FoodFash

Adventure Begins in the Kitchen

@USBGAustin Most Imaginative Bartender

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Last week I received a tweet-vite from Jessie to attend the US Bartender’s Guild Most Imaginative Bartender Competition that was being hosted at Malverde tonight.  Though fifty percent of me wanted to eat something carbtastic and curl up in pj’s when I got home from work, the other fifty percent knew that turning down an invite from a new pal to a super cool event, well… that just wouldn’t be livin’!

I rolled in solo and cashed in my first drink ticket.  I sipped slurped my Bombay Collins as I took it all in.  How had I never heard of Malverde?  What would this place be like on a Friday night?  I wonder how many friends I’d run into had I attended an event like this back home?  Would my Tampa bartenders dominate a contest like this?  All thoughts that ran through my head as I waited for Alex and Jessie to find me looking lost at the bar.

Thankfully it’s oh so easy to hide behind a lens.  By the time I snapped some photos and fulfilled my social media addiction, I spotted an Alex.  And then minutes later, a Jessie.

The accidental spot we snagged at the bar ended up being the best seat in the house.  We watched, front row, a handful of Central Texas’s finest bartenders show us their top secret concoctions.  Cilantro, candied pineapple, limoncello, herbed ice cubs – there wasn’t a base that wasn’t covered during this competition.

The judges thoroughly analyzed each competitor.  Like for reals, look at their faces.

We weren’t able to stay for the entire competition, but we made sure to watch Alex’s friend, Tacy, before heading out.  Aaaand… I’m so glad we did.  First, this was the only cocktail that we had the privilege of sampling (and it was amazing and refreshing and completely right).  Second, Tacy was the big winner of the competition and secured her spot in Vegas for the Most Imaginative Bartender in NORTH AMERICA Competition!

Congrats Tacy!  I can’t wait to visit you at drink.well.!

On The Books

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For one reason or another, I hadn’t seen Skylar since my birthday.  There’s no excuse, but I’d like to blame it on her being a teacher and me being ridiculously jealous of her summer schedule.  But now that her vacation is almost over, I figured it was time to get a date on the books.  I sent her a calendar invite and we stuck to it.

We started out at Cru for half priced bottles of prosecco and cheaper than cheap apps.  And although I wouldn’t order food there again, half priced bubbly could be worth a second trip.  On our way to Peche, we noticed a lone musical soldier playing in the Cedar Street Courtyard.  I couldn’t help but get Miike Snow’s “Song For No One”  stuck in my head…

Peche was on point as usual.  I couldn’t bring myself to order absinthe on a Thursday, so the bartender jazzed up a traditional cucumber gimlet with some bitters.  I haven’t had a flawless off-menu cocktail since  my regular Tampa hangout.  It was nice.

As Skylar and I parted ways in 100 degree Texas heat, we assured each other that we wouldn’t let time fly quite as easily again.  We made plans for a yoga brunchtastic Saturday, plans that I plan on sticking to!

Cupcakes & Cocktails

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I officially attended my first Austin Food Bloggers Alliance event tonight!  It was a trip full of purpose: a glammed up night with Jodie before she moves to Hawaii, an excuse to eat an exorbitant amount of cupcakes, a meeting with my blogging bud Brittanie, and an opportunity to help out a local charity.  Total good stuff.

I walked in the door wide-eyed, ready to mounge on some cupcakes.  Actually, I was more like super ready – 6PM on a weekday is my cooking time.  And when Jodie and Brittanie informed me that they weren’t cupcake eaters, I gladly picked up their slack.

We walked around the room, admiring the perfect presentation.  I gave Jodie my cherries and Brittanie my chocolate covered espresso beans as I described what I liked about each mini-cake.  When it came down to it, I had two favorites in mind: Texas Tea and Arnold Palmer.

What to do when you prefer the texture of one and the flavor of the other?  Well, go back for seconds.  But when you still can’t decide, force your anti-cupcake friend to taste them and get her opinion.  The verdict?  Taste over texture, Arnold Palmer for the win!

A Thai Breaker

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Can you believe I haven’t had Thai food since moving to Austin??  Five months of no Thai.  Five months of waiting to use Emily’s best, most cheese pun ever: the Thai breaker!  But you can’t have a Thai breaker without multiple Thais to break, so I turned to Twitter for help.

Kara and I headed to Titaya first as it was the closest and we were both craving Thai in a big, bad, now sort of way.  We both agreed that it looked so sketchy that it must be good.  Then we realized that it looked so sketchy because there were zero cars in the parking lot which meant that… it must be closed.  Oops!

Feeling famished and defeated, we continued another nine miles north to Thai Cuisine.  Nine miles…  is a lot for two downtown dwellers.  But we did it.  And we ordered dumplings and waters the second our bottoms hit the seat.

We inhaled the dumplings before placing the rest of our order.  Chicken panang for Kara, Tofu pad thai for me.  Both of our dishes definitely hit the spot, but I don’t see either of us driving 15 miles again for this dinner.  Hopefully our next Thai craving falls on a non-Monday so we can see what Titaya is all about!