 1100 East Sixth Street

EastSideShowRoom

Come check out the beautiful and seasonal food at East Side Showroom. Chef Sonya Cote will be serving a very special 1/2 priced Slow Food Happy Hour Appetizer menu. And the Eastside Showroom bartenders will be slinging slow cocktails. We are looking forward to kicking off our exciting 2011 Happy Hour schedule!  See you next Thursday!

There will be two special cocktails for the event priced at $5 each, and proceeds from the Special Cocktail list will got to Slow Food Austin.

RSVP: karlal@slowfoodaustin.org

happy hour: 512 brewing company and antonelli’s cheese shop, 12/16

Date: Thursday, December 16th 6pm – 8pm
Location: 512 Brewing Company
RSVP required: karlal@slowfoodaustin.org

Antonelli's and 512 Brewing

Thursday December 16th will be a special slow food Member Appreciation Happy Hour.  We will host a Beer and Cheese tasting with 512 Brewing Company and Antonelli’s Cheese Shop from 6-8pm.  In addition to custom beer and cheese pairings, there will be light snacks from local food artisans.  Space is limited so RSVP today!

Members $20/person
Non-Members $35/person
Join today ($25) and get the member price ~ $45/person

RSVP and payment required by DECEMBER 14th. Contact karlal@slowfoodaustin.org to RSVP, you will then be given payment instructions.

eat local week

Date: December 4th-11th
Location: at your favorite restaurants and stores

Eat Local WeekEdible Austin hosts this week long benefit for Urban Roots.

Of course we think every week should be “eat local week,”  but Edible Austin’s Eat Local Week, their winter fundraiser event, is an invitation to Central Texans to explore and celebrate the abundance of local food and to raise money for Urban Roots, a youth development program that uses sustainable agriculture as a means to transform the lives of young people and to increase the access of healthy food in Austin.

When you intend to eat local it may be more challenging than you realized to find restaurants and markets that truly support local farmers and food artisans. We’d like to offer you a few questions to ask to determine if you are actually eating local.

  1. How often does your menu change?  (Frequent changes are good. It usually means they are working with seasonal harvests)
  2. Can you highlight some of the locally-sourced items on your menu/in your store?
  3. How often do you feature and/or promote local foods?

About Sourcing

  1. How does your restaurant/market define local?
  2. Where does your restaurant/market get local food? (direct from farm, 3rd party,  or grocery store?)
  3. Is the local food you purchase certified organic?
  4. We prefer eating humanely raised, pastured meats.  Do you know if your meats are raised this way?

Encourage more Local Food

Be sure to voice your desires for local food to your server, chef, or market owner.  Don’t hesitate to let them know that you are more likely to be a loyal patron and promote their business if they feature more local, organic choices.

If you are not the assertive type but you still want to make the most sensible choices the Environmental Working Group publishes a wallet guide and iphone app that recommends avoiding the “Dirty Dozen,” a list of conventionally grown fruits and vegetables (that test positive for as many as 67 chemicals) in favor of the “Clean 15.”

slow session: a brief history of tamales, 12/13

Date: Monday, December 13th, 7 pm – 9 pm
Location: Habitat Suites, 500 East Highland Mall Boulevard Austin, Tx 78752

Slow Food Presents:
Folk and Fork History of Texas Foods

A three part series on the culinary heritage of Central Texas.
Food with tall tales and tasters for all!

tamalesIn “A Brief History of Tamales,” Claudia Alarcón will speak about the central role that tamales have played in Mexican cooking and culture, from their origins among the ancient Mesoamerican cultures that existed in what is today Mexico, to its present-day use as an essential food at celebrations and their persistence as a traditional food for the holidays in the U.S., including a step-by-step visual guide to the process of making them.

In addition we will be sampling local tamales so please RSVP to anneh@slowfoodaustin.org.

About the Speaker:
Claudia Alarcón was born and raised in Mexico City, and has lived in Austin since 1984. For 15 years she held different jobs in many local
restaurants and catering companies, familiarizing herself with all aspects of the industry. She received her bachelor’s degree with honors in Anthropology from the University of Texas at Austin in 1999, with a minor in Latin American Studies. Her honors thesis on the history and ritual significance of tamales in modern and ancient Mexican cultures won an award from the Sophie Coe Memorial Fund from the Oxford Symposium on Food History, and was published in the prestigious food history journal Petit Propos Culinaires. She is currently working on expanding this essay into her first full-length book based on her previous and ongoing research. She is an avid student of ancient and modern Mexican cultures, with a special interest in culinary history and traditions. Alarcón has been writing professionally since 2000 as regular contributor to various local and national food publications, both in print and online.

farm tour: sand creek farm and monument cafe, 11/20

We’re very sorry to announce that we’re having to cancel the Sand Creek Farm and Monument Cafe event, due to lack of ticket sales. There were RSVP’s and then cancellations, possibly due to it being just too close to the Thanksgiving holiday. There was a good amount of interest, it just didn’t add up to enough attendance to make the project feasible for the farmer and for Monument Cafe.  We’ll definitely be re-offering this same event in the spring.

Date: tbs
Location: Sand Creek Farm and Monument Cafe
Tickets: available at brown paper tickets

Monument Cafe

This Saturday we head out to Sand Creek Farm in Cameron to see their raw milk dairy, grassfed beef cattle, other livestock and vegetable crops, and, if we play our cards right, possibly a hay ride! Everyone will have the opportunity to purchase farm goods. Then we caravan to Monument Cafe in Georgetown, nationally celebrated for seriously good diner food featuring sustainable farm goods products, much of it sourced locally.  The cafe’s owners will soon open Monument Market, featuring naturally raised meats, produce, dairy and more, all made or grown in Texas.  Cafe chefs will prepare and serve a harvest lunch featuring Sand Creek’s delicious meats, dairy and produce.  Purchase tickets here, and contact betsyl@slowfoodaustin.org with any questions.

happy hour: peche, 11/18

Date: Thursday, November 18th, 5 pm – 8 pm
Location: Peche

PecheJoin Slow Food Austin for our monthly third Thursday Happy Hour at Péché. Chef Jason Dodge will be offering a specially created Slow Food appetizer menu featuring seasonal ingredients. A special drink menu will be available and served up by the seasoned Péché bartenders, including Maker’s Mark cocktails, Bombay Sapphire Gin cocktails and select wines. Drinks will be CASH ONLY. RSVP to karlal@slowfoodaustin.org.

slow session: breaking the jemima code, 11/8

Date: Monday November 8, 7 pm – 9 pm
Location: Carver Library, 1161 Angelina, Austin, Texas
RSVP: anneh@slowfoodaustin.org

Slow Food Presents:
Folk and Fork History of Texas Foods

A three part series on the culinary heritage of Central Texas.
Food with tall tales and tasters for all!

booksThis month part two of our three part series on the culinary history of Texas will focus on how the African American culture has influenced Texas cuisine. Culinary history has been cruel to African American cooks.For more than 200 years, the Aunt Jemima image has been powerful shorthand, used to minimize the role of black women in the creation of southern cuisine. But cookbooks are recognized as one important way women assert their individuality, develop their minds and structure their lives. With that in mind, Toni Tipton-Martin as a modern, food professional, puts on the aprons of great black cooks by peeking into their recipe collections. She looks beyond ingredient lists and instructions to see the talents and skills that have been ignored by historians. Her presentation explores slave narratives and rare black cookbooks from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century to crack the Jemima code and to tell a remarkable history that destroys a myth and reconstructs a new role model for today.  Through Toni’s discoveries, audiences see that there is a lot more wisdom to learn from Aunt Jemima than just her recipe for great pancakes. She helps us all restore a little warmth to our kitchens of granite and steel.

In addition, there will be a live cooking demonstration in which Toni will not only pass down a traditional recipe, but also pass it around for all to share. Space is limited to 25 people so please RSVP to anneh@slowfoodaustin.org.

farm tour: simmons family farms, 11/6

Simmons Family FarmsDate: Saturday, November 6, 10 am – 1 pm
Location: Simmons Family Farm, Niederwald, Texas
RSVP: betsyl@slowfoodaustin.org

Simmons Family Farm – Vegetable CSA with a Thai Twist
– cooking demonstration by Jam Sanitchat of Thai Fresh

Simmons Family Farm is a three-generation organic vegetable enterprise based in Niederwald, Texas.  The Simmons grow a variety of produce and herbs with a unique emphasis on Thai-friendly items.  Farm tour attendees will enjoy a Thai cooking demonstration by Jam Sanitchat, co-owner and chef at Thai Fresh in south Austin, which will feature farm produce.  $16 tickets will be redeemed at the farm for vegetables and herbs.